He leads me to the kitchen where Raffaello and Sutton are camped out at the kitchen counter, both heads down in their laptops. “Hi,” I say.
They look up. They don’t really seem surprised to see me, just annoyed.
“Just the two people I wanted to see,” I say. Sutton’s eyes narrow and Raffaello scoffs. They’re not buying it. “I have a proposal for you.” I open my bag and pull out two stacks of paper, placing one in front of each of them.
Sutton crosses her arms. “Let me guess, you aren’t happy with Benito’s resignation.”
“I’m not,” I say, sure to keep my voice even and calm. “But it’s not about that.” I readjust to make myself as tall as possible. “Let the development deal go through under the condition that all the locally owned business in town get to keep their leases at the current rates when construction completes.”
“Do you have the authority to offer that?” Raffaello asks.
“Benito’s resigning, that means it’s your call.”
Raffaello perks up. He looks to Sutton. She nods. “And in return?” he asks.
“I’m prepared to offer something of value to you, but there’s another condition.”
Sutton sighs. “And what’s that?”
I take a deep breath. “You will free Benito from his promise to work for you in London.”
Raffaello and Sutton share another look. I can’t quite discern their energy, and my stomach is in knots while they wordlessly deliberate. Finally, Sutton turns to me. “Ok. And this mysterious offer of what we’d get in return?”
I adjust so I’m standing tall, confident. “I will be the face of the town’s tourism ad campaign.” Sutton raises her eyebrows and Raffaello leans in, interested. “Using my image to attract tourists to La Musa will work,” I say. “We have evidence of it, and I will allow Don and your other colleagues to use the mock-ups they showed me. For one year.” I point at the contracts. “It’s all laid out in there.”
Sutton’s eyes narrow. “You know, this is no guarantee that Benito won’t return to London anyway.” She staresat me pointedly. I don’t know if she always knew what was percolating between me and Benito, but she’s certainly clued in now.
“I know,” I say. “It doesn’t matter. The point stands. Your development plan can go through and I will be the face of it as long as Benito is free to do what he wishes and the businesses already in town will be protected.”
They’re silent for a moment, considering. “Benito has never known what’s good for him,” Raffaello says finally, his voice gruff.
“Raffaello.” Sutton nudges him with her elbow. “I’ll work on persuading him sans blackmail, but I think it’s a win-win. The monetary value of what Izzy’s offering. . . we’d be daft to turn it down.”
“Is that a yes?” I ask.
Sutton nods, ceding her approval, and gestures for Raffaello to make the final call. He looks down at his hands in his lap for a moment, but when he lifts his head, I know he’s made a decision. “Fine. Deal.”
I can’t hide my grin. “Great.” I temper my excitement to a professional level. I fish a pen out of my bag and hand it to them. “These contracts affirm what we’ve agreed upon today, guaranteeing neither of us go back on our word. I’m happy to wait while you read through the conditions.”
The door to the backyard creaks open, and when I turn, I see Benito walk through it. He stops when he sees me, frozen in the room like he’s just been hit by a stun gun. “What are you doing here?” he asks after an awkward moment.
“I’ll let you fill him in,” Raffaello says, taking the contract and gesturing for Sutton to follow him outside.
Benito continues to stare at me like I’m an illusion, like if he blinks, I’ll disappear. “You’re back?” he asks, his body stiff and statuesque, not giving me any indication on how he might feel about the fact that the answer is yes.
“I’m back,” I say. “And I have good news.”
Benito holds up his hand. “You should know, I had no choice when it came to resigning. I tried to compromise with my father on the development deal, ensuring the safety of the women-owned businesses, of all the locally owned businesses, but—”
“It’s ok. I know,” I say, cutting him off. “I took care of it.”
Benito lifts his eyebrows. Fair, considering as far as he knows, I’m still set on prioritizing an easy breezy life over everything else. “You said you have good news?” he asks.
I clap my hands together as if to zap away the tense energy in the room. “Yes. You don’t have to go to London.” Benito’s eyes widen. “I did what I do best, and I made a deal,” I say.
It’s so quiet, I can hear Vincenzo’s hearty laugh from across the house. Benito shifts from one foot to the other before eventually taking a step closer to me. “What?”
I fill him in on the details of the arrangement I made with Raffaello, all while Benito stares at the ground, thinking. “You were right,” I say. He looks up at me. “Not about me being mayor, but that I can’tdo nothing. I do need a purpose. It’s who I am. You helped me realize that.”
