He took his time, and when he finally did speak, it wasn't to her. Instead, his words were directed at Fabio, who stood quietly behind him.
"Can you step out for a second?" he said. His tone was light and his voice calm, but Isadora sensed immediately that it was more of an order than a suggestion.
He looks like a man used to being obeyed, she thought, unable to stop her eyes from drifting to his face and eyes. His lips, his jawline, every line of his features drew her attention again and again.
Even the bulging muscles of his arms and the length of his fingers unsettled her in a way she couldn't quite explain. She watched Fabio bow his head before heading to the door.
But not before he shot her a nasty look, one she did her best not to reciprocate—and couldn't, even if she tried.
She turned her face instead, forcing herself to focus solely on CEO Dante. He leaned back in the big office chair, legs spreading casually as he fixed his full attention on her.
His eyes were a dark shade of brown as they held Isadora's lighter ones.
"What kind of help do you need?" he asked.
Isadora instantly perked up, eyes widening in surprise as she began to respond.
"Protection. The last thing I want is to be sold to Tiberio. It's an open secret that he has crazy connections to the mafia!" she told him. "I just need you to protect me and my family!" She was tempted to leave out her stepmother and brother but knew her father wouldn't move without them.
Again, the conversation lulled into silence. Dante stared at her, taking in her appearance as his gaze lightly strayed to her clothes, almost as if searching for something more, something he had yet to find.
"In exchange, you won't release the video?" Dante asked.
Isadora instantly nodded, sincerity in her expression. "I would not even—"
"…And I'm just supposed to take your word for it? Considering your flawless and kind character I've seen so far?" His tone dropped, colder and icier, and Isadora trembled, tightening her fists at her sides to keep her fear at bay.
"I guess you'll have to trust me," she told him, a deep frown creeping onto her face. She took a step back in fear as Dante suddenly rose to his feet, pushing his chair back and stepping out from behind the table.
He towered over her easily—too easily. It didn't help that she was still shaken from Fabio's earlier threat when he had squeezed her neck. Her fear only seemed to deepen.
"If—if you hurt me, you'll regret it!" she stuttered out, even as Dante sent her a look as though she had gone crazy. He leaned against the table, passing a hand through his hair, almost rolling his eyes, before he began to speak.
"You can post the video, and I can have it pulled down before anyone will see it. Even if they do, I can still shut it down," he said.
"I could have your family taken to jail, and you yourself wouldn't make it past the street!" he continued boldly, cold eyes making Isadora shiver. "There are a hundred things I can do to you and your family simply for the threat you made, and no one can go against me… Why?"
"Because I have the money," he finished.
Tears began to pool in Isadora's eyes as anger bubbled inside her, and anger she could not hide in the depth of her eyes.
He wasn't lying. He owned the building—and it was just one of many. With money came resources, and with resources came power. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed and furious she became as she stared at his face, only to hear him continue.
"Normally, I would have sent you out," he began. "BUT…I seem to realize that there might be something I can get from you much easier than from a random person!" he said, and a confused expression crossed Isadora's face. She had no idea what he could possibly want from her.
Considering their conversation the night before, he had made it clear he had everything.
"Your family is surety enough to make sure you don't go against me!" he told her.
"There's nothing I can give you! Even if I were to borrow money and—" she began.
"I want an heir," he said, interrupting her.
Even if he hadn't interrupted, Isadora would have been too stunned to continue. Her mouth dropped open in direct response to what she had just heard.
"Wha…what?" she gasped.
But Dante simply continued.
"An heir would be enough to shake things up," he told her. But it seemed more like he was talking to himself, his eyes no longer focused on her and fixed somewhere distant, though his gaze remained on her.
"In exchange for protecting your family and you from Tiberio, you'll bear a child for me… nurse him until he is weaned, then you'll leave," he told her.
Isadora's eyes grew larger the longer she listened.
"I'll give you some money as a consolation fee, of course. About ten million should be enough!" he continued.
Isadora, still looking at him with her mouth slightly open, couldn't figure out what to say—astonished both by what he wanted and by the amount of money she had just heard him mention.
"There's no need to sign a contract. It will be a verbal agreement!" he said.
And Isadora didn't doubt it, since he was powerful enough to take the baby from her once she had it.
'IF…IF,' she thought even as her frown deepened. What he was asking for was way more than what she would be offering him.
A child!
'It would be my child too right?' He heart pounding harder than ever before but this time it didn't feel like fear but from something she couldn't outrightly name.
It was terrifying as she stared at him and watched him stare at her opening his mouth to speak again, words that didn't in any way match the cool and calm persona he exuded.
"If you don't agree then LEAVE!"