Till Death do us Together

Chapter 19

~Leonardo~

I tossed the magazine onto the table.

This was why I was hesitant on letting Alex come to the boat party, which was only a business transaction for me. Tabloids of last night were spreading all over Italy, giving people all these ideas. The last time the media knew she was involved with me, someone put a bounty on her head.

I was still clearing up that fucking mess, why not throw in another?

I stopped pacing around my office to flip the magazine around and take another look at the picture. Fuck. 

I didn't know people still read these, let alone write them. On the front cover was Alex cheering as a group of guys carried her across the yacht.

One paragraph said Billionaire Leonardo De Luca settles for a wild child. How will this lifestyle change him? And will this finally be the last of De Luca's flings?

A knock at the door sounded.

I already knew how to fix this.

The door swung open and Aria swung her head around the doorframe. "You called?" She asked before stepping into the room. Her ensemble of a a bra and shorts that passed for underwear made me do a double take.

"What the fuck Aria?"

"It was all I had to thrown on."

I lowered myself onto my seat and rubbed my temple. I couldn't believe I had to fake a relationship with her. I had lots of other options, but Aria was a known model. She'd distract the media fast. And, she was the only one I could shut up with an NDA form.

"Speaking of...." She set down a clear container holding cookies. "I made something for you."

I gestured to the seat in front of me and she sat.

"You've heard the news by now. I want to calm the rumours of Alex by releasing news of our relationship."

"We have a relationship?" She blurted, and covered her mouth to cover what looked like a smile. I cringed a little as I pulled out the NDA form.

"Fake. If you agree to it." I slid the paper across the table. "As far as they'll know, we've been dating for two months. I'll have photos of us released into the public to trick them into thinking that. The relationship will last three more days after which we'll break up."

She stared at the form. "Where do I sign?"

———

The men sounded like they were vacationing when I stepped past the doors. A roar came from the kitchen, everyone chanting Gabriele.

I'd stop making the five of them stay to watch Alex, but I needed the extra eyes on her. Even if there was no danger, that woman would cause it to herself.

She was unhinged, and persistent in my thoughts with her voice. That fucking voice. I couldn't stop hating her for something she had no control over.

As much as I tried banishing any thought of her, smooth, olive skin and silky black hair dug its way into my mind. I needed a Goddamn drink, but I dismissed it. To walk into that kitchen and have someone bring up my exhaustion irked me, so I headed to the living room.