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“Oh, she’s more than just smart. She’s fucking brilliant and you’d be damn lucky to have her turn this sinking ship around and make it profitable again.”
His face flushes. “Are you sure about this, Enzo? I really thought?—”
“Positive,” I interrupt smoothly. “Make the call, Doug. Before I have to remind you that my last name is Rossi.”
Doug gulps, his throat bobbing nervously, as I turn on my heel and walk out. Good. I don’t normally toss my last name around like that, using it as some kind of intimidation tactic, but I want to make sure Holloway chooses Gabriella. Speaking of which…
I pause in the doorway and glance over my shoulder. “Maybe even more so, don’t forget that her last name is Bianche.”
He starts nodding fast. “I’ll call her,” he assures me.
“Very wise,” I say and walk out. It feels good to wash my hands of Holloway Corp. and all the guilt I’d suppressed ever since I went behind Gabriella’s back.
Deciding to check on her, I drive straight over to her apartment. Of course, I also want to be there to congratulate her when Doug calls and offers her the company. When she opens the door, I don’t get the warm welcome I expect. In fact, she looks downright annoyed.
“How’re you feeling?” I ask as she reluctantly steps back, letting me inside.
“Fine. We need to talk.”
Well, that’s not a good sign. “Sure,” I say slowly, turning to face her. She looks great—her color is back in her cheeks and she seems feisty as ever. Maybe a little too wound up about something. I was hoping to celebrate, but she doesn’t appear to be in a very celebratory mood.
“Why did you back out?” she asks, crossing her arms.
Damn. Doug wasn’t messing around and he must’ve called Gabriella before I even made it to the parking garage. As much as I’d like to think it was due to me, I know better. Purposely dropping both of our last names like I shamelessly did was a total knockout punch.
“Several reasons. Why aren’t you happier about my decision? I just made everything pretty damn easy for everybody, don’t you think?”
“Since when does Enzo Rossi make anything easy? What? You think I couldn’t handle it? That I would’ve lost to you if you’d stayed in the running? And then that would put quite the damper on our fucking, wouldn’t it?”
Her words catch me like a sucker punch to the gut. “What the hell are you talking about? I backed out so you could have Holloway. It’s what you wanted.”
“Exactly! You didn’t think I could get it on my own!”
“You couldn’t! Doug came into the office after you left and showed his true colors.”
She frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“He said the moment I entered the game, he never had any intention of choosing you.” Her face falls and I feel like an asshole. I soften my voice and say, “You were right. He played the whole boy’s club card. He even wanted to end things early because he’s going to Greece with some woman.”
Gabriella just blinks and, for the first time since I’ve known her, she’s at a loss for words. “But, Laura,” she finally murmurs. “He told me how much he misses his wife who passed away last year.”
I make a face. “Well, it seems he’s moved on.”
“I don’t understand. Why did he have us working together? Why didn’t he just choose you right away? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I asked him the same thing and he said…” My voice trails off. I don’t want to tell her the truth, but I respect her too much not to.
“What?” she presses.
“He said he wanted you to believe you had a shot. But, the truth is his mind was made up the second I walked through the door.”
“Oh.”
Dammit. She looks absolutely crestfallen and, for a brief moment, I think she’s going to cry. But then she pushes the emotion away and puts her mask back in place.
“I’m sorry, Bri. Holloway turned out to be an asshole, but you won. The company is all yours.”
She studies me closely. “You never said why exactly you backed out.”
