Fuck. Fuck. Shit. I was so fucking late to work today. Caught between going through the tape yesterday and seeing Sergio's face in the news, I had barely gotten even a wink of sleep as I tossed and turned the whole night. His face had haunted me for the past three years, my heart cracking a little more at the thought of what we had. But it had healed. At least I thought so - until now. Seeing that ruggedly handsome face again on the screen had my mind taking me back to the few months that we had spent together in Italy. I had never anticipated that I'd ever fall so hard for a man that was supposed to be untouchable for me. A criminal, most of all. It was never in my plan to fall for him. But I had. And I'd been woken up from the dream only to come crashing back down to reality within an instant. Harsh.
But that was besides the point. All this time, I had thought that I was finally over him. That maybe I'd find somebody else that would share a greater love with me. Although I wasn't banking on it, which was why I'd started hooking up and keeping it casual with guys. I honestly didn't understand myself sometimes. A part of me wanted that intimacy of being with a partner again, but the other part - that part that had burned because of love - wanted nothing to do with that four letter or the male species in general again.
Raising a hand to my head, I made sure that there weren't any flyaways. I hadn't gotten any time to properly style my hair, which is why I'd thrown it in a simple high ponytail. Fuck Sergio and fuck Ted Bundy for ruining a perfectly good night's sleep. Like I said, men were the root cause of all problems - or at least most problems.
I sped up my walk as my pumps smacked on the ground, my breathing coming out faster. Pulling out my Oyster card from my purse, I straightened before scanning it on the yellow reader. The machine let out a small beep as I passed through, my feet aching from the brisk walk. Within a few minutes, I boarded the London Underground as I settled down into one of the empty seats. My eyes wavered around the tube as I took in the several people in it. Becoming a lawyer had no doubt made me more observant which meant that I usually liked to play a game with myself during the solo journey to and from work. My gaze settled on a lady that was dressed in a pantsuit, her hair tied back with a middle part. Well, she definitely looked like she worked higher up in an office. An accountant perhaps. I took in the speed at which she was typing on her phone, her gaze constantly straying to the laptop perched on the seat beside her. Yep, definitely a workaholic.
I heard a cough right opposite me as the man in front of me hacked his chest. Right as I was about to look away, he met my eyes before his teeth widened into a grin, showing off his yellowing and barely there teeth. Gross. His eyes flitted down to my top, trying to take a peek into my cleavage. I sent him a glare before turning sideways and looking the other way. Fucking perv. Men like him deserved to have their eyeballs pulled out.
The mechanic voice of a female rung in the background as she announced the destination's name. Knowing that I had at least a couple of more minutes before it was time to get up, I relaxed in my seat as I whooshed out an exhale. Life had been fucking stressful lately. Add to that adulting and getting shit done by yourself and you had a complete mess. There were times when I felt the urge to pick up my phone and tell Mum to come and pick me up. But that wouldn't do. I was a grown ass woman now. I had my own apartment. I had a well paying job. The days of being a sheltered only child were over. What wouldn't I give to get those days back again. Actually, scratch that. I didn't want those days back. At least not my school days. Those were a fucking nightmare, honestly.
Law school was no better, truth be told. Ever since I'd called out Amanda and Brittany for almost drugging me, they had made it their personal mission to make my life and those three years in law school complete hell. How they had managed to turn every single one of my peers against me was beyond me. All of them except Alex, that is. That fucker was probably the only person who'd stayed the same. Not that it had helped me. He was still the same creepy guy to me.
Sighing, I leaned my head against the pole as my eyes closed against their own accord. God, I needed some sleep. And some greasy food too, preferably. I had started a very specific diet ever since I'd gone to the doctor's last month. I had been following it diligently, hoping that it would have a positive effect - hence the reason why I was staying away from alcohol as well.
The announcement snapped me out of my trance as I shook my head and stood up. As I was waiting for the doors to open up, my eyes unwillingly flitted to a lady that was reading the local newspaper. On the front page and in bold, Sergio's name and face was printed with the details of what had happened - something I had thoroughly researched on the night before, but I would never admit that. Apparently, he was a semi famous criminal in Europe now. His name had spread like wildfire overnight, causing everybody to whisper about the latest case connected to the mafia. It had been years since a case connected to the underworld had popped up since the mafia had been dormant uptil now , hence it was understandable that there would be a lot of talk in the country.
I took in a deep breath, realising that I wouldn't be escaping this man - at least not any time soon. I guess I'd just have to suck it up and put on my big girl panties. It's not like I was going to see him again. I was in London and he was still in Italy. I think. The chances of us seeing each other again were slim. Besides even if he did happen to pop up here - which was impossible, by the way since the man had made it clear that he didn't give a shit about me and that I was just another notch in his bedpost - I'd simply ignore him. As if we were strangers.
Ah fuck it. Who was I kidding? If I ever saw the devil - my devil - again, I'd probably run from there, go home and drown myself in a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. With that reassurance in my mind, I stepped out before doing my usual three minute walk to my office from the tube station.
The familiar building with Pearson & Associates written on top came into view as James, the security at the door, greeted me.
"And how are ye doin' today, Miss Ricci?" He asked me with his usual Scottish accent.
"I'm doing well, thank you James. How about you? How's Lily doing?" I asked, referring to his wife.
"Ah she's doing alright. The same, the same."
"That's great to hear. You take care of yourself alright?"
With a pat on his wrinkled hand, he nodded at me as I sent him a warm smile. In the first month or so, ever since I'd started working here, I'd always spent lunch time down here with James. I had instantly warmed up to him, thanks to his booming voice and never ending stories about his days in Scotland, before he'd migrated to the UK with his wife. I'd found a kinship with him. A sort of father figure. Since James and Lily didn't have any children of their own, I often found myself being invited to their lovely house for supper. I always cherished those moments, because those kind of moments were very far and few in between.
For some odd reason, whenever I saw an older person - more specifically, an older woman - my mind always strayed to Nonna. Just thinking of that woman sent a pang straight to my heart. In a place where I'd practically been a prisoner, she and Luca had been the only ones who had treated me with nothing but kindness right from the beginning. God, I really missed her. I wonder how she was doing? How had she reacted when I'd left without letting her know? To be fair though, a car had literally been waiting for me in front of the porch when I'd left - as if everything was almost planned - hence, I'd never gotten the chance to even say goodbye to her. If there was one thing I regretted not doing, then it was seeing Nonna for one last time.
Scrunching up my nose, I pushed those thoughts away as I scanned my ID card near the reception. The receptionist, Kayla, flashed me a brief smile as her fingers flew across the keyboard rapidly. There hadn't been a single time in these past few months where Kayla hadn't been multitasking. If I didn't know the woman that well, I would have been surprised at her ability to juggle so many things at once.
"Morning, Gia." She chirped as I sent her a small wave.
She and I weren't close per se, but we were good friends, I'd say. One of the only two women in the entire office who didn't hate my guts. Honestly, I didn't know what the problem was with the other female employees. Well actually, I did know their problem. Apparently, there was a rumor going around the entire office that I had been sleeping with Victor since I was getting the opportunity to work on so many important cases. Because god forbid, a woman simply couldn't be smart and hard working enough to climb up the office ranks by herself. Dio mio. People like them really disgusted me. Especially women tearing other women down. So not cool.
I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 23rd floor as the silent hum of it moving upwards filled the air. I took those few moments to check my social media, smiling as I saw videos of Little Mix pop up on my feed. Believe it or not, I was still a huge fan of the girl band - even if they happened to take a hiatus shortly after their last tour. I guess some things really don't change. That and my obsession with Harry Styles.
The bell dinged, a sign that the elevator had stopped on my floor, as I stepped out. I spotted Noah right in line of vision, talking on the phone, a thick file in his hands. He raised his hand in greeting and mouthed a be with you in a minute as I smiled at him. I'd observed that Noah had started to get on my nerves lately. As much as I liked hooking up with him, his cling behavior post sex and in general was annoying me. Him always greeting me the moment I stepped into the office. Him getting me my usual spearmint tea everyday because he knew I wasn't allowed to drink anything other than that now. While these were definitely very sweet gestures on his part, I found myself getting irritated at every single little thing. There were times when I actually felt like telling him to tone it down, but I held back because, of course, the polite and cultured lady in me would not have any of that.
I settled down into my cubicle, the one closest to Esme's cabin, before I booted my computer. This space was usually reserved for the more experienced lawyers, but I was lucky enough to have gotten the opportunity to work here despite me being a fresher, as compared to everyone else in the firm. Within minutes, I was lost in the several hundred emails that I had to sort through, many of them asking if Esme or I did pro bono cases. While I would have loved to take on as many pro bono cases as I could, it wasn't really ideal for the firm's image nor profit margin. It sucked to be so business minded sometimes, but it was the reality I guess.
Minutes turned into hours as my vision grew blurry behind my glasses. I perched them on top of my head as I rubbed my eyes, tired and exhausted already from just a couple of hours of work. Looking at the clock hung on the wall in front of me, I did a double take as I realised that it was almost 2 in the afternoon. Cursing under my breath, I pulled out my homemade lunch before making my way over to the break room. Several people were leaving the room as I entered it, excusing myself amongst the crowd of lawyers. Just as I reached a vacant table, I felt a tap on my back as I turned around to look at the person.
"Good. I was just going to call you to go get some lunch. You really should stop overworking yourself, Gianna."
"I could say the same for you, Noah." I smiled back as he took a seat beside me, his hands folded on the table, a disposable cup in between them.
"I got you some tea." He said as he pushed the cup towards me.
"Thanks."
After a few moments of silence, he opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come by earlier. Victor's got me on a very important case. Apparently some financial scam case."
"No worries, Noah. You don't have to do that you know?" I said as I peeled open my box of rice and veggies.
"I know, but I want to. You deserve to have someone in your corner that cares about you."
His words made me pause with a forkful of rice midway. Fuck. I tried really hard to keep some distance between him and I but then he went and said sweet things like this that made my heart ache. I wish I could fall for a man like him. I wish that I had never fallen for Sergio Agosta and become so damaged that I could never see a man in the same light again. I just wish I could love again. God, it was going to be so hard to break this lad's heart someday. I was definitely going to hell for that.
Mentally saying a silent sorry to the Gods above, I changed the topic as we talked about our latest cases and work in general. I peeked a glance at my watch as I realised that I had been spending too much time eating lunch.
"Right um Noah, I should probably get back to work. Esme really wouldn't like to see me slacking." I interrupted him as a guilty look crossed my face.
His face fell for a second before he recovered and a megawatt smile spread across his face.
"Of course, Gianna. I'll let you go now. Sorry if I held you back."
I suppressed a groan as I waved off his sweet apology before leaving the room with a goodbye sent his way. Sometimes I really questioned whether all of this was an act or whether he was genuinely that sweet. If he was, then he totally deserved a woman who could reciprocate all his feelings. Definitely not a broken woman like me.
I heard soft murmurs around me as I caught onto a few words that sounded extremely familiar to criminal and new client. Ignoring the chatter around, I went back to work but I was interrupted as the phone on my desk rang. I picked up as Esme's voice came through the line.
"We've got a new client in my office, Gianna. I'd like you to come in so you can meet him now."
With a soft I'll be right in, I hung up the phone as my brows furrowed in concern. Esme had never called me in to personally meet a new client. I had sort of always been in the background, assisting her with the case if she needed me to. So it was safe to say that this was pretty weird.
I cleared my desk before making my way over to Esme's office where her blinds were currently drawn. I felt several eyes on my back as I walked the distance between my desk and her cabin before knocking twice. I heard a sharp come in as I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me. Esme was sitting in her chair, a bright smile on her face as a dark haired man sat opposite of her. They probably must have gotten here when I was having lunch, I wondered as I shuffled on my feet awkwardly as Esme addressed me.
"Perfect timing. I was just telling Sergio about you, hun."
My blood froze as the man in the chair whirled around to face me. Fuck, fuck, fuck no. Somebody please tell me that this is a nightmare.
"Gianna, meet our new client, Sergio Agosta. You'll be working with him soon." Esme continued, blissfully unaware of the increasing tension in the room as I stood there, staring at the devil like a gaping fish.
That familiar smirk in place and his hands resting loosely by his side, Sergio opened his mouth to speak up.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gianna. I've heard a lot of good things about you."
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