Chapter Four
Isla thought about it. She spent all night thinking about it with Jane. They had to go out and buy more ice cream, and because the situation called for it, pizza.
There was no time to cook when both were so busy contemplating what it would mean for Isla to come out and allow herself to be Arturo Calendri's mistress for a month.
She probably gained ten pounds that night.
Would she even really be his mistress? He wasn't married. Mistress seemed the wrong word.
Either way, she'd definitely be some arm candy, and everyone who saw her with him, including her own family, would know what was up. If they didn't know what she was doing, then at the bare minimum, they would know what Arturo was using her for.
Neither option was pleasant, or would endear her to the family.
"If they would be so pissed off at you, is it worth doing?" Jane asked.
That was a good thing to think about. "Good point," Isla said. She spent the next ten minutes seriously thinking about how her family would react.
"They won't disown me, but they'll be disappointed," she said.
Jane pulled another hot slice from the box. She had insane metabolism that Isla was jealous of.
This was one of those few times where her jealousy didn't rear its ugly head. Probably because she was too damned busy thinking about the consequences of her actions.
"Are you prepared to live with their disappointment?" Jane asked, taking a bite.
Another good question. "I'm their daughter. My parents love me, and I think my brother would be pissed, but not so much disappointed. I think it would just be embarrassing more than anything for them."
"Okay," Jane said, and she seemed to be waiting for Isla to continue.
Another one of Jane's ways to keep Isla talking when she wasn't sure she wanted to do much of anything.
"My grandfather will be sad and disappointed, but then he'll have his business back. My aunts always said he saw it as much of a baby to him as his daughters were."
"Okay, but you have to think about this a little more clearly. Would he want you to do this?"
Isla shook her head. She didn't even need to think about that one. "No, he wouldn't."
"I'm sensing a but, in there."
Isla sucked in a deep breath, held it for four seconds, and then blew it out. She couldn't even tell if that helped or not. It felt a lot like it hadn't. "But then he would be happy, and the family would have the business back, and no one would have to worry about debt collectors, or selling their family homes."
Isla had lived in the same house her entire life. There had been times when she'd gone to the summer cottage on the lake, for sure, but the thought of her mother and father having to sell that property, and arguing while they did it, broke her heart.
It not only broke her heart, it shattered it like glass when she had to think about her parents selling the house they'd raised their family in.
There was a lot more arguing now about money. Isla's mother wanted to save more, but her father was spending as though he was still well off.
He was, but only because his own parents were supplementing the bills, which put Isla's mother in debt with her in laws.
Isla's mother couldn't take that. It grated on her, irritated her, and made her antsy.
Isla was terrified that her parents were going to get a divorce if Isla couldn't get the business back, and get her mother back working in it so make some money.
"What are you thinking about? Come on, Sweetie, talk to me. Tell me what's going on?"
"My parents will have to sell the house the cottage. They might get a divorce because my mom is getting fed up with my dad."
She couldn't even say those words without nearly bursting into tears. It was too much, too hard for her to accept. She couldn't allow that to happen.
Jane cocked her head again. Her expression was sympathetic, but what came out of her mouth was not exactly what Isla wanted to hear. "You're a grown woman now, and so is your brother. It won't be the end of the world if they divorce and have to sell the house."
"But they can't do that!" Isla said, she tensed in her seat, nearly knocking over her empty plate with the pizza crusts on it.
Jane didn't mention a word about a possible mess on her rug. She just waited for Isla to continue.
"We all grew up in that house, we were happy in that house, and we were happy spending our summers at the cottage."
Jane took in another deep breath, and Isla knew that, once again, the woman was going to have to be the voice of reason, and Isla wasn't going to hear the thing she wanted most.
"Look, I get that those things have sentimental value to you, but your life isn't going to stop if things change. Does it matter if your parents get a divorce? They're both grown adults who can choose to do whatever they want. And lets say they don't divorce—"
"They will if they sell the house. Daddy doesn't want to sell it and mom is fighting him on it."
Isla just knew that her daddy wouldn't forgive her mother if the house needed to be sold. Regardless of whose fault it was, the house needed to stay.
"We live in a nice apartment in the city. They could easily live in a place like this and still get by just fine. This place we're in isn't exactly cheap, and your parents would still be able to afford this much.
That was true, they could, but the point still remained. "It'll end for them if the house or the cottage has to go."
"Even though your grandfather has cottages your and your family could use? You can't tell me that you can't make new memories in another cottage at a different lake."
"He would let us use it for family time, but that's it. I do get your point though," Isla said. It would still wound her father's pride to have to get rid of one of his properties, but maybe their marriage could survive it.
"Great, and couldn't your grandfather give your mother a loan to keep the house for now?"
Isla shook her head before Jane was finished speaking. "I already asked him. Daddy didn't know that I went to see him, but his answer was no. I can't even be mad at him for it. I mean, I was mad in the beginning, but just told me that he couldn't do it, and that it was just a house, and that a pile of bricks shouldn't matter, and so on."
"He says that to you, and you're so desperate to save Baciami Boutiques?"
Isla's face heated. She turned away from Jane, but it was probably already too late to keep her friend from seeing it. "That's different. He's lost property plenty of times, he knows how it feels, but this is his whole business. I know he's trying to teach me a lesson about moving on, and not holding onto to a house, but I don't think he knows how much trouble mom's marriage is in."
"Would your mother accept a loan from him, even if he were to offer one?"
Isla opened her mouth to respond, and then had to immediately shut it again. No, her mother wouldn't accept the help. She'd been brought up to want to do things on her own, to not rely on her father's wealth.
Now that Isla thought about it, she hadn't heard of any of her aunts asking for money either. Either they weren't in the same financial trouble that Isla's parents were in, or they had already decided to suck it up.
"I take it that means no?"
Isla shock her head. "I don't...I guess so."
"And what about your brother?" Jane asked. He's saved for University, right? So he shouldn't be in any trouble over this."
"Matt's costs are forty thousand per year," Isla said. "He only managed to save up ten thousand of it instead of twenty for his first year. Daddy's been paying the full difference instead of just half like he was supposed to. If I don't get the business back and running, he won't get a second year."
Jane was still giving her that hard truths look, the one that said she still wasn't on the same page. "And don't you think that's a consequence he'll need to face for a set of actions he made?"
Normally, Isla would agree, but this was different. Her brother was still young, and even if he had saved half his year's tuition like their mom wanted him to, that wouldn't save him from what was coming. His schooling, his future, would still be in danger.
"We might have to order another pizza," Jane said. "And some beer."
*****
They got their beer, and boy did Isla ever need it.
She knew what Janey was trying to do. Her best friend was trying to make Isla see that the world wouldn't come to an end if she couldn't get the business back for her grandfather and her family. Her mother would find another job, probably one that didn't pay as well, but she would still be all right.
Maybe her parents wouldn't get a divorce. Maybe they would stay together.
But then her grandaddy, who was sick with grief, could possibly get worse. If he didn't get over the takeover, then he could die. He wasn't even remotely a young man anymore.
Also, the more Isla thought about this, the more her mind wandered over to sexuality and morality. She wasn't a virgin, she knew how to have and enjoy sex. There was certainly nothing immoral about wanting sex with a handsome man she didn't love, or didn't like.
Anyone who did think there was something wrong with a woman wanting sex could fuck off. Isla always hated people who thought to tell other people how to behave, and yet here she was telling herself how to behave.
Isla was also fairly sure that Arturo had no plans to abuse her or anything. He just wanted to humble her, get back at her a little, and then she could go on her way. She was a grown woman and this wouldn't be much different from any other barely there relationship she'd tolerated just because she'd wanted the sex, or to go out on a date and not stay in on a friday night.
There was nothing wrong with sex, it wasn't a dirty and disgusting act, and Arturo hadn't mentioned what sort of sex he intended to have with her, so that left something to think about on top of everything else.
Arturo was a business man. Despite also being a playboy and having sex in what was supposed to be his office, he'd still kept his company afloat even after his father was put away, that meant there would likely be a contract in there somewhere. Isla could negotiate. If he wanted sex from her, then he had to get her off while he was at it. No sharing her with anyone else, no pictures taken, and no audio recordings.
Isla thought sex was natural and hated people who tried to put shame to it with a hardcore passion, but she definitely drew the line and putting sex tapes of herself on the Internet. It was one of the few things her boyfriends had been disappointed in. She refused to take pictures of herself or make tapes. F that shit.
Jane had fallen asleep on the couch trying to get Isla to see things a little more clearly than what she was right now, but all Isla was doing now was talking herself into it.
This actually might be a little fun, and her family didn't have to know about any deal she'd made. At worst, this would just look like she'd decided to date a good looking super billionaire, and by the end of it, he would give her family back their business because he simply wanted to be nice.
That didn't sound so bad. Matt wouldn't have to worry about coming up with the extra funds for school or switch universities, her parents could work out their problems, and her grandfather would get better. Why the hell had she even let herself worry about it?
Yeah, she was totally making her decision, and by the end, she was going to make sure Arturo was wrapped around her little finger. He might be taking her on this ride, but she was going to see to it that he got on this ride with her.
******************************
End Chapter Four! Thank you for reading! If you're liking the story so far, please leave a vote (the little star button) or a comment on the story. Suggestions are always welcome! Next chapter upload will be tomorrow night :)
Cheers!