8: Menaces and Menace

Chiara Moretti

"You need a new assistant, and I have just the person for you. She has been contacted and briefed, and trust me when I tell you that she knows her job," Alessandro said as he drove me close to the company that used to be mine.

My heart was thumping in my chest, and I was nervous. This was going to be my first real statement after three years, a stake ahead for me. A tall woman was waiting in front of a cafe. I had a feeling that this would be the woman that Alessandro was talking about.

"Is that her?" I asked, pointing towards the standing figure, and he laughed.

"Of course not, that's one of her security agents." He answered as he slowly eased into the parking space that had the sign reserved.

"You are so full of surprises," I said as he simply led the way towards the tall figure.

"Liliana! It has been such a long time," he said as the woman immediately saluted him.

"It is always a pleasure, sir. Let me lead you to her; she didn't want you stressing to scan the room for her when you get here. Hello!" Liliana said, before saying hello to me.

"Hi..." I said calmly as she turned and led us inside the cafe.

Just then, Alessandro held my hands and led me through the lines of people who were struggling to get their morning coffee.

"Boss!" A small, beautiful woman called out, her smile so wide, it was like a child looking at an ice cream truck on a hot school day.

"Rosalinaaa!" He exclaimed, smiling and hugging her like she was something special to him. Not like a woman he was romantically involved with, more like an elder brother seeing her kid sister.

"I have missed you, brother! I almost thought you didn't need me after all," she said, pretending to be hurt.

"Sit down. We have 30 minutes to discuss." He said with a serious face. Immediately changing the tone of the conversation. Rosalina immediately switched too, her calm smiles instantly replaced by an aura so cold, goosebumps appeared on my skin.

"She is the one." Rosalina commented, her eyes scanning me for one brief second, "Hi, I am Rosalina, and I am the adopted daughter of the Bianchis," she introduced.

"Daughter Rosa." Alessandro corrected her calmly.

"Daughter. I just wanted to tell her the truth," she said, and he shook his head.

"You know the truth, but I will be addressing this later. You and Chiara, as I briefed you last week, will be working hand in hand with Viviana. You will be her security alongside her anchor. You report only to me, and you will communicate all of her activities to me at the end of the day," he instructed, and Rosalina simply nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"We'd better get going. Mor's Diamonds and Silver is just a few blocks west of this corner," she said and stood up.

"Rosalina!" I called out, and she paused, visibly surprised that I had called her name.

"Yes?" She responded.

"Could we be cool? Not like a worker-boss thing. Your brother here has been the best thing in helping me get back all that I have lost. I would want to be friends with his sister," I said, hoping that she would reconsider; her cold aura was just something that I couldn't take.

"That's fine. I wasn't going to be cold either. It's just work now, and you are my client," she said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Chiara, I was going to formally have you both meet yesterday, but..."

"I do understand," I responded, nodding my head in understanding.

We left the cafe, and soon enough, I stood in front of the building that carried my mark and identity.

Mor's Diamonds and Silver.

Everything my family was, I knew that Marco must be working on having a name change at some point. Thinking about him and Alessia being the kings of this place upset me to my stomach. Alessandro stopped the car, and a driver appeared from nowhere and got in, taking us into the building.

It was still as majestic as I remembered it, everything still as crispy as ever. It caught the morning sun, and the building glistened, a ray of light shining through my broken, betrayed heart.

We made our way in, and I headed straight for the boardroom. Just as I was about to get in, I was stopped by the front desk, who seemed shocked that I knew exactly where to go even though she had never seen me in the building.

"Good morning, Ma'am. Who are you looking for, please?" She asked me politely, and I opened my mouth to respond.

"We have an all-pass now. Let's go," Rosalina addressed her, showing a card she had retrieved from her jacket.

"My deepest apologies," the receptionist quickly apologized. I wondered where the previous receptionist was, as I remembered that she had loved her job a lot and would never have wanted to leave at the time.

The boardroom was filled with people, board members. Everywhere fell silent as all eyes turned to me. I looked around, and my gaze settled on Alessia. She turned red immediately from anger, and Marco had a shocked look on his face.

He got up and hurried to where I stood, his eyes filled with confusion and shock. I didn't pay him any mind, and without waiting for him to get to me, I made my way to my designated seat and met someone there.

"This seat is for the second-highest external shareholder," Rosalina addressed the woman, even though that would not have been my approach to it.

"Yes, I know. Is that what you are?" The woman asked me, her eyes running my full length as she twisted her face in jealousy and disgust.

"If I am telling you who the seat is for, I guess it can only mean that the said person is here," Rosalina said as Alessia made her way over.

Rosa leaned, her mouth a few breaths away from the woman's ears, as I barely heard what she had said.

"...the government will pull you, and that orphanage you use as a cover for your money laundering scheme will be exposed. Let this end now!" Rosa threatened.

"Fine," the woman said, as she recovered from the surprise of how much Rosalina and probably I knew about her, even though I didn't even know who she was or how she got into the board. She had not been there when I was the CEO of the company.

"Who are you?" The woman asked as she immediately vacated the seat. Rosa took out some antiseptic wipes and cleaned the chair alongside my part of the table before I sat down, settling just as Alessia got to me.

"What are you doing? This is the boardroom for only shareholders?" She challenged.

"Rosa, let me handle this. She is the business partner of the CEO who acts like his deranged wife. We met yesterday, unfortunately, and she wasn't a pleasant sight. You should check it out," I said just as people's phones in the room began to beep.

"Mor's Diamonds and Silver is trending on all platforms. Why?" Marco asked Mr. Riccardo Puerto, one of the oldest board members in the room.

Marco took the phone from him, and his face went cold. It was the video of Alessia shouting and fighting at the hotel with him having to calm her down. Everyone's eyes fell on Alessia as she burst into tears while running out of the room.