Mateo just called a team meeting in the conference room.
"We're flying to Brazil tomorrow afternoon with Luciano and his team for the Brazilian annual ball," he says.
The Brazilian annual ball happens every year, and thousands of people are invited. We never miss it because the Brazilians are one of our very few trusted allies.
Why do we have to go with that idiot?
"But the Brazilian ball isn't until a week and a few days," Luca states.
"Yeah, but we are going earlier this year because most of you love Brazil, and we can spend more time there," Mateo says.
He's right. We love Brazil, nobody really cares if mateo told us last minute.
"Okay," Luca says.
"That's all. You're all dismissed, but Daniel, stay here," Mateo says, and everyone except Daniel instantly starts walking out of the room.
*****
It's one of those mornings, haunted by a dreadful nightmare from last night, more like a chilling flashback to the night Carlos barged into the warehouse, intoxicated.
The sound of the cell door being flung open still echoes in my mind.
"Hello, baby," his words slurred as he struggled to maintain his balance.
"Please, don't call me that," I said, seated on the mattress where I usually slept.
Whatever he took that night must have me very strong
He stumbled to his knees, hands landing on my thighs.
Pushing his hands away, I pleaded, "Don't touch me."
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" he said, his hands creeping back toward my upper thighs.
"Carlos, stop!" I cried out, fear gripping me as he neared my shorts.
But my pleas fell on deaf ears. With a feeble push, he tumbled backwards, his head connecting with the hard floor.
"You damn bitch!" he cursed, struggling to rise.
Once on his feet, he struck me with a slap.
"You'll be my wife, and I'll do as I please," he stated, delivering a brutal punch.
"You should be grateful I didn't just sell you off into human trafficking," he sneered, his slaps relentless. Blood trickled from my nose as I sobbed uncontrollably.
"I would never be grateful for your torment," I stammered.
I've been staring at the ceiling for 45 minutes since I woke up, lost in my thoughts. Someone has been knocking at my door, but I'm basically frozen in place.
The door creaks open as Lia walks in, finding me just lying there on my bed.
"Ari, snap out of it," she says, looking down at me.
This happens a lot. I have bad dreams or memories of what Carlos did to me, and I just zone out into thought.
Lia shakes me a few times before my eyes shift from the ceiling to her face.
"Fuck, i zoned out," I say, getting into a sitting position.
Lia's face is covered in worry, but she obviously has nothing to worry about.
"Why the hell are you looking at me like that?" I question.
"I have been knocking at your door for minutes, and you have been in here zoned out," she says.
"Did you have another nightmare?" she asks.
I nod yes, and she wraps her arms around me. I just let it happen for a few minutes before saying, "Stop being so clingy and let me pack." She chuckles before letting me go.
"Have you packed yet?" I ask.
"I started packing, but I'm not yet done. I just came here to check on you before I get back to packing," she says.
"Okay," I say.
She leaves my room before I immediately enter my closet and pull out two suitcases.
Two might be overexaggerating, but I want to make sure I carry all my necessities.
I open the first suitcase and pack tops, pants, dresses, shorts, skirts, leggings, a few pairs of gym clothes, and my mission attire.
In my other suitcase, I put heels, sneakers, sandals, slippers, other shoes, my toiletries bag, makeup bag, bikinis, underwear, bras, hoodies, 2 purses, and 2 Birkins.
I'm not packing a lot of handbags because I intend on buying a few more in Brazil.
I grab my laptop bag and put my laptop, laptop charger, phone charger, and a power bank inside.
After what feels like an hour and thirty minutes of packing, I check the time, and it's already 11:40 am. We're supposed to leave at 1 pm, so I head to the bathroom for a bath.
*****
After I finish getting ready. I carry my laptop bag and pull my heavy suitcases out of my room, carrying them one by one down the stairs.
We can't all fit in one car, so Mateo, Daniel, Luca, and Paul left earlier with one of our cars.
One of our drivers helps me put my suitcases in the back of the limo parked by the front door.
Lia also makes her way out of the house with her suitcase.
I lock the door before both Lia and I enter the limo.
The driver starts the engine and pulls out of the driveway.
He drives us to our airplane hanger. The driver walks out of the car, getting our suitcases out of the car before opening a door for us to get out too.
We pull our suitcases as we walk towards the plane.
Three cars are parked outside the plane, so I suppose Mateo and Luciano are already in.
Some of our flight attendants help us with our suitcases.
We walk to the seating area in the plane where we find Paul, Mateo, Luca, Daniel, Luciano, and his team already seated.
Lia and I sit together, a small table in between us.
After a few minutes, the pilot announces through the speakers that it's time for departure, and in no time, we are already in the air.
Thirty minutes into the flight, Lia and I are chatting, both engrossed in our phones. A flight attendant interrupts us, asking, "Would you like anything?"
I glance at Lia, and we exchange nods. "Two plates of amatriciana and two glasses of champagne, please," I order.
The attendant takes our request and soon returns with a trolley loaded with our food and drinks. The aroma is divine.
"Thank you," I say as she sets everything down.
"You're welcome," she replies with a warm smile.
I glance over at Mateo and Luciano, seated together with a small table between them.
In front of Luciano, I spot a Spanish delicacy, paella, accompanied by a glass of whiskey with two ice blocks. Mateo, on the other hand, has lasagne and a glass of whiskey.
Briefly, my gaze lingers on Luciano before his eyes meet mine, and I quickly look away.
*****
After Lia and I finish eating, I check the time and realize it's already 6:50 PM. Feeling exhausted, I decide to take a nap in one of the rooms on the plane.
"I'm gonna nap," I inform Lia.
Heading to the room I've chosen, I set my phone aside and settle onto the bed, ready to rest.
Thanks for reading.
Toodles.