A Night Of Mystery
1920 Words
Isabella's POV
" Bella, are you okay? Your face is white as snow," Stella said to me. Looking at me with confusion in her eyes.
" Yes, I'm fine..." I said and tried to go down to pick up the broken glasses, but Stella stopped me.
" Don't worry about that, I'll get someone else to clean it, are you sure you're fine?" she said to me.
" Yes, I am sure..." I said and gave her a fake smile.
" Come, he is dying to meet you," she said and grabbed my hand. We walked up to the man at the table.
To say that this was going to be awkward would be an understatement. I broke into this man's house just last night, and now he shows up at the gallery and buys all of my paintings? Something doesn't add up here.
" This is Isabella Haines, our brilliant artist," Stella said with a smile.
" Bella, this is the gentleman I was telling you about, Mr. Dante Greco," she said to me.
" You failed to mention that she was such a beauty..." he said and took my hand and kissed it.
" Pleased to meet you, Miss Haines," he said to me.
He was pretending not to know me, which is a good thing. Considering that I almost stole his painting last night, I would hate for Stella to know that I have been pulling jobs with Steven again, especially after she warned me against him.
" The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Greco," I said to him.
" If someone told me that there was such a brilliant artist like you here, I would have sought you out sooner, maybe even introduced you to some friends, art lovers like you," he said to me.
" This is her first exhibition, but I'm sure she can show you some of her private collection," Stella said to him.
She's right, I do have a private collection, but that is not for sale; that belonged to me. Stella happened to see them when she was picking out pieces for tonight.
" A private collection? I'm intrigued," Dante said to me.
" I'm sorry, but my private collection is not for anyone's eyes," I said to him, as politely as I could.
" Or maybe I could break in and check it out myself," he said to me.
Stella laughed, thinking that it was a joke, but I think that he meant what he said. I broke into his house. What would stop him from breaking into mine?
" But I'm a gentleman, and gentlemen don't go into people's houses uninvited," he said with a smile.
" Oh, someone's calling me... excuse me," Stella said and left us.
Dante looked at me and smiled a little, still, I saw darkness behind his eyes, shadows he was trying to get away from, even then, he was as handsome as I remembered him to be, which is why I didn't understand why he made me that proposal.
The man is a complete package. He is tall, handsome, and rich. He could have any woman he wants, so why would he feel the need to do what he said he wanted to do?
" I thought you only liked famous paintings," I said to him.
" I love all forms of art, especially the good kind, and you have a rare talent. I bet that my paintings will be ten times what I paid in a couple of years, so this is a win for me," he said to me.
" So it's all about money to you?" I asked him.
" Isn't it everything about money?" he asked me.
" No, not everything is about money. What about love? Family? Those are things more important than money..." I said to him.
" Love? Nothing good can come from that. It is nothing but comfort food for the weak because that is what it does, makes you weak," he said to me.
I don't know this guy, and even though he looks like a man who didn't care about love, I can't help but feel like he was afraid of it somehow.
" What about family?" I said to him.
" Family is good, up to a certain point, but in the end, everyone disappoints you, even family," he said to me.
" So you don't fall in love, and you don't care about family?" I said to him.
" I think I've said too much, I'm much more interested in knowing about you. Are you in love, Miss Haines?" he asked me.
" I guess you'll never know, please excuse me, Mr. Greco," I said to him, ready to walk away. He grabbed my hand and stopped me. He pulled me closer to him, and I hit his chest. I looked up and saw his eyes staring back into mine.
" Say yes, it's only a year, I promise that you won't regret it," he said to me.
I didn't say anything. I simply pulled away from his arms and walked away. I went back to the office where I had tons of champagne on my own. About an hour later, Stella showed up in the office.
" So this is where you're hiding?" she said and sat on the couch next to me. She took off her shoes.
" What a night!" she said and reached for the champagne bottle, but it was empty.
" Okay, a whole bottle? Are you celebrating or drowning your sorrows?" she asked me. She looked like she was a little worried.
" Celebration, of course, I made over two million in one night," I said with a forced smile.
" So what's going on between you and Steven? He left without saying goodbye," she said to me.
" I didn't even know that he had left," I said to her.
" Yeah, he left while you were talking to Dante. Speaking about Dante, do you two know each other? I saw the way he was looking at you," she said to me.
" No, I only met him tonight," I said to her.
" Still, he had his eyes set on you. He seems like a nice man, the kind who'd treat you right," she said to me.
" You're reading too much into this. Besides, I don't think that he is the husband-material kind of guy," I said to her.
" What makes you say that?" she asked me.
" It doesn't matter. It's been a long night. Do you need me to help you lock up?" I said to her.
" Oh no, you go home and rest, you need it, I'll take care of everything," she said to me.
" Goodnight, boss-lady," I said to her and stood up, but I was drowsy, so I fell back and laughed at myself for falling back.
" Well, looks like someone had fun tonight. You're not driving, are you?" she asked me.
" No, I'll call a cab," I said and stood up for the second time, I took my purse and took out my phone. I booked a ride, and the car said that it was five minutes away, so I decided to wait for it outside.
It was a bit chilly, and I regretted not taking a jacket. A car stopped in front of me, and a window rolled down.
" Need a ride home?" Dante asked me.
" No thanks, I'll be fine," I said to him.
The last thing I want is for him to know where I live. I somehow have a hard time believing that he just showed up out of nowhere.
" Oh, come on, it's cold. You'll catch a cold or worse," he said and got out of the car.
" Get in..." he said, holding the door open. He didn't look like he was giving me much of a choice.
" Fine..." I said and went inside the car.
" Take this," he said and gave me his jacket.
" Thanks," I said, and put it on. A few seconds later, I felt the heat in the car.
" Why did you come? The real reason this time?" I said to him.
" I have already told you why I came. If you don't believe me, that's your own problem," he said with a serious face.
I didn't say anything after that. Instead, I looked out the window and watched as the car drove us out of the city, only to stop at some restaurant.
" We're here..." he said to me.
" I don't live here," I said to him.
" Of course you don't. It's a restaurant," he said to me.
" What are we doing here?" I asked him.
" We're going to do what people do in restaurants, eat," he said to me.
" What if I'm not hungry?" I said to him.
" You can't possibly tell me that you ate those little snacks you were serving at the gallery, you need real food," he said and went out of the car, he went to my side and opened the door for me.
I will be the first to admit that all of this was strange, I don't know this man, not well enough to be going out to dinner with, especially so late in the evening.
" Come," he said and gave me his hand, making it clear that he was not going to take 'No' for an answer.
" Fine, I guess I do have to eat," I said and got out of the car.
We walked into the restaurant, and there were only a few tables occupied. I could be wrong, but most restaurants have closed their kitchen at this hour.
The hostess led us to the table near a window, where there was already a bottle of white wine on ice. He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down.
As soon as he sat down, a waiter came with food, as if they had it prepared before we arrived, which meant that he planned to get me to this restaurant one way or another.
" So, Mr. Greco, what's your end game here?" I asked him.
" I told you what I wanted, I gave you twenty-four hours, I need to know what you have decided upon," he said to me.
" Excuse me if I need a little more time to think about this. You are asking me to give up my life for a year and pretend to be your wife?" I said to him.
" No pretending, the marriage will be real," he said to me.
" Like I said, I need more time to think about this," I said to him.
" Okay, I'll give you a few more days," he said to me..
We had our dinner, and after that, he took me home. I made him stop a few blocks away from my apartment because I didn't want him to know where I lived.
I went inside my apartment, and something didn't feel right; there was a strange presence. I switched on the lights and screamed.
" What the hell is going on here?" I asked.
Steven was tied to a chair, bleeding from what looked like a gunshot wound on his shoulder, his mouth was gagged, and two guys with guns were standing beside him.
" Sit down!" One of the guys said to me.
- Writer
