The Moretti Seduction Read Free Page A

was going to enjoy her negotiations with him. She liked being with him because unlike the previous lawyers she had dealt with, he didn’t seem to resent that she was a strong woman.
    He was several yards away talking to the chef-owner, Carlo Cracco, which allowed her to study him unabashedly. He had an easy way about him, and she realized the charm that she’d first noticed in the Moretti conference room was a part of him, not something he turned on strictly for women.
    “Nathalie?”
    She smiled as she stood up to greet an old family friend, Fredrico Marchessi.
    “ Buona sera, Fredrico,” she said, kissing him warmly on the cheek. He had been at the university with her father. “Is Maria with you?”
    “I’m afraid not. This is a business trip for me.”
    “For me as well,” she said.
    “With the Moretti family?”
    “ Oui, Fredrico.”
    “Your father is worried about this,” Fredrico said.
    Nathalie got annoyed at the way Fredrico talked to her as if she were still twelve. She’d been successfully handling the Vallerio family business for a number of years now.
    “Papa knows he can trust me to do what is right by our family.”
    “ Bien, Nathalie. We must have dinner when you are back in Paris.”
    “ Bien sur. I will call your office.”
    Fredrico left and she felt a hand on her back as she started to sit back down. Antonio was back at their table.
    “Nathalie, allow me to introduce you to Carlo Cracco.”
    They exchanged pleasantries and then the chef left and she was alone with Antonio at the intimate table for two.
    “I am sorry for leaving you alone.”
    “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m not your date.”
    “And if you were?”
    “Well, then I’d expect you to not leave me alone. A woman deserves to be the center of her man’s attention.”
    “What does a man deserve?”
    “The same thing.”
    “Are you a romantic?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “No. I just don’t believe in wasting my personal time with someone who’s not worth it.”
    He gave her that crooked grin, revealing his straight white teeth. “Another point we agree on.”
    She shrugged one shoulder, trying not to acknowledge that Antonio was the kind of man she didn’t believe existed. Someone who could be her equal in the boardroom and out of it. “What did your chef friend recommend for dinner?”
    “I’ve never been disappointed with anything I’ve ordered here. My favorite dish is salt-crusted sole and dark chocolate crochettes with caviar.”
    She pretended to study the menu. This meeting was supposed to be about the Vallerio family. She had to concentrate and keep reminding herself that her family had been waiting for this moment for a long time. No matter how much she enjoyed the novelty of Antonio Moretti.
    He was just that. A novelty. This was nothing more than a chance for her grandfather to even the score with Lorenzo Moretti, even though the latter was long gone from this world. Her grandfather wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until he knew that he’d been able to retrieve the honor that Lorenzo had swindled him out of.
    “You look very serious, mia cara. Would it be so bad to let me recommend a dish for you?” He named two selections.
    She looked up at him. “I see you are the type of man who will exploit any sign of weakness in your opponent.”
    “I thought we were beyond pointless shows of power.”
    Was that what he thought this was? She was always aware that she was a woman in a man’s world and that she couldn’t for a minute appear weak. She never cried, she didn’t chat or laugh with the other women in the office and she certainly didn’t let a man order for her at a business dinner. That was too feminine, too girly, and she knew a man’s man like Antonio Moretti would see it as a sign of weakness.
    “Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll consider them.”
    He laughed. “You do that.”
    The wine steward arrived and Nathalie again felt the pressure of their roles. The steward