*Sophia's POV*"Don't drink all the coffee, ass. I'm going to need that to get through everything we have to get done this morning," I admonished Luca when I saw him filling his cup for the third time this morning."You can always make another," he teased as he tipped the pot over."WE DON'T HAVE TIME. We have to be over at the villa in ten minutes. Give me that damn cup," I growled as I charged him.Luca laughed and handed me the cup, "Alright, alright, calm down. I'll be ready in two minutes."I took a sip of the hot coffee and sighed in relief. The warmth spread throughout my body, and I surveyed my notes for the millionth time.While Luca went to get changed, I pulled on my work boots and grabbed my coat. We set off, walking swiftly down the long gravel walkway that led to the villa.The morning sun had barely risen above the horizon when we arrived at our destination. The air was still chilly, but I had dressed lightly under my coat. I knew once the sun fully rose, and we s
*Jacopo’s POV*"Where the fuck is she?" I asked Dante, one of the men working under Sophia.He shrugged his shoulders and continued to take measurements for the contractor who was working on the foundation of the house.Everything was changing, and it was starting to piss me off. The house had been emptied and gutted. Every time I walked in and saw the damage, I felt like I was going to throw up. I needed to find Sophia and see what the end game was. She told me she wanted to restore the villa, but it sure as fuck didn't look like that.Luca saw me glowering his way, so he stood up straight and approached me, "Can I help you with something, Jacopo?" I rolled my eyes, "Where is she?" Something mischievous flashed in Luca's eyes, "Who do you mean?"It was obvious that these people had no idea who I was, or for that matter, who the Rossi Family was. Even worse, they seemed entirely too comfortable ignoring my orders and showing a complete lack of respect towards me. "You know e
*Sophie’s POV*Luca and I knelt on the dusty, creaking floorboards of the upper level. We examined the contractors' blueprints as we discussed where to start replacing the worn-through beams with new ones. Our fingers traced along the yellow lines of the plan, lingering over certain areas that seemed too weak to bear any more weight."Luca," I started, "We've got to get the beams replaced. Without the strength from the new wood, we won't be able to bring anything new into the villa."He looked at me pensively, then replied, "I know, I just didn't realize when we started how compromised some of it would be. It's hard to pick a spot when they're all in bad shape." We both jumped whenever someone cleared their throat above us. We looked up to find Jacopo standing in the hallway, the sun spilling in from outside, making him look like an angel. He stepped forward and knelt beside us, his dark eyes studying the blueprints carefully. "What are you two looking at?" he asked.Luca and I
*Jacopo’s POV*The heavy wooden door to the mansion emitted a low hum as I pushed it open. My boots echoed on the floors as I walked toward the sound of heated conversation coming from the dining room. My father's voice was louder than the rest, and I paused when I heard my name."Jacopo is the one. It has to be him, and we need to make him see it," Alessandro Rossi's voice carried over the lull of the others. If there was one thing my father could do better than anyone else, it was command a room. He'd been doing it since he was my age, and when he spoke, people listened.My father's voice rose again as he said, "He's the only one who can make this work. He knows the business and has the connections. We need him."I chose that moment to walk into the dining room and announced, "Father, I've already told you I have no desire to take over. You shouldn't be discussing our private conversations."The room fell silent as all heads turned to me. My father's face remained unreadable,
*Sophie’s POV*“The beams are done,” the foreman told Luca and me, “They’re holding nicely, and we haven’t run into any problems with the replacements. This building is sturdier than it’s been since its construction.”I smiled widely at Luca, "Oh, fantastic. We're making better time than we ever could've anticipated. We can finally go upstairs and begin replacing the broken window frames!""There are quite a few things that need to be done upstairs, Soph," Luca began, "I know we're moving quickly, but we still have a lot to get done.""Quiet down, party pooper. You're always raining on my parade. We're killing it, and Mr. Rossi is going to be so happy when he stops to check our progress today," I teased as I walked toward the staircase.I cautiously climbed the rickety staircase, my feet carefully navigating the gaps between the splintered boards. With each step, a weary groan emanated from the dilapidated structure. I envisioned the finished product—a majestic grand entrance with
*Sophie’s POV*The men were all standing in the yard gossiping and waiting on Luca and me. It always made me laugh when older women were referred to as clucking hens. Men were just as bad, why didn't they catch flack for that?I heard one of them say, "Did anyone call Mr. Rossi? He's gonna be pissed when he finds out his restorer took a free fall down into an unmarked basement.""Nobody will say a word to Mr. Rossi," I loudly spoke. "I'm fine. Everything is fine. We'll continue on as usual, and he'll be none the wiser. No sense getting his blood pressure up."Their heads snapped to attention as they turned toward my voice. "Now, we have a few men who'll be here within the hour to make sure the basement isn't going to hinder the rest of the project. Luca is going to oversee you all here, and I'm going to go work on a few art pieces in our downtime. Please," I pointedly looked at each man, "Don't give Luca a hard time. He is to be respected and his word is to be honored."Everyone l
*Jacopo’s POV*‘What the fuck was that?’ I asked myself as I walked away from the server's building back toward the villa.She was like a witch. I watched, transfixed by Sophia's every move, as our hands had moved in sync. The humid air was heavy with the salty scent of sweat and sanded wood, and it almost felt like foreplay. I knew she felt it too, her eyes begged me to lie her on the floor and feast on her."You okay, Boss?" Luca asked as I approached him. My hair was wild and disheveled, sticking out in different directions as if I'd spent the entire walk there with my hands in it."I'm fine. Sophia and I are going into the basement to retrieve some things she believes are valuable. Then, it'll be sealed. Let the men know."Luca nodded, and I walked past him. I could feel the heat of his gaze on my back as I left, but I didn't turn around to acknowledge it.I stood at the entrance to the dungeon of horrors, waiting for Sophia. The darkness that I knew was down there should h
*Sophie’s POV*‘What do you wear when you're going on a date with the son of your rich boss?’ I thought as I pulled everything I'd packed out of the closet. "Luca!" I yelled, "It's an emergency. I need your help."He opened the door, and his eyes widened as he took in the scene before him: me, dripping wet with my hair plastered to my forehead and a pile of clothes lying haphazardly around me. His lips twitched once, then split into a wide grin as he burst into laughter."You're a mess. All that intelligence and talent in your body, and you can't dress yourself," he joked. "What's the problem?"I rolled my eyes and threw a shoe at him. "Well, I don't know what I'm supposed to wear to dinner with Jacopo. He's intimidating, Luca. Help me.""Fine, fine, just don't assault me anymore. How much time do we have to work with?"I checked the time on my phone. "We have two hours before he'll be here to pick me up."He clapped his hands together and smiled at me with a mischievous look