3

My life in those years had settled down well, I couldn't imagine that it would soon be turned upside down again.

I had been called that the child had hurt herself and wanted me ...

A whim more than anything else, but I went anyway and once there I had had two coffees, but when I went upstairs I heard voices coming from Antonio's office and for a moment I had the shivers.

I knew that voice...

I was in shock...

No, it couldn't be...

"Who's there? "I ask, trying to control myself, to Maria our secretary she checks and says "Adam Stevens is here for a job interview ...and he's crazy hot" she adds with red cheeks

I look at her and even if she was a lady over fifty she was a beautiful woman and she wasn't married she only lived for her job and that she would get so excited for a man seemed strange to me there were a lot of men there every day and she had never calculated them what was so special about this Adam Stevens I didn't understand ....

I went to my office, I didn't want to disturb them, so I started to translate documents. In those years, Antonio's economic "empire" had grown even stronger, and now I was constantly receiving documents to translate and video conferences. Sometimes I did them alone, sometimes with him, and sometimes I was asked to do them with the whole staff.

"are you free?" I hear him say over the phone

"yes ... let's say I am, I just have to do a translation".

"Come here for a moment and I'll introduce you to someone.

"OK" I say hanging up I go to the bathroom and after touching up my lipstick I go out and go to his office I don't use the connecting door we have but knock on the outside door

"Come in" I hear him say

I push the door and for a split second I am paralysed ....

no ... it couldn't be ...

it was a mirage

my head was not working properly anymore ...

like just before when I had heard an impossible voice ...

then he turns around and ...

with a sigh I step forward breaking into a smile hoping that they hadn't noticed my state of mind

"adam she and anna my wife does public relations and translations in general

anna he and adam stevens will be our collaborators"

he explains

"nice to meet you" I say, shaking his hand but as I touch him an electric shock goes through me

"my pleasure anna"

his voice was chilling ...

it echoed in my head it was like the superimposition of another voice ...

and then when I looked into his eyes ...

Oh God!

he had the same eyes as Roberto ...

he was different, yes ...

everything was different and yet ...

those pearly grey eyes which changed colour according to the mood ...

and just like then they stared at me, getting darker and darker.

When he was like that there was only one explanation ... he wanted me ...

He wanted me...

It was the look he had a moment before kissing me...

I had to make an effort to remember it wasn't him.

it was ADAM STEVENS

it was not ROBERTO D' ANGELO

"welcome to the team what do you specialise in?" I asked to recover from the shock

"well, a bit of everything, let's say that since I graduated I've been practising around a bit, I've dealt with everything from bankruptcy auctions to divorces, even if what I like best is market research."

"and that's what you'll be doing?" i ask antonio

"He will keep an eye on some companies, monitoring them constantly so that there are no significant drops in sales, and in the meantime he will do research to discover new products," my husband replies, looking at me.

"or why not invent new ones,' Adam comments, sending shivers down my spine again.

"come on, I'll show you your workstation" he says addressing the new recruit then looking at me "will you come with us?"

"no I have that translation to finish and if I don't do it now ... then tomorrow how can we make the conference? "

"Alright, let me know as soon as you finish!"

"Yes, good work," I tell him as I walk out the door and go to my office.

Once inside I take a bottle of water and take a couple of sips to recover a bit while I get to the computer.

I was almost finished, just missing the last two sheets of paper, when I felt him massaging my shoulders.

"We're tense today," he says.

"a little" I admit

"and why is that?"

"I don't know ...come on let me finish" I tell him, seeing that he was going lower and lower with his hands.

"finish later"

"no, business before pleasure" I retort but he makes me get up and holding me to him he says "you forgot that I'm in charge".

"yes but.."

"I am your boss yes or no!"

"you were my boss"

"I always am... and your boss tells you that you'll finish him off at home".

"no please!" I sigh

"Oh yes", he says, looking at me.

one more moment before kissing me and lifting my dress,

sex in the office had become a habit, a pleasant habit even if it was sometimes risky, but luckily nothing had ever happened.

We were still adjusting our clothes when

the office phone rang

"Anna, Mr. Stevens is here to see you."

"yes send him in"

I tell him with my heart in my throat

"I'll wait for you in there!" he says.

"no wait, it's time to leave, I don't think he'll be long".

I hear a knock and the door opens and after looking first at me and then at Antonio I see him stiffen almost as if he knew...

no what I was thinking ..

how did he know!

"Tell me' I tell him with an encouraging smile.

"I need these documents translated, they are in Arabic and I don't know it, if they were in some other language I would have done it myself, but..." suddenly he looked insecure.

"OK. I'll do it when you need it?" I asked disarmingly

his embarrassment made me uncomfortable .

it was almost as if he knew what I had just done ...

but no it couldn't be ...

even if it was

I didn't know what was wrong.

avoiding looking at me he said

"was it possible for tomorrow? "

I looked at the papers, there weren't many, so I answered

"You'll have them in the morning."

"OK, thank you, have a good evening.

"good evening" I answered then I looked at Antonio and noticed that he was looking at me too.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"Nothing, you're even more beautiful after that..."

I kiss him interrupting him.

"Let's go home, it's better".

"Alright" and seeing that I was putting the documents that they had just brought in my bag he commented "are you bringing those too?

"I have to if I have to do them by tomorrow, but it won't take long, I should have them done in a couple of hours.

I saw him a little annoyed, but I couldn't help it, it was work ...