Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

‘Your grandfather wanted me to come straight here and explain myself.’ His tone was mildly sarcastic, but his smile softened the words.

‘As you can see, Matteo, the prodigal son has returned.’ His grandfather’s voice was dry.

‘But without the fatted calf,’ his father said.

The resulting thump of a fist onto the desk reverberated around the room. ‘That’s right, make jokes. You put the company name into disrepute and now you’re trying to make it a laughing matter. But what else could I expect from you? You’ve always been a wastrel!’

Matteo held his hands up to stem the flow of angry words. His father looked completely unlike himself. It wasn’t just that he was tired and obviously visibly shaken by his experiences during the last few days; there was almost an air of humility about him that was more disconcerting than his usual insouciance. Meanwhile, his grandfather was greyer than ever, shaking with anger.

‘Why don’t I take it from here, Grandfather? Go home. Get some rest. Everything is completely under control now. I should have Barry’s report in the next couple of hours, but verbally he’s reassured me that this has all been kept under wraps. Go and get some sleep. I’ll see you back here in the morning.’

It wasn’t often that Matteo issued orders to his grandfather, let alone saw them obeyed by the proud old man, but to his surprise his grandfather didn’t even protest, getting up and making for the door on shaky feet, almost hunchbacked with weariness. This time last year Matteo had been made aware of just how fragile his grandfather was getting—he was nearly eighty after all. Just because he carried himself with the arrogance of someone indestructible, it didn’t mean that he was.

‘Sleep?’ his grandfather managed to scoff. ‘When I start taking naps it’ll be time to put me down.’

‘There’s no harm in naps and you shouldn’t be putting in these kinds of hours,’ Matteo said gently as his grandfather reached the door. ‘The doctor was very clear.’

He had refrained from ever uttering the word retirement. He knew exactly how his grandfather would respond to that, but maybe it was time to start having some conversations about semi-retirement. Maybe his grandfather should take on a chairman role and let Matteo step up to CEO. He was more than ready, but he didn’t want to mount some kind of coup. It had to be done with his grandfather’s blessing, if such a thing was even possible. But it had to be possible. His grandfather couldn’t carry on like this—and Matteo couldn’t allow him.

‘Don’t fuss over me, boy,’ his grandfather snapped and then he was gone.

Silence fell until Matteo’s father laughed a little shakily. ‘Still his charming self, I see.’

Matteo’s protective instinct surged. ‘What did you expect? He’s not been well, and you haven’t exactly helped. Bribery? What were you thinking? Why were you in Chile?’

His father regarded him coolly. ‘I am a director of this company. Whether you like it or not.’

‘In name, maybe.’ He crossed to the window and stared out at the London landscape beyond. ‘When have you ever done a full day’s work?’

His father didn’t answer for a long while, and when he turned Matteo was surprised to see a look of infinite sadness on his face.

‘I need a shower, a shave and to change. And then, son, maybe you and I should go out and have a proper talk.’

* * *

Matteo sat back in the comfortable leather armchair and fought to keep his eyes open. The delicious three-course dinner and the glasses of wine which had accompanied it had made him realise just how weary he was. His father had taken him to his club, the kind of panelled walls, leather fittings and macho atmosphere that Matteo would usually avoid, but today it seemed right for this unexpected meeting between father and son.

During the dinner they hadn’t talked about anything too personal, his father asking a few questions about how Charlie was and Matteo’s accident, but mostly they had kept to neutral topics: sport, mutual friends, the chat of casual acquaintances, not father and son. Now his father too sat back and regarded him. He looked much more like himself, shaved, his hair immaculately slicked back, dressed in a linen suit, every inch the ageing playboy.

‘I was in Chile because I knew there was an opportunity there with mining rights.’

Matteo raised an eyebrow. ‘You are interested in mining rights?’ He tried to keep the incredulity from his voice.

‘As I said before, I’m still a director. I’m certain my father would quite happily have struck me off the board if he could, but that’s the beauty of a family-owned business. He has no power to do so.’

‘And so you decided to get these rights by any means possible. Damn the consequences?’

‘It was a misunderstanding.’ His father looked pained. ‘I was involved in some exploratory talks; I had no idea the official was corrupt and under investigation. I offered to have a talk with my old college about opportunities for his son—I had no idea how it would be construed. I’ll know better next time.’

Next time? ‘Does that mean you are planning to get further involved?’ He stilled. Surely his father didn’t think he could just roll in and become CEO after a lifetime of not doing anything?

His father shook his head, humour glimmering in the hazel eyes so like Matteo’s own. ‘I’ve no intention of starting a nine-to-five at my age, coming into the office every day. But I do want to have more purpose to my life.’

Matteo couldn’t have been more staggered if his father had announced that he had superpowers and was saving the world in his spare time. ‘Purpose?’

‘I’m barely past fifty,’ his father pointed out. ‘Maybe it’s time to grow up a little. I’ve met someone…’

Here we go again. Matteo fought to keep the sardonic sneer off his face. Any revelations his father had were usually because he’d met someone. How many times had he been married now? Five