CHAPTER 5

At the stipulated time I gave to him, Leandro was back, and ever so diligently he took every item that needed to be moved. In addition, he took some extra things that I did not specify, and as much as I tried to give a retort to his actions, I watched him instead.

We left for the boardroom, and he laid some of the items he picked on my chair before I sat down. I arched my eyebrow briefly not understanding his action, and sat down.

There was a comfort I never knew I needed to get through a meeting, thanks to the soft cushion Leandro put on the seat for me. I became impressed and relished the comfort that was given to me. I made a mental note to talk to Livia that she should do this going forward.

I smiled at the board members, and in less than an hour we wrapped up the progress report meeting. As the first time, they had reservations, most especially when I mentioned the company vacation, but they also agreed with me that there did not seem to be a better way to spark up the creativity of the team to deliver that ground breaking line that we have been working towards.

I glanced at Leandro, who was dropping his pad pen after taking notes from the meeting. As if in sync with me, he looked at me and I signalled to him that I was about to leave the board room. He stood up immediately after me, moved towards my chair and picked up the cushion, before following closely behind me as we exited the room.

We entered my office and he gave me the breakdown of the meeting, while informing me of the things he needed to do to follow-up with the reports of the meeting. I nodded and gave him permission to go ahead with things and he disappeared.

Burying myself into work again, I resumed my activities for the day. The day went by in a blur, and I found myself sitting inside one of the popular restaurants in Milan, facing a man I had never seen in my entire life.

I swore internally to murder Elletra and Livia for their scheming this time, as I was extremely exhausted from work to be seated with a guy who I couldn’t figure out for the life of me if he was wearing a fake moustache or just had a facial hair deformation.

I zoned out by the third sentence he made as I was bored and seriously stifling a yawn. I looked forward to the food at least and that became the only thing that kept me going. While waiting for the waiter to take our meal order, my eyes moved around taking in the interior decoration of the restaurants.

The ambiance exudes refined elegance with its sophisticated decor, warm lighting, and an inviting atmosphere that blends contemporary luxury with classic Italian charm. If I was with someone more captivating, I really would have enjoyed the ambiance it had to offer.

A minute later, the waiter came, and I was surprised to see none other than my new executive assistant, Leandro. He smiled at me and politely asked for our orders which I gave to him. I became even more curious at this point about what he was doing with a night job despite the high pay at my company. M

Soon our food came and rather than looking at my supposed date who I could not for the life of remember his name, I was focused on Leandro as I watched his arms move and flex as he served our food.

It was safe to say I was smitten with my assistant, even more than I could imagine. After I finished my food, I decided I had gone through enough torment with the human seated across me, I stood up with an excuse to use the restroom, and paid for the food.

I was on my way out when I noticed Leandro getting off work. “Such impeccable timing”, I thought to myself as I walked up to him. “I have lots of questions for my new executive assistant, but I’ll start with where do you live?” I addressed him the moment I caught up with him. He looked startled, but calmed down when he noticed I was the one. “Hi Ginevra” he said calmly.

I smiled when he called my name. Heck, I can get used to his voice and hear him call my name over and over again without ever getting tired. “I stay not too far from here, but I am currently going to stay at my friend’s who lives two streets away,” he says, breaking me out of my impure thoughts. “Let me drive you there if you don’t mind, it’s along my route” I tell him and he becomes silent for a moment before finally agreeing.

“You actually did all of that” I say in between laughs losing all my composure. Leandro grins from ear to ear as he had his hands clutched over his tummy after having recovered successfully from his own laughing fits.

We are seated inside my car outside his friend’s apartment, and what I thought would be a stuck up and strained conversation while inviting him turned out to be the best laugh I have had with someone other than Elletra.

He was telling me about the stupid game of dares he played with his friend Aldo and how he was dared to do a pool strip at a recreational event for elderly people. Something I just learned about him is that he never backs away after giving his word, so he had no choice but to do it.

I stared at him and sobered up; my brain automatically loses its logical function as thoughts of kissing him are all that’s remaining in my head. My eyes dart to his lips before looking back at his eyes. My breath hitched when I realized he was looking right back at me, his eyes a whirlpool similar to mine, with a longing I could only have hoped for before.

He froze in the seat and I looked down to his trousers to notice he was starting to have a bulge in his pants. Swallowing hard, I pulled him towards myself gently and moved to kiss him when his phone chose that exact moment to ring.

I cursed at the person that interrupted us while watching him pull himself back to pick the call. His voice hardened and when he ended the call, he looked at me and apologized. “I’m sorry but I need to go now, Aldo needs me” he says.

I wanted nothing but to smack that apology off his lips, but all I did instead was nod my head as he stepped out. I guess I should prefer that he did not acknowledge the almost kiss than apologize for it happening. I sighed while thinking of how much dreams I would have tonight about him and drove home.

“Smarty pants, do you really think you’re better than everyone here?” she said to me while pulling my hair. “She thinks she’s all high and mighty, always sticking her head in one book and ignoring us like flies” another girl says while taking the book I was holding and tearing it up to pieces.

I tried to talk, or give a word of protest, but I was mute. I willed myself not to cry as they start beating me up and kicking my tummy till I was clutching my stomach. They only stopped when they heard footsteps approaching. They ran away at the sound and I was left in the dark place. Suddenly a bright light appeared and I woke up gasping for breath.