Taming Ricardo, The Italian Billionaire

Chapter 6

Kyra exited the Grigg’s apartment and strolled down the narrow hallway. Her eyes were downcast, studying the stained tiles, her mind miles away. What else can I do? She questioned silently. She had spent days attempting to call Ricardo’s office to no avail. She had left countless messages and not a word from him. There was a pang of hurt that slithered its way in each day she didn’t get a call back but she ignored it. It was ridiculous of her to feel the way she did. It wasn’t like there was any love lost between she and Ricardo. He certainly wasn’t obligated to respond to her but out of professional courtesy, she thought he would have. He had, after all, gone out of his way to hear her concerns.

The memory of him in her apartment pushed its way to the front of her mind. As usual, the recollection of his scent and the feel of his lips on her skin permeated her mind. With a sigh, she forced the memory away. Confusion replaced the memory. Why had he shown interest in her if he had his eyes on Allegra? And why had he arranged a dinner and come all the way to her apartment to listen to her only to turn around and ignore her calls?

Those were questions that would never be answered. Or perhaps they could be, if she showed up at his office. Her shy nature cringed at the thought of barging into his office uninvited, while the brave woman that was buried deep demanded she do just that, to get answers as well as continue her campaign to help the Griggs.

Kyra reached her car, her mind still working overtime. She paced the sidewalk, murmuring to herself. “What should I do?”

When she realized that she was receiving strange looks, heat crawled up her neck, spreading to her face. Kyra quickly unlocked her car door. Sliding in she murmured, “Way to let everyone think you’re off your rockers, Kyra.” Dropping her head in her hands she let out a breath. “I’m doing it.” For once she was going to take a stand for herself. She always stood up for others but never for herself. She wanted answers and she was going to confront Ricardo. The address of his office was ingrained in her mind since the evening Deborah Griggs handed her the letter. Before she could talk herself out of going to his office she drove off.

 By the time she reached Ricardo’s office, however, most of her courage had dissipated. As she sat, parked in the almost empty lot, she wondered if she had taken temporary leave of her senses.

“No, no I didn’t. I said I was going to confront him and I’m going to.” She had to say the words out loud to regain her boldness. “I just hope he’s here,” she whispered, taking in the few vehicles in the parking lot. She got out of her car and walked toward the building. There was a sleek black car with tinted windows parked close to the building. It looked expensive enough to belong to a billionaire. It must be Ricardo’s.

Kyra was told by the receptionist in the lobby that Ricardo’s office was on the sixth floor. During the elevator ride up, she rehearsed what she would say when she saw him, but when the ding of the lift indicated her arrival, every harsh word she had planned to throw his way disappeared and all of a sudden she felt ridiculous. Perhaps showing up at his office without calling wasn’t the best idea. But she had come thus far, and there was no point in turning around and running through the door.

She pushed open the double-glass doors, hoping she was heading into the right office. When she spotted Ricardo’s name on a door to her right, she let out a breath. She was greeted by a young blond woman behind a desk, who looked rather frazzled and stressed. The woman reflected how Kyra felt at the moment.

“Hello, welcome to Bianchi Developments, how may I help you?”

Kyra forced out a smile for the woman’s benefit. “Hi, I’m here to see Ricardo Bianchi.”

“Do you have an appointment?” The woman began nibbling her lower lip while she searched frantically for God knew what. “Oh, no, don’t tell me I screwed up another appointment.”

Kyra cleared her throat lightly. “You didn’t. I don’t have an appointment.”

Clear blue eyes filled with relief lifted to hers. “Oh, thank God. I mean, in that case, please give me a minute to find out if Mr. Bianchi is free. Who should I say is here, ma’am?”

“Kyra.”

Both the secretary and Kyra let out gasps as their gazes swung in the direction of the voice. Kyra’s mouth suddenly went dry and she couldn’t find her voice. Seeing Ricardo for the first time after he visited her apartment was like a punch to her gut, driving out the air from her lungs. She’d thought the attraction and ludicrous reactions at the mere sight of him would have abated by now, but it seemed it had heightened.

“Mr. Bianchi, I’m sorry I was just about to-“

“It’s alright, Marissa,” Ricardo said to his secretary, who Kyra couldn’t help noticing, was staring at him with stars in her eyes. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when the woman turned a slight shade of pink.

Yup, he has that affect on most women it seems, Kyra thought. She sucked in a breath. “Mr. Bianchi, I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by without calling.”

“Not at all.”

He seemed surprised but happy to see her, which confused the hell out of Kyra. Why would he be happy to see her? He must have figured that she was there to give him more grief about his project.

“Please, step into my office.” He stepped aside and motioned to his open door.

With a gulp. Kyra gave Marissa a small smile and proceeded forward. When she passed Ricardo, she caught a whiff of his familiar scent and had to grip her handbag tighter to keep from closing her eyes and taking a long deep breath. That scent had been ingrained in her mind for days.

He closed the door and turned the lock, making Kyra shift nervously from one foot to the other. He didn’t say anything, merely stared at her. “Hi,” she said lamely. It was hard getting her words out, let alone remembering why she was even there with smoldering gray eyes pinning her in place. She swallowed her anxiety. “How have you been?”

Ricardo walked toward her and stopped a few inches away. “Not bad. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Kyra.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Despite her dropping by out of anger, it really was a pleasure seeing him again. Seeing him even dampened her anger somewhat. “Thanks for seeing me without an appointment. I’m sure you’re a busy man.”

His mouth curved upward. “Never too busy for you, Kyra.” He brushed past her and perched on the edge of his desk, arms folded and looking as imposing as ever. He nodded to a leather sofa. “Have a seat.”

“Uh, no thank you. I won’t be long.”

“I assume you’re here to try and talk me out of my development project again.”

Kyra averted her gaze. “Well, yes but that’s not the only reason why I’m here.”

Ricardo cocked a brow, waiting on her expectantly.  Kyra stifled a groan, wishing the bravado she’s had early would return. “You, um… you haven’t called.” There she said it.

“I beg your pardon?”

Embarrassed, Kyra stammered. “I-I mean. After you left my place last week, I never heard from you.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me, Kyra. And I don’t have your phone number.”

She snorted. “You mean to tell me you got my address but not my phone number?”

Ricardo grinned. “You got me. I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me. You were quite upset the last time I saw you. You said there was nothing for us to talk about. I figured calling you so soon wouldn’t be a good idea but I would have called eventually.”

Kyra gaped at him. So he was still interested? Wait, he was interested in Allegra. Remembering that she wanted answers about that as well she blurted out, “What’s going with you and Allegra?”