The atmosphere inside the executive suite suddenly felt cramped and stifling. Mateo stood frozen in place, gripping the leather bag in his hand so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.
“What did you just say?” Mateo whispered, but the intimidation in his voice was unmistakable.
“I said the owner of Vance Corp is the one funding Julian’s entire business empire,” Sienna repeated without hesitation. She set her coffee cup on the table with a fairly loud clack. “An old man named Arthur Vance. Julian always talked about him as if he were some kind of savior. So when I saw Vance Corp’s name on your confidential documents, I knew immediately.”
Mateo drew a long breath, trying to process what he had just heard. His sharp mind immediately went to work, rapidly connecting the threads that had confused him all this time.
“So Julian... works for Arthur Vance,” Mateo murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
“Not just works for him,” Sienna cut in, folding her arms across her chest. Mateo’s oversized white shirt made her look even more swallowed up by the fabric. “Julian is Vance’s attack dog. All the investments in Julian’s family business come from Vance Corp’s money. And you... you have their confidential documents. Don’t tell me the embezzlement charges that drove you out of America had something to do with Vance?”
Mateo stared deeply into Sienna’s eyes. “I didn’t expect you to be this smart.”
“I’m a designer, Mateo. I’m trained to notice the little details other people miss,” Sienna shot back, a little smugly. But then her expression slackened, replaced by utter exhaustion. She slowly rubbed her face. “God... it feels like my head’s about to split open.”
“Why?”
“I just ran away from a crazy wedding, ended up in a hotel room with a stranger, and now it turns out we’re both being hunted by the same group of bad people!” Sienna let out a frustrated laugh. “What an incredible week my life has been having.”
Mateo studied Sienna’s face. In the morning light, the dark circles beneath her eyes were impossible to miss. Tension was etched into the set of her lips.
“You need to get out of this room,” Mateo said suddenly.
Sienna turned to him in surprise. “What?”
“You’ve been cooped up in here for the past two nights. Your thoughts are getting more twisted because all you do is stare at these walls,” Mateo said as he walked toward the wardrobe. He took out a dark casual jacket and a pair of sunglasses. “Come on. We’re going out.”
“Are you crazy?” Sienna glared at him. “There are reporters chasing you out there! And Julian’s people might be combing Milan looking for me! Leaving this room would be the same as turning ourselves in!”
“This building has a secret exit in the basement for VIP guests. The media doesn’t know about it,” Mateo explained calmly. He tossed a black baseball cap and a pair of hotel sunglasses toward Sienna. “Put those on. We’re not going anywhere fancy. We’re going somewhere crowded and random, where no one would expect Mr. Sterling or the runaway bride to be.”
Sienna held the black cap, hesitating. “Where?”
Mateo gave her a faint smile. It was the first smile Sienna had seen since they met, and it made the man’s good looks twice as striking.
“New rule,” Mateo said as he opened the door for Sienna. “Don’t ask so many questions. Just follow me.”
Sienna hissed in annoyance. She cursed the man in front of her in her head, but even so, she didn’t argue with him in the slightest.