Impressive.

This was the word Catalina constantly repeated in her head as she made another round around the hotel ballroom, passing by people who are enjoying each other’s company in a cabaret-style of seating. A whole month since that despiteful meeting has passed and she has made herself busy with the new arrangements brought about by the partnership. Thus, she only had time to make sure she had something nice and appropriate to wear. She distanced herself from the preparations which explain her delightful surprise to see how the hotel administration managed to decorate the ballroom in such an elaborately elegant manner.

The theme wanted to follow a more intimate and passionate calling to a celebration. The cruise line specifically asked the hotel to prepare something that would be in line with the motto of the new partnership, “Transcendental pleasure on land and beyond the horizon.”

She’s not surprised that the hired string quartet is playing music very reminiscent of the tango – a very sensual rhythmic dance that always begs for tension shared between partners. Catalina knows though that such tension is always short-lived. It is impossible to fall for one’s partner in an instant.

Still, she enjoys watching people dance the tango. It’s captivating and the movements are so fluid. Catalina knows how to dance the tango – the siblings were forced by their parents to learn how to dance when they were still young – but now is not the time to think about dancing. Maybe later…with someone she’d like to challenge.

Ugh. There it is again. That word. Challenge. Dio, she is still pissed over that day.

She hasn’t made an effort to talk with her siblings. She had to speak to Rio around two times during the month-long period to discuss business, but other than that, she doesn’t care about what the rest of her siblings are doing. After how they treated her, she shouldn’t even be making a single ounce of effort. Though, she had to greet them and act amicably around them when the celebration tonight started.

Looking around the ballroom, she spots a man who was specially invited to give a special speech for the celebration. He holds his head high in a dignified manner, laughing within a circle of other people he is speaking with. A hand is slipped inside his trouser pocket. Props to him, Catalina would have to admit that he does look quite dashing tonight.

Catalina makes her way to him, enjoying the way the sheer material of the skirt of the dress brushes against her skin. It waves from side to side with each step she takes. She opted out of her usual Louboutin heels to make it easier to walk around the ballroom. Her outfit tonight would be considered daring for she had chosen a dress that cleverly displays her toned back. Fashion tape did the trick in making sure that it wouldn’t move and flash other tempting areas of her body. This is a way of hers to get the attention of men and women alike. Sometimes, in the kind of life she leads, this is the perfect way to manipulate others for her own gain. Of course, on a normal day, she wouldn’t opt to do this.

As she is a few steps away from the man, he shifts his gaze to her direction as he sensed someone nearing him. When it lands on her, the man flashes a carefree smile at her. His eyes start to twinkle in excitement. “Ah, my favorite of the di Fronzo’s,” he says as Catalina takes one last step to stand before him.

“Sancho, you are forever the flatterer,” she plays along, “Though I am not an easy person to deceive.” Both lean forward to give a kiss on each side of their faces and pulls away. Sancho Andrea is one of the politicians in the city who is currently busy with his campaign period. Six years ago, the di Fronzo’s gave him money as bribery to keep their name clean in government and he has been doing favors for them ever since.

“I speak nothing but the truth. And I must say that you are looking extra beautiful tonight, my dear,” he compliments her. “May I ask, did you receive the bottle of wine I sent a few months ago?”

“Of course.” Catalina leans close to whisper in his ear, “You always know how I like my wine. Sweet and expensive.”

Sancho pulls his head away and raises an eyebrow at her. “Just like your lovers?” He inquires in a playful tone.

“That is a secret.” She winks at him and Sancho laughs under his breath. “Are you prepared for your speech later?” She asks.

“I always am prepared for this sort of event. Thankfully, I feel much more comfortable since I am surrounded by people of our kind.”

The rich. Catalina breaks off into a smile. “Definitely all the best to you.”

“Oh, by the way, I believe it is my obligation to inform you that I have gained a new backer for my political endeavors. I hope you wouldn’t mind that.”

His words pique her interest. “Really? I wouldn’t mind if it doesn’t tamper with our current agreement. I’m sure you are fully aware of what I can do if I don’t have my way…” She gingerly drawls out, causing Sancho to gulp down a lump that was unconsciously forming in his throat. For a moment, he lost his cool.

“Y-Yes, I do know that Miss Catalina. Though, I assure you that the other backer is someone who thinks highly of you as well.”

For a moment, she gets caught off guard by that new piece of information. “Are you meaning to say that the other person knows me?”

“Precisely, Miss Catalina,” Sancho answers. His gaze moves to something behind her and she sees how his eyes widen in familiarity. “Well, speak of the devil, the person I am referring to is here.” He then raises his hand to the air and calls the name, “Signore Cavallini!” He beckons the person over to their area.

Oh? Cavallini? Catalina thought The Cavallinis own the Marina Sol. Sancho might be referring to the patriarch of the business.

She turns, ready to flash a welcoming smile to the person. But when her eyes landed on the person in question, she froze in place and her smile became nonexistent in a snap of a finger.

Standing in front of her is the fish.

“You,” she seethes out under her breath.

Apparently, he was unable to hear her because his smug yet debonair smile was still plastered on his face. He throws a subtle wink at her before he greets Sancho first, “Signore Andrea, what a pleasure to finally speak with you tonight.”

“Ah, Domenico, it is also a pleasure to share this time with you, my friend.” Sancho then gently wraps a hand around Catalina’s wrist to bring her closer. Catalina notices how Domenico’s gaze on the man has hardened, almost turning into a glare. “I am sure that you know Miss Catalina di Fronzo?”

“Of course, I do know the great Miss Catalina.” Domenico looks into her eyes and it seemed like they were trying to tell her a message. Something along the lines of, long time no see. She then saw how his eyes softened. I missed you.

Catalina kept up her cold front. In a pointed tone, she says, “Domenico and I met weeks ago.” She disregards the fish with a snarky look.

“Yes,” he suddenly speaks, “and lost touch so soon.” He made sure to emphasize a particular word that captured Catalina’s attention. It sounded like an attempt at mockery.

(But in Domenico’s case, he was overtly saddened when he found out he couldn’t call her phone number again and again.)

Sancho did not notice the different signals the two people with him sent to each other. Instead, he started to think that they seemed…quite right together. An idea pops into his head. “I think I must prepare for my speech now. Excuse me, I shall leave the two of you to know more about each other.”

“That is not necessary–”

“We would appreciate your gesture, Signore Andrea,” Domenico interjects, smiling coyly at him before facing Catalina once more. She couldn’t stop the scowl forming on her face. Domenico pays no attention to it. “I actually have something important to discuss with Miss di Fronzo here.”

Sancho bows his head in assent. “Then, it is my cue to leave. I’ll try to speak with you two again later after my speech.”

“Thank you, Signore Andrea,” Domenico replies but Catalina doesn’t say anything as Sancho leaves them alone.

“...I should have known that you’re a Cavallini,” Catalina grumbles. She’s trying to keep her emotions in check in case anyone could be watching them speak to each other.

The fish happily replies, “It’s great seeing you too, darling.”

Her piercing glare meets his gentle gaze. “Don’t drop that word so nonchalantly. I should have made a list for this event and made sure to block you out.”

“Block…” he drawls quietly, his mood suddenly turning somber, “You seem to love blocking me, don’t you?”

Catalina heaves out an incredulous breath. “Are you bringing this up? Of all nights? Of all events? Do us both a favor and accept that you can never call me again.”

Domenico takes a step closer to her and says in a hushed voice, “We could have talked about it, darling, instead of acting without giving any thought.” He grows silent for a moment then continues, “You sounded off that night you called me.”

Her eyes widen for a split second before returning to a glare. “There was nothing wrong with me that night,” she spat out and turned on her heel to angrily walk away from him. Her hands have formed into fists at her sides and she noticed that she’s been huffing out of frustration. She checked over her shoulder to see if he followed her and thankfully he didn’t. Catalina then decides to exit the ballroom first to take a breather. She went through one of the exit doors that directly leads to a corridor of first-class suites – one of the shortcuts only made available for those who book such rooms.

Once she found herself alone, she couldn’t stop pacing back and forth, muttering to herself, “I should have known that he was a Cavallini. Why did I not follow Tia’s suggestions and run a background check on him? I wish I decided to let Tia join me tonight.” She slaps a hand over her face. “Just when I thought that I’ve finally evaded him for good, I’ll be seeing more of him because of stupid work!”

Knowing a man like Domenico who comes from somewhat the same kind of background as her, she knows that he’s not some regular employee of The Marina Sol. Of course, he would be one of the important people in the business. She could not believe that from now on, she’ll be dealing all of her business with him!

And there was another thought that irked Catalina so much. One that she forced her willpower to erase from her mind. She doesn’t even know how it came to be. Was it how his suit of midnight blue Italian silk rustled with his graceful movements? Or was it the beguiling way he regarded her? Or…was it the fact that she heard the word darling roll off his tongue after a month?

It was thoughts like these that made her approach him the first night she saw him. And ultimately enjoyed kissing him despite not knowing the man in the first place.

“Dio, I hate you, you fish!” She seethed out to herself.

She is not going to let him have the upper hand for tonight. For a guy who seems to know his way with how the world works, he can’t take the hint that she does not want anything to do with him.

A thought passes through her mind and Catalina takes some time to continue thinking about it. She can play with that fish…and come out triumphant tonight. If anyone ever passed by her in the corridor this very instant, they would be weirded out by the sinister smile forming on her face.

She’ll do something to the fish in an indirect manner. She’ll start slowly first…like some kind of prolonged punishment. Catalina thinks it’s a bit childish of her to go with this plan, but she admits that it’s a great way to kill time and distract herself from other pressing matters.

Just as she heads back inside the ballroom, a server, carrying an empty tray with him, passes in front of her. She stops the man by holding his shoulder. “Excuse me,” she utters hastily.

A look of recognition dawns on the man’s face and he stammers out, “H-How may I help you, Miss di Fronzo?”

“I’m sure you know Signore Domenico Cavallini,” she utters, cutting to the chase. “I’m sure you’ve seen him here already.”

“Y-Yes, miss. In fact–”

“Okay, good,” she cuts the server off. “Do me a favor. When it is time to serve the food, do not give him any piece of it. Even water. That man should not be given a single drop of water tonight.”

The server was clearly puzzled by the unique demand. “I-I’m sorry?”

“You heard me.”

“But, Miss–”

“Inform all of your co-workers this instant,” she commands him.

“M-Miss, I think I served him a glass of wine a while ago…” The server meekly informs her.

“Then only serve him that. If ever I see him eating from any of our dishes tonight or drinking any liquid other than wine, I will instantly have my men come for you,” she says sternly, her face hard and serious. “In fact, keep on serving wine only. Dehydrate him.”

The server’s heart was beating out of his chest. His throat has gone dry, making it difficult for him to reply. “Y-Yes, miss,” he squeaks.

“Now go.” She juts her head toward the doors. “Do it fast.”

He scurries back inside the swinging doors which lead to the area where the kitchen is preparing the food and drinks for the guests. 

Catalina finds herself grinning knowingly to herself. Perhaps this night is going to be fun after all.

After Sancho Andrea gives his speech and the food is brought out of the kitchen to be served to the guests, Catalina makes the effort to watch if food will be served to the fish who is seated with other people he seemed acquainted with. They must be the same people he works with at The Marina Sol. 

And just as she hoped, all the servers that went to that particular table did not leave any food dish for the fish. At first, he seemed confused that they were simply passing by him after leaving dishes for the people sitting on each side. One server went near to refill his glass of wine and simply left even when the fish was asking him a question, perhaps inquiring about his own share of the food. The server then returned after a short moment to explain that he will be receiving a special dish.

Catalina was surprised and impressed by the assertiveness displayed by the server. He definitely got the memo.

Feeling vindictive, she enjoyed the confused sight of him. She’s moved to stand near his table without making him notice. The person beside Domenico offers to share their food, but Catalina watches how he politely declines the person. She was near and well-hidden enough to hear Domenico say, “Thank you for the offer, but I would have to decline it since apparently, I’ll be receiving a special one.”

Catalina could see how hungry he has become. He wouldn’t stop carefully looking at the people around him who were enjoying their dinner. It hasn’t even been 10 minutes and yet he’s asking for another refill of wine. “Not even water?” He asked in disbelief when the server refused to give him a glass of water. Catalina was waiting for him to break and lose his patience, but his pride might be as strong as an ox because he simply flashed a smile at the server and thanked him before turning back to join his table’s conversation.

Aside from the amusement that Catalina had from watching, she was also finding herself intrigued by how he was holding himself. “Interesting…you’re not a fish that could easily break,” she murmured under her breath. A server carrying a tray of glasses half-filled with sparkling wine passes by her and she expertly grabs a glass and brings it to her lips to take a sip from it.

She decides to check on the man later and heads back to her table to eat. Though, she is stopped midway through by someone she was shocked to see tonight. “S-Sienna?” Catalina looked at her sister with wide eyes. She could feel Sienna’s eyes bore into her. But Catalina keeps her stance. “What do you want?”

“What do you mean, what do I want?” Sienna spat in a hushed voice, knowing that the eyes of others were on them. “I heard from some of the servers that you instructed them not to serve Domenico Cavallini the food they prepared for the night.”

Catalina draws her arm away from Sienna’s tight hold. “And what does that have to do with you?”

“Nina, are you aware of what you’re doing to our business?”

“Since when did you start caring for the family business?”

“Ever since you’ve started ruining it by acting childish,” Sienna replied, seething with anger.

Catalina scoffs and rolls her eyes, undisturbed by the harsh words. “We have politicians hiding our illegitimate matters. How about you think about that with your next designer bag–ouch!” Sienna grabbed her arm again and dragged her to the doors. Sienna leads them to the corridor of first-class suites with Rio waiting for them in the middle of the walkway, his hands crossed before him in an austere manner.

“Dio,” Catalina groaned, “What do you want now?” Sienna stops walking once they near Rio.

“Is it true that you told the servers to refuse service to Domenico Cavallini? What’s wrong with you? Do you know how this affects our new partnership?” Rio bombards her with questions without pausing to take a breath. Catalina knows that look on his face. He is absolutely furious.

“Since when have any of you cared about what I do?”

“Have you ever met Domenico Cavallini before this? You’re treating him as if he’s an old friend. Catalina, he’s an important business partner for Christ’s sake!”

Sienna then chimes in angrily, “I bet you don’t even know him and just wanted to mess with anyone of random choice tonight.”

Catalina couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Yes, I do know him,” she retaliates.

“How?” Rio answers.

He makes my favorite sandwich, we made out once, and he wishes to marry me. “Through…through an event in the past,” Catalina stammers out, refusing to unveil the truth.

Rio breathes out a heavy sigh and shakes his head in disappointment. “We’re not children anymore, Catalina,” he emphasizes, running a hand down his face. “You always think that you’re better than us, well I’m not seeing it from you.”

None of you know that fish as I do! Catalina wanted to shout everything to them, but it would be of no use if they are regarding her with such displeasure. “So what if you can’t see it from me? I know about this business more than any of you. In fact, without me, this whole place wouldn’t run by itself.”

“Get down your high pedestal for once, Nina,” Sienna says.

“At least mine is real and every employee looks up to me while yours is nonexistent.”

Rio brings a hand up to them. “Stop it. We will not have another petty fight.”

“Excuse me?” A new voice abruptly enters their conversation and the three look in the same direction from where it came from. Sienna gasps softly and a hand flies to her mouth. Rio froze, much to his chagrin. And Catalina scowled at the man before them.

Domenico Cavallini stands before them. Catalina could not read his face, but she was sure that he must have overheard their conversation “slash” argument.

“S-Signore Cavallini,” Rio staggered in his stance that Sienna had to move fast to hide how she was helping him hold himself. “A pleasure seeing you here,” he forces out.

“Signore di Fronzo,” Domenico replies amicably, “Hilario, right?”

“Yes.”

“I apologize if I interrupted your conversation with your siblings.” Catalina met Domenico’s gaze for a split second before he returns to looking at Rio. “I had to because you are blocking the way to the bathroom.” He raises a finger to point at the bathroom at the end of the corridor.

“We are so sorry,” Rio apologizes and the three move to the side to give space for the man to continue his way to the bathroom.

“It is not a problem. I, too, am sorry for interrupting once again.”

“Domenico, don’t you have a first-class suite reserved under your name for tonight?” Rio asks out of the blue.

The other man tilts his head slightly. “Yes, I do have a suite, courtesy of the hotel. Though, I don’t know which one.”

“Perfect. My sister, Catalina, will show you to your suite then.”

Catalina throws an incredulous look at her brother. “What–”

“She would be delighted to show you around the rest of the hotel as well if you choose to do so.”

Domenico hums softly, “Hmmm.” He swipes a hand over his mouth to hide an excited smile from the three. “Very well, then.” His gaze lands on Catalina. “I look forward to your assistance, Miss Catalina.”

Sienna sneakily bumps her elbow on Catalina, prompting her to say something back.

Forcing out a smile, Catalina replies, “And I you.”

When Domenico continues to walk to the bathroom, Sienna whispers in Catalina’s ear, “You better tell that man that it was your fault as to why he was unable to enjoy his food tonight. Apologize well.”

Catalina didn’t care about apologizing. In fact, she would happily inform Domenico that she was behind the idea of messing with him tonight.

What she doesn’t like is that she is forced to spend time alone with the fish again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woah this was a long chapter hahaha I hope you liked it!

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