Clara was called by Maria to the CEO's office and Clara walked as fast as her leg could take her. She couldn't tell if it was nervousness or guilt. The Secretary nodded for her to enter and she stepped into the office where Henry was on his seat and Maria was seated comfortably on a sofa with her legs crossed."Good morning ma'am," Clara said. Her voice was faltering, but she was able to control it.Maria eyed her and directed her gaze to Henry, then back to Clara. "You must be rather daft, for not greeting your CEO." Clara turned to Henry and bowed her head, "Good morning." She had no choice but to obey if not, Maria might suspect something."That's better. You look so much better today, than the day you insulted me." Maria smiled. "Isn't that true?" she asked, but Clara said nothing. "She presented her CV, what do you want from her?" Henry asked as he looked at his mother. He felt uneasy to see Clara in such a state.You're the chairman, Henry. Why don't you tell her what I need?"
Dana Hamilton, The woman in iron was her nickname when she was in Italy. She had previously lived in California with her family before moving to Italy and now, she was back. She and her husband sat down at the arrivals lounge waiting for Clara. She was a woman of high prestige and a mouth that spat out words like someone drawing a sharp sword from a sheath. She was also a woman of beauty, with her pronounced brown eyes, her orange lips, and dark hair. She was in her fifties but she looked so much younger than other women who were in their fifties. The fact that she had a husband made many men stay away from her.Her husband, Harriot Hamilton was a man in his late fifties, looking so much older than his original age. His illness had drawn a line on him, he was indeed a quiet man with a quiet nature compared to his wife who was a woman of words and action. "Why did you decide to bring us back here?" He said in a quiet and weak tone. He was frail but not frail enough to speak."We are h
Philip listened to Clara as she spoke out faster than he could hear, she was very nervous and he wanted to know why but she wasn't making any sense, at all. "So...you are trying to tell me that you volunteered to do the project?" He only asked what he understood from what she had been saying."No... that's not what I said," she said anxiously, "You weren't listening to me." "I...I was... it's just that you weren't making any sense." That was the truth."Well, I said that your mother gave me a project to handle...and she has reduced the number of days I have to finish it and I have a long way to go!" "So?" "So, I need your help.""How exactly do you want me to help you, Clara?" Philip asked. He wasn't sure about Clara's decision for his help. Clara sighed and tried to control the tears forming in her eyes. She had gone through a lot during the past weeks. Standing in his studio, she looked at the different paintings in attempt the prevent Philip from seeing her tears. "I just have
Philip sat down on his chair and took his brush, getting ready to finish the painting of the unknown woman. He dipped his brush into the blue paint and began the magic.As he painted the nose and hair of the woman, he also remembered to paint her eye color, brown. He had seen those eyes before. They were not Clara's nor were they his mother's, those brown eyes, belonged to someone he had seen when he was a child. Someone who had assaulted him when he was still young. He could never forget those eyes. He went over to her lips and painted them, orange. The woman always applied an orange color of lip-gloss that he could never forget. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door and when he looked above the painting, he saw Clara standing there, holding her work. "Come in," He said and he concentrated on his painting, not watching her walk toward him. "You came quite early today." "It was my choice..." She said while looking at the painting. She couldn't believe that he was almost through wit
Dr. Mathew saw Clara at work the next morning, and he could not stop staring at her. He couldn't quite forget Philip's face the last they met. Now, Dr. Mathew was the one to warn Clara about Philip. He had seen the consequences of Philip's anger or withheld bitterness towards a person and the damage he does was beyond repair. Even if that person was close to him, he wouldn't care. Seeing the painting of that woman that day, sent shivers down his spine and he realized that he couldn't do anything to stop Philip's madness but to warn Clara or maybe take Clara away from Philip and Maria. Henry could be the best person to protect Clara because he wasn't like Philip but even with those ideas, Dr. Mathew still wasn't sure or satisfied.He feared that Philip would add Clara to the drama and endanger her life. "Clara." He called, approaching her. "Oh, uncle... good morning." She greeted with a smile. Dr. Mathew was afraid that the smile on her face would disappear forever when she learned m
Philip guessed that it was either Gabriel sent him the wrong picture or there was something wrong with his own eyes. Without wasting time, Philip stood up and left the house. Clara sat down on her sofa after the ride from Philip's house. She tried to lie to herself that Henry's touch was much better than Philip's but she couldn't. Philip was definitely romantic in a way but he wasn't too seductive like Henry. She knew that this relationship with Philip was what she wanted. She wanted to give up her desire for sleeping with men and get in touch with someone who could care for her and change her for good and Philip was the right person she could think of. He was the only one that could change her and she was sure of it."What happened? Why do you look worried?" Ella asked sitting down beside her. Ella had been very busy in the past few days and she hadn't gotten enough time to discuss or talk with Clara."I just realized, that I love him." Clara declared looking at Ella, "I love Philip
Clara laid down on her bed, thinking of what would happen to her if Maria eventually found out about her real identity. She didn't know why her mother chose to visit Philip's mother but she guessed that the outcome of her visit would result in nothing but trouble in the end. Her mind slowly drifted to Philip, he was the reason why she didn't want anyone to find out about her family. The thought of her kissing him again, ran through her mind because she couldn't bear to lose the feeling of his touch and more importantly, his kindness towards her. She remembered the last time that they met in his studio. He didn't sound very annoyed over the fact that she missed their appointment making him lose his client, but she knew that deep down, he was disappointed. He just lacked the courage to tell her how he really felt. Her buzzing phone drove her out of her dreamland and she picked it up to answer. "Mom, I don't want to talk to you right now," she complained."Well, Clara I want to see you
Philip closed the curtains of his room and sat down on the bed with his laptop. He had to find out who was responsible for the unjustified accusations against the CRUZ company. The company had suffered a further decrease in profit by seventy percent over the last few weeks. He understood that it was easier to fall from a ladder than to get back up and he didn't want it to happen to the CRUZ company. Philip searched the various enterprises affiliated with his company and he found that one of them was the Safari company. He had totally forgotten that his mother said something to him about Henry accepting a partnership with the Safari company. He didn't suspect the company but he avoided them as much as he could during his time in the CEO seat. They were crafty when it came to partnership and they were also competitive, so the fact is that they could do anything to get recognized. Anything.He had previously investigated the reports made by other affiliates concerning the CRUZ company