Dangerous Love Affair

Monalise and Rafael

Now I knew what kept Rafael in the office so late and away from me. There was so much to be done even though I had already done so much. In the span of a day, I had attended three meetings, oversaw a business transaction, and received stacks of new paperwork to fill out.

It turned out that Rafael assisted a few small businesses with loans, owned the very car dealership I got my car from, and ran a school.

The first week of dealing with everything the warehouse handled was overwhelming for me. I learned the names and faces of the internal employees, as well as a few essential external employees, read and reread contracts with surrounding business to make sure I knew their terms and conditions, and learned how to properly shoot a gun. Ana insisted that I learned, just in case something out of the ordinary came my way, I could successfully protect myself.

The second and third weeks were a little easier but not all smooth sailing. I encountered problems with a contract and had to deal with a mouthy employee. Ana had coached me on how to be tough and not show a soft side with them because they weren't used to that. It was the worst for me being that I wasn't comfortable with confrontation, especially if it was somebody I hardly knew.

We were now in the fourth week and I could practically feel the shift in the air. The respect from everyone felt even better than what I could have imagined. I wasn't just the boss's wife, I was Monalise Boerio, another boss. The thought of knowing I could ask someone to run across state lines just to buy me milk and knowing they wouldn't hesitate to do it, made me feel pretty damn powerful.

"¿Estás seguro de que me necesitas esta noche? Puedo venir en la mañana." (Are you sure you need me tonight? I can come in the morning.) Ana gestured to me that she was going outside before walking out of the office.

I released the breath I was holding and let myself relax against the chair. It was late Friday and I would have the next two days to finally get some school work done. I wondered how Rafael was able to balance everything and still have the energy to keep going.

My phone rang somewhere in the room. I searched around my desk for it but couldn't find it. I looked around the room to see my bag next to where Ana worked from. I rushed over to get it before it could stop ringing, but I missed the call just as I dug it out of my purse. Levi Colombo for the third time today. I rolled my eyes and locked my phone again.

I went to walk away when my eye caught the paperwork I so desperately wanted to be in on since I first started working at the warehouse. There were names, lots of them. I didn't recognize any of the names, but they all sounded Italian. I flipped the page once my interest piqued. There was elaborate blueprint of what looked like a very large house. There were exits listed, and power lines labeled. I was about to flip the page again but the un-mistakeable sound of heels against the floors had me returning to my desk.

Ana walked in a minute later, apologizing for the length of the call. I smiled and watched her sit back down and focus on the paperwork again. As long as nothing looked out of place, I wasn't caught.

I cleared my throat to catch her attention, "I'm going to head home."

Ana looked up at me and raised her eyebrow, "Is everything alright?" She checked her watch before looking at me again, "It's only eight o'clock."

"I have a lot of school work to get done before Monday," I began putting documents away in the drawer to avoid eye contact with her. She could be intimidating sometimes.

I heard her sigh before the sound of her chair scraping the ground could be heard. Her heels approaching my direction had me moving quickly to get everything away. Just as she reached my desk, everything was tidy.