Episode 102

Episode 102

There Is No "I" in Team

JULIANNE

"Listen to this crap," I hissed as I held open the latest edition of The New York Times . The media was once again reporting whatever the hell it wanted, not the statement that we had released by Gio's assistant and jack-of-all-trades, Muriel. One of a handful of people who now knew we were, in fact, alive and hiding out at the same lake house Gio had disappeared to when Bianca starting pulling her shit and our parents had died.

"Do I even want to hear this?" Gio groaned while he propped on his side in the king-sized bed, pillows shoved against his chest so he could lean on them. Since we'd arrived yesterday, he'd completely changed. In the hospital, he was angry, filled with complaints, and looked half on his death bed. There were still slight dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, but now that he'd had a full night's rest in a bed he was used to, with me by his side, he looked more human and alive than he had since I first saw him in the hospital last week.

I cleared my throat. "Quote: It has been revealed that business mogul Giovanni Falco, the heir to the Falco dynasty and his new bride, Julianne, were two of the three persons that perished in last week's mid-town explosion. The other victim was real estate magnate Brenden Myers. Falco's net worth was estimated to be around forty billion, Myers around five hundred million. Falco leaves no family behind. Myers leaves behind a wife, Bianca, who it is believed will inherit the empire. This tragedy has rocked the business world in New York. This story is evolving and will be updated as more information becomes available. Unquote."

"I literally got a three-word mention. New bride, Julianne . That's all I am." I slapped the paper down on the bed and flopped backward into the cloud of pillows leaning against the headboard.

Gio reached out and took my hand. "The media is packed with nothing but assholes. Never read your own press. It's created entirely on supposition and sensationalism. None of if it tells the real truth."

I pouted like a child not getting her way, but it really irked me that my entire life's work to date was whittled down to one thing… being Giovanni's wife . Blech. "See, this is what's wrong with the patriarchy. This is why women lose their shit. I have more work and life achievements than my brother, and he's the one recognized."

"Jules…"

"And don't you dare get me started on you. My scores and honors in college were far higher than either of you, but because I married a man with more money than God, I'm relegated to ‘wife' status. My life and achievements don't matter."

Gio patted my unburned palm, and I snarled, getting more wound up by the second.

"You matter to me, Jules. You're all that matters to me. I could lose every dime I have and not give a flying fuck. As long as I get to keep you for the rest of my life, everything else can disappear. We can stay dead for all I care." He paused, staring at a spot only he could see. "Actually, it's not a bad idea…" His finger teased the sensitive skin of my inner arm where I hadn't been burned, easing my irritation. The top of my forearms and hands had been scalded from the fire, but the rest of me faired far better. I was the lucky one. My head wound still had the line of stitches Maggie was keeping her eagle eye on, and the headaches were lessening each day.

Giovanni and my brother were an entirely different story. Both had received some pretty gruesome burns. Though the doctors were convinced that with the right treatment and commitment to his medical care, Gio would come out of it less scarred than we'd imagined based on what the burns looked like at the start. Brenden's outlook wasn't as optimistic. The doctors didn't hold out hope he'd ever wake from his coma if he made it through at all. They said if he survived the next couple weeks it would be a miracle and urged us to get his affairs in order.

I didn't allow myself to even consider the thought that I'd lose Brenden forever, especially after having lost our parents so suddenly. And because we were in hiding, Brenden had been shipped to the nation's best burn center under the pseudonym Bruno had given him. He'd set up a payment system for Brenden's care that couldn't be tracked back to us. At least I knew he was safe from Bianca for the time being, though I worried for my godmother. Alana didn't share much in her last call with us, but I knew her well. She'd do whatever it took to end this once and for all. I just prayed she'd come back to us whole.

"Knock, knock, you two! Time for me to clean and bandage the big guy!" Maggie called through the door as she banged on the wood several times.

"Already?" Gio groaned.

"Come in!" I hollered. I was fully clothed in lounge wear, whereas Gio was completely naked lying on top of the sheets, hugging the satin pillows while his backside received some fresh air.

"Ooh! I see you're following my orders to the letter. I love when my patients do that. Good boys get rewards," Maggie cooed as she entered wearing scrubs. We'd explained she could wear what she wanted, since this would be her home for the foreseeable future, and she told us she was more comfortable in scrubs than anything else. Today's outfit had cat faces on them.

"I'm loving the cats." I smiled at the older woman.

"Aren't they the cutest? Got ‘em at half price during the holidays," Maggie gushed.

"Well, they're awesome, right, Gio?"

"Fucking great. Can we get to my reward?" Gio grouched.

Maggie narrowed her gaze. "I was going to show Julianne how to help you bathe so that it wasn't me cleaning your dangly bits, but if you're going to get snappy with me…" She let her words fall away.

"I'm sorry, Mags. I'd love to have my wife help me."

"I'm ready to be trained. Whatever you need, Maggie, I'm all ears." I got up onto my knees, kicking the paper to the floor. Fuck that thing. I didn't need the love and respect of strangers. I just needed my man to be happy and healthy. And for Bianca to fall face first off the nearest tall cliff and land on very jagged rocks. But being able to help Gio be more comfortable during his recovery was also high up on my list of desires.

"I thought so. First, go on and get the wash bucket and fill it with soapy warm water. I'll tend to the burns first," she said.

"Yoo hoo," another knock came from the open door as Muriel walked in. "Oh, sweet baby Jesus!" the older woman said and turned around abruptly.

Maggie snickered. "What? You squeamish? It's just burns."

Muriel shook her head. "No, I…perhaps someone could have told me that Mr. Falco wasn't wearing any clothing."

Giovanni burst into laughter and then moaned in pain. "Shit that's funny." He winced and chuckled at the same time. "You did that on purpose, leaving the door cracked, didn't you?" Giovanni surmised. "What is with you two anyway? I figured two strong, mature, independent ladies like yourselves would get along famously."

"Well, if Missus Big Business would keep your work away while you're healing, maybe we'd get along better. But you are my patient…"

"And he is my boss!" Muriel snapped, something I'd never seen her do in all the years she'd worked for us. Usually, Muriel was the epitome of class and professionalism. The woman spun around, her gaze shooting lasers at Maggie. "I'll have you know, my job is to keep his empire running smoothly while he's playing dead. You may not know this, Nurse Ratchet , but he is responsible for over sixty businesses, ten of which he is on the board of directors for."

"So? Like I give a fig what goes on in the corporate world." Maggie twirled her hand in the air in a whoop-dee-doo gesture. "My goal is to get him healed with as little scarring and pain as possible. Your health is your wealth."

"And my goal is to ensure the lights stay on, and for the hundreds of thousands of employees working for him to get paid on time. Or would you like to answer those calls from angry CEOs he's made dozens of promises to?"

"Oh shit, Pookie. You are rich rich. Way to go big guy!" Maggie congratulated.

"Yeah," Gio let out a long, tired breath. "Muriel, you're doing a wonderful job. Feel free to come back in an hour when I've been poked and prodded and bandaged up like a mummy. Thank you."

"Make that two to three hours. After your sponge bath, you're taking a nap."

"All I've done is sleep since we got here," Gio complained.

"You heal when you sleep. Besides, you'll be taking the muscle relaxer, and I don't believe you want to make important business decisions while under the influence of medication. In my vast experience, those two things don't really go well together."

"Two to three hours?" Muriel croaked, her face becoming tight with tension.

"Jules, love of my life, can you help Muriel run the show while I'm incapacitated? Be my second-in-command?" Gio asked.

"Uh, yeah. Whatever you need. We can table anything I don't know for sure, which will probably be most things, but I can certainly try."

"Darling, I have the utmost faith in your abilities to make well-informed decisions. Muriel will advise. Let's not make things sit on the backburner until we return from the dead. As Muriel said, the bills must be paid, and you're a co-signer on all my bank accounts. The banks will process anything we sign until a death certificate is provided as proof of our passing. It's business as usual until then. And since we didn't die, nothing has to change."

"Wait…what? I'm a co-signer? I thought we had separate accounts."

He shook his head. "No darling. When I married you, I married you. That means my dynasty is now yours. Congratulations, your net worth just went up about forty billion."

"For fucks sake, do you think you could have mentioned that?" I gulped, stunned he'd be so reckless. Then again, it absolutely said a lot about how he feels about our marriage.

"When? During our Vegas wedding, Bianca's assault, the fight I had with Brenden, the lawyers working on the contract stuff, or the explosion? We've been a little busy. Besides, I just assumed you knew."

"Well, what about my twenty million?" I taunted, pretending to take affront.

"You can take it out anytime you want. Transfer it today if you'd like. You have access to everything. Isn't that right, Muriel?"

She nodded. "Yes. Mr. Falco asked me to make the adjustment to all of his holdings and bank accounts the morning after you were married. It's all set."

"You're insane, you know that, right? No man worth what you are marries a woman without a prenup." I fully expected his lawyers to follow up with all of that once we were settled, but then I forgot about it.

"I'm insanely in love with you, yes. If you want to rob me blind, that's your prerogative," Gio hissed as Maggie ignored all of us and started cleansing his wounds.

"And what about the money I bring to our marriage?" I asked. I didn't have a lot available to me in liquid cash, but I still had the business and outside investments, not to mention half of my parents' estate now that the wills defaulted back to the originals. And even though the papers noted Brenden as the real estate "magnate" I was the one that now owned seventy-five percent of Falco & Myers.

"Do with it what you want. It's yours."

"But your money is now mine too?" I tilted my head and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Didn't you just say fuck the patriarchy a minute ago? You now have complete control over every detail of our lives. Be happy."

I slumped forward. "I am happy, but you could have told me," I whined and crawled on the bed, putting my face close to his.

"Jules, baby, it's just money. I need you to help Muriel keep our employees from jumping ship. Can you do that for me?" He gritted his teeth as Maggie tended to a particularly sensitive spot.

I held his hand. "I can do that. I'd do anything for you," I whispered and leaned forward and kissed his lips.

He kissed me back for all of a second before he grunted, his body trembling as he worked through the painful process of having his wounds cleaned.

"I'm going to go help Muriel for the next little bit and then I'll come back to learn how to sponge bathe you."

"Can't wait," he grated through his teeth and then let out a long-tortured breath when Maggie paused.

"Darlin', we're about to get into the worst of it," Maggie said, her gaze gentle. She knew he didn't want me to see him in pain, even though I wanted to be there for him. Regardless, I respected his decision for his own body and well-being.

"I'll be in the study," Muriel stated and then left the room.

I cupped Gio's cheek. "Be strong, baby."

"For you, always." He offered me a weak smile as I crawled off the bed, careful not to shift him, then headed for the door.

"You're the bravest, strongest man I know, Giovanni. You've got this!" I called out and then shut the door.

The moment I heard him cry out in pain, I let the tears fall. After taking a moment to catch my bearings, I swiped the tears away, lifted my chin and headed to his study where I knew Muriel would be waiting.

"I'll be the best damn second-in-command you've ever seen," I whispered, ready to take on whatever was needed on my husband's behalf. Because a good wife had her husband's back, and I wanted to prove I deserved the trust Giovanni had in me.

We are a team and there was no "I" in team.