Chapter Thirty-One
Something was definitely wrong here. It wasn't so much the fact that Arturo was acting different, it was...
Well, never mind. Yeah, that was it. He was acting different, and it was severely throwing her off.
Isla thought about it, about his behaviour as she stood in her room, going over her clothes that she could wear to dinner tonight with her parents.
It wasn't that he was being a cocky asshole who wanted to put her in her place. No, that stoic, strange behaviour he'd pulled off when she'd first walked into his office to beg. This was almost...defensive.
What did he have to defend himself from when it came to her? She'd already signed a contract, it wasn't like she could sue him for any of this even if she wanted to.
But then again, maybe he still thought she'd go to the press or something. Just because there was nothing she could do to legally get back at him didn't mean there weren't options open for her to turn the public against him. There was more than one way to destroy a man's reputation and his company.
But, like she'd said, that wasn't the angle she wanted to go with. She wasn't so mean that she'd accuse Arturo of doing something he didn't do, like abuse her, when he hadn't.
What could she have done to give him the impression that she would do something like that?
Isla looked over the shoes and the dress that she'd worn to the hockey game. There was no way she could bring those to a dinner with her family. Not after they'd seen her and Arturo necking in that dress.
She set the clothes aside and looked through the rest of her luggage. She'd purchased some pretty sundresses when she'd gone out with Jane. She wasn't wearing the dress she had on right now either. Meeting up with her parents in the dress that she'd had amazing sex in didn't exactly seem right either.
Okay, so the white one with the red and black flowers on it. That was pretty and casual enough, but still looked good enough to be worn in a fancy place.
She hoped. She had no idea what Arturo had in mind, or where he was going to take them all for their dinner.
Where could he take her parents that they hadn't already dinned at? Isla was more worried about people looking at her parents, eating with Arturo Calendri, and knowing what was up.
The average person wouldn't know Isla's family, or Arturo, but all the fanciest, most expensive restaurants fed the richest people in the city. Business people, the sort of people who knew who the Calendris and the Kings were. Well, mostly the Calendris. That murder trial had put the family on the map for a long time.
It was their opinions that Isla was worried about. Would they think her parents were meeting up with Arturo to beg for the company back? Isla didn't mind doing a little begging in private, but she really didn't want anyone to see her doing it in public, or to assume that's what her parents were doing, which they definitely were not.
Or just as bad, would they think Isla was doing, well, exactly what she was doing? Selling herself to get the company? She liked to think she was strong enough to handle the words of strangers, and she could to a certain extent, but if the entire city thought she was whoring herself out, that was different. That wasn't one or two, or a dozen people...that was an entire city.
Isla sighed, looked herself over in the mirror with the dress on, even though she'd tried it on several times in the store already, and decided that after she did her hair and found a respectable pair of heels, this would definitely be the dress she wore to dinner with her parents.
She just had to call them now.
She called her mom first. Her dad had been the most disappointed and angry after her grandfather, and though he'd calmed down since then, she wanted to talk to her mom.
Thankfully, her mother picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Mom, hey, it's me."
"Isla? Oh, baby, it's good to finally hear from you."
Her mother didn't sound angry or disappointed, just relieved to hear from her, and that took a load of pressure off of Isla. She'd already spoken to her parents a couple of times, but that was mostly in text. Every time she heard her mother's voice, things got a little easier for her to handle. Her mother wasn't disowning her, that was for sure.
"I know, sorry, things have just been busy around here with Arturo," She said.
His name had come easily from her lips. It probably shouldn't have, but it did. It wasn't a lie either. It didn't even occur to her to make something up.
Which was about when her mother did start to sound a little uncomfortable. "Oh, I see. How is...everything?"
"Great!" Isla said, going for making everything seem over the top amazing. Here was where she did lie because she didn't think Arturo wanted Isla telling her mother about all the terrible things his father had been doing to get out of prison.
Which reminded her. She was going to have to ask Arturo how things had gone when his father had seen the hockey game and watched his son kissing the granddaughter of the man he hated.
"Isla?"
"Yeah, um, anyway, I was calling to let you know that Arturo is finished with work, and he wants to take you and dad out somewhere nice. A date, I guess. You both with him and me."
"A date?"
"Yeah, something fun, I think. I know he wants to impress Dad at least."
That much was only slightly true. Arturo just wanted to give off the impression that he wanted to impress her father. Only so Isla's parents wouldn't be too worried about what Arturo Calendri was doing with their little girl.
"Well, that certainly sounds nice," said her mother. "When is it?"
"Tonight at seven. I know it's short notice, but he really wants to take you out. Do you think you can do it?"
"I suppose so. I'll speak to your father. Where does Arturo want to go?"
Shit. "I'm not too sure, but it might be somewhere fancy. I'm picking out a dress right now."
And getting the one she'd just had sex in washed. She didn't want it to smell like musk in the remote vicinity as her mother. Her mother who was still a virgin and never had sex, of course, because that was too horrifying to even contemplate.
"Well, all right. I'll speak to your father, but I think we're free."
"Great," Isla was stunned at her own relief. "I'll see you tonight then."
Her mother sounded like she was smiling. Probably because of how happy Isla sounded about this whole thing. "I'll see you tonight."
"I love you, talk to you later."
"I love you, too," Isla replied, and then hung up.
She stared at her phone, smiling wide and not even really knowing why. She was happy about this. She shouldn't be so happy about getting her mother to believe that she and Arturo were doing more than just fucking each other for a company.
It felt almost like she was actually getting ready to introduce a real boyfriend. That wasn't right either. Couldn't be right. So what was she so damned happy about?
She shook her head. She'd been in this room for too long, she needed to get out of here, maybe grab some lunch.
Isla sent off a quick text to Jane, letting her know about her date. There wasn't a reply back, which made sense. Jane would be working this time of day, whether it was her writing, or her full time job, she'd still have her phone off.
Either way, Isla wanted to send her an update. She checked herself over in the mirror, making sure her dress looked good, and then went to grab some lunch.
She was hoping to run into Arturo, maybe find out what his problem was, and what had him changing his moods so suddenly.
She didn't expect to overhear Orlando and Sebastian arguing with each other.
"They're our brothers. They didn't have anything to do with—"
"You're not exactly innocent when it comes to what he did, so don't pretend that you had nothing to do with it."
Isla stopped and stayed in the hallway, she didn't enter the kitchen, couldn't even see who was in the kitchen from where she stood. Orlando and Sebastian might be the only two people in there for all she knew.
"I had nothing to do with it," Orlando said. "Neither did Arturo and Silvio. That was all our...Vincenzio."
"You were about to say our father, weren't you?"
Orlando said nothing to that, and Sebastian let out a disbelieving snort. "Unbelievable."
"It was a habit. I don't actually think of him like that. Not anymore."
Isla should probably go. This wasn't any of her business, and it wasn't even remotely right that she could hear any of this.
But she couldn't help herself. She stayed. The curiosity inside of her was almost like driving need. She already knew so much about the Calendri family, and still not enough.
Sebastian was blaming Orlando for missing his parents' funeral? Martina had mentioned this, but now that Isla was hearing about it.
"Yeah right. You're the weakest, most pathetic of them all, you know that?"
"Shut up," Orlando snapped.
"They shit on you for your entire childhood, and don't think I don't know that Vincenzio's wife didn't make you wish for a nice foster home. You should be glad that bitch is dead."
"Well I'm not glad and I am not weak!" Orlando snapped.
Isla really froze then. She'd never heard him sound so...enraged. He was always so calm and collected.
Martina's voice picked up. "Both of you stop it! You're brothers!"
"I'm not his brother and he's not mine. None of you are."
"Then why do you keep coming back here, huh?" Orlando snapped.
A couple of staff members hurried out of the kitchen, glancing back behind them like they were scared mice or something. They noticed Isla, but barely.
"Oh, and me coming here has nothing to do with you constantly inviting me?" Sebastian demanded. "Like you think we can all be some great big, happy family or something. There's something wrong with you."
"I never actually put a gun to your head. If you don't want to be here then don't come here, invite or no."
"Maybe I just want to make sure you're still nice and happy with your half brothers, still kissing up to them for a job. You have as much right to be pissed off as I do, but you still hang around here like a leech instead of making something for yourself."
Orlando said nothing to that, and Isla actually started to shake a little. The anger and tension in the kitchen was so thick and heavy she could feel it from all the way over here. She didn't want to feel this anymore. She didn't want them to have to feel this either. It was all so horrible.
But then Orlando was storming out of the kitchen, fists clenched, and his normally kind and handsome face in a perpetual scowl.
And then, of course, he immediately noticed her standing there.
The accusation in his voice was cutting. "Where you listening this whole time?"
"I...no, I...I mean I heard, but I came to get something to eat, and you were both yelling."
"So you were listening?" Orlando said, not about to let her off the hook.
Sebastian came out next, his arms crossed, and at the sight of Isla, a smile formed on his mouth. "Well, this is just great. Arturo's play thing sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong. Why am I not shocked?"
Martina stood behind Sebastian. She covered her hands with her mouth when she saw who they were talking to.
"I..." Isla looked to Orlando, feeling like he was the one she owed the most apology to. "I did hear. I'm sorry. I should've left."
"You should have," Orlando said, and then he glared at Sebastian. "I won't invite you over anymore, so don't worry about being bothered."
Sebastian shook his head. "You keep thinking you're doing me a favour, but I'm trying to save you here. You're the one who lets them walk all over you. You're just too cowed to see it."
Orlando honest to God looked like he wanted to punch his brother. He really did.
"Sebastian," Martina put her hands on Sebastian's shoulders, but he yanked himself out of them.
"Don't fucking touch me. You're worse than they are!"
Martina flinched, and the silence was thicker than their yelling had been. Sebastian shook his head, glaring at all of them, especially Isla.
"I did you a huge favour and told you exactly what Arturo brought you to that game for, and you're still here. It's insane how women will whore themselves out and forget about their dignity for a little money."
That stung. A lot. Isla said nothing to it, though. It wasn't like she had a string of comebacks for something like that.
Sebastian shook his head, not bothering to hide how disgusted with the lot of them he was as he walked away from them.
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End Chapter Thirty-One!
This was supposed to be out yesterday, sorry! I finally put up a youtube unboxing video and then wrote up some interviews and, yeah, time got sucked out of me. Anyway, I finished this one off real quick and needed to post it before I went nuts. Next chapter will be the double date with Isla's parents, and maybe finding out a little more about Orlando. His is another character I really like. I don't have Silvio too fleshed out yet, other than he's kind of an Arturo Clone, but more playful :)
Thanks for reading! Please leave a vote with the little star at the bottom if you liked this chapter, thank you if you already did :D
Cheers!
~Mandy