EIGHT
Eliza
When we get back to the house, Adriano doesn't take me back upstairs. Instead, he has me follow him along another stark white corridor whose walls are filled with monochrome art, to his office.
Like the rest of his house the room is decorated in a clean, simple style, with sleek modern furnishings.
The walls are a light beige which would be nice if there was some other hint of personality in the room.
The desk looks as if it was built for display in a gallery rather than to perform a function. A laptop sits on it, the only sign that this is in fact the place where Adriano works.
There is one small detail in the room that surprises me. A photo hangs on the wall. There are three women and five small boys in it, a family snapshot. It was taken at a beach.
The hills in the background and the white painted villas that cling to them make me think of the Amalfi Coast, a place where I spent many summers as a child.
I wonder which of the children is Adriano. I’m betting it’s the one who’s throwing his arms in the air in a ‘look at me’ pose.
For a man like him to have the picture on display, it must carry significant meaning. I’d love to ask him about it but, as he takes his seat behind the desk it's abundantly clear he's not in the mood for chitchat.
"Is something the matter?" I ask as he stares at me, that unreadable expression on his face. It makes me feel like I've been called into the boss's office to answer for some terrible mistake.
"You questioned me in front of Clara," he says.
I predicted at the time that would land me in trouble but I thought I was being overly sensitive to the tension in him.
"Am I not allowed to ask questions?"
"Not in that tone." He leans back in his chair. "And not in front of others."
"But it was only a question about the dresses."
He shakes his head. "It wasn't only a question about dresses. It was insubordination."
"How was I supposed to know that? You never laid out any rules."
"You were with Gabriele for long enough." Something passes across his face that might be jealousy. He quickly tamps it down. "Didn't he explain how our world works?"
"Did he explain that women are to be seen and not heard?" I ball up my fists and place them on my hips. "No, he never mentioned that little gem."
"But you knew not to challenge him publicly, yes?"
I nod because I suppose I did know that. Gabriele never laid it out for me but I saw how deferential the men around him were and I took my cues from that.
"Okay, I get that," I admit. "But it was a harmless question and if you'd answered I wouldn't have had to push."
Adriano scoffs at that. "When I didn't answer you should have known not to push. You won't make that mistake again."
Knowing how my mouth can run away from me that's not a promise I'll make. "So I'm never allowed to ask questions?"
"You are, but not like that, not in front of others." He gets up and rounds the desk, coming to stand so close I have to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. "It undermines my authority."
The demand to know what authority he believes he has over me lies on the tip of my tongue but for once commonsense holds them back.
"Okay, I'm sorry." It's the least sincere apology I've ever uttered.
"No you're not, but you will be."
"What do you mean by that?"
