THREE
Petsi started in the last week of November, a week or two before Chloe's fifth birthday, which she helped to organise. Sophia had one more trip to fit in before year end, and that was a three-day trip to Milan, where the bank were looking to grow their business. Fortunately, she had been able, after a little horse-trading, to make the trip after her daughter's big day, which a total of 15 children and as many - if not more - adults were due to attend. The gods smiled on the Collins family that day, with mild weather for the time of year, no rain and plenty of sunshine. This enabled them to use the terraces that surrounded the house on two sides, as well as all the downstairs rooms. It was a great day with no major disasters and lots of happy children. To say that Petsi was a hit with everyone would be something of an understatement. She had done the lion's share of the catering (Sophia and a few of her best friends had chipped in with bits and pieces, and the cake had been bought at the local patisserie) and it was imaginative, tasty and nutritious.
All the mothers that attended were surprised that Sophia had hired a young woman of such outstanding beauty, while the few fathers in attendance counted their lucky stars that they had chosen to spend their Saturday afternoon beside the Thames. Naturally, Peter, who looked after a modest barbecue for the adults, came in for a lot of ribbing, which he shook off in his normal insouciant manner, claiming that he didn't really take much notice of the domestic help, who were normally finished with their duties by the time he got back from the office. Since everyone knew that Petsi was a live-in help, this didn't cut much ice with his male counterparts, who wondered if he was hoping to trade in one blonde for a younger model. Peter laughed off all the banter, saying that Sophia was plenty of woman for him and that Petsi had a boyfriend living nearby, who would no doubt be the focus of her energies at the weekend. This last line caused uproar among those who heard it, as they speculated on what the stunner would be getting up to during the rest of the week.
So it was a happy Sophia that flew to Milan on Sunday afternoon, ready for two busy days of meetings before flying back to London on Wednesday morning. Alessandro, a representative of the bank in Italy, met her at the airport and drove her to her hotel, which was only a stone's throw from La Scala. That evening she attended a dinner that had been arranged in her honour, where she met senior bank executives - who had already briefed her by phone and email on the event - representatives of two of the bank's largest local corporate customers, and a man called Gianluca Berti, whose business the bank had been courting for some years. His family owned some of the best vineyards in Lombardy, as well as running an export-oriented fine food business, which specialised in truffles. It was said they were the largest supplier of truffles to Germany, which in turn was one of the world's largest markets for the delicacy.
Sophia instinctively felt Gianluca, or Luca as he told her to call him, was someone she could do business with. Although he wasn't a tall man (perhaps five feet eight), he had a handsome face with an olive complexion - the most prominent feature of which was a Roman nose - topped off by hair swept back in the Italian style. He was wearing a grey designer suit, a white shirt, a yellow tie with a matching handkerchief in his breast pocket and soft leather black shoes with subtle buckles. Sophia learned at the dinner that her schedule for the following day would conclude with a visit to his city office, after which another dinner with the entire senior management of the Milan branch would be held at eight o'clock at one of Milan's most feted restaurants.
When the meal was over and people were drifting off, Luca made a point of speaking to Sophia, extending an invitation to her to go to the opera with his wife and himself on Tuesday evening. When Sophia mentioned that she didn't want to put him to the inconvenience of obtaining a ticket for her at such a late juncture, he dismissed her objection breezily, saying that he had a box and numbers were no problem. Sophia was delighted to accept, even if the only opera she had ever seen was
Die Fledermaus
, when she was at school. It would be quite something to tell Carrie and her other friends about.
That night she slept remarkably well for a first night in a strange country and was able to stay alert during the round of meetings she had to attend and participate in prior to lunch. Lunch was taken at a local bistro, after which she had just one more meeting to fit in before the visit to Luca's office. For some reason, she had been particularly looking forward to this part of the day, and it had to be said that it was the main reason that Sophia had worn a brand new navy blue retro knee-length satin pencil dress fitted with a sash belt, accessorised by silver coloured Roman-style bracelets on each wrist. Three-inch navy heels completed the ensemble.
Alessandro and Luigi, another bank representative, accompanied her to Luca's office, which turned out to be a delightful two-storey house in an elevated leafy part of the city, not far from the centre. Essentially, the ground floor had been converted into office space, with an open-plan area for the clerical and, Sophia assumed, sales staff, together with two or three offices for senior executives. Naturally, Luca's office took pride of place with a magnificent view towards the famous cathedral. The upper floor, Luca explained, provided living quarters for family members who needed a
pied
-à-
terre
in the city or for VIP guests and business partners.
The meeting proved very productive and at its close, when Luca made an office available to the delegation from the bank, Alessandro and Luigi were effusive in their praise for the role that Sophia had played in softening Luca's position on what had for several years been major sticking points in respect of his negotiations with the bank. They thought a deal was imminent and they knew how happy the bank's directors would be with the progress that had been made. Before the delegation left in Alessandro's Alfa Romeo, Luca took Sophia to one side and asked her if she would like to try some truffles as a kind of antipasto before the evening's formal dinner. Seeing that the time was only a little after five and that Luca would himself drive her to the restaurant, she agreed. She was, after all, curious to see the upper part of the house.
Once the others had left, Luca took Sophia's arm and walked with her up the staircase to the upper floor. In contrast to the modern décor below, the living quarters had been decorated in a rustic fashion, with heavy oak doors and polished mahogany floors. This would have made the space dark, so, to provide more light, skylights had been fitted in the ceilings. It was already dark now, however, so light was provided by subtle lighting provided by the solar panels strategically placed in the garden. Luca led Sophia through to the sitting room and asked her to wait while he brought a selection of truffles and a bottle of their finest white wine.
Walking round the room, she looked at the old books (many, she fancied, first editions) and the various pieces of pottery that adorned the room: one of which she took to be a Ming vase of great value. A reproduction of Raphael's Transfiguration hung on one of the walls. She chose to sit on the sofa, thinking it might be more convenient for Luca to sit beside her while he led her on his little culinary tour.
To be honest, she didn't go a bundle on truffles, but she made all the right noises and drank her wine, which was very good indeed. He started talking about business - which surprised Sophia - and he said his family had been pushing him to cut a deal with the bank for some time. As a great believer in fate, he now knew why he hadn't sealed the deal before. It was because he was a man of passion and he needed to meet a kindred spirit in the bank before he could take the step. And that person was of course Sophia. As chat-up lines went, she thought this one was quite original. She was also aware that nothing had been signed as yet, no contract drawn up, and she was deeply aware of her responsibilities to her employer and their expectations of her.
She placed her hand on his and said that she felt a kind of connection with him that was almost spiritual. When he had asked her to join him at the opera, she felt almost as if she was being initiated into an ancient mystery. Visiting this house had given her a similar feeling. At this point, Sophia backed off a bit, thinking she may have gone miles over the top, but Luca, if he suspected anything, certainly wasn't showing it. He asked her if she would like to finish her tour of the house, which Sophia understood to mean only one thing: the bedroom. Sure enough, he led her down the corridor and stood beside the door, ushering her in ahead of him. The room, in common with other rooms on the upper floor, had skylights, but it was dominated by a capacious four-poster bed. It looked very old and Luca confirmed that it was, apart from the mattress, which had only recently been put in.
'Why don't you try it?' said Luca, moving round the room and turning on a couple of table lamps before switching off the main lights and closing the door.
'I think perhaps it would crease my dress,' said Sophia, making a meal of trying to reach her zipper.
'Allow me,' said Luca, coming close behind her and easing it down as slowly and sensuously as he could manage.
'Thank you,' said Sophia, keeping up the impression that absolutely nothing improper could possibly happen between them.
'May I?' asked Luca, mimicking the action of removing the garment from Sophia's body.
'Thank you,' Sophia repeated, as though she had suffered some kind of brain damage and was only able to avail herself of the one expression.
