"Good morning everyone" I greet the people in the meeting office and pull out a chair at the head of the table before sitting down. Lucas takes the seat on my right and everybody follows while they greet me back with 'good morning Mr. De Luca'.
"Okay, so" I take some papers out of my file and look at everyone before continuing. "Today we'll discuss our current project, which is the hotel in Hawaii. If anyone here has something to inform me about, please do it before we watch the final hotel presentation".
"I have some good information regarding your last changes for the hotel," one of my employees says as he stands up. I give him a nod, letting him know he can continue.
"Everything you wanted to change from what your father had previously planed is successfully done and the hotel is ready to open whenever you decide," he tells me something I like to hear so I give him another small nod and he sits back down.
This project is what ensured my CEO position but still, my father wanted to have a say in it. Of course, I wouldn't let him especially now that he is not in charge of this company anymore. Once that was settled, we play the whole presentation video of the hotel. The building is all in glass, with indoor and outdoor pools, a spa center, a big restaurant, and a night bar, with suites on the last floor and it's located just by the beach.
I hope my mom is proud and likes it even though she isn't here anymore. This was one of the last projects she planed before everything happened. I didn't want to make a new project before finishing hers, it just didn't feel right.
I dismiss everyone after we are done with the meeting and go to my office to take my stuff before heading home.
"Can I come along?" Lucas walks beside me as we enter the elevator. I shake my head at him and press the button for the parking lot.
"Since when do you ask?" I lean on the elevator wall and look at him. He usually doesn't ask to come over to my place, he doesn't need to. "You always just show up, like it's your own house".
"Is that your way of asking me to move in? Because I'm ready, I just need to pack my suitcase" he chuckles and I shake my head again.
"There's no way I would let you live with me. I love you like a brother but every time you stay the night my house gets ruined like a tornado went through it" I chuckle and we step out of the elevator to get to my car where Bruno is waiting.
"Did the cold Lorenzo just say he loves me?! Awe man I love you too!" he holds his heart and makes a face but I roll my eyes at him.
We both greet Bruno and get in the back seats. I tug on my tie and look over at him. "You are unbelievable".
"You still love me though" he chuckles and then continues. "But I wouldn't move in with you, especially now that you are a married man. I wouldn't want to intrude on the lover's nest" he smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. I only shake my head at him and look out of the window.
At the mention of me being married my mind goes straight to Aria. I don't know why but I feel excited that I'm going home to her.
...
I greet Mari when we arrive home and head to my office to leave some files while Lucas stays in the kitchen with her. I open the door to my office and stop in my track immediately. The little house that my mom made, is back on the little table in one piece.
I walk towards it and examine it. It's like it was never broken. I quickly leave the office and walk back to the kitchen so I can thank Mari for making it and putting it back together. Both Lucas and Mari look at me weirdly, probably wondering why I'm suddenly running and acting like this.
"Thank you" I walk towards Mari and hug her. When I pull away I see her face is covered in confusion, Lucas seems lost too. I chuckle and hold her arms. "Thank you for putting back mom's little house," I say and her eyes widen as she finally figured what I meant.
"Oh my boy, you are thanking the wrong person here," she says and now I'm the one confused.
She chuckles at my expression but soon clarifies things. "Aria is the one who glued it back. Oh, she worked for days on fixing it. She felt so bad about breaking it that she couldn't give up on trying to put it back together. Just this morning she was finally done".
All I can do is stare at her as this information is making its way into my brain. I can't believe she did that. For me. "Where is she?" I ask finally out of my daze.
"She is in her room" Mari smiles at me and I immediately turn around and go to her room.
I knock on her door and a second later a quiet 'come in' is heard from the other side. I twist the door handle and open the door to find her on her bed with a book in her hands. She looks up at me and I see her eyes widen a little.
"Thank you," I say almost in a whisper. I don't know why I'm suddenly out of breath but she just doesn't know how much that little house means to me.
"For what?" she asked confused, her eyebrows furrowed a little.
"For fixing the model house in my office" I explain and realization washes her face. "O-oh, you don't need to thank me for that. I was the one who broke it after all" she says and looks down at her book while playing with her fingers.
"Yeah but you also fixed it and that means something to me, so um..." I stop midsentence, not sure if I should ask her what's on my mind. I want to thank her in some way that is not only with words.
She looks at me again and waits for me to continue. "Would you like to go out for dinner with me tonight?" I ask and scratch my neck. I don't know why am I so nervous but I want to do something for her and maybe I can tell her why that little house is important to me. For some reason I want her to get to know me, the real me, and I want to get to know her.
"Um, sure" she nods but I can see she is unsure of this. She probably wonders what happened to me to act like this. But I want to change that, I want this to be normal for her, and I want for our not-so-good past to be left behind.
"Great. You should get ready then. I'll wait for you downstairs". I tell her before leaving her room so she can get ready.
"Oh, there you are! Come on man, dinner is ready. I'm starving". Lucas exclaims and walks towards the dining room table.
"Aria and I won't be joining you guys. We are going out for dinner". I turn around to tell Mari but I find her smirking. I furrow my eyebrows and watch her carefully. "Oh that's alright. You two just have fun" she smiles and brings the plates to the dining table.
"Well that means more for me" Lucas claps his hands. "And besides, I get to spend some time with this lovely lady" he smiles sweetly at Mari who is now blushing but still hits him with the kitchen towel in her hand.
I laugh at the two but then turn around when I hear Aria approaching. She is wearing a simple black dress that comes a little above her knees with black open heels that are not too tall but just enough.
"Is this okay?" she shows her outfit as if asking if it's a good outfit for where I'm taking her.
"It's perfect" I smile at her and she gives me a small smile in return making warmth spread through my chest. She is so beautiful when she smiles.
"We should go," I say and she nods following me to the door. "Have fun kids!" Mari yells from the kitchen. "And use protection!" I hear Lucas yell right after. I immediately turn around to look at Aria but I see her looking down, now blushing even harder.
Damn you, Lucas.
...
I close the car door and put my hand on the small of her back as we walk towards the entrance of the restaurant.
"Reservation for De Luca," I say to the woman that stands near the entrance.
"Oh right, table for two. Follow me" she smiles at me but I can't help but notice that she gave a look to Aria that doesn't seem so welcoming. I clench my jaw, hoping that Aria didn't notice and it seems like she didn't as she scans the restaurant, which for some reason makes me glad. I don't want her night out to be ruined.
When we arrive at our table I pull out the chair for Aria and she gives me a small smile as she sits down. Warmth spread through me again at the sight. I wish she would smile at me more.
I sit down as well and the woman from before gives us menus before leaving us. I look over at Aria as she flips the pages, her eyes widening as she scans over the menu. "Do you have anything in mind you would like to eat?" I ask her as I flip through the pages as well.
"I don't know but this is all way too expensive," she says while she looks at different dishes.
"Don't worry, it's not a problem, and I'm sure you went to expensive restaurants with your family too, I mean your dad was pretty successful in the past". I tell her but wonder why would money be a problem for her. I mean her dad is not in a good financial state right now but they definitely were before. It's just something I think wouldn't worry her much.
"Well not exactly..." she sighs but continues. "I was never fond of spending too much money even though I could've. I just found it better to cook homemade meals rather than spending so much money on a meal in a restaurant".
I would lie if I said I wasn't surprised by what she just said. She is definitely the first girl I met that doesn't like spending too much money even though she has it. She is the first one that isn't defined by it no matter that she comes from a rich family. I noticed that she isn't even acting like the rich women I met before. She doesn't act all cocky or mighty like she doesn't care about anything because she has money. And I have to admit I like that, I like that she finds importance in small things rather than what she has and what she can do with it.
Now when I think about it, I remember how Lindsey told me she had to practically force Aria to buy the dress for my celebration party because of how expensive it was.
I look at her and can't help but stare at her. She never fails to surprise me and it's always in a positive way. She is definitely different, and I fucking love that.
"Let's make it an exception for today. I want to treat you with this dinner" I say and she looks up at me. "Why?" she asks and I close my menu before answering her. "As I told you before, it really means a lot to me that you fixed that house and I wanted this to be my way of thanking you" I give her a small smile.
"Can I ask why is it so meaningful for you?" she asks quietly and I can tell she is hesitating as if not sure how I would react. I clear my throat and before I start speaking the woman from before comes to our table.
"Can I take your order now Mr. De Luca?" she asks only paying attention to me as if Aria isn't here. I ignore her and keep my eyes on Aria. "I'll have a steak, medium rare," I say and she finally turns to Aria.
"And for you?" she says with an annoyed tone, completely different than she used for me and that pisses me off. "I'll have Caprese chicken," Aria says politely compared to the woman that works here. I wonder if she would be able to keep her job if I tell her boss about how she treats the guests.
"Can I get you something to drink as well?" she asks with a honey-laced voice as she looks at me. " Do you want something to drink honey?" I look at Aria hoping that this will be enough for the woman to understand that I'm not interested and that she can drop the act.
"Lemonade would be nice" Aria looks at me and I smile at her. "And just water for me," I say and finally look at the waitress. Her eyes widened and the fake smile was gone as she takes the menus from us and awkwardly turns around to leave us, finally.
I look at Aria nervously. I still have to answer her question. I mean I don't have to but I want to.
"My mother made that little house" I start and look at Aria to find her looking back at me. She gives me a small nod and waits patiently for me to continue. "She called it 'save house'. She dreamed of building it one day for me and her, but she never got the chance." I gulp and heave a sigh.
"She died when I was 10, in a car accident," I say and see Aria's eyes widen but I look away. "My mom wasn't happy with my dad, he isn't a good man and he never treated her right. She would always tell that only one good thing came out of that marriage, and that was me. She adored me and loved me like anything in this world and I loved her just the same.
She made the model of the 'safe house' when I was 9 and she was already making a project to build it for real so we can leave my father and start anew on our own. But a few months later the accident happened and..." my voice cracks not allowing me to finish my sentence. It was never easy to talk about my mother and even though people find me as a cold distant guy, they don't know I have feelings too. Some may even think I'm a wuss but they just won't ever understand and I don't give a fuck about that.
I take a deep breath, still looking down but then feel something on my hand. I look up and see Aria's hand on top of mine. "It's okay if it's hard for you to talk about it. You don't have too" she gives a little squeeze and I look at our hands.
"I want to tell you" I heave a breath before I continue. "The company I own now was hers. She was an architect and she is the reason why I wanted to be exactly that when I grew up. She would always take me with her to presentations or I would stay up late with her while she was drawing her ideas. She was so passionate about it, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps, to be like her. I can only hope that one day I would be great as she was."
I didn't even notice a smile grew on my face but I see Aria smiling as well. "Believe me, you are," she says quietly and I furrow my eyebrows, confused by her words. "What do you mean?"
"Well um...that day when I broke that little house, I was cleaning and I couldn't help but look at some sketches that were on your table. They looked amazing, I truly mean that" she says and bites her lip while looking down as if she's scared of how I would react to her looking at my stuff.
"You really think so?" I look at her, I don't know why but I love the fact she thinks my work is good. "Yes," she gives me a small smile. "Thank you" I smile back at her before my smile disappears as I see the waitress coming back with our orders.
"Enjoy," she says in a monotone voice before she leaves again.
"Mmm that looks delicious," I say while looking at Aria's plate now regretting my usual order choice. "It really does, but I'm not sharing so you better keep your eyes away" she tries to say with a serious face but makes me laugh.
"Okay, okay" I lift my arms in surrender, making us both laugh as we enjoy our dinner.
I have to admit, even though it was hard talking about my mother, I'm glad I did and I'm glad I've got to share a little piece of me with Aria. I can only hope our relationship grows from here and that we become even closer.