Kara's POV:
I stood in front of the kitchen island, preparing some toast with eggs for Hannah, Brooke and I. Hannah should be coming home soon since she had a night shift at the hospital last night. I don't know how she does it. I can barely keep myself awake during the day.
I plated the toast and eggs on our separate plates before walking towards the espresso machine, getting a double shot for Hannah and a latte for myself. I went to the fridge grabbing the juice out for Brooke and some milk and cream for our coffees.
"Good morning chica," Hannah grunted as she walked into the house, barely reaching the couch as she flopped onto it.
"Morning Hannah," I replied, continuing with my work, "I take it you had a rough night."
"Don't even get me started."
As the Arabian coffee beans brewed, the whiff was heavenly, instantly, possessing Hannah as she stood up abruptly, following the scent of fresh coffee into the kitchen, bumping into me in the process.
"Hannah! HOT PAN!" I shouted, although I was too late.
"Holy motherfucking....." she belted out, including the random words, "idiot", "Dante", "hate him".
I couldn't help but snicker at her. So that was why she was all grumpy. Not being discrete enough, she whipped her head to face me, glaring daggers at me.
"What's so funny?"
"I didn't know a guy could ruffle up your feathers as much as he has," I said teasingly.
"Nonsense." She dismissed with her hand, grabbing her coffee and settled herself onto one of the bar stools.
"Whatever you say grumpy pot."
She glared at me as she drank her coffee with me smirking at her. Not long after, Brooke came down the stairs, dressed in a dark blue long sleeve cotton shirt with a white overall dress on top.
"Morning mummy," She said, I leaned down as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"Morning little one."
She did the same to the grumpy pot on the bar stool, instantly uplifting her spirits as Hannah ruffled her hair, picking her up and seating her in her baby chair.
I served up breakfast, putting a plate in Brooke as she toyed with Hannah's hair, making Hannah wince in pain.
"Thank you mummy." She said sweetly.
"Your welcome little one," I said, "don't pull Aunt Han's hair too hard. Someone's given her a rough time already."
"Do you have a boyfriend aunt Han Han?" Brooke asked innocently. Hannah and I were shocked by her question. We're never really had this conversation before.
"No sweet pea, where did you hear that word from?" Hannah asked, curiously.
"Oh I heard Uncle Stef talking about it," She explained, "he told me, he will never let me get a boyfriend till I'm old and grey."
"I don't really know what that means," she added, continuing to eat her breakfast.
Hannah and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Classic Uncle Stef, already overprotective over Brooke about boys. Goodness, she was only 3 years old. But I can't complain, I had the same mentality.
After breakfast, I got dressed for my first day of work at De Luca Inc.. I wore a tight black pencil skirt that hugged my curves in all the right places and a light cream-coloured blouse with a simple black suit jacket. I grabbed the very first high heels that I had ever bought. I definitely preferred sneakers over heels. I never understood why women would want to wear these killer devices 24/7. It was insane but I thought it would be appropriate for work, especially on my first day. Making a good first impression is essential after all.
Once I got ready, Brooke and I said goodbye to Hannah as she went to bed before hoping into the car that godfather had arranged for all of my work-related purposes.
"Good morning ladies," the same driver that picked us up last time said.
"Good morning William," I replied cheerily, "Head to my parents place first please."
"Yes Ms Coleman."
Once we reached my parents house, they were already waiting outside for Brooke. Since I was going to be working quite often at De Luca Inc., my parents volunteered to take care of Brooke. As we stepped out of the car to meet them, Brooke stopped, tugged my suit jacket.
"Yes little one?" I asked, "what's wrong?"
"Mummy, y-you're coming b-back right?" She asked as she refused to meet my gaze, bitting her lips in nervousness.
"Of course little one." I reassured her, bringing her close to my chest, rubbing her back.
I held her shoulders in front of me, my thumb caressing her cheeks as I kissed her little nose.
"I'll never leave you little one."
She nodded, giving me a big hug, squeezing me tightly.
"I'll come and pick you up straight after work at 5pm alrighty. Be a good girl for grandma and grandpa okay?"
I kissed her forehead as she ran off to my parents, giggling as my dad tossed her in the air, tickling her all over. My mind was at ease. She was in good hands. It's been a while since we've been apart. Throughout studying for my PhD, Brooke mostly followed me to the laboratories to work so I hope this change won't affect her too much.
Once I headed back into the car, we headed straight towards the city. As I sat in the car, idle minded, I couldn't help but run through certain scenarios in my head. This didn't really help my state of mind as my heart started beating faster, my hands twiddled in anticipation and my stomach feeling queasy.
"Are you alright Ms?" William asked, looking at me through rear mirror.
"Yes I'm fine." I replied, rather quickly.
"No offence Ms. Being married for more than 30 years has taught me that whenever a woman says she fine, she's never actually fine." He said, emphasising the 'never'. Smart man.
"Do you know anything about Mr De Luca?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I've never met the man but I've heard that he's never lost a deal before. He always ended up having the upper hand and has never ever negotiated with anyone before."
What? How strange? That wasn't what happened during my meeting with him.
*****
Flashback:
"You'll be fine snowflake," Godfather assured me as I, uncontrollably bounced my leg in worry.
"Mr De Luca will see you now." His assistant said as he led us to his office.
Mr De Luca. That sounds so familiar but I can't put my finger on it.
Once we entered the office, I looked around as Godfather conversed with him. How spacious. The office had a big oak wood desk in the centre, right behind the desk were shelves full of books which tempted me to run my fingers across. Towards the left was a complete glass window which looked out to the city skyline and some comfy arm chairs. What a perfect spot to read.
Godfather was still in my line of vision, greeting the investor, blocking my view of him. Godfather moved to the side introducing me as I looked up. Familiar dark cold demeaning eyes, swirling with curiosity filled my vision. Alessandro? No way. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. He must have said something to me as Godfather nudged my side with a sharp elbow. Ouch, I glared at him.
Seeing Alessandro's hand in my front of me, a blush rose to my cheeks, as I reached out, meeting his out-stretched hand.
"It is nice to meet you too Mr De Luca." I said, tucking a piece of her behind my ears.
"Alright then," Godfather said, clapping his hands, "now that introductions are over, let's get down to business."
We sat down in front of him as he looked through my report, asking me relevant inquisitive questions about the project. With every question he asked, my nervousness died down, as I got into work mode, my mind running all over the place, answering his questions to the very best of my abilities. With every answer I gave, he nodded in response, not giving away anything that he was thinking about.
By the time we were done with the report, he placed it down, folding his hands across his chest. Goodness, he had such a godly structure. His muscles bulged out through his tight white dress shirt, the vein on his neck bulging sightly as he sported an intense look on his face, pondering.
"Russo, send in the contract," he said into the intercom.
YES! I mentally jumped for joy, doing a victory dance in my head as I gave a wide grin, looking at Godfather in confirmation of my thoughts.
****
"Ms," William shook me, "Ms, we're here."
I snapped out of my thoughts, stepping out of the car, thanking William for the ride. He nodded at me as he went off.
My mind couldn't help but drift back to the meeting. Why would he negotiate with me if had never done it before? Was it because we knew each other before? My anger rose slightly. I hated being thought of as a charity case. I wanted my work to speak for itself and not because of my connections.
I stalked into the building, my heels clicking as people stared in my direction. I pressed the button for the elevator as I wanted to speak to Alessandro to clear the air, remembering the way to his office.
"Ms, you can't use this elevator." A man told me, blocking me with his hand from walking into the elevator.
What is his problem? I narrowed my eyes at him as he visibly gulped, refusing to meet my eyes.
"Let her in." A low husky voice boomed from behind me. Alessandro.
Without turning back to face him, the man let down his hand as I walked into the elevator, moving to the far left while Alessandro himself moved to the right. Once the door of the elevator closed, he said, "Good morning Ms Coleman."
"Morning." I said curtly.
"Mr De Luca, why did you negotiate with me on the terms of the shares?" I asked, no longer able to keep it inside, turning to face him.
"Why do you ask?"
"I've heard you never do such things, let alone giving up being the major stakeholder in any contract."
"You shouldn't believe rumours Ms Coleman." He said, his face remaining unchanged.
"If you did so as a favour to my Godfather, forget about it. I don't need your pity." I said, raising my voice slightly.
Before I could react, he turned around, facing me as he placed his arms on either side of me, caging me in. My mind blanked out, all my confidence flew out the window. He got closer to me, leaning down, towards my ear as I shivered. His fingers gently moved my hair behind my ear as he laid a soft kiss on my ear.
OH MY LORD. I mentally screamed to myself.
"Tsk tsk. Are you questioning my judgement tesoro?" He whispered teasingly into my ear, blowing softly on my neck. God this man is unbelievable.
"N-no" I responded, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest.
He left one lasting kiss on my neck as he stood back up, just in time as the elevator doors opened. He walked out, his assistant right on his tail while I was still stuck in place, trying to get my mind straight.
"Ms Coleman, are you coming?" He asked, not turning back to me.
I collected myself, picking up whatever dignity I had left as I headed towards his office. Once I reached his office, I placed my bag on the chair I sat in the other day, walking towards the window I so wanted to look out from the last time I came. It was beautiful. Observing people from such a height made me wonder if this was how being God felt like; looking over people without them even knowing.
"Why did you negotiate?" I asked, still curious of his manner.
"I have my reasons tesoro." He said simply, starting on the paperwork on his desk.
I moved towards the shelves, skimming my fingers over the spiral of the books. "The Fourth Industrial Revolution" by Klaus Schwab, "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama and Dr. Howard Cutler, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Interesting. I didn't expect him to be a philosophical type of man.
"Kara, come. I'll give you a tour of the office." He said, standing up from his chair, walking to his office door, waiting for me.
I grabbed my bag by the chair, walking in his direction. He placed his hand on the small of my back as he guided me towards an office not far from his. He took out a key card from his pocket, sliding it through a slot as he opened the door.
"This is your office. You may do with it as you please. This is where you will be most of the time. All meetings with future clients or employees should be carried out in the conference rooms not far from here. Check with Russo and he'll set them up for you. If I require your assistance, I will inform you through the intercom on your right. You will use the company's laptop and all other electronic devices that you will require for work-related purposes. All documents must be encrypted before being sent to anyone. Are there any questions?"
I walked around my new office, taking everything in as a thought came to mind.
"Why is my office on your personal floor?" I asked, "Shouldn't I be on the researching team?"
He leaned against the front of my desk and simply said it was my Godfather's request. I shrugged, I should have known anyways.
"Is there anything I should know?"
"Well there are other buildings that belong to me but you won't be needing to visit them any time soon. But I will show you the marketing team floor so you can contact them when necessary." He said, walking out the door with him standing dangerously close to me.
As we reached the elevator, he pressed the 24th floor. Once we walked out of the elevator, all the noise heard before instantly died down. Everyone gasped before looking down, pretending to be preoccupied with their work as he placed his hand around my waist, leading me to a room at the end of the hall. Why did they react like that? What's the big deal with exiting the elevator? Alessandro's expression remained stoic, giving nothing away as he continued walking without a care in the world. However, I turned my head back as he disappeared and saw all his employees gossiping away.
"Mr Jones, this is Ms Coleman," he introduced, "you'll be working closely with her regarding her project that Russo sent to you recently."
We greeted each other briefly as I could tell Mr Jones was not very comfortable in Alessandro's presence. He was shaking like a dog alright. That poor man. What did Alessandro do to him? We walked back to the elevator, heading back to his floor.
"Mr De Luc-," I began.
"Alessandro please." He interjected.
"Okay Alessandro, why was everyone so shocked when we exited the elevator?" I asked, "and why did that man stop me this morning? Did I do something wrong?"
He chuckled, but didn't respond as he simply walked off once we reached his floor, leaving me in a state of confusion.
"We have a meeting in an hour Ms Coleman," he said, as he walked off, "don't be late."
I headed back to my office, the events still running through my head. Without seeing where I was going, I bumped into a hard shoulder.
"My apologies Ms Coleman," Russo said.
"It was my fault." Before he could leave, I stopped him.
"Russo, why was Mr De Luca's employees so surprised when we exited the elevator?"
"That's his personal elevator Ms Coleman. No one in this building has ever been allowed to use it with the exceptions of Mr Valentino and his family." He said before rushing off to complete his tasks.
Oh.
*****
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