he was going to deliver.
All of the hard work Fabio had done to rebuild some kind of reputation by swallowing his pride and going back to his father’s law firm had come down to this.
His chance to show that his family could depend on him to get the job done.
A chance to demonstrate what he could achieve and put the past behind him once and for all.
Like it or not, his start-up law firm needed the seal of approval that adding major clients like Caruso Foods could bring. This job might open doors that still stayed firmly closed to an ex-gambler with a reputation for being a hothead.
Fabio’s fingers tightened so firmly around the tumbler that for a second he thought the crystal would shatter from the pressure.
His past mistakes had brought him here. There was nothing he could do to change history but he had to look forward. His hard work was going to have to pull his brand-new company back from the edge and give it the professional kudos and future it needed.
The voices from the reception area faded away.
This was it. Rossi and Frobisher were on the case and the sooner he finished this last job for his dad, the sooner he could start work on his own business.
Time to rock and roll.
Fabio finished his drink, slid his designer jeans off the bar stool with a nod to the barman and minutes later strolled down the luxurious carpet outside the second-floor guest bedrooms.
A handsome, slim, fair-haired young man with a dark natural tan was deep in conversation with one of the very pretty uniformed chambermaids, his arm winding its way around her waist as she giggled in reply to a question.
Fabio coughed politely as he came up to the door and signalled to Jerry over the shoulder of the now preoccupied and still-giggling maid.
It only took him a few minutes to open up the wall safe in his bedroom, take out the first padded envelope enclosed in a black cover and slip it into a smart document wallet so he was ready and waiting when Jerry knocked on the door.
‘Right, partner.’ Jerry smiled, casually leaning like a fashion model against the door frame. ‘So tell me again what is so very important that you feel the need to make your way in rush-hour traffic through the centre of London so you can deliver a package? We have an excellent postal system, you know. Perhaps you should try it?’
Fabio took a breath and exhaled very slowly.
Why was he acting as a delivery boy for his father’s law firm? Because he owed his family for giving him a second chance after his life had crashed and burned. Owed them big time.
‘Relax. This is definitely the last assignment for my grandfather’s last private client. This package had to be hand delivered by a Rossi family lawyer between six and eight p.m. today and he knew that I was going to be in London so I agreed to help him out. They needed someone they could trust to put it in the right hands and it saves the family firm the price of the air fare.’
‘Ah. I am beginning to understand. Your father gave you a job when you needed one and now it’s payback time. Am I right?’
Fabio looked at his business partner with pity laced with exasperation. ‘Have you not been paying attention to anything I’ve told you about my family in the last few months? I knew it was dangerous putting you in charge of recruiting office receptionists. Way too many distractions.’
Jerry smiled, displaying a set of stunning even white teeth, which highlighted his tan and pale blue fine cotton shirt. His azure-blue eyes focused on Fabio. ‘Ah. The delights of meeting lovely ladies who are so anxious to demonstrate their database skills. But do try and relax, Fabio, old chap. You’re starting to make me feel quite anxious.’
Fabio had to smile. He had known Jerry three years and in all that time he had never seen his business partner, and one of the smartest men in commercial law, raise a sweat.
‘Well, I would hate for that to happen. Here’s an idea. I have to finish this one last job, but as we have just spent most of the day setting up our new list of prospective clients, I think that might be worth a celebration. Don’t you?’
Jerry raised an eyebrow, then pushed back to full height and tugged down on the cuffs of his made-to-measure shirt. ‘Now you are talking my language. Forget the taxi. The Rossi and Frobisher courier service is on the case. Got the address handy?’
Chapter Two
‘Oh, you should have seen your face,’ Alex managed to get out as she wiped the tears from her eyes. ‘It was priceless.’
‘You,’ Bunty replied, her hand still pressed against her throat as she fought to bring down her heart rate, ‘are a menace. I could have had a heart attack. And think of the bad influence you are having on your baby sister. Shocking example.’
‘Were you really scared?’ Fran asked and flung her arms around Bunty’s neck and shoulders. ‘We thought it would be nice to give you a treat for once seeing as you cook for us nearly every day. I did the balloons and Alex made the hot chocolate just the way you like it.’
Bunty patted Fran’s arm and reassured her. ‘Not scared. Just taken by surprise.’
It was impossible to be annoyed with a girl who thought it was normal to wear a lime-green T-shirt with a scarlet red dragon logo and matching Chinese silk pants while vacuuming up dried pasta shells.
‘My own recipe, of course.’ Alex wafted a steaming beaker of chocolatey loveliness in front of Bunty’s nose and gestured for her to sit at the kitchen table. ‘And before you say it, yes, I know it’s my one and only recipe but not all of us are blessed with your culinary genius.’
‘Then it is a good thing that I adore your hot chocolate.’ Bunty smiled and lifted the beaker with both hands towards her nose. ‘Oh, that cinnamon smells so good.’
‘Don’t forget the vanilla extract and cream! Secret ingredients. Do you like the balloons?’
Bunty grinned up at the bunch of fluorescent-pink gas-filled balloons that Fran had tied to the back of her chair. They bobbed up and down in the air telling the world that she had not turned thirty at all. She was twenty-one with nine years’ added experience.
A feeling of overwhelming emotion bubbled up from the centre of her heart reserved for happy days, which had not seen much use of late.
‘They are the best balloons that I have ever seen in my entire life. Thanks, girls. You are the best. I…I don’t know what I would do without you.’ Suddenly her throat felt quite sore and words were a tad difficult.
‘Oh, Lord, she’s going.’ Alex waved frantically at her sister. ‘Fran. Quick. We need more hazelnut biscotti. Go, go, go.’
The second Fran jogged out into the deli, Alex scooted around the table and leant her head against Bunty’s shoulder.
‘Come on. Tell your aunty Alex. Why are you in the grumps? What’s going on?’
Bunty took a sip of the hot chocolate and waited until the delicious warmth had eased away the tension in her stiff shoulders before replying. ‘Is
