Hired: The Italian's Bride Read Free Page B

this?”
    Before he could answer she scuttled back inside, removed the blanket from her shoulders and kept her hands busy by folding it. Having it around her shoulders had felt too much like an embrace and that didn’t sit well. It was becoming increasingly clear that she and Luca were two very different people. She was firmly grounded in reality. Full stop.
    He followed her, watching her from the glass door until she put the blanket down and then he stepped forward, giving her back the wine.
    “I’m just working on impressions, for now.”
    “I prefer to work with facts, and so far all I’ve heard from you are nebulous statements of…of grandeur,” she finished, faltering a little. Her heart pounded in her ears as she fought back the feeling that she was crossing an invisible line.
    It was beginning to feel like an argument and she forced herself to relax, taking slow breaths and picturing the stress leaving through the soles of her feet. She hated conflict. With a passion. She’d learned to stick up for herself over the lastfew years but it didn’t mean it came easily to her. If it weren’t for the rest of the employees looking to her for leadership, she’d be tempted to back away and let him have a go at it rather than argue.
    But she was the manager and if she wanted to keep that job, she needed to fight the battles that needed to be fought. People were depending on her. People who had been there for her since she’d made this her home, whether they knew it or not. She steeled her spine and made herself look up again.
    “That’s the problem with the Cascade,” Luca explained. He poured a little more wine in his glass, took a sip and smiled a little. “Everything’s been compartmentalized. One room says cool elegance and another is modern and another is rustic comfort…all admirable designs and styles, but without unity.”
    Unity?
    His hand spread wide. “We need to decide what the Cascade is. What it means…what we want to achieve…and then work around that. If we work on one area at a time, it means less disturbance to everyone. The goal is to make everything exemplify Fiori Cascade.”
    Mari’s eyes widened. “That will cost a fortune.”
    “Fiori has deep pockets.”
    “Of course…I’m just…weighing the cost versus the benefit. The Bow Val…I mean the Cascade is already doing well. Look at the numbers—we have excellent capacity even for this time of year.”
    “That’s not remotely the point.”
    And there was where they differed. She realized that they did not see anything the same way. Maybe it was having money and security that made the difference. Luca didn’t have to worry where his next meal was coming from, or where he’d sleep, or what the future held because his was there waiting for him. It always had been. But her life wasn’t that way. It was planning and dollars and cents and making themost out of less, rocking the boat as little as possible. It was staying in the background, out of notice, causing little trouble. And there was nothing wrong with that. It had gotten her where she was. She worked quietly but effectively and she’d been rewarded for it through steady promotion.
    “If you implement all these great ideas, when can we expect the memo from head office telling us to downsize our staff?”
    “That won’t happen.”
    “Will you guarantee that in writing? Because I’ve seen it happen, the expenditures are too great to sustain staffing and layoffs occur. Are you planning on closing us down during renovations? What are these people to do then? They count on their pay to put food on the table. Have you considered that?”
    A smile flickered on Luca’s face and Mari steeled herself against the onslaught of charm she knew was coming. This was important. As much as she wanted to back away and say, “Yes sir, whatever you want sir,” she wouldn’t.
    “Of course I’m not shutting the hotel down, don’t be ridiculous. And if any employees aren’t required