Page 30 of Family Secrets

Different, not beautiful. Elizabeth didn’t miss his choice in words, his dislike stinging more than it should. “Lisa wanted me to fit in more, so the girls helped.” Elizabeth explained, unsure why she felt the need to defend herself with Gino. Sully and the other guys went on and on about how beautiful she was with the changes, but Gino clearly hated it.

“Yes, well…” At a loss for words, the hurt in her voice affected him the same way it did when he heard it come from his mother and Nona. “With Lisa gone, I need you to handle a few of her responsibilities until she returns.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth agreed, eager for more work to keep her occupied as the tasks Sully assigned her were simple and easily completed.

Gino slid an envelope toward her, the contents testing the limits of the heavy paper. “I’ve assigned a password for you to gain access to my accounts.”

Elizabeth reached for the envelope, but was halted when Gino held it back. “You tell no one of this, not even Sully, are we clear?”

Nodding her head, “Crystal. I’ll have this taken care of by the end of the day.”

Releasing his hold, “Take your time, Elizabeth. They aren’t due for another week.”

Elizabeth ignored Gino’s last statement, working long into the evening scanning each bill to make certain the balance equaled the charges. Her eyes grew wide and her breath hitched several times as she typed the check amount into the system. None so much as the bill from a personal shopping company for twice what she made in a year. With the checks printed and spreadsheets created, Elizabeth went to log out of the system when she thought of the account she’d shown Sully. Curiosity got the better of her as she moved her mouse to the search box and typed in the account number, waiting for the page to reload. She expected the words account unknown to appear, but, much to her surprise, the account was not only open, there had also been several transactions executed since she shared it with Sully. Needing to tell someone, Elizabeth pressed the print screen button on her keyboard, adding the page to the stack she had for Gino.

Glancing out her window, Elizabeth hadn’t heard him leave, but that didn’t mean anything as he didn’t come off as an individual who answered to anyone. When she saw his car sitting in its usual spot, Elizabeth collected the stack of papers and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time until she reached the third floor. Throwing open the door, Elizabeth let out a breath when she caught sight of him standing in the doorway sliding his arms into a heavy coat.

“Elizabeth, is everything okay?”

“No,” she admitted. “At least I don’t think so.”

Gino tossed his coat to the side, reaching for Elizabeth whose labored breathing made him nervous. “Did someone hurt you?” The thought of any man touching her made him see red.

“No, no one hurt me…” She trailed off, confused by the concern in Gino’s voice. “Can we go into your office? I need to show this to someone.”

Gino stood stoic as Elizabeth showed him the account and the transactions. He listened with earnest as she spoke of the checks made out to cash and her inability to read the signature.

“Pull the account up on my computer,” Gino had his suspicions of what was going on, and as he waited for Elizabeth to log on his mind flashed back to his conversation with Niko. Leaning against his desk, Gino couldn’t help but breathe in the scent of Elizabeth’s perfume, the floral scent making his dick twitch.

“There,” Elizabeth pointed. “Three new deposits and two withdrawals.” Gino placed his hand over Elizabeth’s guiding the mouse, clicking on a transfer nearly a month ago. Gino kept his emotions in check as he read the name, his suspicions right on target.

“Have you shown this to anyone else?”

“Yes, Sully, but he said not to worry, he would take care of it.”

Elizabeth swallowed hard as Gino continued to stare at the screen, his eyes flashing over the numbers again and again.

“I don’t know what made me check the account tonight. Only after I finished paying your household bills, Giovanni, did I—” Elizabeth realized her mistake a second too late, slapping her hand over her mouth. Fear gripped her as Gino’s eyes slowly raised to meet hers.

“I’m so sorry,” Elizabeth whispered, tears stinging the back of her eyes. “I’ve typed it a thousand times…” She’d been so careful to follow the rules, and now she’d broken the biggest one of them all.

Gino wanted to hear her say his name again, bathe himself in the sweet way it dripped from her lips. “Two things, Elizabeth,” Gino spoke softly, reaching into the pocket of his slacks. “One, tell no one you’ve shown this to me. Two,” he removed his money clip from the cash in his hand, a payment he’d collected earlier that morning for the guns he’d purchased from Stavros. “Have any of the other guys shown you any gratitude?”

“They say thank you, bring lunch and keys to the cars. But they do that for all the girls, not just me.”

“And the hair,” Gino pointed at her blonde locks. “Did you pay for this, or did one of my men?”

“Tony paid, but I didn’t ask him to. He paid for all the girls, but I gave Simone money for a tip. Oh, and the purse. Someone, Lisa thinks it’s Sully, gave me a purse.”

Searching Elizabeth’s eyes, Gino felt something changing inside of him, something primal floating to the surface. “Did you ask for a purse?”

Shaking her head adamantly, “No, I would never ask for something so expensive.” She’d made the mistake of looking the lot number located inside the handbag up on the internet, shoving the leather bag back into the box after she nearly choked at the price tag. “I mean to give it back, but I’m not sure if it was truly him.”

“Do you not like the purse?”

“I love it,” Elizabeth dropped her eyes to the wood grain of the table. “But it’s too much.”

Gino nodded his head, reaching down, he took her trembling hand into his. “I want you to use the purse.” Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he placed a kiss in the center of her palm, and then folded her fingers around the cash. “Come to me when you need anything, including a matching wallet.”

Wanton need and horror warred within Elizabeth, the skin of her palm set ablaze from the kiss. Nodding her head, Elizabeth never broke eye contact with Gino until she reached the door to the stairs. Forgoing her aversion to the sports car, Elizabeth ripped the keys from her desk along with her purse, speeding back to the Waldorf. She’d said his full name, one of the ‘don’ts’ she swore to keep. Instead of the world falling in around her, he’d kissed her hand and gave her money. Perhaps this was his way of letting her slide, giving her a mulligan for being the new girl she reasoned with herself as she readied for bed.

Entering the office the next morning, Elizabeth’s rationale from the previous night flew out the window as she found her desk covered with shopping bags. Purses, shoes, and more clothes than she could wear in a lifetime awaited her. An envelope with her name scrolled across the front rested in her chair, inside was more cash, a black credit card with her name on it and a note.

Allow me to show my appreciation and gratitude.

-Giovanni

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