Chapter 4

ZESA RUSSO

            They say sleeping next to someone you love makes you fall asleep faster, reduces depression and helps you live longer. That was true. But what was even better was waking up to be greeted by the almost naked form of the person you love. It was a sight that rid my heart of every sadness and worry. It made me feel reborn. I did not know a man’s body held that much power until now.

I let my eyes slide over his body, from his tanned chiseled abs to the V-line just above his towel. My pulses added and subtracted like an equation when his muscles stretched as he dried his hair with a towel. The way he moved made me wish to see him in action, lifting a weight or, even better, lifting me. Levi was perfect with the strong body of an athlete and the brain of an intellectual.

I snapped out of my trance when he cleared his throat. He’d caught me shamelessly ogling at him. How dare he distract me after hiding such a wonderful sight from me? It was enough to make me cum without even trying. Oh, dear. I pressed my legs tightly together under the sheets when I felt an ache down there. I was thinking dirty first thing in the morning. What a life I was living.

“I’m heading out early. I won’t have breakfast with you today. Sorry.”

I shook my head at him before climbing out of the bed. “That’s not how you say it.”

He arched an eyebrow at me, genuinely puzzled. “Say what?”

“Good morning,” I began, grabbing my robe to cover the silk nightdress. “Did you sleep well? And when I say yes, you can tell me about your plan and how you cannot have breakfast with me.”

He forced a smile at me. “My bad. I’m getting used to this.”

“It’s okay. When will you be back?”

“Perhaps noon?”

“Okay.”

I walked past him into the bathroom to do my daily routine. By the time I was done, he was gone. He didn’t even bother to tell me. I had no time to sulk about it. I had an important meeting today with a few of the workers of my Techya pharmaceutical, a subsidiary in Rome. After getting dressed in a white suit, I was ready to leave. Like Levi, I didn’t have breakfast. Time did not allow it. Although I could choose to go in whenever I wanted, I thought it rude to keep the workers waiting. They made me who I was. Without them, I would be nothing.

Today, I did not have Edwardo drive me to work because I wanted to drive my precious car myself. I purchased it last two years, and it arrived only last week. When I parked the car in front of the building and got out, I was met with the executives lined outside the building. They always did this whenever I came to work. Finn was no exception. With my head held high, I entered the building, and they followed behind me.

Finn came up to me with a suitcase in his hand. “Are you really going to meet with them?” he questioned.

“I must. I have to know what their concerns are. It is my duty as their employer to hear them out.”

He and the other executive followed me into the conference room where the meeting would hold. There was an enormous table in the center of the room with about eight seats on both sides. At the head of one side of the table was my seat. There was a projector screen at the end of the room. Lights hung from the ceiling onto the table and around the room were plastic plants. The three workers from Rome were already in the room and when they saw me, they rose from their seats. Everyone took their spots and only when I had sat down did they sit.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” I said, looking toward the workers. They were two men and a woman. “What is it you wish to tell me?”

The woman spoke first. “I am a scientist working on the production of Veltrina-50.”

Veltrina-50 was a new drug my company was working on. Techya had been working on it for Two years now for the treatment of cancer. At first, the drugs were working well until the patients bled from their nose and mouths. Thankfully, there were no casualties. We stopped testing it on people for the time being to perfect it.

“And it has come to our attention that the Apselpane used during production of the drug is severely affecting the health of our workers.” She finished.

Concern etched onto my face. “In what way?”

She handed me some pictures and medical reports. Their medical reports stated their livers were being affected by it. The pictures were images of the workers who had coughed up blood. This was bad.

“Six of our workers have passed away from this already. We cannot keep working on the drug if it affects our health.”

I nodded in understanding. “How are the other workers who have been affected?”

Her eyes became downcast. “They are not doing too well. The families of the workers who died are angry and demanding an apology and compensation.”

“When you return, explain to them what happened and tell them that Techya will take full responsibility. We’ll also compensate them. If needed, I’ll fly to Rome myself and apologize to them.”

One of the male workers spoke up. “What about the production? Will it be stopped?”

“How can we stop the production of Veltrina-50?” Mr. Lorenzo, a big bellied middle-aged director, asked. “Do you have any idea how much money was put into the production of that drug? If it hits the market after being perfected, Techya will make a lot of money.”

“Our lives matter.” The woman told him, annoyed.

“Just see it as a small price to pay for the good of Techya. Can’t you simply hold it all in until the drug has been perfected?” Lorenzo questioned, adjusting his glasses.

I shifted my attention to the company’s legal adviser, Mrs. Anita Ferro. She was a very smart woman and seventy percent of the time, I always went with her judgment. “What do you think, Mrs. Ferro?”

She sat straighter. “If we continue to produce the drug, more workers will get sick, which means there will be more complaints and we could get sued, which will cause more damage to the company’s image. So, I agree with them that Veltrina-50 should be stopped until an appropriate chemical can be used because completely stopping it will mean that the billions put into the production were a waste.”

Anita had a point. I darted my eyes to the workers. “What do you think? Will you find a substitute for Apselpane?”

A small smile graced the woman’s face. “We will as soon as we return.”

“Very well. It has been settled. Veltrina-50 will be suspended until there is a safer substitute for Apselpane. We’ll end the meeting here.” I stood up, and they followed suit. I held my hand for a handshake from the workers. The woman shook my hand first. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“No, ma’am. I should thank you for being so considerate of our health. I’m certain my colleagues will be over the moon when we relay this information to them.”

I mirrored her smile. “Have a safe trip back.”

After shaking the hands of the other two, I walked out of the conference room with the executives behind me. I halted and spun to face Mr. Lorenzo. He adjusted his glasses again. “The lives of my workers matter to me a lot more than you think.” He visibly swallowed. “So think well next time before making any statement, unless you want to go work in one subsidiary and witness firsthand what it is like to work with deadly chemicals around you.”

He lowered his eyes. “I understand.”

As I moved toward the elevator to go to my office, Finn and Anita followed me while the others went their separate ways. Inside the elevator, I said. “I need information on what Lorenzo has been doing here. If he has been slacking off, I’ll relieve him of his duties.”

Finn nodded. “Right away.”

Behind me, I could sense their movement and how they nudged each other. It was very obvious they had something to tell me but did not know how to bring it up, afraid it would anger me. I ignored them, calmly waiting for one of them to tell me about it. The elevator stopped, and we stepped out. Even as I took off my suit jacket in my office, they continued debating who would speak to me about whatever it was they wanted to tell me.

“Miss Russo, Mr. Finn has something he has to tell you.”

I faced them. Finn’s skin had become a lot paler and Anita’s eyes were shaky. “What is it?”

Anita nudged him. Finn put both hands in front of himself. “While in the meeting, I got a message. There are protestors right outside the building and it seems they have destroyed your car.”

I blinked once. Then twice. I placed a hand on my chest. “My car?”

My eighteen million dollars Bugatti La Voiture Noire that took me two years to get because only two were built in a year. My precious car that I waited for as though it were a child. How dare those people destroy my car? The money was not the issue here. The time it took for it to arrive was the issue. How dare they ruin my time and money?!

Finn confirmed. “Yes. Your car.”

“W-Why? Why would they destroy my car?! What was the security doing when that happened? Playing mahjong?” I snatched my suit from my seat and threw it on as I exited my office. Finn and Anita tailed me, occasionally jumping in fear whenever I stomped my heel on the floor in anger. The elevator ride seemed to take forever. “Oh, when I get a look at them.” I clenched my fists, blood pressure rising. “They are getting sued!”

“You want to sue?” Anita questioned. Her tone suggested it was not the right thing to do.

“Yes, I want to sue. Might as well get myself some pocket money.” I looked over my shoulder at her face. “Or is there something else you haven’t told me?”

Finn shifted on his feet. “Actually, there’s a reason they’re protesting.”

“Why?”

“They say we closed the subsidiary in New York without properly informing, compensating them, or even transferring them to other subsidiaries.”

My anger melted a little. “Does this mean they’ve come here before today?”

“Twice actually.”

I spun around sharply. “And why am I just hearing of this today?”

“I thought we could handle it properly without bothering you.” he answered. “You can take my salary until the money of your car has been recovered.”

“Even if I take your salary for five years, it won’t be able to cover the amount I spent on that car and time I had to wait.” I stepped out of the elevator, heading for the exit door.

True to what Finn and Anita said, there were indeed protesters outside. They all wore black outfits and a black face mask, as if that was enough to hide their identity. They were my workers. If I wanted to punish them one after the other for my ruined car, I could very well do it.

“She’s here!” one shouted, his protest sign held above his head as he rushed in my direction.

The security men who had been holding them off hurried to cover me. They should have done that for my car. I read their signs. ‘You can’t dismiss us like that.’ ‘No to sudden dismissal.’ ‘Pay us our entitlements.’

“We demand an explanation, Miss Russo.” The man said. It appeared he was the leader of the protest. “Why would you shut down Techya Bio without properly notifying us?”

This was going to take a while.