A Moment on the Lips - By Kate Hardy Page 0,58

As if she hasn’t been sleeping. Or eating properly.’

‘I meant business,’ he said, more rudely than he’d intended, but he didn’t need a lecture about Carenza Tonielli right now.

‘It was business. She brought some papers in—some things that she says don’t add up. She wanted you to take a look at them and see what you thought, when you had a moment.’

‘Did she leave a note?’ Oh, now, why had he said something so stupid and needy? It shouldn’t matter whether she’d left a note or not. Or how she’d signed it. He definitely wasn’t going to ask that. Besides, he’d made the right decision for both of them. He’d done the fair thing.

‘Everything’s in a sealed envelope,’ Mariella said.

Which was where he should leave it. But his mouth had other ideas, and he found himself saying, ‘Can you open it and take a quick look?’

When Mariella read him the note, he whistled. No wonder Carenza had been worried. In her shoes, he would’ve wanted a second opinion, too. ‘OK. I’ll give her a call. Thanks.’ He could drop in and see her later tonight, after his last meeting. All he needed to do was check when would be a good time.

But when he dialled Carenza’s office number, he discovered that she wasn’t there; the phone was answered by one of the girls from the shop.

‘Do you know where she is or what time she’s likely to be back?’ Dante asked.

‘I think she’s gone to see Signor Mancuso.’

She’d what? Surely she hadn’t been so hare-brained as to go and tackle the man about his fraudulent activities on her own, without back-up? ‘Thank you. If you could let her know I’ve called,’ he said, keeping his voice as polite and neutral as possible. Then he rang Carenza’s mobile.

No answer.

Carenza never ignored her phone. Ever.

Prickles of unease darted down his spine.

He was supposed to be in a meeting in less than five minutes. An important meeting. Something that would have a huge effect on the franchising.

But no way could he leave Carenza alone in what could well turn into a seriously nasty situation. What the hell had she been thinking? That Mancuso would simply say, ‘OK, so you caught me, I’ll stop now’? It looked as if the man had been systematically taking a cut from Tonielli’s, with nobody to check him; Gino’s accountant was clearly either incompetent or in on the deal. And it was unlikely that Mancuso would take it well when Carenza confronted him with the evidence.

Dante raked a hand through his hair. If he rang Mancuso and she wasn’t there, it would give the man enough warning to help him cover his tracks and lie his way out of it. But if she was there, then why the hell wasn’t she answering her phone? Had Mancuso done something to her? His stomach turned to water at the idea of her being hurt. Carenza. So bright and sweet—and so damn vulnerable.

He had to go and find her. Now. There was no real choice.

His lawyer was waiting for him when he cut the connection on his phone.

‘Vittorio, you’ll have to do this without me,’ he said. ‘That, or get them to postpone—something important’s come up and I have to go.’

‘Rachele’s all right? Your mother? Fiorella?’

Interesting that his lawyer had mentioned his sister first, Dante thought. They’d talk about that, later—but right now Carenza had to come first. ‘They’re fine. Sorry, I don’t have time to explain. I have to go.’

The bike was going to be quicker than a taxi at this time of night. Decision made, he strode into his garage—not caring that he was wearing a business suit, because there wasn’t time to change—jammed his motorcycle helmet on his head, and took off for Mancuso’s office.

This would prove to Dante that she knew what she was doing, Carenza thought. He’d said that she needed to gather her evidence. She had—and from more than one source. And her instincts had been right on the money, too; she had proof now that Mancuso had been at the bottom of this all the way along. And hadn’t Dante said that he’d rather she called with solutions than with problems?

She could do this. Prove her worth as a businesswoman.

It made her angrier and angrier as she reached the shop, but she kept a lid on her temper. Yelling was going to get her nowhere. She had to stay calm and deal with the facts. Show Emilio Mancuso that she knew what he’d done