Page 247 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8
She told herself didn’t matter: it was stillherwork.Herintelligence that was appreciated, regardless of what anyone called her.
Pulling up her email programme, Charlotte got busy moving Enzo’s meeting and dealing with everything she had flagged. She really did enjoy working at De Luca and Co. Here, she was as close to the top as she could ever allow herself to get without attracting attention. And then there was Enzo. Yes, he was arrogant, but she had to admit his integrity was admirable. He used his power to help others, even though he kept his altruism a secret. She only knew because she was his PA. He was good to his employees. She would know: she had seen how a lesser man treated his.
There was no way in hell she would do anything that risked making her face her father again.
The door clicked shut, and Enzo sipped from his cup, savouring the hot coffee while his emails streamed steadily into his inbox. Celeste had outdone herself—though, he probably had that exact thought most mornings. She was by far the most efficient PA he had ever had and so far had lasted longer than any other. She didn’t just rise to meet his standards, she did so with calm professionalism. He was thankful for whatever circumstance brought her to him. He might even consider giving her a substantial performance bonus this year.
He took a deep breath. This was usually his only quiet moment of the day, one in which he took great pleasure. An impeccably made espresso and a gander at his emails, and he’d be ready to take on the hundred different things requiring his attention.
Enzo was proud of his routine, his discipline. As the head of one of the largest and oldest financial companies in the world, discipline was a trait he needed. Not to mention as the head of one of the oldest families in Calabria. He tried not to think of that—of what his family had become—but it was hard. Especially when one email in particular caught his eye.
It had come from the lawyers regarding his mother’s will. Whatever they had to say, it couldn’t be good. Dread settled in Enzo’s belly. Just like that, he was thrown back to the day they buried her, six months ago. To the grief and anger. To her coffin sitting on his shoulders making him want to lash out. To the boulder on his chest whenever he thought about the fact that he hadn’t been home in over two years before that, despite knowing how sick and frail she had become. He couldn’t return. Not when all he could think about there was his fiancée, Gia, who had slept with his brother—a man he should have been able to trust above all others—in his family home. The pain of that betrayal had never dulled. It had broken him. Destroyed his ability to trust anyone again.
Enzo pulled at his tie which had begun to feel as tight as a noose around his neck. But as always, he had to hide his feelings. An issue had obviously come up, and feelings would help nothing. They would only cloud his judgement and make him react recklessly. But it wasn’t easy to push them aside. Not when he was so angry. Angry at the world for his mother’s death. Angry at himself for not being there. Angry at Emilio—with whom he had always had a fractious relationship—for tainting his home.
He swallowed what little was left in his cup and forced himself to calm down.
His mother’s estate had been relatively easy to settle, especially when everything she had—save the vineyards—had been left to his brother. Valentina De Luca had come from a vastly wealthy family herself. Her fortune and properties, not to mention the charity she’d founded, had all become Emilio’s for the simple reason that Enzo was the Conte del Perlano, a title he’d inherited from his father along with the vast De Luca estate. Everything that had been amassed over centuries belonged to Enzo, including the centuries-old financial and banking company, and the winery. So when he had found out that there was very little in Valentina’s will that concerned him, he didn’t much care. The vineyards were all he’d expected, and he already had enough on his plate. It all made little difference to the bond they’d shared. So to hear from the family lawyer now unsettled him.
Gritting his teeth, Enzo opened the email. His hands curled into fists as he read. Whatever grief he had momentarily felt was burned away by the anger that had fully taken hold of him. Cursing his brother’s name, Enzo’s shoulders tensed with every word.
...is in possession of a second will that bequeaths the De Luca vineyards to Emilio De Luca...
Enzo trembled with the force of his rage. No longer able to contain his ire, he threw back his chair and, grabbing fistfuls of his hair, marched to the window. He tried to take a breath, but it was no help. If anything, like a bellows, it fanned the flames of his fury.
Emilio wanted to take his vineyards. It shouldn’t have surprised him. He often wanted what was Enzo’s—and their mother had always swooped in and placated Emilio. Convinced Enzo with love and hugs to share what he had or give it up entirely to his little brother. And Enzo would, because he was the oldest, the firstborn. It was his job to look out for everyone.
But not any more. Not since Gia.
‘A second will!’ Enzo spat at no one. They all knew that his father had gifted the vineyards to his mother because she had loved them so much, but the condition had always been explicit. She had to leave them to Enzo, the next Conte del Perlano. That was exactly what the lawyers initially said shehaddone. So why would she make a second will leaving them to Emilio?
Those vineyards were Enzo’s. He alone was the conte. He alone was responsible for hundreds of years of history. Legacy. And now he was responsible for every single person those vineyards provided with a livelihood.
‘Why, Gia?’
‘I wanted your brother. I’ve always wanted him. The only reason anyone would choose you over him is for what you have, Enzo. No one wants to come second or third or fourth to your duty.’
Gia’s hurtful words came back to haunt him. As head of the De Luca family, it was his duty to take care of not just the vineyards but the entire estate. The family name and fortune. Just as his father had. Just as his father had taught him to do.
Enzo’s heart constricted painfully as he thought of the memories he treasured. All the years he spent at his father’s side. From an early age, he had been taken on business trips and sat in on meetings, learning about everything his father did. Everything Enzo would one day have to do.
Well,one dayhad come, and Hell would freeze over before he gave up that responsibility. He didn’t want to, but he would go back to Perlano, do whatever it took to prove once and for all that it was all his. That the second will was some sort of lie.
His presence was a necessity because he trusted only himself to handle this situation correctly and permanently.
With far more irritation in his voice than he would have liked to show, he marched over to his desk and called his PA.
‘Celeste, in here. Now.’ He didn’t sit. He was far too agitated. What he wanted to do was punch something. The very muscle in his arms vibrated with the need to act.
Within seconds Celeste was walking into his office with her trusty tablet in hand.
‘What can I do for you, Mr De Luca?’
‘We will be leaving for Italy.’ His voice was barely more than a growl. ‘Something has come up at the vineyards that I need to deal with urgently. We’ll be taking the jet. Make the arrangements. Clear my calendar for the next week.’
‘Will do. Shall I arrange for the usual accommodation?’
‘No, just make sure that my car is waiting for me at Lamezia. I will deal with the accommodation.’