full-length velvet dress featured hand-sewn pearls across the bodice.
‘
Per favore
,’ Carmela said, taking the dress from her hands. ‘Let me do that.’
‘I can help,’ Sienna said. The rack bulged. ‘This could take you the rest of the day.’
Carmela stared at her. ‘Help?’
‘Sure.’
‘It is . . .’ Carmela turned back to the task at hand. She’d clearly been about to say something. ‘You are . . . Antonio’s special friend. You can’t help me work. It’s not right.’ She shook her head.
‘What Antonio doesn’t know won’t hurt him,’ Sienna whispered then pressed her forefinger to her lips. She picked up another dress.
‘No. No.’ Carmela took the dress from her. ‘I don’t keep secrets from Antonio.’
Sienna looked at Carmela more closely. ‘Have you worked for him for a long time?’
‘Fifteen years. I was a housekeeper in his first hotel,’ she said, smiling proudly.
‘Fifteen years – wow.’
‘I’d work for no one else.’
‘Really?’ Sienna bent down and picked up a shoebox. Opening it, she stared at a pair of jewel-encrusted scarlet sandals. She didn’t want to imagine how much they might have cost.
‘He is a wonderful man.’ Carmela laid her hands over Sienna’s. ‘But you know that.’ Carmela’s eyes shone as she blinked back tears.
To hide her shock, Sienna bent and placed the shoes on the floor. ‘He creates a good work environment,’ she said, hoping she sounded sincere.
‘Of course, but it’s not that. He is . . .
famiglia
,’ Carmela said, placing her fist on her heart. ‘When my son Georgio was sick, he visited him in hospital. When Georgio got better, Antonio paid the bill.’
Antonio rescues another little boy?
‘That’s very generous.’
‘Not generous. It is who he is.’ Carmela paused and caught Sienna’s eye. ‘But you know this.’
‘Yes. Of course,’ Sienna said, busying herself with another box. She felt Carmela’s hand on her arm.
‘You seem so different to the others,’ Carmela whispered. Sienna felt uncomfortable under the woman’s close scrutiny. ‘He deserves happiness after all his pain.’
Sienna clamped her mouth shut before she blurted out,
Pain? What pain?
Before she could think what to say next, the doorbell buzzed again.
‘
Helena e Maria
,’ Carmela said, darting for the door.
‘Who are Helen and Maria?’
‘Hair and make-up,’ Carmela called.
Sienna began to protest, but what was the point? Obviously Antonio managed everything and her role was to comply.
‘I’ll just have a quick shower,’ Sienna called. She picked up her phone before closing the bathroom door. What possible misfortune could Antonio have suffered? She opened the browser and typed his name into the search engine on the small screen. Instantly images and news items of Antonio’s various business deals and affairs filled the screen. After trawling through ten pages of listings, she’d found nothing relevant but had confirmed that Antonio seemed to date models, actresses and heiresses – exclusively.
Turning on the shower, she stripped off her clothes. She stepped under the warm spray. After squeezing soap onto her hands she ran them over her body. The women Antonio usually dated were glamorous, rich and dripping in diamonds and couture.
She held her face up to the spray. When Antonio walked into a room with Amy West on his arm, there’d be no questions asked. She knew tonight every eye would be on her and everyone would be wondering,
What’s Antonio doing with her
?
‘Something is definitely amiss.’
Antonio slid his feet from the desk and held his phone a little tighter to his ear. ‘Go on,’ he said to Brad.
‘The financial crisis has had the usual impact on the Plaza’s occupancy rates but they are still above average for Melbourne,’ Brad said, his voice so clear he could have been in the next room, not more than fourteen thousand kilometres away in Melbourne. ‘With these numbers, the hotel
‘
Per favore
,’ Carmela said, taking the dress from her hands. ‘Let me do that.’
‘I can help,’ Sienna said. The rack bulged. ‘This could take you the rest of the day.’
Carmela stared at her. ‘Help?’
‘Sure.’
‘It is . . .’ Carmela turned back to the task at hand. She’d clearly been about to say something. ‘You are . . . Antonio’s special friend. You can’t help me work. It’s not right.’ She shook her head.
‘What Antonio doesn’t know won’t hurt him,’ Sienna whispered then pressed her forefinger to her lips. She picked up another dress.
‘No. No.’ Carmela took the dress from her. ‘I don’t keep secrets from Antonio.’
Sienna looked at Carmela more closely. ‘Have you worked for him for a long time?’
‘Fifteen years. I was a housekeeper in his first hotel,’ she said, smiling proudly.
‘Fifteen years – wow.’
‘I’d work for no one else.’
‘Really?’ Sienna bent down and picked up a shoebox. Opening it, she stared at a pair of jewel-encrusted scarlet sandals. She didn’t want to imagine how much they might have cost.
‘He is a wonderful man.’ Carmela laid her hands over Sienna’s. ‘But you know that.’ Carmela’s eyes shone as she blinked back tears.
To hide her shock, Sienna bent and placed the shoes on the floor. ‘He creates a good work environment,’ she said, hoping she sounded sincere.
‘Of course, but it’s not that. He is . . .
famiglia
,’ Carmela said, placing her fist on her heart. ‘When my son Georgio was sick, he visited him in hospital. When Georgio got better, Antonio paid the bill.’
Antonio rescues another little boy?
‘That’s very generous.’
‘Not generous. It is who he is.’ Carmela paused and caught Sienna’s eye. ‘But you know this.’
‘Yes. Of course,’ Sienna said, busying herself with another box. She felt Carmela’s hand on her arm.
‘You seem so different to the others,’ Carmela whispered. Sienna felt uncomfortable under the woman’s close scrutiny. ‘He deserves happiness after all his pain.’
Sienna clamped her mouth shut before she blurted out,
Pain? What pain?
Before she could think what to say next, the doorbell buzzed again.
‘
Helena e Maria
,’ Carmela said, darting for the door.
‘Who are Helen and Maria?’
‘Hair and make-up,’ Carmela called.
Sienna began to protest, but what was the point? Obviously Antonio managed everything and her role was to comply.
‘I’ll just have a quick shower,’ Sienna called. She picked up her phone before closing the bathroom door. What possible misfortune could Antonio have suffered? She opened the browser and typed his name into the search engine on the small screen. Instantly images and news items of Antonio’s various business deals and affairs filled the screen. After trawling through ten pages of listings, she’d found nothing relevant but had confirmed that Antonio seemed to date models, actresses and heiresses – exclusively.
Turning on the shower, she stripped off her clothes. She stepped under the warm spray. After squeezing soap onto her hands she ran them over her body. The women Antonio usually dated were glamorous, rich and dripping in diamonds and couture.
She held her face up to the spray. When Antonio walked into a room with Amy West on his arm, there’d be no questions asked. She knew tonight every eye would be on her and everyone would be wondering,
What’s Antonio doing with her
?
‘Something is definitely amiss.’
Antonio slid his feet from the desk and held his phone a little tighter to his ear. ‘Go on,’ he said to Brad.
‘The financial crisis has had the usual impact on the Plaza’s occupancy rates but they are still above average for Melbourne,’ Brad said, his voice so clear he could have been in the next room, not more than fourteen thousand kilometres away in Melbourne. ‘With these numbers, the hotel
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