The Twelve Vitali Ch. 07

"Maybe I just wanted to see my old man," Matteo returned his father's smirk. "But I wasn't joking when I said I had meetings all day. Cat's going to be staying in Brisbane for a while, and I may just visit the Donatis' for a little while longer than expected." He stood and went to embrace his father.

"Think about what I said, you deserve to be happy, Matteo," Roberto said, clapping him on the back.

*****

A loud knock on Cat's door startled her, and she frowned. Matteo would just let himself in, he had a key, and no one else she knew would be knocking on her door. Maybe it's a salesman, or worse yet a Jehovah's Witness coming to try and save her soul. Surely the building security would have stopped them from gaining access to the residents here. The knock sounded again, and she heard a muffled voice say her name.

"Lucia?" she questioned, opening the door tentatively.

"Who else were you expecting?" she grinned and lifted a bag of food. "I hope you're decent, because there is a delivery guy following me up here," she chuckled. "Andie's been busy this morning and still had places to go, so I said I'd drop off what she had so far."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"She lives for new clients and these sorts of transformations. She said she'd call by about four to go through the outfits with you," she said casually, and took the food to the kitchen bench.

"Let me just put these away and we can eat at the table. What did you bring?" she asked.

"Chinese food we can share, just the regular sort of stuff, I figured you had enough pizza to last you for a while," she grinned and found plates and cutlery as Cat moved her concept pieces from the table back into the studio. She'd slept badly and had given up trying to get more rest as dawn broke. She'd got a lot of work done sitting at the kitchen table, and probably would have worked on if Lucia hadn't arrived.

"Don't take those too far away, I'd love to have a sneak peek at what you're thinking," she smiled. A young man appeared at the door carrying several bags in each arm. "Put them on the couch for now," Lucia instructed, and closed the door behind him as she turned her attention back to Cat.

"This is a nice surprise," Cat said. "Would you like to tell me why you're here, or just let me guess for a while? Because I'm not convinced you're here to get a peek at my doodles from yesterday."

"You've been in town for a few days, and we've hardly had the time to hang out. We may as well go back to emails," Lucia laughed.

"Nice dodge. Want to try again?" Cat grinned as she helped herself to some of the food.

"So, you and Matt, huh?" she said, biting into a spring roll.

"Maybe. I'm going to take him out for a test drive tonight," she said with a perfectly straight face.

"He's a bit of an old clunker, but reliable," Lucia went with the car analogy.

"Oh shit!" Cat slapped her forehead lightly and got up from the table. "I totally forgot I was supposed to call Larry today," she found the leather case and unzipped it, pulling out his card. "I'll just be a minute, I'm so sorry."

Lucia went to tell her to eat first, but she was already holding her phone to her ear. She took the opportunity while Cat was distracted to peek at the sketches. She was impressed with her concepts, she'd drawn three, but one in more detail than the other two, and she could see why it suited her family perfectly. As she picked up the third one she saw a portrait of Matteo and smiled widely.

"See something you like?" Cat said from directly behind her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. This is the one, but you probably already know that," Lucia laughed. "You're either very observant or very intuitive, or both. Probably both, with the way you have already captured their quirks in that sketch," she commented, pointing to the detailed sketch.

"The hardest one of you to read is probably the one I know the best," she admitted. "Come and eat before the food gets any colder."

"Who do you know best?" Lucia asked.

"Pete," she shrugged. "He was very good to me when I was attacked, and again when I broke up with Ricco."

"Yeah, I get that. Pete has his very own support group ready to go when he tries to fix another broken heart," Lucia said. "I assumed there were enough of us right here for him to look after, but it seems he picks up business wherever he goes."

"Well, I'm glad I met him, because that's how I got to talk to you, and you seem to understand my sort of crazy," she smiled lopsidedly.

"I imagine Peri does too," Lucia nodded. "Have you heard about my sister, Veronica? Nik?" she shortened her name when Cat seemed unsure of the full name.

"Matteo dated her, but she wasn't the settle down type of girl," Cat nodded.

"Ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped all over it before stuffing just enough back in so he didn't die completely," Lucia amended her version. "She was in jail for murder and attempted murder when she died. Along with assorted other crimes. Peri almost died at her hands. She almost killed Josh at the same time, because Nik was his twin." Lucia filled in a few of the gaps for her. "The problem is we kept our grief and the truth of what Nik had really done a family secret to be kept in the closet with the rest of the skeletons. We forgot that she hurt a lot more people than just us."

"You mean, Matteo," Cat guessed where this was going. "He told me about her the first night we met. I told him about Ricco. We seem to have been speed dating without the actual date. I think I know more about Matteo than I ever knew about Ricco."

"The thing is he had trouble trusting women in the first place, and then Nik... well, Nik just exacerbated an old wound, and he shut down shop completely," Lucia admitted.

"Yeah, you're not selling him to me at all here. So, either you want me to cancel the date I finally agreed to tonight, or... what? You want me to let him treat me like a doormat just so he gets his mojo back?" She asked, surprised at her own words. Wasn't that exactly what she was considering doing by agreeing to his proposal?

"Neither of those!" Lucia rocked back in her chair as if Cat had physically slapped her. "You're right, I'm not selling him. I didn't think I had to, I watched you both together all day yesterday. It's pretty obvious what's going on there, plus, you have an awesome 'How I met your mother' story for when you have kids," she said laughing. "Neither of you may want to admit it, but you're perfect for each other, except for one thing. Matteo always was and always will be the second son of a powerful family, and even if he and his brothers don't recognise it anymore, his fathers will."

"Jacobi is the second son, which is why Ricco made a commitment to him," Cat said carefully.

"Alessandro may not be alive, but he was Matteo's very real big brother, which makes him second. Even if that wasn't true, Josh wasn't the second son, the law of the tables doesn't require that the new leader be the second son, but it's a pretty strong tradition. Think about the very real possibility that he could be chosen as the new leader in a few years and what that would mean for you," she paused and let that sink in with the little she knew about the family and the tables.

"If you form any more of a relationship with him and end up leaving because you can't handle that he is the best of men, powerful and rich, then make this the first and last date. I'm not sure he could survive having his heart ripped out for the third time," Lucia said without pulling any punches. She hated doing this, but she had promised she would.

"How am I supposed to answer that when I have no idea what Peri does or had to go through to get where she is now? How would I know if I could handle it, or even what it is exactly?" she went on the logical train of thought. "What if I don't want this date to be the last, but can't handle it later on once I discover what's expected? What if... What if... What if..."

"What if Ricco becomes a free man once the table is formed and he is not the oracle?" Lucia put a further question to her. "Alternatively, what if he remains oracle to Matteo's leadership? Could you love them both? What if one of their younger siblings takes the lead and all of this is for nothing?" Lucia said. "The man you are about to start dating has, for want of a better word, a destiny. You've been hurt enough, and so has he. If you don't go into this knowing all of the facts and commit fully one way or another then the chances are the pain and heartache could destroy you both," Lucia said. "No one wants to see that, not me and my family for bringing you together, or his family, who love you both."

"Love is one of those words that get tossed around too easily. His family don't even know me, not really," Cat shrugged. "Ricco does, or did, and maybe Roberto, in some ways, but... I barely know the others. I worked for Vanessa, we were friends, exactly."

"Trust me, my friend. They care about you," Lucia smiled and took her hand. "You are one of those people, like Peri, that people just click with. I don't like people, in general, but I love her, and I think you and I could have a friendship that could last a lifetime." She was careful not to use the word love so carelessly with Cat. "I don't want you going blindly into another relationship and getting hurt. I want you to go in with your eyes wide open and knowing that you have choices and friends that will help you make them if need be."

"We haven't even had a first date yet, and I feel so much pressure," Cat sighed.

"If Matteo was an evil asshole and we had this conversation you would be thanking me," Lucia laughed. "But he's one of the good guys, so you need to decide if what he is offering you is enough or if he is going to leave you wanting more like Ricco did? Add to that and ask yourself, can you be enough for a man with destiny?"

Without knowing it, Lucia had summed up all of Cat's fears in that one sentence. She knew that Matteo was not putting his heart on the line, and wasn't about to ask her to do so, but she wasn't sure that was what she wanted either. There had to be a happy medium somewhere, and she knew the partnership was Matteo's version of that. Her question always came back to the fact that she wasn't good enough for Matteo. Ned told her so; Ricco showed her that she wasn't by keeping her hidden. She had no reason to believe she could be good enough this time. She'd done nothing but think about the situation all morning, and now she had even more to think about and no time to do it in, because Andie would be there at four and it was already two.

*****

"David!" Cat said, answering her phone as soon as she saw his name pop up on the screen.

"Hey!" David grinned into the phone. "I had a meeting with the big boss today."

"Martin?" she asked uncertainly, trying to remember the name of the project manager David had told him about when he first started work and had been assigned to the project team that built the Wattle Alley estate they now lived in.

"No, I mean, he was there, but the big boss, Matteo Vitali!" David said excitedly.

"He was in Melbourne today?" she asked before she could stop herself, and frowned.

"Yeah, he had to leave after the meeting to catch a plane. I understand he travels a lot, so it was amazing that he wanted to meet with Martin and Aimee and me," David explained.

"What did he want?" she asked, wondering why Matteo had done this when they hadn't decided anything yet, not properly anyway.

"Aimee is going on maternity leave next year, and Martin thinks I have what it takes to move up. The problem is I don't have the degree they usually expect from project managers and their assistants," he said with a sigh.

"What sort of degree? Maybe we could sell one of the townhouses and use that to..." Cat began to problem solve, as always, to help her brother get ahead and make a career out of this job.

"You don't have to sell anything; the big guy offered me a scholarship if I continue to work at the company. It's a lot to take on, but it means I can start shadowing Aimee now, and, hopefully, if I bust ass and prove I am serious about it, take over from her when she goes on her leave!" the excitement returned to David's voice.

"That's amazing, I'm so happy for you," Cat said, smiling widely. "It's not too much to take on, is it?"

"No, it's a special condensed degree that will factor in the work I am doing and give me credit. Even if the job doesn't work out long term, having a degree like this will almost guarantee me a good job in the future. Not that I'm planning on not having things work out, but, either way, in a few years I will start being able to pay you back for the townhouse you seem to have put into my name." David's voice became scolding as he said it.

"You would have done it for me if the positions had have been reversed. I'm really happy for you. Can I call you again tomorrow night? It's just that I'm going out tonight and I'm standing here half dressed," she admitted, and laughed as he made a disgusted sound.

"Thank god I didn't face time you," he groaned. "Why didn't you just put me on speaker?"

"Because I'm not the smart one in the family, obviously," she giggled and put him on speaker, laying the phone on the dresser as she did her hair and touched up her make-up. Andie had supplied an amazing wardrobe that took in her taste and style but made it more sophisticated. Peri had been right, she was amazing at what she did, and even though all the price tags had been removed she knew it would have cost her benefactor a small fortune.

Realising he would be arriving soon, she pulled on the long sleeveless business shirt and did the buttons up to her throat. His admission that he was only human last night had stuck in her mind, and she wanted them both to be clear-headed as they discussed the future. Considering he had already kept up his end of the bargain where her brother was concerned, she needed to make sure she looked like one of the girls he would usually date.

She'd googled him and found a bevy of beautiful women hanging from his arm like an ornament. He didn't seem to have a preference for hair colour, and she couldn't know if they were all tall and slim because they were models or because that was his type. They were all draped in the most beautiful of clothes, however, with perfect make-up and at least shoulder length hair. In all honesty, she had no clearer idea of what he would like or expect from her by the search she did. Only one photo of a young Matteo looking at a beautiful brunette made her pause and search the information beneath it to find the name, Veronica Donati.

"Cat, are you still there?" David's voice became louder.

"Yes, I'm here," she said, slipping on some shoes and clomping across the hardwood floor to where she had left the phone.

"I'm on my way out, so I have to go," David chuckled. "I'll have a drink for you if you have one for me."

"Sure," she grinned, seeing her door open after hearing the soft knock. "Love you, Dave."

"Love you, Cat, see you soon," David said as she opened the door.

"That's your brother, I hope, and not some man trying to steal you away from me before our date," Matteo leaned down and kissed her cheek automatically and blinked as he realised what he had done. He handed her a large bouquet of heirloom roses in champagne pink.

"Yes, that was David, he was telling me about meeting the 'big' boss today," she laughed, emphasising the word big as she walked to the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers.

"Seems like a nice guy, Martin rates him highly. I didn't do anything that we wouldn't have done, even if we hadn't met," he held up his hands.

"The scholarship?" she tilted her head.

"All right, maybe that, but I had been considering something similar for a while, I like to promote from within and reward loyalty rather than outsource all of the time," he explained.

"Regardless of why you did it, thank you," she said in a soft voice. "David's over the moon and determined to do a good job."

"I have no doubt he will. From what Martin says he's one of the first in and last out of the job site each day," Matteo tried to play down what he had done for her brother. "I wouldn't promote anyone who didn't deserve it, regardless of whether I was trying to convince their sister to marry me for my money. If he didn't deserve it, I would have taken it off the table or suggested an alternative." Cat was surprised by his admission and was glad David was a hardworking man.

"I can't believe you went to Melbourne today and you're back for dinner," she shook her head. "I guess that's the jet set life you lead," she commented.

"I do travel a lot. I like it, I get a lot of thinking and work done without interruptions when I'm ten thousand feet in the air," he said.

"I guess that makes sense. I wasn't sure where we were going tonight, so I hope this is okay," Cat lifted one foot and spun in front of him.

"You look fine, but I was hoping for an evening gown of some description. Has Andie updated your wardrobe?" he asked, walking through the apartment to her closet.

"We're meeting Josh briefly first. My trip today was unexpected and I had to put off seeing him again. I hope you don't mind," he said, pulling a little black dress from her closet. "I think you'll be more comfortable in this where we are going though. No rush, I can wait," he smiled as if expecting that she would just change as she was told to.

"I don't mind at all. You were the one in a rush to get something formalised between us," she said. "Let me just change and grab a different jacket."

"I went and saw Papa while I was home," he said casually as he watched her walk to the bathroom to change, admiring the sway of her hips.

He'd considered his father's words from every angle on the flight back. He was inclined to believe that Jacobi or Rafael, given time, would rise to be the leader of the next table, so he had no qualms about having to share his partnership with Cat. He understood, however, that life would be infinitely easier for all concerned if he actively encouraged a friendship between Cat and Ricco. He felt for his brother being stuck in a relationship with Maryanne and Jacobi and accepting that his life mate would not be of his own choosing. He would eventually, if pushed, even sanction an affair, as long as they were honest about it. It wasn't like he was going to put his heart on the line in this or any relationship, despite what he would tell the world.

"You were busy today," she said, re-emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later to find him holding a double strand of pearls he had taken from the accessories box Andie had given her. She turned and allowed him to put them around her neck. His fingers felt warm on her skin as they tickled over her neckline, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Both Roberto and Stefano hold you in the highest regard and are more than happy that I am going to start dating rather than bringing a different girl to every event I attend. I did remind them that this was just a first date, however," he chuckled and stepped away, observing her as she turned for him. "I bullied the Dean and the engineering faculty into creating a bespoke course for scholarship recipients of my company and then bestowed the first one on your brother. Then flew back for a date I was looking forward to all day, only to have to change it at the last minute," he went through his day with her.

"Wow, I hope you have a personal assistant I can check in with when I need to see you occasionally!" she laughed.

"I do. Her name is Hilary, and she is already expecting you to make contact at some stage. She knows where I am at any given moment and will interrupt me if you cannot get hold of me for some reason," he said as if this was an everyday occurrence.