Chapter 43 she was a homewrecker
Molly’s POV
“What if I have a tiny bit of information about Don Black? Will you still go alone?”
Gianni turned to face her and, as if contemplating something, responded casually. “Let’s talk in my office.”
The excitement in her eyes was infectious, but as she stared at me, her gaze turned dark.
It seemed to me that Gianni was surrounded by strange people, but as he reached the door, what he said caused me to freeze.
“Agatha, Nicole would be my secretary, but you shall be Molly’s secretary.”
“What?” It wasn’t Agatha but rather Nicole who exclaimed in shock. I was just as confused, not knowing what job I was going to do that would require a secretary.
“Gianni…” I was about to say, but he had already left. I guess I had bruised his ego by refusing to attend whatever dinner both women wanted to go to.
I didn’t see Gianni again after that, but he sent me a text message: ‘Your corporate email has been activated. I will send some documents, and Agatha can help with them. If you don’t understand anything, come to me.’
While waiting for the documents, I decided to get coffee to keep me alert until Agatha returned to my office.
“Boss wants you to be at the conference meeting.”
I was quite confused because Gianni had promised to send documents, not for me to show up at any meeting. But he had already said Agatha would be here to assist me, so I followed her.
There were about twelve people in the conference room, and Gianni was already seated by the time I arrived. Next to him was Nicole, and I don’t know why the sight of them together made me uncomfortable.
All eyes were glued on me, and I feared making any mistakes, even in my steps.
I had staged performances in front of thousands of people in the past, but being at home for these two years had changed a lot about me, making me more introverted than I had imagined.
Unease washed over me as all gazes were fixed on me. “Molly Campbell?” I heard someone whisper, but I didn’t bother to look at them.
“Is she the fallen star from two years ago? Beauty without brains?” Someone else whispered, and I wished I hadn’t heard, but I did, and it made me so uncomfortable.
“I used to be a fan until I realized she was a homewrecker. What is she even doing here? Is she the one the boss told us to wait for? That we couldn’t start the meeting without her?”
I reluctantly raised my head this time, met with many questioning gazes, but Gianni's demeanor was rather puzzling.
There were two vacant chairs at the end of the table, so I pulled one, but that was when Gianni spoke.
“Your seat is on my right.” I looked up to see that was where Nicole sat and frowned. “But…”
“Nicole, move to her chair,” Gianni said. I grew even more nervous by the way Nicole glared at me, but if the boss commands, then everyone must obey, including me.
The moment I sat beside him, he stared at me with a softened gaze and whispered, “Don’t be nervous. You should walk with your head held high because no one has the right to bully you here.”
His words calmed me, making me regain my confidence, but then Nicole spoke up.
“Gio,” she mentioned, and Gianni frowned deeply. “Excuse me?”
She smiled nervously and seemed to rephrase. “Sir, I think as your secretary, it's right for me to sit next to you to take notes.”
She had a strong point there, and with the nods from the people present, I wondered what Gianni was going to say about this. He responded sharply.
“Did the sitting position blind your eyes and cut your hands?”
Nicole looked offended. “No, but there might be things you want to say.”
Gianni’s expression was serious as he spoke. “For as long as your hands and eyes are not affected by your position, this is going to be the seating arrangement throughout all meetings here.”
I didn’t like the scornful gazes pinned on me, but I derived warmth from Gianni’s presence and knew I had to grow stronger and regain my confidence.
He began to speak up.
“Molly Campbell is our new staff, but her job description is undefined at the moment.”
The shocked expressions were obvious, even to me, but he explained further.
“She won’t be receiving any salary until she decides which department to head. For now, she will be an acting general manager,” Gianni declared. I was glad about the no-salary part and relieved that Nicole’s gaze was no longer hostile.
I guess they were all concerned about the money part. Gianni introduced me to the various managers of all the departments before the meeting took off, lasting around two hours.
When the meeting was over, he made a final announcement. “I know that most of you have heard of Molly but if I hear any derogatory remarks about her, I won’t be lenient.”
The conference room went quiet and most of them averted their gazes this time.
Coffee was great, and when the meeting was over, it was already lunchtime, so Agatha informed me.
“The managers have their VIP Cafeteria. I can show you.”
Gianni was busy, so I followed her, but upon reaching there, I regretted it as soon as I saw Nicole.