14 | Money, Salad And A Broken Allegra
"Enter." The crazy CEO's brisk tone traveled through the closed door of his immaculate office.
My impatient hands pushed the mahogany door open and I stalked inside, slamming it shut behind me. "Have you completely lost it, Rafael?"
"Mr Grayson." He corrected smugly.
Boss my ass.
"You can't sell off the clothing retail. We've got thirty percent revenues stemming from that business and that's huge!"
"So is the sum of money we need to buy a controlling stake in Edmonton Gold Mines." He retorted.
His eyes were weary, dark brown hair messy and he looked completely exhausted. I wonder how long this is going to continue. He needs a break from everything going on.
"Rafael." I sighed, circling over to his desk. I walked back behind his chair and pulled his shoulders back, massaging them gently. "Just relax alright? You're not taking care of yourself."
How I had to fight the urge to bend down and peck his cheeks. Everytime I keep giving myself a million reasons as to why he needs me and I should be there for him. And then comes the night which tells me how much I've sinned by even so much as wanting to kiss someone else's fiance.
"You never wanted this company to be connected with your dirty business. You've worked too hard for this, Rafael. Don't let it go so easily." I withdrew my hands from his shouldered, feeling guilty.
"What choices do I have, Vittoria?" He ran a hand through his hair. "We need to get into that shady company to reach to that person. He's a very important link that we can't afford to lose."
The door flew open without warning, startling me. "You, Mr foolish Grayson are not going to sell off that subsidiary, you get that?" Oliver marched in angrily.
Yes please slap some sense into your boss, dear...um..boss.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Where else can I get that kind of money from?" He challanged.
Who knew even the richest, sexiest, hottest- let's just stick to the relevant richest part.
Who knew even the richest bastard would have money problems. Simply baffling!
"You've got the best people working for you." Oliver stated with a smirk.
"He's talking about me." I grinned.
"I'm talking about myself." He reverted.
"But I'm clearly the smarter Rivera/Andress." I self proclaimed.
"Yeah because that's the alarming problem right now." Rafael rolled his eyes.
Whatever. I was saying the truth. Not my fault if they don't like it.
"Here's what you're gonna do Rafael." Oliver slammed his palms on his desk, his voice stern. "You are going to call off the bid. We aren't selling anything off. About the money, give us some time to figure things out. Thank you. Bye."
"I'm confused who's the boss here?" Rafael stated.
I grinned once again, raising my hand up.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'd forgotten." Rafael said with utmost sincerity.
Hmm, I could get used to it.
"I have something in mind. You, Miss Andress, see me in my office." My immediate boss, the grandpa ordered.
I pretended to not get the underlying meaning of his words which translated to : Stay away from Rafael. He's no good for you and he also happens to be your sister's fiance.
"No." Rafael stopped me. "You're pulling on a hood and visiting Allegra to get her back. Please try and convince her."
"Not happening." I crossed my arms. "I'm not going to clean his mess. He has direspected a woman and it's his job to go and apologize."
"Forget about it. I can't stand her sight." Oliver contorted his face in disgust.
"Oliver." Rafael sighed. "I know what all belonging to you stands up at her sight."
"Eww!" I pressed my hands over my ears. "Can you not! I'm right here!"
"But hey! Ollie and Alli have something going on between them!" I squeaked, jumping around in shock.
"Stop replicating a maniac! There's nothing like that. He's just messing with me." Oliver held me in place.
"Denial is the first step, dear best friend." Rafael smiled oh so sweetly.
"That's right. Been there, done that." I huffed, rolling my eyes.
"You-" The angry grandpa looked up and down at me, then at Rafael who was laughing uncontrollably.
What was that?
Ignoring his looks, I skipped to Rafael, bending down to whisper into his ears. "Once I asked Alli if she like my brother. Now with that I meant Mason. But she replied I don't like Oliver. She was all flushed."
"Is that so?" He whispered back.
"What's going on there?" He yelled and we both shrugged innocently.
He held my arm, forcefully pulling me away from Rafael. "We were talking about money. Where did Allegra jump in suddenly." He stated, annoyed.
"Fine! I'll call off the bid. I trust you guys. Just be careful." Rafael said warily.
"I think I know what you're thinking." I looked up at Oliver anxiously.
He nodded with a proud smile.
"But one thing." Rafael interrupted. "I cannot be the shareholder in that mining company. My link to it can get this company in problems."
That's right. Sure, the shareholders are kept unknown but if there are any leaks in that system, it could cause severe issues. We can't risk it.
"Then who's gonna own the shares?" I quizzed.
He just heaved a sigh.
•••••
"I'm warning you, Grayson. I'll take your money and run away." Mason twisted his face in disfavor, swaying the knife in front of Rafael.
Told him he'd never agree to be the shareholder, moreover, take his money.
"Are you done? You're chopping broccoli since when." Rafael asked irritably.
Mason shoved the chopped broccoli which went into the searing pan through Rafael's pretty hands.
"Like seriously, you don't even like me? Why me?" Mason washed his hands, few water droplets splashing over the mess of papers on the kitchen island.
"Mase!" I yelled, quickly covering the documents.
"What?" He raised a brow. "Don't you have a study for all that work? Why are you working here?"
"We need some family time." Liam pouted and Toby rolled his eyes, sprinkling some olive oil on grandpa's salad.
"You are the best candidate for that company's shareholder. You've been undercover for so long plus you have no apparent connection with me." Rafael answered his previous question.
"You seriously trust me so much?" He narrowed his eyes at him.
"I trust Vittoria." Rafael said confidently, earning a sincere smile from me.
"How's it going on?" An exhausted Oliver entered, glancing at the screen of my laptop.
"Great! I'm running some Monte Carlo test on these securities-"
"We're running to Monte Carlo!" Toby interjected.
"No, you dumbass. It's a simulation we're running to test random variables and their outcomes-"
Oliver slapped Liam's arm. "Give him finance lessons later on. Focus on what you've modelled."
He nodded, displaying our study. "We can definitely go long on these stocks. The downside risk-"
"And now they're talking dirty." Mason whispered.
"Mase! Going long means..uh..like buying a security. Just shut up you three."
"These finance peeps are very naughty." Rafael remarked, taking a swig from his beer bottle. It's almost dinner time and he's drinking. "They have terms like long, short, position, strip strategy, straddle strategy."
Mason and Toby were laughing and we finance people were offended and upset but my reason was something else.
"Put that away, Rafael. That's enough drinking."
"What are you, my wife?" He smirked.
"Keep dreaming." Mason taunted.
"I'm being serious, Rafael. Put that away at once." I stated bluntly.
"Fine!" The glass bottle settled on the marble counter with a clink.
Good.
We discussed a few more strategies. Time was less and we the sum was big. We couldn't make any wrong move. The risk was a lot. But so were the returns which we so badly needed.
"Alright people, I'm leaving. Bye." Mason announced, packing grandpa's salad.
"Where are you going suddenly?" I asked.
"Where are you going suddenly with my salad?" Oliver corrected.
Ugh! Stupid men!
"This isn't your salad. It's Alli's favorite salad. I'm going to her place for dinner. There's no way I'm leaving her all alone." He left without waiting for a reply.
"Favorite favorite, huh? Yet another thing you have in common." I teased Oliver.
"Please stay in the adult mode, muffin." He pointed at the scattered documents.
"You should go with him. You need to apologize, Oliver." Rafael stated.
He simply scoffed.
Ugh! Stupid men's stupid ego!
"Stop being a dick." Liam frowned.
"Look I know it's difficult to stand someone who keeps annoying you all the time. But we need her help to find Mila." Rafael pressed.
"You know?" Liam gave him a questioning look.
"Been there, done that." Oliver mocked, throwing our words at us.
"Yeah, even I tolerated her because we wanted Mason." Rafael pointed at me.
I knew he was joking but still his words hurt. He tolerated me to find his Mila, right.
"I'm not apologizing to her. And that's final." Oliver proclaimed.
I was still trying to get past the hurt caused by Rafael's words. His eyes met mine and the playfulness in them vanished much like his smile.
"Oh no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, Vittoria." Rafael stretched his arm out to touch my face.
"Forget it." I swatted his hand away, striding out of the kitchen.
"It's me, Mason." I softly knocked on the white door which opened to a disheveled Allegra.
"Oh Alli! What have you made of yourself." I engulfed her into a huge bear hug. "Oliver is an idiot. Don't let his words affect you so much."
"You're here at this hour?"
"Where else would I be? I knew you wouldn't have cooked anything in this mood and you remember what happens to an empty stomach." I walked into the kitchen to grab a fork and spoon.
"Yeah, yeah, the moneys dancing inside an empty stomach take over your brains." She forced a tiny smile.
I pulled her down on the couch, stabbing the disgusting tasting broccoli which she loves so much. "Here we go." I held the fork before her mouth but she refused.
So now I'll have to use the tactics I used on Vittoria.
"Beep! Beep! Red signal is over. You're holding up a traffic behind you, Alli." I tapped her nose with the broccoli.
A small giggle left her lips and she welcomed the boring salad. "You're an idiot."
"I hear that a lot." I laughed, continuing to feed her.
"Did you eat anything?" She asked, taking the bowl into her hands.
"Nope."
"Why?" She threw me mom looks.
"In hopes of you having those instant ramen, my favorite." I grinned.
Thankfully she had them in stock. I quickly cooked it and returned to the living room with its aroma making my tummy grumble.
"You need to come back, Alli." I said in a serious tone.
She passed me a glare as hot as this ramen.
"Look I know he's obnoxious for you but we can't do this alone. How long are you going to keep hiding? We need to find the Visitant soon. Think about your freedom." I pressed.
She looked away, skeptical of my proposition.
"I think we need to tell them ab-"
"No!" She exclaimed. "We can't tell them. That's crazy. They'll kick us out. Why do you think they'll even believe us. What do we have apart from a rough theory? We can't, you get that? You won't say anything to them."
I stared into her slightly swollen eyes, trying to understand her reasoning. I gotta admit she does have a point.
"So you do accept that we need their help, don't you." I slurped the spicy ramen.
"Yes. And don't make those noises. It's not good manners." She scolded.
"Jeez! You're full on mom material."
"Thanks." She shrugged. "But it's not like I can't find them all by myself. It'll just take a little longer."
Something had changed in her. I couldn't figure out what it was. She looked so vulnerable right now. That was very unlikely for her. She was not someone to break down so easily.
She mindlessly played with the salad which she had stopped eating. Her eyes glistened with tears which fell into her lap like sparkling droplets.
"I'm tired of this, Mase. I don't know how long I can keep going."
"Aww, don't cry. Toby will start crying there." I chuckled, trying to lighten her mood.
"You've started to like them huh?"
"Yeah, I mean we can be wrong about people at times. They're all good. Apart from Rafael." I added the last line quickly.
"And that- that atrocious man." She spat.
Soon her angry face switched to utter surprise. "You don't hate Liam?"
An unexpected chuckle egressed from me. "I always liked him. I even like him and Vittoria together. He still loves her. And it's pure."
"Then why do you keep trouble the poor boy?"
"Because he doesn't stand up for her
He doesn't fight for her. He just let her go so easily knowing very well she will never be happy with Rafael."
"I'm speechless." She poked me with the fork.
"I'm here to talk about you, Alli. You're clearly not well. Tell me, what has Nikolai done to you?"
She remained silent. Her painful eyes didn't meet mine.
"Okay. I'll just go and kill him."
"We know we can't do that." She said poignantly. "Maybe I should just learn to live with it. That's the only option." She wiped her tears away.
Just then, the floorboards creaked around the door. I was on alert mode. Grabbing my gun, I aimed it straight at the intruder but my jaw dropped in shock when it registered who it was.
"Oliver?"
"Hey there." He said monotonously.
My fear suddenly spiked.
"How much did you hear?" I asked, trying not to give away anything from my face.
"Enough to know why you are mad at Liam." He sighed.
I subtly released a relieved breath.
"You were eavesdropping." Alli snarled at her unwanted guest.
"A person hiding from the world kept the door ajar. Impressive." He taunted.
"Why are you here, Oliver?" I asked smugly.
"To play snakes and ladders with Miss Tanner." He scowled. "Are you kidding me? I was forced to come here and apologize." He said like it was the toughest thing to do.
"Okay." I grinned. "Just kiss, make out or fuck and make it up to her. I'll be waiting for you upsatirs. Just don't be very loud."
"Mason!" They both yelled in unison and then exchanged awkward glances.
"Whatever." He mumbled under his breath and cleared his throat.
"I.. " He trailed off, his ego not allowing him to do the task.
Allegra stood there with crossed arms and unfriendly face, trying to hide her devastated state.
"I apologize for my behavior. Please come back, Miss Tanner. We need you."
Allegra: Vote, comment and share if you want me back.
Oliver (secretly begging): Please vote and comment. A lot..... No like seriously a lot. Please!