Chapter 1348 - Emma Meets Bruno (3)

Bruno got out of the dressing room and checked himself in the mirror. "I wish that it's a bit longer at the sleeves…"

Emma sighed, unable to hide her irritation. "Can't you make up your mind?"

Bruno shrugged helplessly. "I am sorry, but the tailoring in the United States is different than the one we have in Italy."

Emma did her best not to roll her eyes at the man. She never saw anyone this picky about a shirt. And it's a gift. She wondered if he is stalling on purpose. Why would he do that?

Emma got an idea... "Should I get you a custom tailored shirt? I don't know if it will be done by the time your vacation ends."

"How about you take my current one for cleaning? Then I don't need to buy one."

Emma paused while grumbling internally: 'Why didn't you say so right away?'

She forced a smile. "Sure. I can do that."

Bruno handed her a card. "My number is here. So, you can call me when it's ready."

"Great.", Emma took his card and put it in her purse.

"Will you give me your number? In case I need to contact you?", Bruno asked.

Emma didn't think much about his request. She wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. She is in a hurry.

"Uhm… sure…", Emma gave him her card. She was happy that she got business cards made for herself. Now she is a big shot, owning a rehabilitation center!

"Emma Ronin…", Bruno murmured before keeping her business card in his pocket. "Lovely name."

"Thanks." Emma was about to grab his shirt and say her goodbyes, when she realized that there is something wrong with the current arrangement. "Can you pick a shirt? Or any top. I will take yours for cleaning, but you can't walk around topless."

"I can't make up my mind between these two.", Bruno said while holding two shirts, one in each hand.

"Then take both of them.", man's voice came from the side.

Emma's face lit up and she turned toward the familiar voice without noticing that Bruno's face turned into a scowl at the sight of a man approaching them.

Emma beamed at her fiancé. "Charlie? How come you are here?"

"I was in the area and I heard that my fiancée is shopping with a stranger, so I had to check.", Charlie said while wrapping his arms around Emma.

Emma nudged Charlie with her shoulder. "Don't make it sound like I'm pleasure shopping. I spilled coffee on his shirt. Getting him a new one is the right thing to do. Oh, right… this is Bruno. Bruno is a tourist from Italy whose shirt I ruined." Emma turned to Bruno. "Bruno, this is Charlie, my fiancé."

Charlie and Bruno shook hands, both with smiles which didn't reach their eyes.

"Don't you have a meeting?", Charlie reminded Emma.

"Yes, yes. As soon as Bruno picks a shirt, I will head out. Arthur got the car here."

Charlie gave his credit card to the store clerk and gestured to the shirts which Bruno is holding onto. "Put both of those on my card." He turned to Emma. "How many times I need to tell you not to go around without a bodyguard? Arthur is listening to you, and he went to get the car, but I will punish him because he left you by yourself."

Emma bit her lip guiltily. "Don't punish him. It's my fault."

Charlie lifted an eyebrow while his expression showed that he is not happy with the current situation. "We will talk later."

The clerk returned Charlie's card and Charlie spoke to Emma. "Anything else, or can we go?"

"I want to send Bruno's shirt to dry cleaning…", Emma said in a small voice.

Charlie turned to Bruno. "At what hotel are you staying? We will send the shirt as soon as it's done…"

Bruno forced a smile. Why is this man meddling? He reminded himself to act as a tourist because it will be bad if he attracts attention. That is Charles Smith, and he probably has other people with him. "I'm at the Hilton."

"I have his business card, so we can call him.", Emma said.

Charlie extended his arm, palm up toward Emma. "Give me his card. I will get someone to take care of his shirt so you can focus on your meeting."

Emma fished Bruno's card out of her purse. She didn't plan to hold onto it after taking care of the shirt anyway.

Charlie asked Bruno for his stained shirt and Charlie's bodyguard from the side took it.

"You will have your shirt delivered at your hotel by end of the day.", Charlie told Bruno. "Now if you excuse us, we have other matters to tend to."

Bruno watched dejectedly as Charlie walked with Emma out of the boutique. Well, he has her card. That is something.

…

In the back of Charlie's car…

Charlie pulled Emma into a hug. He held her tightly without a word and Emma understood that he was worried about her.

Emma remembered that Charlie said how he was in the area, but she knows that he has meetings in the morning, yet here he is. Arthur probably reported to Charlie what is going on, and Charlie left everything and came to her rescue. But was there a need for a rescue? Probably not, but Charlie would rather be safe than sorry.

"I'm sorry, Charlie.", Emma sighed.

Charlie's brows were furrowed, and he looked at her seriously. "I need you to increase your vigilance. Why are you allowing yourself to be alone with a stranger? You don't know who he is, or from where he is coming from, or what his agenda is."

"He is just a guy I spilled his coffee on.", Emma tried to comfort Charlie.

Charlie shook his head in disapproval. "Is he? Based on the size of the stain on his shirt, the cup was nearly full. Arthur said that his coffee cup had a sleeve on it, so it should be hot. Did he get any burns?"

"Uhm… I didn't check his skin.", Emma admitted.

"Even if you didn't, he should flinch at least. If you get hot coffee on yourself, the stain and replacing your shirt is not your priority compared to cooling off."

Emma pressed her lips into a line. She remembers that when she dabbed coffee off Bruno's shirt, it was room temperature. Does that mean that he was holding onto coffee and not drinking it? Was he in that shop and watching her? Like a stalker? Or someone with an agenda to get close to her? Kidnap her? Hurt her? Use her to get to Charlie?

Charlie saw based on Emma's expression that she is entering panic mode and guessed that she is thinking of scary scenarios. He caressed her cheek and spoke softly. "I'm not saying that he was sitting there and waiting for the right moment to approach you. He might be a random guy you bumped into accidentally. But I don't want to take risks."

Emma felt guilt wash over her. She knows very well that other than Smith family members there are other people who are looking to harm Charlie, and the most efficient way to harm him is through her. "I am sorry. I said that I will do my best not to worry you… and I messed up."

Charlie kissed Emma and hugged her tighter. "I will drop you off at your center. Going forward, you will go with four bodyguards when I'm not around. Even if you spill someone's coffee, let the bodyguards take care of it. Don't allow strangers to come close to you like this…"

…

Charlie dropped off Emma at the entrance of the rehabilitation center and he watched Emma walk inside with four bodyguards following few steps after her.

As soon as Emma was out of sight, Charlie's face darkened. He turned to the bodyguard who was on his right and gave him Bruno's card. "I want to know everything about him by end of the day. Watch his every move until he leaves the city. If he tries getting close to Emma again, take him down."

"Yes, Mr. Smith.", the bodyguard answered and walked away while getting his phone.

Charlie went back in the car and instructed the driver to take him back to Smithsonite corp. HQ. He needs to go back to work.

Charlie frowned while remembering Bruno and their interaction in the boutique. Based on Charlie's observation, Bruno is not a simple tourist. He was definitely interested in Emma. Did Bruno see her as a pretty girl, or is there something else? As much as he knows, Bruno might be someone sent by one of his cousins with an intention to hurt Emma. Whoever Bruno is, Charlie will not take any risks. 

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