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.

this mother,” he growled, “you have no idea

me in that tone,” his mother didn’t raise her voice, she was always calm, but even in that tone, she could prove to him that she was capable of hiding his body in case she murdered 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

the doors of her home to, that she had had lunch with her and tea, that woman had been unfaithful to him, if her mother knew

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

open on his way out of the

woman got up disoriented in bed, she was so thin she almost disappeared into the

up on

something important to sort out. I’ll call

hour and you call me. There’s a lot to talk about,” she was quiet for a while and then said, “your

mother?” something gave him a bad feeling.

and we’ll arrange a lunch

ti

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

“You woke up.”

am I?” she asked immediately.

“In my apartment.”

as she opened her eyes and mouth simultaneously. She looked like a cartoon.

could appreciate how she was remembering. Her eyes, other than

Troy, he said it was normal in your condition to occasionally pass out, since you’re not

eat” she defended herself getting out

floor, Timothy watched in slow motion as she lost control

feed,” he

of me. I must

just like that. You’re sick, you apparently have no one to force you to eat, so, first, have some breakfast with me, then if you still wish

she pulled away from his arms and his

she shrieked.

jumped in fright at the raised tone of her words.

again with his arms

she looked so tiny and helpless to him and he

wrong,” he almost begged her, “Don’t go crying. I’m not going to kidnap or anything. I brought you here because I don’t know where you live, and it didn’t

to apologize, for her to understand that he had had no occult, macabre intentions

more selfless in his life.

bodyguard went cold when they saw him arrive at his penthouse with a fainting woman in his arms. Clark helped him get her out of the car without hitting her in the

who had seen and heard her 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

woman had asked him

even want his

without looking at him.

head and hurriedly

she said as she walked out of the room. Timothy watched her looking both ways

his hair and scratched his beard, he wondered what the

how someone had let such a beautiful, selfless, independent, and sincere woman pass him by, a woman who could not 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

an unassembled puzzle.

herself facing the granite table in the center of

You haven’t done anything wrong, you apologize to me, for bringing you to my house, I didn’t think it

blushed and looked everywhere but at him, which struck him as odd, as all day she had been looking

was hiding something

to have felt somehow committed to Melody, a nice, fresh young woman but one he

must go,” she said