“Maybe she hit traffic.”
“You’re sure she’s coming?”
“She was in the city when she called me just now.”
Right on cue, voices reverberated through the thick wooden door panels, one irritated, clearly Roxanne. Gabe winced. His assistant wasn’t at her best this morning. The other, a voice he’d known for every one of this thirty-three years, snapped back with impatient authority. His office door banged open, and his mother paused with her hand on the knob.
“I know the way into my own son’s office, Roxy,” she informed Gabe’s assistant.
“It’s Roxanne.”
“Well, maybe when you’ve worked here awhile I’ll remember your name.”
Gabe could see his assistant visibly struggling to hang on to her composure. She managed it. Barely. “He has a meeting scheduled, Mrs. Piretti. And just to set the record straight, I’ve worked here for three years, as I’m certain you’re well aware.”
“Huh. Could have sworn you were one of those annoying temps.” With that Dina slammed the door in Roxanne’s face. Turning, she offered a broad, delighted smile. “Gabriel, Catherine. It’s so good to see the two of you together again. Give me a minute to just stand here and enjoy the view.”
Gabe’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry, Mom, but Roxanne was right. We’re waiting for Catherine’s business partner to join us in order to—” He broke off as the connection clicked into place, a connection he would have made long ago if he hadn’t been so distracted by the apprehensive woman standing at his side. “No. Oh, hell, no. You’re not…You can’t be—”
Dina stuck out her hand. “Dina Piretti, co-owner of Elegant Events. So good of you to help us with our small financial crisis.”
The meeting didn’t last long. The minute Dina exited the room, Gabe turned on Catherine. “My mother? You dumped me, and then you went into business with my mother?”
Catherine struggled not to flinch. “Really, Gabe. I don’t see what one thing has to do with the other.”
“You don’t see—” He forked his fingers through his hair, turning order into all-too-attractive, not to mention distracting, disorder. “You must have suspected I wouldn’t like the idea considering that the two of you have been careful to keep me in the dark for nearly two years now. Why is that, Cate?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “You want logic? Fine. Here’s some logic for you. I didn’t want to see you. If you knew I was in business with your mother, you wouldn’t have been able to stay away. Worse, you might have tried to interfere, or…I don’t know—” She waved a hand through the air. “Tried to protect her from me and stopped us from doing business together.”
“You’re damn right I would have stopped you from doing business together,” he retorted. “But not for the reason you think. It isn’t my mother I would have wanted to protect. It’s you.”
That stopped her cold. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you that I had to step in and take over Pir-etti’s,” he began.
“Right.” He’d never gone into details, other than to inform her that it had been one of the toughest periods in his life. But she’d been able to read between the lines. “After your father died.”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. After he died, my mother took over.”
That caught her by surprise, not that it caused her any real concern. “So? She’s brilliant.”
“Yes, she is. What I never told you before was that she brilliantly ran Piretti’s to the verge of bankruptcy. That’s when I seized control.”
Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. “Seized. You mean—” She struggled to come up with a more palatable word. “Took charge.”
His mouth tightened. “No, I mean I swooped in and instigated a hostile takeover. You’ve teased me often enough about my nickname, but you never came right out and asked where I got it.” He lowered his head and rubbed a hand along the nape of his neck. “Well, that’s where.”
She approached and rested a hand on his arm. She could feel the muscles bunching beneath her fingers, his tension palpable. “I can’t believe you’d have done such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary. What happened, Gabe? Why were you forced to such extremes?”
He stilled. “Catherine.” Just her name, spoken so softly, with such a wealth of emotion behind it. He lifted his head and looked at her. The intensity of his gaze mesmerized her, the shade of blue so brilliant it put the sky to shame. “You show such faith. Not a single doubt. Not a single hesitation. How can you think what’s between us is temporary?”
“I know you.” The admission slipped out on a whisper. “I know what sort of man you are.”
“I’m hard and ruthless.”
“True.”
“I take apart companies.”
“And put them back together again.”
The smallest hint of a smile played about his mouth, easing some of the tension. “Or make them a part of Piretti’s.”
“Well, you are a businessman, first and foremost.” Sorrow filled her. “And that’s why I say our relationship is temporary. Because Piretti’s isn’t just a place where you work. It’s who and what you are.”
The tension stormed back. “There hasn’t been any other choice. I had to take the business away from her.”
She drew him over to the couch and sat down with him. “Explain it to me,” she encouraged.
“You are right about one thing. My mother is a brilliant business woman. When it comes to numbers and accounting and contracts, there’s no one better.”
“But…?”
“But she’s too damn nice.”
“Yeah, I hate that about her, too,” Catherine teased.
The grin was back, one identical to his mother’s. “That soft heart means people can take advantage of her.”
“And they did.”
He nodded. “After my father died she began staffing Piretti’s with friends and family. Nepotism became the byword.”
Catherine tried to put herself in Dina’s shoes. “It probably comforted her to have loved ones around at such a time.”
He started to say something, paused, then frowned. “Huh. I never considered that possibility, but looking back, you may be right.”
“I am right. Dina told me so one evening.” Catherine interlaced her fingers with his, needing to touch him. She suspected he needed the physical contact as well. “I think it was on the fifth anniversary of your dad’s death. Shewas having a rough night, and we talked about all sorts of things. It was one of the few times she mentioned Piretti’s.”
“Taking the business away from her nearly killed her.” Pain bled through the words. “I did that to her. I did that to my own mother.”
Catherine frowned in concern. “Were her friends and family members incompetent?”
“Not all. Those who were took gross advantage. She paid them ludicrous salaries for jobs they, at best, neglected, and at worst didn’t perform at all. They’d put in a few hours and then take off. That forced Mom to hire more people to do the jobs that weren’t getting done.”
“Which explains why you refuse to mix business and pleasure.” It explained so much. “Couldn’t you have simply come in and cleaned house?”