Chapter 10

CHLOE DUARTE

"What is that red agenda about? And why is my name and information written in it?", I ask bluntly, leaning back in the comfortable leather chair.

I don't know if it is my impression, but I notice that her eyes take on a bright shade of blue.

"I see that you are quite curious, even though I don't need to tell you about some personal matters of mine, I will try to satisfy your curiosity, Miss Duarte."

"Those agendas were left by my last assistant to facilitate the work for you, the green one is about my clients, investors, and people very related to the company and..."

"Let me guess, the red one is for "intimate clients"? Why are there only women's names written in that book?", I ask, realizing that I inadvertently interrupted him.

"I also realize that you can't keep quiet for long...", he mocks, making me want to roll my eyes at him, but I control myself.

"I am sorry, please continue...", I ask politely, embarrassed.

"As I was saying, the red agenda is about friends very close to me, some are also very important clients, so at some point I will ask to schedule, cancel or make contact with some of them, so keep the agenda very close miss."

"So in short they are all your contatinhos?"

James frowns and straightens up in his chair before asking me in confusion:

"My what?"

Damn it!

I quickly realize my mistake in using a word that is quite common in Brazil, but I am not there and I know that he knows several languages, but I realize that Portuguese is not his strong language.

"Sorry. It is an expression we use in Brazil when we want to refer to people who have a casual relationship.", I try to explain in his language.

"He asked only to tell you what the red agenda is about, Miss Duarte, let's not cross that line.", he reprimands me politely.

"But you still haven't told me why my name is there.", I remind him of my other doubt.

"You don't give up easily, do you? I like that kind of determination, but sometimes it can be quite annoying."

When he sees that I don't match his smile or answer his question, he just sighs and continues:

"I don't know the exact, but Eva must have made some mistake and written her name there...", he says referring to his last personal assistant.

But why am I sure that this is not true? I don't know him, but something tells me he is lying about this.

If that notebook contains all the names of the women he usually dates or picks up, I still can't understand the real reason for my information to be written there, since nothing has ever happened between us and most probably never will.

I giggle internally at the thought that a man like Mr. Colucci could be interested in someone like me, that's ridiculous Chloe!

I want to say that he is lying, but that would be out of line, I have to remember that even though he was kind enough to lend me a shirt, I can't forget that he is still the cynical boss.

"I need to get back to my work and stop bothering you, and thank you very much for the shirt, I will wash it and give it to you tomorrow.", I say, getting up from the chair and walking slowly to the door.

"Anytime. I have an appointment with an old investor downtown in two hours, but I won't need you to accompany me today, so take the day to get used to the job, Miss Duarte."

"Thank you, Mr. Colucci."

"After the meeting I have some personal matters to take care of, so I don't think we will meet again today, you don't have to wait for me, your workday ends at 6:00 PM."

"Okay, everything all right for lunch tomorrow?", I ask, turning to face him.

"Yes, we'll see you tomorrow Miss Duarte!", I nod leaving the room and returning to the corridor.

I won't fail to notice that the curious eyes of the cow of the secretary land on me and widen in shock when she realizes that I am wearing another baggy shirt, that is, Mr. Colucci's shirt.

I give a restrained little smile as I walk past the reception desk seeing her staring at me with an annoyed frown, something tells me that she is also attracted to James and hates me for working side by side with him.

I sigh as I reach my office, I leave the stained blouse near my purse and sit back in my chair, my eyes are drawn to the white shirt I am wearing, taking the fabric in my fingers I bring it to my nose closing my eyes as I can smell the scent of his perfume.

A very familiar aroma to me, but I don't know where I know this perfume from.

I force my mind to remember the forgotten smell in my memories, my eyes widen when I finally manage to remember the unforgettable perfume.

My God! The guy in the elevator!

But it can't be, it can't be possible, I have to get it out of my mind and stop thinking that James Colucci, my new boss and the CEO of a famous multinational is the guy I almost had sex with in a dark elevator.

I remember every second of that surprising and exciting moment trapped inside that elevator, trying to remember any clue that connects Mr. Colucci to the mysterious man, the worst is that I cannot remember the man's tone of voice, I only remember his words.

I shake my head to remove or forget these disturbing thoughts to focus all my concentration on my work, I open the notebook and browse through the file folders, there are many, but one, in particular, gets all my attention a file left by Eva Tramell, the last personal assistant of Mr. Colucci.

I open the file realizing that it is about "advice" left for the next candidate, that is, this was left for me.

1. Despite being very polite about everything, Mr. Colucci is a very demanding man, the type who likes to be in control of the situation, so do everything according to his demands.

2. If you want to keep this job, never challenge Mr. Colucci, and never show your insolence or inability to keep quiet around him.

I stop reading to let out a loud and sarcastic laugh as I finish reading Eva's second piece of advice, challenging Mr. Colucci was the first thing when we first met, so I have already broken one of the rules of good coexistence.

It seems that this advice was made exclusively with me in mind, did Eva know that I would be the next hired for this position before her resignation?

3. Despite being a very demanding man, Mr. Colucci is a good man and will help you and understand the situation when you need it.

4. I have left two appointment books with the names and information of clients and people Mr. Colucci has a lot of contact with. So if you need any of them, don't hesitate to look in them, all the names are written in the diaries if he knows new ones he will ask you to add them.

5. The green ribbon agenda is for all the people involved with the company, such as employees on the top floor, clients, investors, and Mr. Colucci's trusted lawyers.

6. The red ribbon is Mr. Colucci's "personal friends", acquaintances and women that Mr. Colucci has a casual relationship, nothing more than short-term sex, I know you will be embarrassed and intrigued when you hear this, but a man like Mr. Colucci does not have a serious relationship, so when he asks you to arrange a meeting or contact some of them, you need to do it without hesitation.

I stare at the table as I finish reading this note, so I was right when I said that all these women are his little contacts, but I don't understand why he has so many women willing to do this.

Could it be that he is the type who withdraws and unloads all the daily stress of the company on sex?

7. He can be very intimidating, but never allow yourself to be intimidated by him, and never cross the line either.

8. If Mr. Colucci chose you personally, be very grateful, because this is a rarity to happen, many would wish to be in your place, so take advantage and give it your all in this position.

9. A position like this requires a lot from you, besides being willing to accompany you to meetings, always be prepared for long trips to other countries.

I haven't had a chance to think about it yet, but I see another good thing that will benefit me in this new job being Mr. Colucci's assistant, I will have the chance to get to know other countries and finally be able to use the languages that I have worked and sweated so hard to master with honors.

10. Do everything accordingly, and you will have no problems with your new job or with Mr. Colucci himself.

11. One thing Mr. Colucci hates is lies, so always tells him the truth despite everything, never dares to lie, he abhors people who hide the truth.

12. And another thing he hates more than lies, never ask or make comments about his past life or childhood, Mr. Colucci has been through many horrible things that you will never imagine, he prefers more than anything to keep the past in the past.

For a moment I think about those words he mentioned about his childhood in that meeting room, I am pretty sure that Eva must have been referring to the cancer James had as a child. I can't imagine anything worse than seeing such an innocent and small being suffer so much to that extent. I completely understand his motive of doing anything to help people who are going through the same thing he went through one day, this is a noble attitude and makes me like him a little bit more and diminishes some of the arrogance in him.

13. I will tell you from experience: Mr. Colucci's mother will constantly call to look for her son, but never let the two of them meet in her presence, if this happens it will be a total catastrophe. From what little I know he has never had a good relationship with his mother. I don't know why, but he hates her for something in the past, he will thank you immensely if you make something up or deny her approach.

14. With his father it is the opposite, the other Mr. Colucci resides in Italy and always comes to visit or keeps constant contact with his only son, James loves his father more than anything in this world, so if he makes any contact, tell James immediately.

I read the last note thinking about why James hates his mother and loves his father immensely, he must have followed something from the past as well, so I need to remember these two pieces of advice or I could get screwed.

I also think about what I will say to prevent or deny an approach or meeting with Mr. Colucci's mother and him. But it must be something very serious for the mother to try to make amends with her only son at the cost of anything.

I also realize that his parents must be separated since Mr. Colucci lives in another country.

A few hours later I find myself at the usual restaurant with Matt and Sam, when I enter the room I see my friends sitting at our usual table.

"Oh my god, she's here!", I smile at Sam's shout and realize that Matt also turns to look at me.

"How was your morning, princess?", he kisses my cheek as I sit down at the table next to them.

"Is very agitated, but I'm happy!", I sigh, smiling.

"Did you meet Mr. Colucci's hottie? Wait! What's with the shirt?", I roll my eyes at my friend's supervision.

"I spilled coffee on mine and Mr. Colucci lent me one of his shirts."

"Really? If it were me I would have changed my clothes in front of him and grabbed him immediately, I would risk being fired, but I would not leave this company without having caught James Colucci.", she says with a mischievous smile that leaves Matt snorting.

"Samanta being Samanta...", I smile at Matt's bored face.

They are like that, sometimes one is jealous of the other, I confess that when I met them I thought they had some kind of love involvement, but when I mentioned it they laughed at my face for hours.

It's just friendship and it will never be more than that according to them, they told me that they met when two bastards put good night Cinderella in Sam's drink at the club and tried to abuse her in a dark alley, but thank God the worst was prevented since Matt arrived at the moment, taught the bastards a lesson and helped Samanta soon after.

They became friends and later found out that they worked in the same building, a disturbing beginning started a beautiful and loyal friendship.

"It is only my first day, but I confess that I am enjoying my new job.", I say, calling the waiter to take our order.

"Are you enjoying Mr. Colucci too?", I snort at Samanta's naughty face.

"Why are you so obsessed with this guy if you've never seen him in person?", Matt asks as I take our orders for the waiter who takes all our notes.

"Because he is absurdly delicious! I've never seen him in the flesh, but I managed to find this gem here...", she shows Matt the cell phone screen.

I get curious and ask her to show me what they are looking at so much, the cell phone is put in front of my face giving me a view of an image of Mr. Colucci wearing a black suit next to other men, by the quality of the image I realize that the picture was taken by some paparazzi.

"It was hard to find this, it seems he hates the media and doesn't like to expose himself in public, but it seems ironic since a man like this hates to pose for the cameras.", he comments, sliding his finger on the screen to a news item with the focus on Mr. Colucci.

"One of the most desirable and mysterious bachelors in all of New York was spotted this weekend on a beach next to one of Vogue magazine's most influential models."

I squeeze my eyes shut, finishing reading the headline and moving on to the image of James in just shorts walking on a beach next to a gorgeous redhead wearing a short red bikini.

"Look at his pecs and tank! Girlfriend, how can you work with this man without wanting to grab him?", she asks zooming in on James' picture.

Of course, I feel like it, girlfriend...

"In his social position, the guy must be in a relationship, Sam.", Matt comments helping the waiter to put our plates on the table.

"He's not, according to his latest assistant, James doesn't have long-term relationships, only casual sex.", I comment, taking a bite of my meal.

"Did she tell you that?", Sam asks wide-eyed.

"No, she left a lot of advice in a folder on the computer, according to her, he doesn't keep in touch with his mother either."

"Wow, he sounds like some kind of Christian Grey, is he also a dominatrix? Because I might as well apply for a submissive position!", I choke on my food and start a series of coughs.

Realizing my condition, Matt grabs a glass of water from the table and helps me drink, I sigh in relief as the food goes down the right place soothing my throat.

"Okay, let's stop talking about this guy, how about we change the subject?", Matt proposes.

"I think it's great!", I say hoarsely.

"Stop being such a prude, Chloe! He's single, and you're beautiful and very hot, I'm sure he's already noticed that."

"He's my boss, Samanta!", I say as if it's obvious.

"You make it sound like I've never seen that many books on the erotic romance between a boss and an assistant on your bookshelf, you slut!", I blush violently as I throw a pea in her direction while she laughs her head off.

Okay, that's kind of true...

Cast the first stone who has never read a book of this genre, nobody is ironclad and I fell in love with this kind of writing when I read Fifty Shades of Grey for the first time. It is more addictive than cocaine.

"What about you, Matt? How was your morning?", I ask our friend desperately trying to change the subject or I know I will let out what I think, that I think my boss and I have already caught up with each other in the elevator.

But even I am not sure about that!

"Adam is being hard on me, but it's like I said, it's only for a short time, he has already said that next week a new person is coming to work with me."

"That's good because soon you'll forget me...", I joke, winking at my friend who makes a sad expression.

"You know that's impossible princess, I miss working and annoying a certain temperamental little Brazilian girl.", he says with a wry smile.

"Wow, I know you guys are just friends, but there is a certain chemistry between you...", Sam says taking a sip of his drink.

I look at Matt who does the same with me and after a few seconds laughter is heard, trying to control myself, I take a deep breath and say to my friend:

"Matt and I? Really? If we were dating, in the first week Matt would be found dead...", I joke and get a laugh from Sam.

"This way you hurt me, princess, but not Sam. We love each other like brothers love other brothers.", I nod my head in agreement with our friend.

I love Matt, but not like that, he is my best friend and I have innocent feelings for him, and I know it will never go beyond that.

"But if one day she changes her mind, and wants to experience how good a tongue kisser I am...", I cover your mouth with one hand and snort.

"That way you look like Adam," I say.

"What? You offend me!", he says, putting one hand over his heart with a dramatic expression.

"What do you think about us going out tonight?", Sam asks us finishing his lunch.

"I think it's perfect, I need a drink!", I comment.

I need to drink and stop thinking about the doubt that is troubling me from the inside out, to forget that I may have kissed and done some things with James Colucci himself.

"Do you need to drink to forget the hot guy?", she arches a blonde eyebrow, and I break my gaze, deciding not to answer her question.

"Look, Matt! She's gone red again! It's obvious that she likes him or is very attracted to him!"

"No! Stop it!", I grumble angrily.

I can't let her know that this topic bothers me in this way because I know my friend and I know that she's going to get on my nerves about it.

I spent the rest of the afternoon without seeing Mr. Colucci again, he was right when he said he would not return to the company today, and now at the end of the workday I am finishing packing my things to leave and meet my friends at Stars after going home to get ready.

After grabbing my purse, the stained blouse, and my cell phone I leave my room finding the empty hallway illuminated only by a few lights, I cross the floor seeing that even the sour receptionist is also gone.

I get into the elevator and after getting off on the first floor I walk out of the building exhausted from spending the whole day with my feet inside these uncomfortable shoes.

I grimace in discomfort as I step onto the steps to reach the sidewalk, tempted to remove my heels and walk away barefoot, but the consequences of feet cut by shards of glass or pierced by nails sound much worse.

I take the opportunity and wave to a taxi that soon stops beside me, I get into the vehicle and after giving my address to the driver, I relax on the back seat for a few minutes.

After half an hour, I am coming out of the shower wrapped in my comfortable and fluffy bathrobe, I smile watching Mia playing with her little ball on her bed, and go to my room.

As I'm about to open the closet a new notification on my cell phone is heard, I pick up the device on the bed and click on the recent message seeing Sam's name on the screen.

SAM: Forget Stars! A fancy new nightclub just opened up north of town, I've snagged three VIP roads, shall we?

ME: How fancy? I'm not about to max out my credit card this month.

I send the message and seconds later she replies:

SAM: The fancy kind! The kind that only goes to rich people, but don't worry, it's opening night and our tickets entitle us to free drinks! I know, I'm awesome!

ME: Kkk, I'm in! What about Matt?

SAM: He's in too, I'll send you the location and we'll meet there.

I: Ok, but I won't drink too much, I want to dance and have fun and not work with a hangover tomorrow.

I leave my cell phone on the table while I bend down to pick up my baby liss, open my closet, and take out a burgundy dress that I bought a few months ago but have never worn.

I am happy, with my self-esteem on high and wanting to debut it tonight, I place it on the bed and open my lingerie drawers, in doubt between a sexy red set and an almost transparent white lace one.

I start to wave my black hair with the baby liss when the sound of my cell phone ringing gets in my way, I huff with my hair parted in locks in the middle of my face and even though I can't see properly, I grope the small table in search for the device.

"Samanta, I said I'll go! But I need your help to choose some lingerie, red or white?", I say on automatic after answering the call.