he was, it was only mentally, for all logical reasons and considerations. But there was no trace of the all-out agitation and anger he’d once experienced, when his work had been the central thing in his life. His priorities had changed irrevocably. They all revolved around Glory now.
He sighed. “I thought your security system was now impenetrable.”
Brandon gave a curt nod. “It is. And there is no leak.”
“So you just want to reprimand me for marrying Glory? You don’t know much about who she is now if you’re even worried.”
Brandon gave him a long-suffering look. “It’s my business to know everything about everyone. I know exactly who she is and what she does. The body of work she’s amassed over the past five years is nothing short of phenomenal.”
He exhaled. “Just spit out the ‘but’ you’re here to say.”
“But I think this might be a far more elaborate facade than the one she had six years ago.”
He waved the man’s words away. “I don’t care about the past anymore, Brandon.”
“I’m not talking about the past.”
Everything inside Vincenzo hit pause. “You just said there’s been no leak.”
“Not in your operations, no. But you are deep in negotiations with multinational interests on behalf of Castaldini. I caught leaks of vital info that only you could know, that could end up costing Castaldini the projects and investments you’re on the verge of securing on its behalf.”
Vincenzo’s temperature started to rise, his muscles turning to stone. “The sides I’m negotiating with are privy to the same info, and the leak could be on their side.”
“It isn’t.”
At the curt final statement, he found himself on his feet, agitation no longer in check. “Why on earth are you suspecting Glory when she had no part in any of this?”
“You mean she isn’t privy to the details of your dealings and the innermost workings of your mind this time around?”
He shook his head, felt his brain clanging against his skull. “No—I mean, I do consult with her—you know there’s no one better than her when it comes to negotiations—and she has been advising me, and I’ve used every shred of advice she gave me to my advantage, but that doesn’t mean she—”
Brandon interrupted his ramblings. “Do you observe all the security measures I devised in your shared space?”
Vincenzo hadn’t even given security a thought around her. But… “No. Stop right there. This isn’t Glory’s doing. I’m certain. Whatever happened in the past, it must have been against her will. She’s worked so hard ever since to make good, to turn her life around. With only the power of her benevolence and perseverance she’s done more for more people than I’ve done with all my power and money. I’m never suspecting her again.”
Brandon gave him the look of a disapproving parent. “May I remind you it wasn’t ‘suspicion’ last time? I gave you proof, proof you yourself verified, from her closest people.”
Vincenzo’s voice rose, no longer under his control. “I told you the past has nothing to do with the present. And then it turned out she actually saved me from making the worst mistake of my life.”
“So you should forgive someone because she didn’t succeed in killing you, but inadvertently made you jump and save yourself from falling into a pit? How far are you willing to stretch to make excuses for her, Vincenzo?”
“As far as I need to. When all is said and done, I’m in a much better place now and it is because of what happened.”
“Even if it turns out for the best, a failed attempt at a crime still deserves punishment.”
“And I did punish her,” he bellowed. “I passed sentence on her without a trial, without even giving her the chance to defend herself. And what did all that righteousness get me? Six years of hell, without her. Now I have her back, and I’m never losing her again.”
Brandon gaped at him for a long, long moment.
Then he grimaced. “God, this is worse than I thought. You’re totally under her spell.”
“I love her.”
“And she betrayed you again. What a mess.”
Vincenzo barely held back from punching him. “Stop saying that and look elsewhere, Brandon. You’re not infallible, remember? You made a mistake with Eduardo’s wife.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. Jade was hacking into his system.”
“Under duress,” he gritted out. “And she was doing that in order to fortify it, so no one could infiltrate it again. As I said, everything isn’t always as it seems. You were right, but you were also wrong. You’re wrong