The Italian's proposal

Timothy Giannatto

Timothy looked at the woman lying across from him. She was beautiful in a different way. She had a sparkle in her gaze that had coaxed him ever since he saw her in the coffee shop that morning, her hair such a dark shade just made him conjure up a thousand sexual positions where her black hair fell over them, surrounded, sweaty, wet, it was so exciting to think about, he didn’t want to think about what it would be like to make it happen. The girl was practically a mystery to him, he didn’t know her at all, and his bruised male ego screamed at him that he didn’t want to know her either.

That happened when someone broke our personal and sentimental barriers. There was no longer a single moment in his life where he did not think about the mess he had gotten into with Gia, he had trusted her blindly, for him she was a woman who represented him, who could share his problems and dreams. He had fallen into the net of a crone, one who did not even regret what she had done.

He looked back at Melody, the most innocent and spontaneous young woman he had ever met in his life. He was used to people around him doing and saying what he wanted, but that woman, with her gray eyes and murderous mouth, had shown him that not everyone was a sheep in his world. There were people like her who wouldn’t stop at what he wanted, strong people who wouldn’t let themselves get wrapped up in his world of money and falsehood.

When she passed out a few hours ago his first instinct was to hold her immediately, the girl was absolutely nothing compared to what she lifted at the gym, or the other women he had been intimate with.

She was different in every way.

But that particularly bothered him. She had to be healthy if she wanted to give birth to a healthy child. It was obvious that Melody had no idea how to be a mother, and this gave Timothy a twinge.

At first when they were in the coffee shop and she called Doyle to report that she had to go check on the baby, Timothy thought it was all a sham, because he couldn’t see anything, not an ounce extra, not a shadow on her belly, she was as flat as an ironing board.

His sensor immediately went on and he considered that she was just one of those women who looked for pity in the eyes of others, and that she only wanted, in some way that he did not understand, to get money out of him.

But he had been incredibly surprised by this explosive little woman.

She was self-sufficient and didn’t care about his money, at least that he had noticed. She hadn’t asked for his help at any time since they had left the coffee shop, instead, she had preferred to stay alone with Troy.

His phone rang at that moment and he left the room and took the call in the hallway.

“Timothy, where are you?” it was his mother.

“Hi mom” he greeted her startled by the call. His mother didn’t usually call him unless it was an emergency. He went every Sunday to lunch with them at their mansion away from the noise of the city.

“Son, why didn’t you go to the meeting today? You know it was of extreme importance. You kept everyone waiting.”

“Who... How...?” Timothy couldn’t believe his mother already knew about it.

Contrary to what he had led Melody to believe about the meeting, it was quite important that he attend that meeting, he had even had specific guidelines for over a week not to miss it.

There was a lot at stake in his family, his father had told him so. That morning was the prelude to a million-dollar deal.

And there was the embezzlement.

When his mother found out she was going to have a heart attack. She didn’t know how that damn man had gotten into her company and stolen three million dollars!!!!

Not that his finances were severely affected by this, the magnitude of money his parents had collected over the years was quite large, but that didn’t mean that three million wasn’t a pretty hefty amount, more so when he had worked so hard to be a worthy son to his parents, and a businessman capable of detecting any embezzlement or illicit transactions.

He clenched his fists tightly, almost forgetting he had his cell phone in his hand.

“Just because your father and I aren’t there, doesn’t mean we don’t know how our company is doing. Our company Timothy, do you understand well? It’s ours. What your father and I have fought for over two decades. You must put your life in order and repair whatever is damaged right now.”

Timothy knew that was true, but he also had his pride in having been an important piece in the development over the past few years of each of the companies his family and his cousin Hamlet’s family ran.

He wasn’t going to let anyone, including his mother, minimize his sleepless nights and his devotion to the Giannato family’s well-being.

“Don’t let it slip your mind that I have also been part of that progress and development mom,” he told her annoyed. “Ci sacrifichiamo tutti per avere la compagnia dove si trova attualmente.” They had all sacrificed to place the company where they had it.

“Non stai aiutando Timothy. Non hai aiutato da quando quella ragazza ha concluso la sua relazione con te,” his mother replied, speaking in Italian as well, that his view had changed since he had ended his relationship with Gia.

“you have no idea

him. “I don’t know anything because you haven’t come home for months, you haven’t talked to me and told me what’s going on. If you don’t tell me what happened, how do you expect me to know. You’ve made sure that the press doesn’t talk about your

tea, that woman had been unfaithful to him, if her mother knew the truth, Gia would have her life and career ruined at that moment. The vindictive and calculating aspect he had taken from his mother

they had him, but this was not a stop for his parents, together they did their best and created an empire, both in cars and marketing. Timothy admired them, because despite coming from a prominent family, they had both sacrificed

left open on his way out of the

her watching as the woman got up disoriented in bed, she was so thin she almost disappeared into the white canopy sheets of his bed. “I have

hang up on

have something important to sort out. I’ll call you

me. There’s a lot to talk about,” she was quiet for

mother?” something gave him a bad

hour and we’ll arrange a

ti

changed his coffee-stained shirt, he threw it immediately into the trash, he had no need to try to get the stains out of a

“You woke up.”

am I?” she asked

“In my apartment.”

and mouth simultaneously. She looked like a cartoon.

started the sentence, but didn’t finish it, and Timothy could appreciate how she was remembering. Her eyes, other than the gray ones they were, looked like a

he said it was normal in your condition to

defended herself getting out of bed.

lost control of her body, so he rushed over and stopped a horrible fall to the floor.

feed,”

know me,” she accused him. “Let go of me. I must go, you shouldn’t have brought me here.”

have no one to force you to eat, so, first, have some breakfast with me, then if you still wish

a I’m leaving now,” she pulled away from his arms and his grip, and for a

god!” she shrieked.

jumped in fright at the raised tone of her words.

reached out again with his arms outstretched to grab

eyes, she looked so tiny and helpless to him and he felt that woman

anything. I brought you here because I don’t know where you live, and it

needed to apologize, for her to understand that he had had

more

a fainting woman in his

say she had no money, it was only fair that he provide as much as possible. It didn’t seem right to leave her in the lurch when he could do something.

woman had asked him for

didn’t even

sorry,” she muttered without

and hurriedly walked past him.

out of here,” she said as she walked out of the room. Timothy watched her looking both ways down the hallway

silently, four steps from her, it was a stride from him. He nervously ran his hand through his hair and scratched his beard, he wondered what the hell had happened that she had become so sad from one moment

hide her feelings, even if she wanted to, at least that’s what he had seen up to that moment. The girl had no health insurance, being three months pregnant, had no family to turn to and worked in a coffee shop, even though she said she knew about animals because she was studying to

like an unassembled

again as she found herself facing the

don’t understand anything, Melody. I don’t understand why you should apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong, you apologize to me, for bringing you to my

and looked everywhere but at him, which struck him as odd, as all

was hiding something from

to her. It pained him a little to

go,” she said