''I Do''...Take Two! by Merline Lovelace Read Free Book Online Page B

that cultural tradition goes.”
    â€œDo you want to hear this or not?”
    He surrendered gracefully. “Yes, ma’am.”
    â€œBologna is home to Cassa di Molino, one of Italy’s largest banks. It was organized back in the 1800s by a commission of wealthy patrons to manage the city’s poorhouses. The commission also encouraged better-off citizens to save by offering them a safe place to deposit funds they could draw on in emergencies or old age.”
    Her fiscal interests fully engaged, Kate skimmed the article describing the minimum deposit—not less than six scudi—and loans tailored to craftsmen and merchants to stimulate the local economy.
    â€œBack then the bank allocated all profits to helping young entrepreneurs, depositors who fell on hard times and women with no dowries.”
    â€œI’m guessing it’s not as philanthropic these days.”
    Ignoring the sardonic comment, she worked her thumbs. “And I think... Yes! Here he is, Antonio Gallo. The bank’s new president.”
    She angled the phone to display a photo of a distinguished gentleman with a genial smile and a full head of silver hair.
    â€œI met him at a conference last year. He mentioned then that he was being considered for a senior position. I didn’t remember where until just now, when you mentioned Bologna.”
    â€œSounds like a useful contact.”
    â€œVery useful.”
    â€œSince we’re heading in that direction anyway, why don’t you call and see if he’s available for a courtesy call?”
    She hesitated for only a second or two. She hadn’t factored any business calls into her vacation schedule. Then again, neither had she planned a visit to Bologna. As Travis indicated, however, this was too good an opportunity to let slip.
    So much for their carefully reconstructed agenda, she thought, as she Googled the number for the headquarters of Cassa di Molino. After speaking to several underlings, she reached Signore Gallo’s executive assistant, who advised that his boss’s schedule was quite full but a short visit at 11:20 a.m. might be possible if he juggled some other appointments. Could he call Signorina Westbrook back to confirm? And in the interim, perhaps she might email a short bio?
    â€œCertainly.”
    She gave him her contact information, then zinged off a copy of the bio she kept stored in her iCloud documents file.
    â€œWe’re tentatively set for eleven twenty. Can we make that?”
    He checked his watch. “Shouldn’t be a problem if we hit the road within the next half hour.”
    â€œI need to change. Can you get my bagel to go?”
    â€œSure. Or...”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œRather than drive up and back, we could check out here and go on to Venice after our meetings. Stop over in Florence on the return leg.”
    He was right. It didn’t make a lot of sense to drive a hundred kilometers north, come back, then retrace the route a few days later on the way to Venice and Aviano. Conceding defeat, Kate mentally shredded their much-amended and totally useless itinerary.
    â€œSounds like a plan,” she agreed.
    â€œYou go change and pack. I’ll get our breakfast to go, throw my stuff together and meet you in the lobby.”
    Upstairs, she hurriedly sorted through her limited wardrobe. The slinky caramel-colored pantsuit she’d worn for dinner at the Cavalieri was her most viable option. It would do for a business meeting if she dressed it down.
    The chunky wooden necklace she’d brought to wear with the cotton tanks and sweaters was a little too down, though. What she needed was a scarf, she decided. One that could perform the double duty of adding a touch of sophistication to her wardrobe and keeping her hair from whipping free of the plastic clip during the drive. Remembering the many street vendors she’d seen set up close to the hotel last evening, she shimmied out of her jeans and