Page 38 of The Fixer

“No!” I blurt out. I will do my due diligence, but honestly, Leo’s recommendation is good enough. “That’s not necessary, Signora Bartoli. Can you start on Tuesday?”

“Yes,” she replies. “And call me Annalisa, Rosa. After all, you’re going to be family, too.”

I mentioned Gisele’s departure to Leoonce.A throwaway comment about how much work I had, nothing more than that. But heheardme, he called Annalisa, and he asked her to come out of retirement to help me.

He might have bitten my head off last night, but once again, he’s solved my problems.

I pull out my phone to text him my thanks, but just as I do, I get a message from Leo.

What time are you headed to your parents?

He remembered they were coming into town today. My heart warms. Leo never misses the details.

Three-ish. Thank you for sending Annalisa my way.

It was nothing. I’ll come with you to their apartment. Pick you up at your boutique at three.

My lips twitch. Leo’s telling me what to do again instead of asking me, and it should annoy me. But it’s impossible to be angry at someone who makes all my problems go away.

Okay, I’ll wait for you.

I stare at my phone for a long time after that. Leo took away one of the largest sources of stress in my life.Again.Every time I have a problem, Leo makes it go away.

I keep thanking him, but my words feel so inadequate. I need todosomething. Something meaningful. But what?

And then I think about the fabric from last night, and it comes to me. The thing I can do. I don’t really like sewing menswear, and I haven’t made a shirt in ages. I’m sure my skills are incredibly rusty. But for Leo, I’m going to make the effort.

His birthday is in a week. I have just enough time.

I’m packingup my stuff to leave when my phone rings.

No, not my phone. My ringtone is different.

The noise is coming from my bag.

I rummage through the contents and find a small black phone. This isn’t mine; I’ve never seen it before. Where did it come from, and why is it here? Frowning, I pick it up.

“Rosa Tran,” a male voice says. “Your brother stole ten million euros from me. I want it back. Tell him that if he doesn’t stop ignoring my calls, he’s in for a world of pain.”

Shock renders me almost speechless. “Who are you?”

The man on the other end ignores my question. “Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn’t tell anyone except Hugh about this call. If you talk to Cesari or anyone else, I will kill your family.”

The phone goes dead.

21

LEO

Something is wrong with Rosa. She smiles at me when I get to her boutique, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. She introduces me to her shop assistant Gisele, and we make conversation, but she is not as animated as she usually is. And when we step outside, she reaches into her bag, pulls out a pair of sunglasses, and puts them on, hiding her eyes from me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her as we walk to my boat. It can’t be about Groff; I’m having him watched.

She swallows. “Nothing.”

“Have you heard from Milan? You were going to hear from them today, right?”

“You remembered?”

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