Luca felt that this month could easily be considered the worst of his adult life. Everything he had been struggling to balance, was now a mess.
It all began with her…
It was easy for him to identify the scapegoat. She was the one to disrupt his equilibrium.
And now she has been directly exposed to one of his major secrets.
Torres had an eye on her.
He admitted to himself that he came down too hard on her. Well, that was the only way he knew. But now it was time to change roles.
He would now play the reasonable businessman, ready to negotiate. She was studying business; she would certainly understand. No more attacks. That girl was immune to fear.
"Thank you all for your hard work and dedication! I'm confident Season Two will outshine the first, and we will definitely reunite to continue Rohart's saga!" Edward York announced as the final statement for the behind-the-scenes videos they were shooting that day.
It was finally over. No more Camilla, no more wigs, no more early shootings.
Let's finish the deal with that girl now!
She was avoiding him all day, as she did recently. He knew she hated him. But she was reasonable. He would lay his cards on the table with honesty. She would listen, wouldn't she?
The weather was getting worse. Instead of the lovely, cool summer breeze that they enjoyed earlier that day, the sky was heavily clouded now. It was supposed to rain later in the afternoon. What an unusual chilly day for late July.
Luca put on a zip hoodie and went to look for her.
She was supposed to be with Lexi and working on the material she captured earlier, for the promotion of the show. When he went to the tables where they were working, he didn't find either of them.
"Have you seen Lexi?" he asked a production assistant.
"She left with the French girl ten minutes ago."
Luca thanked him and looked around. It was a large park. He called Lexi.
"Hey Luca! What's up?" she asked.
"Where are you?"
"I went to get some tea. Want some?"
"No, thanks. Aren't we filming anything else? I want to leave soon," Luca told her. He was trying to pump her for information, hoping to find out if Christmas was with her.
"I'm good! We took a look with Noelle; we don't need anything else."
"Don't you need an end of the day statement?" he tried to keep the discussion going.
"Not necessarily, but if you insist. I'll be back in ten minutes."
"I want to leave, can't Christmas do it? Is she still around?" he said. Finally, he would learn her whereabouts.
"She has gone for a walk to the pond you were filming in the morning. Wait for me," she said in a rather commanding way.
"Ok!" he said smiling.
That was the opportunity he was waiting for. Christmas was alone. He knew the way to the pond and at a fast pace he began moving in that direction.
Soon he was there. Christmas was standing by the small pond, taking some pictures and enjoying the view. She seemed lost in thoughts and she looked very calm and relaxed. The scenery was so calming, and it would be better if someone could see the sunset that the clouds were hiding. No one else was around and everything was so quiet.
Just perfect!
He was going to ruin everything.
She must have heard his footsteps and turned around. The moment she realized who it was, all serenity disappeared from her face, and her annoyance was more than evident.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Did I disturb you, your Highness? Were you in the middle of an important task?"
"Can you please leave me alone? I'm off duty," Christmas stated.
"Be a good girl and listen to your boss."
Why did I say that?
His words had an immediate effect. Her expression shifted to something cold and feral. Her jaw clenched with such force that he could hear her teeth grinding.
"You are not my boss. And I am not a good girl!"
No, that is not what I came here for.
He reminded himself that he should be polite.
"You're right! I'm not your boss. So, please, film a statement."
"My phone's camera is not good enough. You should wait for Lexi," she said blankly.
"Ok. By the way..." Luca began saying. He had mentally prepared himself for that, but for some reason, he sounded so ridiculous in his head that he hesitated.
Christmas turned around. "I'm going back."
No, no, no! It's now or never.
He hastily grabbed her arm. She turned her head with a fierce look in her eyes.
"Let go of me!"
"I will, just listen!" Luca said and let go of her arm, raising his hands.
She didn't move, but she was furious. "It's almost two months that you are working here. Isn't it enough for you? Haven't you learned enough? Isn't your thesis completed by now?" he managed to say.
Yes, I sounded so stupid.
Christmas was now looking at him puzzled. "Are you asking now? Not commanding? Wow! No, I signed for three months. I want a good reference letter."
"I will arrange for that! Chloe will give it to you!" Luca offered. That was so easy!
She looked at him so disapprovingly once more. It seemed what he suggested was the most insulting idea ever.
What is going on inside her head?
Before getting the chance to say anything, something unexpected happened. She took a deep breath, her gaze softened and turned to look at the pond. "You don't have to be anxious any longer. I probably shouldn't be telling you this. But I need to get it out of my system. I know everything and I'm not going to tell."
Luca froze. A cold sensation spread to his whole body, and that cold was coming from the deepest corners of his heart, where he had hidden the things he wanted to forget, to ignore. He avoided any eye contact and asked calmly and politely: "Please, explain."
"I know about your deals… like the one with Isabella."
What does she mean?
"What deal?" he asked.
"I know about the contracts. Isabella's included. And all the past relationships. I will keep your secret."
She was looking straight at him, her eyes firm and confident.
His heart stopped beating. His worst fears became reality. Someone knew.
How did she find out?
He was certain that nobody in the office would ever tell her. Only a handful of people knew the truth, and he trusted them all.
"Who told you?"
"Nobody. I just followed the money."
"What money?" he asked, more alarmed now.
"I had access to the unit's finances. And I noticed a pattern in the payments from the agencies that represented your... girlfriends," she informed him.
"Why did you search for something like that?"
"I wasn't looking for something! I just noticed!"
A heavy silence spread among them. He couldn't think.
"Chloe knows. She explained that it was a stream of revenue and asked me to sign a batch of contracts that seemed like a death sentence if I ever told a soul. That's why I'm telling you. No need to worry," Christmas continued.
No, there are many things to worry about.
If she could find that, she could find out more. He was right - she was smart and capable - totally a threat.
"Good, now, please. You'll understand my request; go," he told her, and gazed over the pond. She should never see the fear that was drawn in his eyes.
"Didn't you hear? I know what you're hiding and why you don't want new people on the team," Noelle explained. "I will not say anything, why should I anyway?"
"To get revenge on me."
"I am not that pitiful! And something like that would hurt everyone, too. I'm not stupid you know."
"You're many things but stupid. So, let's make a deal. What do you want from me to go away?"
It was a last, desperate attempt. It was time for business. He was now looking straight at her. He would do anything.
Although, there was no response. She was just looking back, with a puzzled expression.
"Come on... I'll give you anything. Is it money? Tell me how much. I have money," he suggested.
Money. Everybody wants money. She just needs to name her price.
"Mon Dieu... You are nuts!"
"No, I'm negotiating. If you don't want money, I can buy you things... If not things, I can arrange a trip for you. Anywhere! Tell me what you want!" Luca kept talking, without thinking too much.
He was so panicked that he was struggling to find a way to convince her. Christmas was just staring speechless at a mad man.
"Don't you want any of this? What else does a girl want? Sex? I can give you that..."
The words came out wrong. He had gone too far..
The only thing he saw was a flash in her eyes.
The next moment, he never understood how, he found himself falling into the water.
He was standing too close to the edge of the pond. When Christmas heard him saying those last words, she clenched her teeth and pushed him. Taken by surprise, he lost his balance.
When meeting the cold water, he swore. The next second, he felt his left hip hitting the hard bottom of the pond, given that the waters were rather shallow.
He submerged from head to toe.
Very swiftly he stood up. His left lower back was hurting from the impact. The water was reaching to his knees and he stepped a little closer to the edge where that mad Christmas was standing, looking at him with no regrets.
He was boiling mad!
"You... pushed me in?!"
She, of course, hadn't anything to say, but she was within his reach. That meant only one thing.
An eye for an eye...
He grabbed both her hands and pulled her into the pond.
While she was falling, he spun her around and kept holding her hands. His intention was to dunk her, not to hurt her in the process. He made sure that she was also totally submerged, but prevented her from hitting the bottom.
When he saw that she was under water, he released her hands.
He was satisfied. He got his payback.
Luca saw Christmas sitting up, soaked and dripping. Her face flushed with rage, breathing heavily, her teeth were bared, ready to bite.
He was looking back at her with a sense of triumph.
He was also starting to feel cold. The wind was blowing, and the storm was not far away.
As they silently exchanged long furious looks, he extended his hand to help her up. Christmas looked even more outraged and stood up by herself, denying any assistance.
Then he realized that something was off.
Christmas was wearing a very thin white blouse.
It now clung to her skin like a second layer, leaving nothing to the imagination. The fabric had turned translucent, exposing the lace beneath.
And that the white pants she had on were not that opaque any longer.
Hell, she is hot...