My Irresistible Lover and His Dark World

(Renata Pellegrini United States )

"You'll do fine," Carol tries to reassure me.

"Thank you for everything, Miss Carol," I thank her once again, even if I don't pass the interview, what she and my teacher are doing for me, I can't find a worthy way to say thank you.

She blinks and walks away from me, leaving me in front of this huge building.

The blue colors dominated everywhere, you could barely see the metal parts, the mirrored glass covered everything like a sheet, it surely has more than fifteen stories here.

I take a deep breath, it's not even two hours since I set foot on solid ground and I already feel like I'm drowning.

I wish my parents were alive, I really wish I could bring them with me, give them a better life. I really wanted to see them smiling, even if it was just one more time...

This is no time to have sad thoughts! I pat my cheeks and stew my chest, now is the time to have courage.

I open the doors and hold tight the handles of my purse, I need to meet the manager and give him the letter of recommendation, my teacher told me that as soon as I delivered it, I would be practically hired, all I had to do was to say the name of her friend: Matteo Valentini.

Could this man be a relative of Filippo's? They have the same last name, but I have never found anything about this Matteo. It doesn't matter, I just want to be hired, and if this name will guarantee it, so be it.

When I enter the building, the inside is much more luxurious than the outside. I need to control myself. This environment will now be my workplace. I have to treat it like any other place.

I walk up to the counter, my legs feel unstable, but as I get closer, my jaw gets stiffer.

"How can you be so incompetent, you imbecile…"

"Good morning!" I interrupt the blonde girl who is looking me up and down.

"Who are you?" she asks, and I can read in her eyes that she thinks someone like me shouldn't even think of stepping foot in there. "Do you know this is Computing Diamond?"

I hold myself to keep from rolling my eyes, it makes me so angry to be treated like this, why did I think this place would be different?

"I'm Renata Pellegrini, I came here to…"

"Oh yes, Carol told me you were coming here."

So she must be the manager of this place, I didn't like her, but what can I do? Accept and hope to be hired, I don't even have five cents in my pocket, imagine some dollars.

"How nice that you were already aware of my arrival…"

"Not only yours, other people were also told they would be here today."

What a rude woman! Breathe, Ro, you need this job, and I should be used to dealing with people like that by now.

"I see, so I guess you know that I came here for the interview for the position of…"

"Go away."

"What?" I blink my eyes in confusion.

"Are you by any chance deaf? You're not fit to work here, look at your clothes, you haven't even put on makeup. Go back to the little place you came from."

"Please don't do this, I have come a long way, I was told that I was already practically hired, that the interview would be just a formality, I dropped everything I had to come here, please give me a chance, I promise you won't regret it!" I say it all at once, my heart pounding in my chest. I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth, I can't cry here, not in front of all these people.

I was aware that I might not be accepted, but it never crossed my mind that I would even get to do the interview.

She looks at me with a mean smile on her face, under her gaze I feel inferior, how can anyone be so overbearing?

"So you are willing to accept any service?"

I came here to become Filippo's personal assistant, but it's looking like I won't even set foot here tomorrow, I don't want to starve.

"Yes," I can't hide the disappointment in my voice.

"Okay, there is a cleaning position open, if you want it, it's yours."

What a load of crap! I don't want to disdain those who work as cleaners, because in a certain way the company only works because they clean the environment, but it's that I studied so hard to get a good job, and in the end I will end up as a cleaner.

No matter what they tell me, this is frustrating, I wanted to work in front of a computer, not cleaning toilets.

"Yes, I do," I answer. "When do I start?"

"Right now, come with me."

We walk to the end of a corridor, stopping in front of an aluminum door. Well, it seems that not everything is so luxurious.

"Here is the staff locker room."

She enters and I follow her, she opens the door twentythree and hands me the key to the locker.

"The uniform you see here is size S, it should fit you, let's get you dressed soon."

I go to the closet and get the clothes: a green coat, a white apron with two front pockets, and pants in the same fabric as the coat. I can't tell what fabric it is, but it's not a coarse fabric.

"Oh, I didn't say my name, I'm Veronica."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I hold out my hand out of politeness, but she rolls her eyes.

"Let's get to the point, last night, Mr. Valentini asked me to clean his office, as you could see we were short of cleaners. He hasn't arrived yet, I want you to clean his room properly before he arrives, don't touch anything at all and be out of that room in thirty minutes, am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Oh how I hate her, how I wanted to slap the face of this wretched woman.

"Good, there is the material you will use," she points to another aluminum door. "Use the cleaners' elevator and go quickly."

She leaves me alone in the changing room, hoping that fate has no more negative surprises in store for me.

I take the materials and go to the elevator. I forgot to ask which floor was Mr. Valentine's office. I will press the last button, whatever it is.

(Renata Pellegrini)

Who would have thought, I am actually stepping into the headquarters of the company Computing Diamond. Currently occupying the fifth place in the ranking of the most profitable companies in the world. And its owner, occupying the first place in the ranking of the richest man in the world, having a fortune of over $359 billion.

Suspicious, how come his company is fifth and he is first? Well, he must have investments in other fields besides his own company.

This is none of my business, I have seen so many advertisements of the computers and their operating systems created here, the cell phones, smartphones and smart tvs sold with Computing Diamond systems are some of the most expensive on the market, my consumption dream was to have a notebook from Diamond line (both its physical structure, as well as all the circuits were created and produced in this very company). Who knows, as I now work here, maybe I will get some discount when buying.

My profession is systems analyst, I studied for four long years, but now here I am, as a cleaner. At least I'm working for one of the biggest companies in the world, and I'm sure the salary is good. At the end of the day, I will look for Veronica to settle the outstanding issues and sign my work permit.

"Good morning, could you tell me where Mr. Valentini's office is?" I ask a young woman.

She is dressed in a pencil skirt, a white shirt, and her hair is tied up in a high bun. She's very pretty and unlike Veronica, she doesn't look down at me.

"Good morning, are you new here?" she asks nicely, I like her.

"Yes, I was hired a few minutes ago."

"I see, my name is Sophie, I am Mr. Lucas Parmanel's assistant, what is your name?"

Lucas Parmanel. I looked him up on the Internet. He is the vicepresident of this company. The gossip sites say he is a womanizer, but his intelligence is second only to the CEO's. The rough idea of the Diamond line notebooks were thought by Lucas, Filippo improved them and put them into practice.

"Renata Pellegrini, nice to meet you," we shake hands. At least one person in this company is kind.

"Welcome to the Diamond family, that door at the end of the hall is Mr. Valentini's, there, the extra key to the door is under the rug" he guides me and mentally I thank God for putting him in my way.

"Thank you very much," I thanked him and walked to the door.

What a big door, mirrored glass, all very fancy.

I am not an envious person, but I wish I was dressed like that girl. I studied to go to work in those kinds of clothes, but look how I am. Wearing a cleaning uniform, cleaning and dusting, I studied so much... I left everything behind, could I get a better job in Brazil?

I put the portrait holder in place and immediately began my work. I observe another bookcase, where there are several types of weapons. I imagine they are plastic, I have never seen these models. What kind of boss collects weapons in the company where he works?

I take the duster and start to remove the dust, being very careful not to move anything. Then I organize the table and pick up the little balls of paper from the floor. I decide to open one of these little balls, is this a weapon design? Meticulous drawings of each part, did Mr. Valentini draw it?

What an ugly thing to do, looking at your boss' things, that's not what your mother taught you, my conscience scolds me, I crumpled the paper again and threw it in the trash bin.

The room was not as dirty as I thought, I used the vacuum cleaner on the twoseater sofa next to the door and on the floor, finally only a little red stain remains on the top hat. I take the damp cloth and get down on my knees, I start to rub the stain hard, but it is too persistent.

You won't be able to beat me, you stupid stain! I bend over even more and put even more force into scrubbing.

"Who are you?" an extremely deep male voice speaks behind me.

My heart feels like it is going to come out of my mouth, what a day Lord, what a day... Why do I have to be so unlucky?

I turn around, Mr. Filippo is looking at me with a frown, and just like in the picture, he has the look of an evil man, all my danger alerts are firing inside my head, my blood is freezing, I can't take my eyes off his deep, deep gaze. Can he see my soul?

"Are you going to stay there on the floor, ragazza?"

"Nno, sir," I stand up and adjust my apron in an attempt to look as presentable as possible.

Suddenly this room seems to have gotten so small.

"Who gave you permission to enter my office?"

Why do I feel so intimidated? What is it that exudes from this man? Rather, what has happened to my voice?

I feel as if I am being caught doing something wrong, and he is going to punish me. My fingers tingle.

"Sir... Clean... Stain... Sorry, I…" damn, I'm so nervous that my voice is shaky and my sentences come out all disjointed.

"Be clear, damn it! Who do you think you're talking to?" he shouts and approaches me, I take steps back. I feel that this man could kill me!

My whole body is trembling, I'm afraid, today should be a day of joy, but it is only coming trial after trial. When will this end?

Veronica enters the room with a big smile on her face, taking Filippo's attention away from me.

When she sees me, her smile dies and she gives me a deadly look.

Oh my God, I'm going to be fired... My portfolio hasn't even been signed... I've only worked for ten minutes and I've already lost everything, I think.

(Renata Pellegrini)

"You're here early," Veronica says with a trembling smile on her face. I think even she is afraid of him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"And since when do I owe you any satisfaction? You're the one who works for me."

I'm not even surprised, what could you expect from a big CEO like him? He's just another asshole in the world. Arrogant and overbearing. Just another idiot who just because he has money thinks he has the world under his feet.

Maybe he really does, he is the richest man in the world, he must have everything he wants. From objects to women, maybe for him it doesn't even make a difference, men with money think that women are objects, that all they have to do is shake a few hundred dollar bills and they are theirs.

I don't doubt Veronica is one of the women who dreams of having him. I roll my eyes at this thought. But well done to her, it's exactly as the saying goes: he who wounds with iron will be wounded with iron. I smiled inwardly as I finished my thought.

"Sorry, sir, it was not my intention to demand anything from you," Veronica says with her head down, now she remembered that just like me, she is just another employee.

Well, maybe not like me, I'm sure that as soon as I set foot out of this room, I'll be out of here.

"And what about you?" He turns and approaches me again, why does this man exude so much danger? His eyes stare at me suspiciously.

Never in my life have my legs felt so weak as they do now. This man looks as if he is going to turn me inside out just by looking at me. The air seems to have thinned from nowhere. Every step he takes closer to me creates a sensation of shrinking in size. He must be at least forty centimeters taller than me.

"Ragazza, don't make me say it one more time," he whispers menacingly in my ear, his deep voice coupled with his Italian accent making the hair on my legs stand on end. Do I have a thing for Italians? Is this why I have never fallen in love with a Brazilian?

Ragazza means girl and this brings back memories of my father, only he called me that.

He puts his hands in his pants pockets, striking a bad man's pose. I feel a tangle of butterflies inside my stomach.

Where did my voice go? Lord help me! Get this man away from me! Help me!

I look away from him and see Veronica hurriedly approaching.

"Mr. Valentini, she is the new janitor…"

"New?" he snaps his tongue. "When did you start employing people without my consent?"

Wow, I had no idea he was so controlling. I thought tycoons his size didn't care who was or wasn't hired, at least not the janitorial staff.

"She was desperate, sir. I just wanted to help her…"

"I didn't know this was a charity, Miss Veronica."

"I'm sending her away right now, sir."

Oh my God... I knew it would end like this, just when I think something in my life is finally going to change for the better, the storms come and blow it all away again.

I feel my eyes burning, how am I going to go back to Brazil? I am ashamed to ask for help from my teacher who has already done so much for me.

I will have to humiliate myself once again, I can't be fired now. I need to at least receive my first salary so that I can return to Brazil.

I hope this man has something beating inside his rib cage.

"Mr. Filippo," I start, but a hand stops me.

What was that? My cheek is burning, did I really get slapped? In the face?!

"How dare you call him by his first name! You little shit!"

I've never fought in my life, I've always been against violence. But I've reached my limit of humiliation for today. My father, when he was alive, taught me the art of selfdefense, while a friend of my mother's he died a year before my parents taught me street fighting, and said that I should only use it if I needed to impose respect on someone.

That time has come!

I am about two inches taller than Veronica. I grab the collar of her dress shirt and pull it tight, making her stand on tiptoe. She tries to pull my hands to let go, but I just bring her closer to my face.

"Look here, you stuck up little prick, I'm not your fucking punching bag so you dare raise your frumpy hand to me. And if you do it again, mark my words," I look into her eyes and she trembles before my gaze, I like it that way, I bring my mouth close to her ear and whisper: "You better have a lot of money anyway, because you're going to need a lot to fix your face because I'm going to punch it until it's deformed."

I let go of the collar of her blouse and she falls on her ass on the floor. I stop myself from laughing at her frightened face, but it only lasts a few seconds, she gets up from the floor and her face gets redder and redder.

"How dare you threaten me, you dirty girl!" she shouts in exasperation.

"Lower your tone, bitch, you're not talking to your little girlfriends," I say calmly, making her even more irritated.

"Ungrateful snake! You were desperate and I helped you!"

"If you really wanted to help me," I start to spit out the words, feeling all the anger I've been holding inside me for the last fifteen minutes. "You would have let me do the interview I came here for and not forced me into a cleaning job!"

"And you have shown that you are not even qualified for a simple cleaning position, you would never be suitable to be Mr. Valentini's assistant!"

Oh, how I hate her! I clench my hands into fists and start stepping hard on the floor, approaching her.

"Puttana," I call her a bitch between my teeth.

I'm going to break this woman's high nose right now! I'm already in the mud, I'm going to sink a little deeper, I have nothing left to lose here.

With blood in my eyes, I raise my arms to grab the thin neck of this giraffe dwarf, but Filippo puts his big body between me and Veronica.

"Leave the room, now!" he orders in a deep, dominating voice. What a man with a strong presence!

Is this right? I can't believe my eyes.

(Renata Pellegrini)

"Ssir?" she blinks several times not believing what she heard. I can't believe it either. "II didn't quite understand what you said, could you…"

"Oddio, dammi pazienza," he says in italian. God, give me patience. "I want you out of my office, now!"

"But, sir, what about her?" Veronica points her finger in my direction.

"Stai zitto!" he increases the tone of his voice, telling her to shut up. I am not sure if she understood what he said, but she is startled by the tone of his voice and shuts up. I understood what he said because I always heard my father saying those words in Italian when I did something wrong.

Veronica's jaw quivers with anger, she is certainly feeling humiliated, she looks at me once more, I can read in her eyes: You will pay for that!

I smile and her face gets redder at my provocation, she turns around and walks stiffly out of the room, leaving me alone with the Italian tycoon.

I swallow dryly, all the anger inside me is gone and only nervousness and fear remain.

I try to concentrate on some sound other than my heart beating so hard it hurts. But the room is so quiet, I feel desperation trying to take over. I try to slow my breathing down, I can't have a piripaque here.

"Non ricordo di averti visto, di quale parte d'Italia sei?"

"What did you say?" I asked in a hushed voice, the only thing I could understand was: which part of Italy. And I don't even know if I understood correctly.

"Non parlate italiano?" I think he is asking me a question, but again I don't understand anything beyond the word Italian. His eyes look at me again, from top to bottom, it bothers me, I feel my face getting hot.

"Can you please speak in English?" I ask, staring back at him.

I don't want him to think that I find him attractive, or that he has awakened something in me, I will take that to my grave with me. Never in my life did I think that someday I would be attracted to the kind of people I despise most in the world.

He clicks his tongue and goes to his chair behind the table, sits down and without taking his eyes off mine, points to the chair in front of the table. I don't want to sit down, my brain wants to get out of here, but I am curious and I need this job.

I have made up my mind, if he gives me the opportunity to continue, I will work only until I receive my first salary. I will not stay here to work as a cleaner, if at this time I know some other company that is hiring, I will try, but if not, I will go back to Brazil and follow my life there.

"Where are you from, and what is your name and age?" he asks in English.

I am thankful that my mother put me in an English course when I was six years old. I never stopped practicing, so I was able to travel here without any problems. And it was also for this reason that I thought I had a chance to do well in the interview and live in another country.

"I'm from Brazil, my name is Renata Pellegrine and I am twentyfour years old," I answer, and he raises an eyebrow, looking at me suspiciously.

"You don't look like a Brazilian," he says quietly to himself, but I can hear him, so I decide to remain silent. "Both your name and your surname are of Italian origin," he notes and crosses his arms, I just keep quiet watching him, he clicks his tongue. "How did you get here?"

"My teacher got a job interview here," I explained, trying to keep calm.

"What is your teacher's name?"

"Juliana Lueni.

He puts his hand on his chin, and closes his eyes for a few seconds.

"Never heard of that name," he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms again. "What did you study?"

"Information System, I graduated last week," I explained more excitedly.

Is he doing the interview? Will I change positions? Oh I hope so, it will be a dream come true if I get a better position.

"How did you end up in the janitorial position?"

"Well, that manager, Veronica…"

"She's not the manager here," he cuts me off, leaving me confused.

"She's not?" I look confused at him.

"No," he answers.

Putting on all that pose, giving me a job, when she wasn't even responsible for my interview.

"What is she then?" I ask, hoping he doesn't kick me like he did her.

"Head Attendant, she is in charge of training the new attendants and organizing the shifts," he explains."

"Right, well, when I came in here, she had told me that Miss Carol had told me I was coming along with other applicants for the position," he frowns, as if he had only just learned these details. "But I couldn't even say I was here for the interview, she sent me away saying I wasn't up to working here."

"Then she offered you the position of janitor," constants.

"Yes," I confirm.

"What is your marital status?"

"Single, sir."

"Any children?"

"No children."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do and call you by the end of next week, write down your contact phone number and email address."

He hands me a notebook and a pen, and I write down the information he asked for.

Oh Lord, put your hand on this man's heart and make him hire me, I pray in thought.

"In the meantime, am I supposed to keep coming here?"

"To do what?" he asks with a raised eyebrow looking at the paper with my information.

"Um, cleaning?" I say. "Let me come, I can do the work. I need the money."

What humiliation, but what can I do? In the apartment there is nothing to eat and I don't have a penny in my pocket, nor do I have any credit cards. I have to at least get paid for the daily rates.

"Take it."

I look at his hand holding a hundreddollar bill.

"Wwhat is this? Are you doing charity now?"

Mannaggia! Why can't I control my tongue? I need the money.

"The payment for your hours worked today."

"I only worked for fifteen minutes," I tell him suspiciously. I don't believe in genuine kindness coming from people like him.

"Then take it as a retraction for the way you were treated when you arrived."

Oh, if that's so, then I'll gladly accept this money. I take the note and put it in my apron pocket.

"On second thought, I will give you a position now. It will be temporary, you will start as an attendant, do you accept?

Don't frown, don't frown, I repeat in my thoughts. Well, it's better than continuing as a janitor.

"I accept!"

"Okay, go to the reception and look for Amanda. You'll start right away."

"Okay," I stand up.

"Buona giornata, ragazza," he says, wishing me a nice day. But once again the memories of my father, speaking those exact same words, waking me up come to mind.

"Anche per Il sig" I say, wishing the same for him.

A pity I have only learned a few words and short phrases in Italian.

Filippo smiles, a wide smile that makes me feel something strange in my chest. I hold my breath and hurry out of the office.

Now it's time to look for Amanda.

(Renata Pellegrini)

Oh, shit! I forgot the cleaning cart in Signor Filippo's room, I hope this won't become a problem later. I speed up my steps and head to the dressing rooms. When I arrived I noticed that the receptionists also have uniforms, but I will look for Amanda dressed in the clothes I arrived with and I will give back this uniform and the key to the original closet.

Now, with my clothes changed, I fix my hair and take one last look at myself in the small mirror in my bag. I put everything from the bag inside and leave the dressing room, walking with slow steps that turn me towards the reception balcony.

I feel people looking me up and down, I swallow dryly, why in this world am I so hard to be nice?

If my mother were here, certainly, she would never accept that someone treated me like dirt, or did what Veronica did to me.

I take another deep breath and approach one of the receptionists, he is blond and by his face, he seems more approachable than the girls.

"Good morning!", I greet him politely, at least he doesn't look at me with disgust. "Can you tell me how I can find Amanda, please?"

"Tiffany, did you see Amanda today?", he asks the girl sitting to his right. She looks me up and down, more one for my list of people I don't like here.

"I saw her running into the locker room, late as usual", Tiffany replies, rolling her eyes and chewing gum.

"I just came out of the locker room and there was no one else there", I say.

"The locker room in the reception area is on that side, kitten", replies the blond with a smile as he points in the opposite direction from where he's leaving. "Last door in the hallway on the left."

"Oh, yes thank you!", I thank him with a smile and he smiles back.

I take long strides down the hallway and head for the last door, unlike the locker room in the cleaning sector, the door to this locker room is glass, I turn the knob, and the room is very welllit and much more spacious, a thousand times chicer.

I feel like cursing Mr. Filippo, since he is so controlling with who hires him or not, and he is the richest man in the world, he should at least treat the employees equally. It's not because they are cleaners that they deserve little. I'm sure that small locker room doesn't fit ten employees.

I walk into the locker room and see a girl with curly red hair laughing at something on her cell phone.

"Amanda?" I called out to her.

The girl startles and almost drops her cell phone on the floor, I notice that her smartphone is from the Ruby 5 pro line, launched late last year by Computing Diamond.

"Mrs. Veronica, I was just talking to my father, he is sick and...", she turns to me and sighs in relief when she realizes that I am not Veronica's snake. "phew! I thought it was someone else."

"I see", she smiled. I figure a lot of people must not like Veronica's, and I'm in the middle of this cake. "Do you know where I can find Amanda?"

"You're already talking to her, how can I help?"

"Oh, well, my name is Renata, I was hired a few minutes ago to be a receptionist, Mr. Filippo sent for her", I explain.

"Mr. Filippo?", she frowns. "You mean Mr. Valentine, the owner here, did you talk to him directly?"she asks, approaching me with wide eyes.

"Ah yyes," I said, a little embarrassed. Sometimes I forget that here rich people who are not intimate should be called by their last name.

"Wow, is that a third leg, as they say?", she asks smiling.

"Are what you talking about?", I frown, what a crazy woman.

"Oh, now you're going to play the saint? You know very well what I'm talking about!"

"Nno, I really don't know", I say, taking a step away from her.

"Mr. Filippo is the sexiest man in the world! With that kind of gray eyes and his big chest completely defined, you can see his muscles even when he's in a suit!"

"That's true, even in a photo he looks, in person he is much better", I think and hold back a smile, she continues talking:

"Apart from her voice, in a low tone loaded with an Italian accent, he always walks elegantly and rarely shows her face", she bites her lip. "I bet his little head looks like a big pink mushroom."

I just met the woman and she's already telling me her imaginings about the boss's private parts! Have mercy on God!

"Apparently you're one of the shy ones", she says, smiling in my direction. "Well, the bureaucratic part of your hiring we'll have to sort out in another department, for now, let's fix your uniform."

She goes to a large closet and takes out of it a red blouse and a black pencil skirt, a handkerchief that she holds under the collar of the blouse, it is white. The uniforms are nice.

"Is what your shoe size?"

"Thirtyeight", I answered.

"Here", she hands me a black heel, "Try it on", she points to a door. "There are the changing rooms and toilets, they go there."

I entered where Amanda instructed me and everything was wonderful. I noticed that there are four glass showers, the glass is transparent and you can see that the showers are golden. The smell of eucalyptus intoxicates me, I like to feel the smell of cleanliness. The mirror of the washbasin covers practically the entire wall.

I take off my clothes and put on my uniform. The cleaning uniform smelled like old clothes that had been in storage for a long time, but this uniform smells nice. A silly smile escapes my lips. I look in the mirror still with dark circles under my eyes and dry hair, I feel beautiful.

The receptionist uniform is much more elegant than my formal wear. It's even embarrassing.

Mental note: To buy fancy clothes with the first salary.

I come out of the bathroom and Amanda breaks into a smile at the sight of me.

"It's perfect for you!", she comes to meet me and wraps her arm around mine. "Come, I'll show you where you're going to work."

We leave the prep room and walk again to the reception, she walks in front of me.

"Always looks presentable, hair well combed and loose, well, the loose hair rule was created by Veronica, she says we can't get sexy, listen Mr. Valentini likes women with long hair tied in a ponytail on horseback, only Mrs. Veronica can come with the prisoners", she sighs. "Bitch!", mutters the curse. "Oh, also come with makeup on tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes!"

"We have two hours for lunch, and always change your clothes before going home, company rules. As if anyone should want to steal these ugly clothes", she speaks with disdain.

I imagine she has a lot of nice, good quality clothes, I'm not a thief and it never crossed my mind, but the fabrics of these uniforms are the best I've ever worn.

Amanda and I made it as far as the balcony of the reception, the girl and the young blond man got up.

"Finally she showed up", the blond smiles for Amanda.

"Yesterday I ended up drinking more than I wanted to, Caio", she answers smiling, "This one is called Renata, she was hired by Mr. Valentini himself."

"Wow, do you know him?"

"I just had a misunderstanding, then he decided to be benevolent with me", I try to explain as little as possible, I don't want this conversation to collapse.

"Tai is kind of hard to see, Mr. Valentini is not known for being benevolent."

"I guess not really," I reply in my thoughts. Mr. Filippo is thick, arrogant, and an asshole. But he was good to me and deserves some credit.

" What am I supposed to do?" I changed the course of the conversation.

"Simple, just greet people, bring coffee, water or whatever they ask for, show the customers around. You'll be almost like a tour guide."

"I get it, it seems to be easy", I conclude, "I don't think I'm going to have trouble doing these things.”

"The hard part is putting up with Mrs. Veronica", Caio speaks softly.

"Yes", Amanda and I answered together.

"Well, I'm going to finish showing her the company, come Renata. We will be back and then you can go to Caio", says Amanda, and Caio nods his head.

Getting to know the rooms of the company was a lot of fun, Amanda is a very extroverted person. The work started after lunch, today I was up and going back and forth all afternoon taking people and announcing them. I even felt like a secretary.

I look at the clock on the wall and it says twentytwo o'clock in the evening. It's very late!

I leave the company and find myself aimless, the security guard has already closed the door and walked away. Amanda left an hour before me because she had an emergency, and I'm left to organize the counter.

Where is there a bus stop here? My God, how am I going to get home?

It's late and I'm alone, there's not even a living soul passing by for me to ask for information.

A pitchblack car approaches me, startles me and I jump back a little. My heart is hammering hard inside my chest, it may not look like it, but I'm really scared, it could be a kidnapper or some psycho, but the car is too fancy to belong to just anyone. The driver lowers the window and I see it's Mr. Filippo.

"Do you want a ride home?" He asks.

(Renata Pellegrini)

I'm so hungry and my legs are so sore that I have the feeling I misheard, is this serious? Is the richest man in the world really offering me a ride?

"Nno, but could you tell me where the cab stand is?"

Is the money paid to me enough to pay for the cab? I know things here are more on account than in Brazil, a bus would be better, but just to disguise, I ask the cab rank and there, with people I will probably never see again in life, I ask where the bus stop is.

"You're not taking the cab," he says, looking me in the eyes.

"Yes, I will" I lie, "I just don't know where the point is."

"Sta mentendo per me, ragazza?", 'Are you lying to me, girl?', he says in Italian, his tone telling me that this question is more like a warning, like: keep lying and you'll see.

My cheeks burn, how can he be so convinced I'm lying? Am I so transparent like this? I could never hide anything from my dad, he always said I was a terrible liar, but I thought it was only because he knew me before I was born.

"Could you tell me where the bus stop is?", with his head down, I asked this time for the real information I wanted.

"Tomorrow I'll tell you," he speaks.

"Why? I need to go home today, I'm tired!"

"I said I'll take you home," he insists once again.

"That wouldn't be appropriate, Mr. Fili... Mr. Valentini," I correct myself in time, he sighs, I hope he has given up, he looks ahead and taps his finger repeatedly on the steering wheel, he seems to be thinking about something.

"It's late, the bus won't pass now at 11:30 p.m., will it stay more than an hour alone in the dark place?"

Touché, he seems to have guessed that I am a fearful woman and I am afraid of being alone in dark places. Once I was almost abused, but I always try to forget about that trauma, in Brazil I started to avoid empty streets, I walked among drug dealers, and despite the strong smell of machines, they didn't mess with me. It was safer.

I'm still reluctant, what's worse, being alone at a dangerous bus stop or getting into the car of my boss, who is still a stranger to me?

"Better to go with the boss" my conscience answers.

"Okay," I walk around and get into the car, the car smells brand new, like it just came out of the store.

He starts the car engine, and heads down the street. I am so nervous, this man takes me out of my comfort zone, and I don't just get to understand the reason. I keep looking straight ahead, almost I don't twinkle my eyes, I feel his gaze burning my skin, I feel I'm dangerously close to this man.

"Do I make you feel desconfortável, ragazza?", he asks taking me by surprise.

"Nno, yes! Well... it's, I mean it's not every day someone like you offers me a ride."

"Don't take this the wrong way, I just saw her alone and didn't mean to be rude," he explains.

"You practically forced me into the car! You were so insistent and even used my fear to your advantage", I mentally hint, he keeps talking:

"Believe it or not, I am a gentleman who likes very much to save helpless young women."

"Hurum, I know," I answer and in the same instant, I regret, "Oh, well, I mean you look like a nice person," I lie.

He doesn't look anything like a good person and is a bad man, very bad. From his pores ooze danger, from his mouth come out coarse words and when he speaks in Italian he is sexy, leaving me weird inside. A good person wouldn't do that.

"Would you like to stop at a market before going home?"

"Would you take me, sir?," I ask with raised eyebrows. Why is this man being so nice to me? That doesn't make sense in my head.

"If I'm asking, it's because I will", he looks me in the eyes and I feel my cheeks burning.

"I want yes, sir", I answer, looking at the window glass.

We are in silence.He parked the car in front of a market for twentyfour hours, I opened the door and got out, I started walking for the entrance, and I felt his presence behind me. Will he really enter that market? I thought he only entered places of pure luxury!

I decided not to question it, we go into the market and I go to the food shelves, I buy several packages of crackers and pasta, I buy prepared sauce and then I buy parmesan cheese from the freezer and I buy some green condiments, all that was missing was a dry white wine, but that was it, enough for the expense.

"Are you going to make macaroni", he asks as I choose the onions.

"Yes," I answered without diverting my attention.

"Don't forget," he places a bottle of dry white wine in my basket.

"Where did you find it?", I ask suspiciously, I didn't know that they sold in the small markets this kind of drink.

"There," he points to a shelf with some types of wines and other drinks. How could I not see that?

"Thank you."

We continued to the cashier, and this damn tycoon makes one more kindness, and pays for my purchases. I didn't want to make a scene in front of the cashier, but I don't like to be paid for things, well, not when I have to pay. Not when I have to pay.

We get into the car again, I take a hundred notes and extend them in his direction.

"I want my change," I tell him and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Keep this," he orders, smiling, making me feel even more uncomfortable. "I want you to pay in another way," he says in a lower voice than usual.

My ass locks up. He can't be serious. I quickly pick up my hand, and a hurricane settles in my belly foot Mr. God, help me!

"In what way does Mr. does mean?," I ask, feeling my fingers cold and my heart pounding inside my chest.

(Renata Pellegrini)

Filippo doesn't answer me, he just starts the car engine one more time and turns back to the road. I focus my vision for the night landscape beyond the window, I don't have the courage to look him in the eyes, I confess I only stared at him so as not to look like a coward, but now, I'm embarrassed.

"How did you like working there at the company?", he breaks the silence.

"I found it interesting, it has always been my dream to work in the biggest technology company in the world, and I confess, apart from the locker room part of the cleaning sector, everything else is a dream of a place," I confess.

"What's wrong with the locker room in the cleaning department?" he asks, looking at me with a frown.

"Well, it's small and seems to be part of another company, in all the places I've been today, it's the only one there that smells musty, it's cramped, it's poorly lit, the walls are peeling and...

"I'll look into this tomorrow," he cuts me off hastily and turns to face the street.

I say no more, interlace my fingers over my lap, me and my big mouth. Well, from the way he's been acting, you can tell he had no knowledge of this in his company, I just hope I didn't get in trouble with someone important there. I don't want to get in trouble.

He stops the car at the traffic light, there are not many cars on the avenue, I feel his gaze burning my skin again.

"I'm very selective," he speaks in a roaring voice.

What does he mean by this? Filippo continues to stare at me, I feel a tingling on my skin, why does this man awaken so many strange sensations in me? Without thinking well, I look back at him, these are certainly the most intense eyes I have ever seen. They seem to pierce my skin.

"Renata?," I hear her voice in the distance, it's like she's outside, but I keep my eyes open, "What's your address?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry," I close my eyes and shake my head to chase away thoughts of the now, "East Village."

For the rest of the trip, I didn't even open my mouth to say an "a", I just pointed my finger between blocks. I think he noticed that I almost drooled on his car after that split second exchange of glances. Oh, what the fuck, how could I fail like that, shame on you, sir!

What's going through his head? He must be laughing at me, it even looks like someone from his world would look for someone from my world. E worse, I shouldn't feel anything beyond disdain for him, men like him there are lots around the world,, rich and assholes.

But why does he make me feel so many strange things? What's so different about him from the others?

"Here we are," he informs and turns off the car.

"Thank you," I thanked him without looking at him and hurried to get out of his car.

I'm so embarrassed, I grab my shopping and go to the entrance of the building, it's not very tall, there are only ten apartments, each floor is an apartment, I'm on the fourth floor.

"Is he with you?," asks the doorman as soon as I enter the concierge.

I look in his direction with a frown, who is he talking about? I look back and Filippo is only a few steps behind me. What is he doing here?

"Why are you following me?," I ask, looking at him suspiciously.

"I'm going to get paid, ragazza," he answers.

Goggle my eyes, this can only be a joke, what does he think I am, you think just because he gave me a job, a ride and paid for my little purchases, he really thinks he's going to force me to do him some kind of "dirty" favor? Oh, he's so wrong! The most he's going to get is a beautiful kick in his balls.

"What do you think you'll get in payment?", I ask with a raised eyebrow.

He smiles sideways and points to my shopping bag, I look at him again and lift my bag. I didn't understand what he meant.

"I want you to share some of your dinner with me. You can't deny me that," he says smugly.

I bite my lip embarrassed, and I with my dark thoughts, but I never expected him to just want some of the macaroni, even though he is Italian, and my father told me that one of the favorite dishes of these people is macaroni, and also , in a way I am also Italian and I love this dish.

Is it really a good idea to let him come with me? It's just the two of us in that apartment, what if I can't concentrate and end up burning out? Enough of that Rê, my dad always told me never to owe anyone a favor, and if he wants some food in return for all he's done for me, it doesn't cost me anything to give it, so we're even.

"Okay," I sighed, giving up.

We head for the elevator, why does any space where he's next to me seem to be too small? I try to control myself so I'm not shaking like a green stick. I open the door to my apartment and turn on the light, take off my shoes and feel my toes relax as they come into contact with the plush carpet. At last I will be able to enjoy my new home a little.

Filippo also takes off his shoes, wow, how polite, I thought he was going to come in with his shoes on.

"How long have you lived here?", he asks looking around.

"Well, it's going to be ten hours from the five minutes," I answer smiling and continue to the kitchen.

I put the things on the table and do my best to forget about the presence of this man in my kitchen, watching carefully every step I take. A difficult task, but with much effort I get to make the food without burning and the full is delicious, that of giving water in the mouth.

I leave the plate on the table, unfortunately there is no juice in the refrigerator, only a bottle of water. I take the plates and cutlery and place them on the table, I serve him first and serve myself later.

"It smells good," he says before tasting it, "what did your mother teach you?"

"No, it was my father," I answered smiling.

"Your father is Italian?"

"He was," I say sadly, I roll the macaroni in the yoke and the lead up to the mouth.

He doesn't say anything, we eat in silence, it's even nice to have someone else to share the table at mealtime. I was alone for so long that I had even forgotten that feeling. I look under my eyelashes, he eats very elegantly, but he doesn't express any kind of reaction, so I don't know if he is enjoying his meal or not.

"What are you doing?," I asked, confused.

He takes my empty plate, joins it with his and walks to the sink.

"I'm going to wash the dishes," he answers, already with his back to me.

I get up in a hurry and follow him, I can not let him wash my dishes, the visitor can not wash the dishes, well, at least not on the first trip to the person's house.

"No need," I tried to take the dishes out of his hand, "Let me wash."

What was he going to do? My heart is almost going for my mouth, no man ever came so close like that to me. My hands are sweating cold.

Was he really going to kiss me?

I look at your back and it's so big, like touching him? I try to control my breathing, this man is testing my sanity.

I need to stay calm, this is not the kind of man I want for my future children.

"I'm done," he says drying his hands on the cloth and pulls me out of my dalliance, "Thank you very much for the meal, ragazza."

"You're welcome," I smile faintly, I want this man out of here, I need to be alone and organize myself mentally.

"Would you take me to the door," he asks.

"Oh, yes, of course!"

I step forward and open the door, he puts on his shoes one more time and walks past me, his scent lingers. My body tenses when I feel his lips on my right cheek and then on my left. My heart stops in my throat.

"See you tomorrow, Renata," he says goodbye, turns and leaves.

He closes the door, hearing my name pronounced in his Italian accent makes strange things move in my stomach. I enjoyed hearing him say my name.

Will I see him tomorrow? Today, after being hired, I didn't see him until it was time to go home.

Better put it out of my head, I need to sleep, that's for sure. Tomorrow belongs to God alone.