Chapter 4 Luca's errand girl.

The drive to the company was quiet but tense.

May focused on the road, fingers tight around the steering wheel, irritation simmering beneath her composed exterior. Luca sat in the passenger seat, gaze fixed on the towering structure ahead, eyes narrowing slightly as the building came fully into view.

"That's yours?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied shortly.

He leaned forward a little, studying the glass-and-steel tower that dominated the skyline. "It's...big."

She glanced at him. "You're not coming down."

He turned to her slowly. "Why?"

"Because it wouldn't be nice," she said coolly. "And because your clothes are starting to smell. There's no spare outfit, and I won't have my staff gossiping."

He looked down at himself briefly, then back at her. "You should've warned me."

"I warned you not to touch anything in my car," she snapped. "That includes getting comfortable."

She parked and killed the engine. "Stay here."

Luca lifted a brow. "I'll try."

She didn't miss the faint amusement in his voice, and it annoyed her more than she cared to admit.

Inside the building, heads turned instantly.

May felt it the moment she stepped in...the surprise, the confusion, the whispers. She was never seen like this. No perfect hair, no tailored suit, no calculated polish. Just May, sharp-eyed and irritated, moving with purpose.

"Is that...?"

"She looks different."

"Did something happen?"

She ignored them all and headed straight for the elevator.

Serena Vale was already waiting when she entered her office.

Tall, flawless, dressed like she was about to step onto a runway rather than into a meeting, Serena leaned against the desk with clear impatience etched into her expression.

"You're late," Serena said.

"You're demanding," May replied calmly, dropping her bag. "That balances us out."

Serena's lips tightened. "I'm here because your agency promised exclusivity for the Milan campaign. I don't do shared spotlights, and I don't compromise."

May folded her arms. "And I don't renegotiate contracts because someone woke up dissatisfied."

The meeting dragged.

Serena complained about creative control, about photographers, about styling teams that didn't revolve entirely around her preferences. Each demand chipped at May's patience, her irritation growing with every minute wasted.

Then the noise started.

At first, it was faint...murmurs, then giggles, then raised voices. May's gaze flicked instinctively toward the glass window blinds that overlooked the staff offices. She rose slightly, pulling them aside just enough to see.

Women clustered together.

Blushing. Whispering. Laughing.

And in the middle of it...

Luca.

He stood near the reception desk like he belonged there, one hand dipped casually into his pocket, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. His presence alone seemed to bend attention toward him, staff lingering longer than necessary, glances stolen openly now.

May's stomach dropped.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered.

She turned sharply and stormed out, heels striking the floor with barely restrained fury. As she approached, she could hear it.

"He's so tall."

"Is he a model?"

"Those eyes..."

Luca looked up when he saw her, unfazed.

"You told me not to come down," he said calmly.

"I told you to stay in the car," she hissed.

"The heat was unbearable," he replied. "I needed air."

"You touched my car?" she snapped.

"No," he said. "I suffered."

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. "You are impossible."

He leaned slightly closer. "Get me hot tea. The air conditioning in the car is killing me."

Her glare could have drawn blood.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her office. "One more word out here and I will personally escort you back to the hospital."

Inside, Serena looked up instantly.

Her gaze locked onto Luca...and stayed there.

Too long.

May noticed.

Luca noticed too.

Serena straightened, smile slow and deliberate. "Well," she said softly, "you didn't mention you'd bring company."

May gestured toward the chair beside Serena. "Sit."

Luca did, unbothered, crossing his leg with effortless confidence.

Serena's eyes never left him.

He glanced at her once, then said flatly, "You're not good-looking enough to stare at me for that long."

The room went dead silent.

Serena stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"I don't repeat myself," he replied calmly.

May didn't know when it happened...but she smiled.

Serena stood abruptly, face flushed with anger. "This is unacceptable."

"So are your demands," May said smoothly.

Serena grabbed her bag. "We'll revisit this."

"Or we won't," May replied.

The door slammed behind her.

May leaned back against her desk, exhaling slowly, then glanced at Luca.

"You are a problem."

He met her gaze evenly. "You brought me here."

She smiled again before she could stop herself and that annoyed her most of all.

*

The rest of the day should have gone smoothly.

It didn't.

By noon, May realized she had somehow become Luca's errand girl.

"Water," he said at some point, not looking at her.

She ignored him.

Five minutes later..."It's warm in here."

She clenched her jaw and adjusted the temperature.

When one of her staff offered to help, Luca dismissed them with a glance so cold the woman visibly stiffened before retreating. Another tried again, smiling politely, and he responded with silence so heavy it made May sigh in frustration.

"Stop intimidating my employees," she snapped under her breath.

"I didn't say anything," he replied calmly.

"That's the problem."

Every time someone else tried to assist him, he either ignored them or gave them a look that suggested they were beneath acknowledgment. Eventually, the staff stopped approaching him altogether and looked to May instead.

And she hated that they were looking at her like that.

By late afternoon, her patience was thin, her schedule wrecked, and Luca looked...completely unfazed. Exhausted physically, yes, but mentally sharp, observant, commanding in a way that made it impossible to forget he was not an ordinary man.

When they finally left the building, May didn't speak until they were halfway home.

Traffic was terrible. Someone cut her off aggressively, honking as they sped past.

Luca's jaw tightened. "Vaffanculo."

She turned sharply. "What did you just say?"

He glanced at her briefly. "I don't know."

"That's Italian," she said slowly.

He frowned. "It is?"

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. A memory surfaced suddenly, uninvited...the airport, the collision, the man who had brushed past her muttering the same word in the same accent.

Her heart skipped.

She glanced at him again. "You cussed at me like that before."

"When?" he asked.

"At the airport," she said. "You bumped into me. Same accent. Same word."

He went quiet.

She studied his face, searching for recognition, for anything. "Are you Italian?"

He stared ahead for a long moment. "I don't know," he said finally. "The word just came to my head."

That unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

She looked back at the road, unease curling slowly in her chest, the realization sinking deeper with every mile.

Luca might have lost his memories...but his instincts were still very much alive.

And May Boston had brought them home with her.