The door did not lead directly to the boss's office.
Eliana ended up being trapped in a pitch-black corridor. It was small and there were concrete stairs leading downstairs, towards the unknown. She shivered. She took the step towards the door that she used to enter this scary place and then she stopped abruptly.
There are bodyguards outside of that door. She can't just leave the second she walked in, they will notice something isn't right and stop her from escaping. Her thoughts were running frantically as she was trying to find a way out of the predicament she was in deep shit, wasn't she? What were you thinking, idiot?!
The only path she could choose right now is to carry on with her plan, find the boss, apologize for entering, explain her reasons, and hope they will be understanding.
As Eliana started going downstairs tears welled up in her eyes don't be such a baby she was angry with her inability to face dangerous situations. It didn't help anything that she was shaking and her breath was quick and uneven. At the same time, she was trying to be as quiet as I could.
Unfortunately, the stairs led her to a long corridor. Which way should she go? Left? Right?
"Antonio, look what we have here. She looks like she's lost. Hey baby, did you come to play with us? "He said suggestively. Disgusting.
"Hey, you. Who let you come in here? "The other man asked with pure hostility. Eliana took a step back and looked at the stairs, thinking of a way to escape. There was none. "I don't think so, come here," Antonio said, flawlessly deciphering my intentions. He strode towards her, grabbed my arm tightly, and started dragging her towards the door at the end of the corridor.
Eliana had imagined her first meeting with the Vincenti brothers differently.
She was forcibly pushed into the room which resulted in her landing awkwardly on all fours. Really smooth Eliana, good job.
Catia was sitting on some strange man's lap, he was a handsome man who had light brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a white suit I don't know how he could pull it off but he looked really good in his outfit.
Eliana looked at the person in front of whom she was kneeling right now. It was Rafael Vincenti, the man who a few minutes ago made his grand entrance. Now she could see up close how beautiful he actually was. His medium-length raven hair fell in delicate waves, he had olive skin tone and dark eyes. The aura around this man was dark and mysterious. He emanated danger, and Eliana wanted to get away from here the moment I saw him. Unfortunately, too many factors. it made it impossible for her.
He was sitting in a large, red armchair, legs crossed. He was dressed in a black shirt and suit of the same colour. On his left hand was a watch with a brown leather strap and a golden dial. There was a massive gold signet ring with a small red stone and some kind of engraving on his pinky finger.
Eliana tried to get up to preserve what was left of her dignity by standing up, but Antonio who stayed close to her grabbed her hair into a fist and held her down so that she had no alternative other than to just kneel on the floor.
"This bitch broke into the basement"
"Antonio, search her"Eliana grimaced as she felt that Antonio is groping her.
"She has Melissa's key,"
"Marco, go tell Melissa to pack her stuff. She no longer works here"
"Of course, sir"
Goddamnit, that girl lost her job because of her. Unfortunately, she was in a predicament where she had to focus on her own survival instead of worrying about others.
"What's your name?"Rafael asked calmly in a polite manner.
"Eliana Snow "
"Miss Snow, please explain to me your presence here"
"I needed to talk to you"
"Many people want to speak with me yet no one was rude enough to break in and show up in front of me without an invitation. That's a first"
"It was really wrong I'm truly terribly sorry" her eyes were fixed on the floor. She felt awful as if she committed an unforgivable sin and now she should beg on her knees for forgiveness. Technically Eliana was on her knees there was something in his harsh voice that triggered this reaction in her.
"It must be some very important matter, otherwise you wouldn't waste my time, right? "
"Yes of course I just... um... I" her face became red. Holy shit She couldn't even form a sentence in front of him.
"Why don't you tell us who you work for, kitten?" Asked the man in the white suit.
Eliana touched the top of her head and she fucking forgot to remove that cat-ear headband. She felt like dying out of embarrassment right now.
"Who do I work for?" she was confused. "Currently, I'm unemployed but so far I was working at the coffee shop," I said truthfully not understanding the question.
"Lorenzo honey, is she stupid, or is she faking?" Catia asked in a rather unpleasant voice.
Oh, so this was Lorenzo. Shit.
"I don't know Sunshine, wait," Lorenzo stood up, came closer to her, and crouched down.
"We ask, my dear, who sent you here. Who are you spying for? You have the last chance to give an honest answer, or we will have to stop being nice"
That was their idea of nice?
"I am not a spy!"
"Don't raise your voice, bitch," Antonio growled, and he was already raising his hand, Eliana closed her eyes tightly preparing herself mentally for the upcoming strike. Automatically she covered her face but the strike never came.
"Antonio, now is not a time to react with violence" Rafael chastised his employee "Miss Snow if you are not a spy, tell me, what is your reason to be here?" His voice was neutral. Cold and distant. She wanted to run away somewhere, but she had no choice but to start explaining herself. There was no turning back.
"I'm afraid you won't take what I have to say now seriously because my story is rather unusual. I am about to inherit a large sum of money, for someone is trying to force me into giving up my inheritance rights under the threat that he will hurt me if I won't do as I'm told"
"Let's say that is the case, what would you want me to do about it?"
"I was actually hoping you'd help me to find someone who would be willing to stay married to me for six months. Until the inheritance case is closed. It would serve as a good deterrent for my uncle to continue bothering me if there was another person with the right to inherit. In exchange, I would pay to you and to that person money for... your services?"
The man in the background cackled: our services! Rafael on the other hand remained cold and collected.
Eliana was embarrassing herself, probably.
"I'm surprised. I thought you would ask me to kill a person who wants to take your life" Eliana looked at him with a surprised and horrified expression because that thought never crossed her mind. Kill someone? No, that's so abstract, evil, and wrong. Then I saw it. Something in his expression shifted and his eyes started showing sparks of amusement as the corners of his lips lifted gently. "How interesting" he muttered. "How did you come to the idea that your husband would help?"
"Because then my uncle would have two people to kill? I want to make it harder for him to attack me"
"If he's ready to kill one person does it really matter that there's a second or third to get rid of? In all cases, he gets life in prison for murder if he gets caught"
Well, what a practical and morbid way of thinking.
"I'd like to think that people consider murder as a last option for various reasons not only because they can end up in jail for it"
"That's adorable. You want me to find you a husband, fine. That's easy. Of course, assuming that I will agree I have still yet to forgive you for trespassing. Tell me what's the name of a man who wants to kill you? "
"Harvey. Harvey Snow"
Suddenly Rafael became serious and an emotion I couldn't name appeared in his eyes. He wasn't laughing anymore.
"So you belong to that family. I remember the news about your parents' accident, my condolences," said Rafael. "Has your inheritance involved SFM company?"
"All of it will belong to me"
"That really makes things interesting. You about to inherit the largest firearms manufacturing company in the country"
"Yes. Harvey only runs it, but he doesn't own it, he has decision-making power since my father died that would change right after I inherit"
"There's something I cannot understand. Why do you want a husband, not bodyguards?"He asked calmly, taking a sip of his whiskey.
"I told you I want to make things easier for Harvey, killing one person is easier than killing two. And if I die but my husband survives he will have the right to inherit what technically belongs to me. I'd rather a strange man have assets than a family member that hates me enough to murder me. There's also another reason - I have temporary custody over my sister, I'd like to become her permanent guardian and it's substantially harder when I don't have a partner"
"If your husband has the right to inherit what's stopping him from making a deal with your uncle and murdering you for the money?"
"I- I don't know for sure. I thought that if we make a fair deal that person will not want to betray me. Especially if there is someone who oversees that both sides fulfil the terms of the agreement, someone like you"
"You're sweet, innocent little girl aren't you Miss Snow? But I am touched by your faith. You're offering me and the person who would pose as your husband money I'm not interested in this offer. SFN of the company is another matter"
"You want my parent's company?"
"I want shares. Let's say 40%"
"That's... a lot"
"Indeed. But you won't need to pay any additional person for pretending to be your husband"
"I'm not following... why?"
"Because I will be the one marrying you"
_____
Dear Readers,
Please let me know if this story interests you. I don't know if this idea is good enough to continue and I have other stories posted I can invest my time into so I would appreciate your opinion.