Chapter 27
"Mr. Luca, I'll look into it and give you a satisfactory answer." Amboni had a good attitude when facing Vitale.
"But Mr. Luca, I don't believe what this Isabella is saying. She was fired because of work mistakes. Where did she get her data from?"
"Mr. Luca, you can't play favorites. People are saying you're bewitched by her. I want to question this."
Vitale's face remained calm. He looked at Isabella, who was already captivated by him, and smiled. "Fine, let's have you two confront each other."
Amboni's face darkened like a storm cloud. He slammed the table and stood up abruptly, making the solid wood surface groan in pain.
"How dare you question my management?" His voice was as cutting as Lumaria's cold wind. "Ms. Lorraine, you'd better take responsibility for every word you say."
Aria nervously tugged at Isabella's sleeve, pleading with her eyes for her to stop.
Oh God, Isabella was offending a senior executive before even joining the company. Was this really okay?
Isabella, did you really think you could be so arrogant just because you had that one-night stand guy backing you up?
Aria suddenly missed Amira. At least if she were here, they could hold back crazy Isabella together.
God, how did things turn out like this?
But Isabella stepped forward instead, her golden hair shining with determination under the lights.
"Mr. Scott, I stayed up three nights straight verifying this data." Her voice was clear and strong. "I've lived up to my professional ethics. Not only can I handle being an assistant, I also have a CPA license. My goal is to make the company profitable, not watch it get hollowed out."
Isabella took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over Vitale, who had remained silent the whole time. She could finally face those blue eyes that kept her awake at night.
"Please stop connecting me with Mr. Luca. It's very unprofessional." She turned to Amboni, her tone even more firm. "I understand your dissatisfaction. After all, this is your area of responsibility. But the errors do exist. I can provide solutions. Now, may I continue?"
"Continue." Vitale suddenly spoke, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest. "Don't mind him."
With permission granted, Isabella seemed like a different person. She quickly walked to the projector and pulled up a set of data.
"Your tourist area isn't just involved in money laundering, it's also involved in organizing prostitution." Her voice echoed in the quiet conference room. "I don't know if this is a mafia 'tradition,' but it's a line that a legitimate business should never cross."
She began packing up her documents with clean, efficient movements. "If your company is satisfied with this kind of business model, then I can only say goodbye."
Aria stared at Isabella in shock, hardly believing her ears.
What? Why didn't she mention this beforehand?
This company was involved in prostitution? Oh God, was this job she just got already gone?
Vitale slowly stood up, and seeing this, Isabella sped up her packing.
"Stop." Vitale's voice carried undeniable authority.
But Isabella bolted toward the door like a startled rabbit, leaving only: "Goodbye!"
Surprisingly, Vitale didn't immediately chase after her. Instead, he showed a playful smile.
At this moment, Aria gathered her courage and blocked his path.
"Mr. Luca, maybe you should give her some space." Aria's voice trembled slightly. "Or you could talk to me first? I know everything about Isabella."
Vitale narrowed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the stubble on his chin.
He gave Amboni a look, and the latter immediately understood and chased after Isabella.
"We have nothing to talk about." Vitale's voice turned cold. "Move aside."
"I just don't want to see Isabella get hurt." Aria insisted, though her legs were shaking.
Vitale suddenly laughed, with a hint of self-mockery in his smile. "Hurt her? How could I hurt my best employee?"
Meanwhile, in the lobby downstairs, Isabella was frantically pressing the elevator button.
Amboni's voice came from behind: "Wait! We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about!" Isabella turned to run toward the stairwell but suddenly stopped.
She realized only Amboni had chased after her.
This realization inexplicably made her angry.
"Where's Vitale?" She couldn't help asking. "Does he just not care whether I stay or go?"
"No, the BOSS cares very much."
"He's never been this passionate about any woman." Amboni said softly beside Isabella. "Since you left, he's been very different."
Isabella forced herself to look away. "That has nothing to do with me."
"Really?" Amboni guided her toward the lounge area. "Then you probably don't want to know how he spent those nights without you."
They sat down on a sofa.
Amboni ordered two coffees and continued: "During the day he's like a workaholic, pushing everyone to their limits. But at night..."
He lowered his voice: "Once I went to his apartment late at night to deliver documents and heard sounds from the bathroom."
Isabella unconsciously gripped her coffee cup tighter.
"I pushed open the half-closed door," Amboni's voice carried a hint of teasing, "guess what I saw?"
Isabella held her breath.
"He was standing under the shower, holding a pair of panties in his hand." Amboni observed her reaction. "That's right, the ones you left at the castle. He was using them to pleasure himself."
Isabella's face instantly burned red.
The image appeared uncontrollably in her mind.
Water streaming down Vitale's firm chest, his eyes closed, his bronze fingers wrapped around those familiar black lace panties, slowly rubbing against his desire...
"He was calling your name." Amboni's words were the final blow. "Isabella, my Isabella."
Amboni took a sip of coffee, shaking his head: "Sorry, I don't want to recall that image, but it was too shocking. Of course, don't tell him I told you this—he'd kill me."
Isabella took a sip of coffee. Despite her burning cheeks, she looked at Amboni seriously: "So, that data was deliberately leaked by you guys, right?"
"You wanted to reel me in like a fish, right? The secretary position was also a trap. You were looking for me all along, weren't you?"
Amboni was somewhat surprised: "Yes, you guessed right. It was indeed for you, but I really didn't expect there would be problems with the data. I'll investigate that. And I think Mr. Scott is definitely still waiting for you to come back."
"Please don't leave. He'll go crazy, and when he goes crazy, we all suffer."
"I don't want to go back to those dark days. You know, I want to retire. Yes, I really want to retire."
Meanwhile, at the floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room, Vitale watched the scene below.
When Isabella reluctantly walked back with Amboni, her gaze met Vitale's in mid-air.
Vitale looked down at Aria with a charming smile: "It seems you're right. We do need to talk. Please come to my office."
Aria was somewhat surprised: "Your office?"
Vitale made a gentlemanly gesture: "Yes, my office."
Isabella happened to come up just then and heard this. She wasn't happy about it.