"I'm so sorry for what happened to him, girl. Send my regards to Trevor."
"I'll tell him, of course," I replied.
"Maybe I could come over later?"
"Sure, that would be great!"
"Okay, then. I have to go for lunch with Hunter. You should go back too," Chelsea said to me.
"Yeah, right. See you later then."
I smiled at her and walked to the lift.
It's been four days since the traumatic incident that happened to Trevor. He has yet to talk to us about what happened that night. We didn't pressure him; we just asked him once. It seems that the incident had taken a toll on him. There were times when he woke up screaming during the middle of the night, recalling the incident, which we had to calm him down. Hailey was also devastated by what happened to Trevor, seeing that both of them were friends for a very long time.
She and I take turns to take care of him, well, Hailey mostly. She would miss her classes to take care of him while asking me to go to work. I took a half-day off today because Hailey can't be missing a lot of lessons. I thought Mr.Sanders would say anything about this, but he didn't. He told me to work from home for the rest of the day, which was great because I had many tasks to be done as soon as possible.
I walked towards my car, which was parked in front of the building this time. My phone buzzed, so I took it out to see a text from Hailey.
Hailey
I'm going out now. I told Trevor you'd be there soon.
I replied to her.
Okay. Be prepared to get an earful from Mr. Jones from Chemistry.
I smiled, looking at the text, and went inside my car.
Before going back, I have to go to a 7-Eleven because there was no ice-cream left in the fridge. It took me a few minutes to get there as they were a few of them in the city.
I grabbed a few tubs of Ben and Jerry's and a few bars of chocolates and paid for it. Then, I drove myself to our favorite Chinese restaurant because obviously, no one can cook lunch today.
I sent Trevor a text telling him that I was here to give him a heads up. That is because a few days ago, Trevor freaked out when Hailey arrived at the apartment unannounced. I took everything off the car and walked to the lift to go to my apartment.
"Trevor, I've bought Chinese for lunch," I said, placing the food on the dining table.
"Hey, babe. I was going to tell you to resume your work but you were already here when you texted me," he told me while he walked, well limped, towards me.
"Never mind. Mr. Sanders asked me to work from home for the rest of the day," I replied to him when I was placing the ice creams in the fridge.
"Amy is that Ben and Jerry's? God, you don't know how much I've craved it the whole morning," he said.
"Well, you have it here but first, let's have lunch," I replied.
Since it was ramen, I poured everything into bowls for the two of us. The smell of it makes my stomach grumble. Both of us sat down and started eating.
"M-Mmmmm......this is so good! I swear they make the best food ever," Trevor moaned.
"I know, right," I replied.
"How're your injuries, by the way," I asked him.
"So far, it's healing pretty fast. Except for the one on my shin, it hurts like a bitch! If it wasn't for that I can walk properly now," he said.
"Don't worry it all will heal soon, Trevor," I replied, and both of us continued eating.
"I forgot to ask about this sooner, what did you say to your professors about your absence?" I asked him out of curiosity.
"I told them that I had reconnected with a long-lost relative and I had to visit them," he replied.
"Wow, what an excuse," I said, laughing.
"As long as it's legit," he shrugged.
Trevor went to sit in the living area while I was washing the dishes. I grabbed two tubs of ice cream and sat in the living room with Trevor.
"So, what are we watching today?" I asked as I sat on the couch.
"I don't even know what movie is this? Looks like a crime movie," he replied.
"Ooh let me get my laptop," I said before going to my room.
"Seriously, why do you need it?" Trevor asked in a slight annoyance.
"I have to work from home, remember?" I said, sitting beside him and opening the laptop.
"Come on, your boss isn't going to know if you're doing your work or not," he said.
"As much as I'm tempted to do that, I can't because I have to finish this thing," I replied.
"Whatever," he groaned.
I would say that doing work while watching TV made me finish it in a short amount of time, contrary to popular belief. Trevor kept his eyes closed for most of the movie. I didn't know why he decided to watch this movie, regardless of what happened to him.
"Umm Amy, can I.......tell you something?" Trevor asked me.
"Yeah, what.....do you wanna tell me?" I asked him back.
"About what happened that night," he said in a timid voice.
"Trevor, I'm not pressuring you to say what happened. You can tell us when you're truly ready," I replied.
"No no no, I want to tell you now. I don't want to keep you guys in the dark," he said.
"How about Hailey? You should also tell her, you know," I told him.
"I know, I will tell her minus the gory details, because I don't want her to cry for me," he said.
"Of course she's going to cry. She's your best friend before I was. She might not show it, but she cannot take it if anything happens to you," I said to him.
"Fine. I'll tell her everything," Trevor said.
He sighed and went silent for a moment.
"That guy is the security guard that works at our uni. The first time I saw him was when I was having lunch. He was staring blankly which obviously made me uncomfortable, but I just shrugged it off. I didn't see him for a week after that day. Then one day when I was at the cafeteria looking at my assignments, I felt someone's presence behind me. When I stood up to go to my class, I saw him behind me. He was looking at me in the way that made you uncomfortable, plus he licked his lips which was downright creepy. After that, every time I walk out of the gates I would see him. Now, speaking about that night, I came out of the subway station heading back home. I had this gut feeling that something wasn't right, but just shrugged it off, being the carefree person I am. I was going to text you that I'm a few minutes away but then I was pinned to the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw the security guard giving me this sinister smirk. The rest was history."
I got shocked when I heard that, but I didn't show it on my face.
"How about when Jake and his friend found you? Did you remember what happened?" I asked him.
"Everything was hazy when they came. I felt someone placing my head on their lap and checking my pulse, whom I then knew as Jake, but other than that I don't know," he said.
"Did you remember what his friend did?" I asked him.
"Oh Mr. Beast Daddy? Umm....I remember him pulling the guy off me and hitting him hard. Speaking of him there was one thing I remembered. It was when he carried me to the hospital. He had this look on this face when he looked at me. It was like he felt sorry for me and there was this sadness in his eyes, I'm pretty sure it's not directed towards me," he said.
"Oh," that's the only thing I could say because I was overwhelmed about what he just said.
Both of us went silent for a minute. I thought only girls had this type of problem, but I was wrong. Guess no one in this world is safe from these kinds of people.
I felt my phone buzzing. Amelia's calling me.
"Hey Amelia what's up?"
"Amy you have to come here right now," she whispered into the phone.
"Why? What's going on?"
"Him. He is here asking for you. He wants you here, right now," Amelia said.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Alessandro Durante. He wants you right now."
"Why does he want me? Did you ask?" I asked her, sounding a little scared.
"I don't know! He says he wants you to be here to talk about something. He doesn't look like he's going to give up. You have to come here right now," she said.
"Okay, okay. Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Yeah, okay. Bye," and the phone call ended.
I went and took my bag, placing my laptop in it.
"Girl, what's wrong? Why do you seem rushed?" Trevor asked me.
"Guess who's going to see me. Speak of the devil, it's Alessandro Durante," I said.
"Why does he want you?" he asked.
"I don't know. Apparently he wants to talk about something important," I said.
"Whatever it is, good luck," he said.
I bid my farewell and went out of my apartment. I can't help but feel anxious while driving to my workplace. Why does Mr.Durante want me? Is there anything I did wrong? Did I make him angry? The last time I checked, I was nice to him.
It was a miracle that I arrived there in less than half an hour. I walked as fast as I can inside the building and to the lift. I was hyperventilating in the lift. My heartbeat increased as the lift reached Amelia's floor. The more I walk nearer to her office, the more nervous I became.
I knocked gently on the door, waiting for Amelia's response. I was fidgeting when I heard the door open.
"Come on in, Miss. Roberts," Amelia said with a serious face.
I walked in with my best friend, my eyes thoroughly trained on the man sitting at the table. I sat on the chair beside him while Amelia sat in front of both of us.
"Good evening, Mr. Durante," I said.
"Likewise," he replied.
Everything went silent for a moment, which was not good for me. Amelia's face looks damn severe while he was expressionless, just like always. What is going on here?
Amelia cleared her throat and asked, "Since Miss. Roberts is here, what is it that you want, Mr. Durante?"
He looked at me for a brief and took a long breath.
"To be honest, I was captivated by your professionalism and your seriousness during the meeting Miss. Roberts. The very smart suggestion you gave was the cherry on top.I liked the way you handled things professionally, even though we were out of work. Employees like you are just lucky charms for employers like us," he said.
"I would like to thank you for the compliment, sir but just so you know that I have to be professional to everyone, especially to someone like you," I said boldly.
"I knew you would say that, Miss. Roberts and that is what I like from you," he said, and I just smiled at him.
"I'd requested your boss to show the things you've done here and I must say I'm pretty impressed by the work you've done. You are too experienced for a postgraduate."
"Thank you, Mr. Durante," I replied.
"So, I have a proposition to the both of you," he said.
Amelia and I looked at each other, nervousness and curiosity painted on our faces.
"And what would that be, Mr.Durante?" Amelia asked.
"I have a proposition where I would like to have Miss. Roberts as my employee, a personal assistant to be precise," he said, making me a complete shock of my mind.
He wants me to work for him. Why would he want me, a postgraduate, to work at his company where people working there have higher qualifications and better experience than me?
"Is that anything personal that you want from Miss. Roberts, Mr.Durante?" Amelia asked, sounding angry.
I looked at her in pure shock. Does she want to sign her death warrant or something?
"I assure you Miss. Lockwood that I don't want anything to do with Miss. Roberts. I'm just simply trying to have her as my employee, an innocent request," he said.
I didn't say anything. Everything that has happened today is a lot to take in. First Trevor and now this. This is too much.
"This is a one time chance, Miss. Roberts. Take it or leave it," he said sternly.
"Mr. Durante, I-I..." words couldn't come out of my mouth.
"Is there anything you're expecting? A higher salary? A luxury apartment? Anything?" he asked.
"Mr.Durante, don't you think what you said can also be done here too? My net worth might be slightly lower than you but I can still offer her the things you told just now," she said.
"Miss. Lockwood please refrain from talking for a minute. This is a conversation between me and Miss. Roberts," he said, his whole body facing me and Amelia snickered.
"Now, tell me, what is your dream? What is it that you really want to be," he asked me, his eyes being fixed with mine.
He's asking about my dream. Of course, I wouldn't answer. I've talked to this man only two times, for god's sake!
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Mr.Durante, I'm sorry," I said to him.
Something in his eyes flickered.
"You see, my current personal assistant is pregnant, nearing labor so I don't want her to be working. I didn't want to conduct any interviews because it took me six months to hire a proper, educated person. So, the only person I could think of was you."
I was silent. I didn't know what to say. This man used to stare at me, making me feel weird things, and now he's asking me to be his assistant. This is overwhelming.
I looked at Amelia to see her response to him, but sadly she mouthed 'It's your choice' to me, leaving me to make my own decision on this.
"Miss. Roberts, if you're scared that you'd be involved with me, don't worry. You only have to aid me with daily tasks and follow me for meetings. I assure you that we would have a professional relationship, nothing more," he said, sounding desperate.
I thought about it for a second. Working here at Lockwood Enterprises indeed has its benefits, you know, Amelia being my boss and all, but working with Durante Enterprises has its advantages too. The company always collaborates with designer brands, which would be a plus point for me as well. Maybe, I can make acquaintance with these designer brands to kick-start my makeup journey. I could be featured in their makeup line.
At the same time, I didn't want to upset Amelia. She helped me get my first job here. Everyone here is lovely.
I looked up to see Amelia and Mr. Durante looking at me, awaiting my response.
I could see his steely orbs pleading with me to say something. Just like always, I fell trap into his eyes. Those eyes lured me in. I couldn't look away from them; they were intoxicating.
I didn't know whether it was his hypnotizing eyes or that I genuinely wanted to help him ease his workload, but I made up my decision.
"Yes, Mr. Durante. I'll take the job," I said, hoping my choice wouldn't disappoint my best friend.
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Hey, guys. Finally our favorite couple are going to be working together! Some people asked me when this will happen and here you go. Buckle up guys cuz y'all will be having a whole lot of Alessandro-Amy scenes.