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Reluctantly, I get out of Mateo’s car and walk to where they are waiting. I take a stance a few feet away from them, waiting for them to explain why they showed up at my home.
They stand unified, probably ready to defend their wants. I try to take them as seriously as I can with their ridiculous hair colors, multiple ear piercings, and tattoos. If I ever have a daughter, there’s no way I will allow her to express herself like that. Germano is beyond himself with what to do with the females. I can’t help laughing to myself because he’s so out of his element.
Standing before the two girls, I let them stew long enough that they begin to fidget. I break the silence. “Ladies, an email before midnight was part of the terms, not loitering on my property.”
Germano speaks up quickly before they can answer me. “Sir Santos, can I offer you a drink while you meet with your guests?”
Still keeping my eyes zeroed on the she-devils, I answer him. “No, thank you. Mateo and Josephine will be joining me for a BBQ on the terrace at 19:00. If you could make preparations that would be wonderful, Germano.” He gives me a sharp nod and walks away.
“Wow, I never met a real live butler before. He is a spitting image of one like on tv.” Indigo is tickled with the thought.
It’s been a delightful day, and I would like to end it on a good note. “You have one minute to explain why you are here.”
Krista gives Indigo a sharp look.
“Fine, I’ll wait near the car, but I get the last say.” Indigo says, stomping off.
Indigo’s around the same age as my sister Bianca but much rougher and tougher from years on her own. Shifting my head back to Krista, my patience slowly dwindles. She holds up a printed copy of what I sent Indigo. Flapping it in the air, she asks, “What is your play with Indigo? She’s been through a lot, and if you are using her for some sick joke, so help me god. I don’t care if you are a Ferrari!” Her voice elevates as she enunciates her words.
Raising my hand, I stop her before she speaks further. I call Indigo back to us. She skips over, then gives me a solider salute. I take a deep breath. God damn, they are a handful already, and we haven’t even begun our partnership. Looking at Indigo, I point to the paperwork. She may be a teenager, but she will only understand and react rationally if she is treated like an adult. “Every bit of information on these documents is fact and true. We go into this arrangement by always telling each other the truth, no bullshit. You finish your needed community service hours, and, from time to time, I will need you for your computer expertise on assignments that I only provide you! Stay out of trouble, meaning...no pirate sites at all, end of story. Maria, be conscious of what is being presented to you. I am not going to make another offer, and I know for a fact that you would not make this amount of money I am offering from anyone else. I want the community service done, so I don’t waste my money with you being thrown back into jail or worse.” I can’t be any clearer, and I’m done with the conversation. I just want to go inside to change, unwind, and relax before Mateo and Josie arrive.
“Ladies, I’m finished with this discussion. Those are the terms, take them or leave them. You still have until midnight to decide either way.” I say goodbye and begin to walk away when Indigo grabs my arm.
“Fine! We accept. We will have the documents sent to you before midnight Mr. Ferrari.” They both make their way to Krista’s auto in silence.
“Indigo, your first assignment will arrive at midnight.” I give her my best Cheshire Cat smile, and in return, she scowls back at me.
After an hour of sketching some design concepts for the Leoni’s barn, I make my way to the terrace to lay on a chaise lounge. One of my favorite things to do is listen to all of the lake’s sounds. When I can’t play music on the piano, this is second best. Mateo and Josephine will be arriving soon. So, I continue laying with my eyes closed, absorbing all the sounds making music around me.
I must have fallen asleep because I am awoken from my dream daze when I feel wetness on my face.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty.” Josephine plants her two kisses on each of my cheeks. Then, she lays her body on the chaise next to me with a huge sigh. “What a day from hell. I had to tend to three obnoxious cows because Julian called in sick.” I look at her in question, and she answers without looking. “Three obnoxious cows, Santos, means three perms. I haven’t done perms since my exam days.”
Seconds later, I hear Mateo and Germano conversing while walking towards us. I stand up to greet him as he hands me a beer. “Ah, come on, Josie, I’ve told you numerous times, stop assaulting Sonny. You left lipstick all over on his cheeks again.”
I’ve endured years of her flirtatious assaults. I partake from time to time to make Mateo boil with her ridiculous antics only because I know they are both so head over heels in love. Years of catching them both giving each other loving glances prove there’s no change with them.
“She may be having second thoughts, Mateo; you better watch out.” I give him a sly smile, rubbing my cheek and walking over to Germano. I hear Mateo disagree before he jumps on her, kissing her whole face. She shrieks at the advances.
Ignoring them and letting them have their moment, I greet Germano. “Thank you for arranging the BBQ items, greatly appreciated. I didn’t feel like enduring a crowded restaurant tonight.”
He gives me a knowing smile of my quiet ways. “It was my pleasure, Sir Santos. Enjoy your relaxing evening with your friends. I believe Sir Angelo and Sam return this weekend.” Raising his eyebrows, he walks away. Mateo and Josephine yell thank you and goodbye to him.
“Santos, I emailed a list of items that you will be in charge of for the ceremony. I figured if you are in charge they will get done.” Josephine gives Mateo a knowing look. He stands behind her, shaking his head and mouthing ‘I am sorry.’
“Not a problem, I’ll make sure all items are checked off.”
Later, after we’ve enjoyed our BBQ and visit, I say to them. “It was nice to be just the three of us tonight, like old times.”
Josephine air kisses my cheeks this time and hugs me as they prepare to leave. “Yes, it certainly was.” She turns to her fiancé. “Mateo, take me home now and ravish me.”
“Yes, love,” he laughs. “Head to the car; I’m right behind you.” After she left, he asks me. “Need help cleaning up?”
“I got it all, don’t worry about it. Go home and ravish your woman.”
“By the way, what happened with the she-devils? All okay?”
Rubbing my face, I give him the lowdown on them and tell him I’ll be emailing him some other open items later this weekend. We say our goodbyes, and he heads off to join Josephine in the car.
I don’t want to leave the kitchen area a mess until the staff came in the morning, so I turn on some music for background noise to make my chore more enjoyable. Once satisfied with my work, I pour myself a half glass of Lion Whiskey and head upstairs to continue working on my projects.
As I am putting final touches on the barn roof, I hear a ping from my cellphone. Picking it up to see who it is, I smile to see Lia responded to my earlier text, we just had a bath and are ready to ride, L xo. Seconds later, a selfie of a snow-white Ducati with Lia’s profile of red, luscious lips and long braid draped over the handlebars.
I respond, playing dirty Miss Leoni, I need to take a cold shower now. Payback raincheck in store for you. She is such a fun little siren.
My dealings with Indigo earlier make me think of my sister, so I decide to text her to see how she’s doing.
Noticing the time, I check my emails, and as promised, Indigo sent the signed documents. With triumph, I reply and send her first assignment, to look into estates that are for sale in the area and meet the criteria that I’m looking for. I shoot Germano an email to help me with a couple items as well. Satisfied with my overall week of accomplishments, I head for that cold shower.
The next morning, I head to the hotel gym, hit the weights, and finish up with a swim in the lake. After my workout, I head back up to my studio, getting lost in my designs for several hours. I finally take a break and head to the hotel restaurant for a late lunch. The maître D’ directs me to my usual seat on the terrace with a perfect view of the lake. Predictably, moments later, Germano arrives at my table and tells me the chef will be sending out a salad and seafood pasta, accompanied by a bottle of Garza Winery merlot that I requested.
Craving his intellectual companionship, I invite him to join me for lunch. Naturally, he declines but sits with until my meal comes. Speaking with Germano is like a human Google search. The man knows something about everything and in great detail. I never see him reading or studying, so I assume he must have been taught at Butler Academy how to retain so much information.
“Sir Santos, I have some news on the items you asked me to look into.” He tells me, “The dealership has the exact model Fiat 500 in blue available that you requested. They will include the add-on for an extra five hundred euros. When and where would you like it delivered?”
Taking a sip of my water, I answer him. “Have them deliver it on June tenth in the morning at the side entrance of the hotel.”
He nods in response and continues with his next item. “The old room that the lads Mateo and Sam used to board in will be cleaned and presentable by June tenth as well.”
“Thank you very much, Germano. I know my godfather keeps you busy, so I do appreciate all your extra efforts. We are lucky as a family to have someone so loyal for so many years.”
The waiter starts to lay my lunch down, and Germano gets up. “My pleasure, is there anything else that I can help you with?”
“As a matter of fact, you mentioned a while back that your nephew was looking for a butler position. Is that still the case?”
His eyes brighten. “Oskar is in Rome at the moment apprenticing. He will be finishing up in July.”
“I would like to offer him a position. It’s not as influential as yours, but I hope he will eventually maintain my estate and personal errands here.” He gives me a questionable look. “I will be headquartered in Las Vegas however planning on going back and forth. Being here has helped me concentrate on work. I would like to have a satellite office here.”
He gives me his acknowledgment and assures me that his nephew would be excited for the opportunity to prove his worth. His family has served numerous families for generations.
“That is all I have for you. I’ll be gone most of the day tomorrow on a long ride, so no meals for me.”
My Saturday brunch raincheck with Lia turned into a weekend raincheck. I met her at the bakery and surprised her by indulging in our favorite pastries before taking off. Krista was helpful with that little tidbit. After enjoying our delicious treats, we walked across the street to the tailor shop. I had to get fitted with a gray suit as per one of the items on Josephine’s list. Lia was enjoying the torture of pinning, tucking, and primping the tailor was subjecting me to.
She took advantage every time he would leave the room to get more pins, to either pose seductively or rub me down. Given the pins jabbing into me, I couldn’t resist much less move. I endured pure torture and much embarrassment when the tailor returned and noticed my trousers were tented.
Being so wound up after the fitting, I was elated to get on the bike and just unwind. We decided to take the four-hour lake loop with no stopping. I kept looking back, and she was still keeping up with no laboring signs in sight. A last-minute decision I made turned us towards Lugano. We ended up eating fondue at a quiet little restaurant at a B&B overlooking a rambling brook. I learned that her parents are divorced, and she and her brother were left with their grandparents most summers. She has a degree in engineering, which has come in handy with home building equipment for the distillery. She is one year older than I am. Conversations between us flowed, yet also allowed for comfortable moments of quiet to exist between us.
Occasionally she taunted me by rubbing my legs under the table. Between her vixen advances at the tailor shop and her teasing at the restaurant, my restraint was thinning. We ended up booking us a room, and I rectified the situation.
On the way back, even though it was drizzling, we pulled into an overlook I had always enjoyed on this particular route. The sun was trying to shine through the clouds down into the valley below. Since no one was around for miles, it was totally serene. She was a trooper as the elements were not accommodating or comfortable. I had told her it was a payback raincheck, but chuckling to myself, I could admit it was anything but payback. I genuinely enjoyed her company as well as her body.
Sunday evening, I am freshly showered and leaning on the counter peeling away at an orange. The peaceful silence evaporates when the door flips open. In struts Angelo, with Sam tagging along.
He acknowledges me with an exaggerated and loud hello. Lifting his chin and grinning, Angelo quips, “I hope you plan on eating that orange and not whipping it at me.”
I return the grin while I pop a slice into my mouth. “How was Milan? If that’s even where you guys went. Nice black eye, it suits you.”
Sam is already sitting on the couch turning the Xbox on, and Angelo answers. “Actually, we were in Milan.” He rubs his eye then steals an orange piece and joins Sam.
I pour myself the evening ritual of Lion Whiskey and retreat upstairs to enjoy peace for the evening.