Chapter 4 Anna

Olivia

After eating Rosa's food, which was nothing like the prison food I'd been made to eat the previous week, I walked around my room until the soft covers of the bed won me over and I crept inside them.

I woke up feeling refreshed and clear-headed. I looked at the clock next to my bed. I had been asleep for a good three hours and in that time someone had been in my room, there was a new tray of food on the table, which had replaced the one I'd left there after I'd done a good service to the meal.

I felt like a cow that was being fattened for slaughter. I took a look at the food on the tray when something caught my attention.

It was a note. Maybe Rosa didn't want to disturb me, so she had opted to write me a note.

I opened the piece of paper:

"Meet me at the patio after your lunch. ~Anna" I folded the note back and looked at the food again.

Did this mean that Anna was the one who had prepared this meal, what would Leonardo's wife want with me?

I had so many questions and little to no answers. So I did as told and ate the food, hoping she had not poisoned it.

Downstairs, Rosa was not in the kitchen, but I almost bumped into her when I opened the front door.

"Oh." I said and she held the tray tighter to her chest when I almost collided with her.

"Was there anything you needed, Miss?" She asked, her voice still as kind as it had been in the morning.

"Yes. Um, Mrs De Luca said I should meet her in the patio." I said and her face twisted in an expression of uncertainty when I mentioned Anna, but she quickly composed herself.

"The patio is that side." She pointed in the opposite direction of where I'd been going.

"I have my directions mixed up." She had given me a tour only that morning and I was already useless.

"I understand it's easy to forget the layout of such a big house, I had my share of messing about when I first got here." She was walking In front of me.

I wanted to ask her, when did she start working here but at the same time, I didn't want it to seem like I was prying. Which I was.

As soon as Anna saw us walk towards her, she stood up, drink in hand, and walked towards us.

"Thank you, Rosa, I'll take it from here," She played her hand on my shoulder and Rosa murmured something in response before she turned and left, smiling stiffly at me on her way back.

"You got my note." She said, looking at me, her voice a little louder than it had been earlier and I wondered how many of those colorful drinks she had downed.

"Drink?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Why am I here?" I got straight to the point, and she paused her fussing about and looked me straight in the eye.

"Straight talker, Mm. Leo is going to have his hands full." She seemed amused by the whole arrangement, and I couldn't find the funny side of things.

"I thought you and I could be friends at best." She looked up from her drink.

"Friends?" What was in those drinks? I couldn't believe the woman.

"You know how I got here, right?" I didn't want her to have any delusions about my situation. Leonardo was the one who forced me to be here and here she was, wanting a friendship from her husband's pet.

"I know... I know. You're paying your father's debt by being his pet." she waved her hand off.

"And you have no problem with that?" I asked, not sure how far I could go without starting to sound rude about her and her husband's living situation.

"Why the heck would I bother myself with what Leo gets up to, He's entitled to whatever shit he fancies, He's the don after all." She gave out a little humorless laugh that died down instantly when she looked at me.

"What I mean to say is, Olivia, I don't know you, but from what I've seen, you seem like a nice girl, and maybe you are just what Leo needs." She winked at me, and I fidgeted with my hands, not understanding her meaning.

"Don't tell me you didn't think about it, I mean it's the whole point right, it's going to happen. My advice is to enjoy it, I hear he's an excellent lover."

"You hear?" I couldn't believe my ears and what I was hearing. She couldn't possibly be cheering me on to sleep with her husband, without batting an eyelid.

"I try not to pry." She swirled her drink around in her glass.

"When does Leonardo come home?" I asked, changing the subject from Leonardo excellent bed skills.

"Eager, aren't we?" It was the same thing Leonardo had said that morning when I signed the contract but I said nothing in response.

Anna looked at her gold wristwatch.

"Some days he comes back for lunch, but I'm not certain about today, said he had a lot to do. Don't worry, your new-found fortune will be here soon enough" She seemed to really be on board with the situation, maybe they had reached a boring phase in their marriage where they could have other partners.

"Hardly a fortune," I said, looking ahead in front of us.

"What do you mean? I know a lot of women who would die to be in your position." She was facing me

"I'm not most women," I said, and she kept quiet, and I wondered if I had offended her with my untamed tongue.

She looked Into her drink as if she was looking for the meaning of life itself.

"Leo did say that as well." She said softly.

"Say what?" I was curious, maybe the longer she talked, I would be able to get a glimpse of who Anna was and what kind of marriage she had with Leonardo.

But did I really want to mix myself with whatever was going on between the two of them?

"That you were different." She stirred her cocktail with a finger.

"He doesn't know me that well-"

"But I know you enough, Olivia." A familiar voice cut me off.

We both turned to find Leonardo standing at the threshold of the door.

From my chair, I could see him clearly without the tension that was in his office earlier. He had legs for days. Although he might have looked good in his black trousers and white shirt, my stubborn self would never admit that to anyone.

His legs were not the only thing I noticed, he had changed clothes.

I felt sorry for Rosa, who probably had to iron the heaps of shirts while the man went through them like candy.

"You changed." Anna voiced my thoughts out loud, seemingly just as surprised.

"Yes. I had stains," he said, answering her, but his eyes were on me, leaving scorching fire in their path.

"Oh," Anna said, understanding him at once. Maybe it was a code name for something.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything, I see you two have met." He took a seat next to Anna.

"If you planned on keeping her all to yourself, I beat you to it."

He chuckled. Smiling for the first time since I've known him.

He took out his phone and showed her something from it.

For a minute there, I felt excluded as they looked at whatever it was on his phone.

I had the strongest edge to get up and go back to my room. But I didn't want disturb still waters.

I stole a glance at them, whatever it was, Anna laughed and touched his hand and I felt a pang of jealousy.

Then Anna lifted her head from the phone and looked at me.

"Olivia, what do you think?" she asked.

She lifted the phone, and it showed a picture of a wristwatch. I didn't know much about watches, but I knew the one Anna had on was beautiful.

"It looks nice," I said

"Just nice?" Anna raised an eyebrow.

"It looks more than nice," I answered. Leonardo focused his attention on me.

"Would you wear it?" He asked.

"No," I said and realized I had said it too quickly because they were both now looking at me.

"What I mean is, It looks expensive, and I know it's not within my range," I explained. Over-explaining.

"But what if you were given it as a gift, would you wear it then?" Anna asked.

"No," I said.

"But why, you wouldn't buy it." Anna insisted.

I thought of my friends and family and laughed.

"Because no one I know would gift me such an expensive watch and if they did, where would I keep such a thing, it would only work not to tell me the time but to attract the wrong crowd, who would want it as well. Besides, that kind of things cost an arm and a leg to ensure them, I just don't need that pressure in my life." I finished. Wishing I had accepted that drink.

They were both looking at me.

"Okay," Anna said and got up to refill her glass.

As soon as she was facing the other side Leonardo leaned forward on the table.

"I've asked Rosa to help you prepare for tonight."

"What's happening tonight?"

"You will find a package on your bed. Be ready for me when I get back."

When Anna put down a drink in front of him, he stood to his full length and put his hands In his pockets.

"I have to get back. Will see you ladies later." he kissed Anna on the cheek and then turned to me "Tonight."

Anna put on a slight pout while I wondered what was happening tonight as we watched his back go disappear through the door.