HER ATTRACTION

SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK CITY Isabella was awoken by the annoying ring of her alarm. She groaned and turned in bed, groping around the nightstand to put off the alarm. Why does she have to wake up? The night was so short. Had it not been just a few minutes she had been in the club with Adrian, drinking and making merry because it had been Friday? Had it not been just a few minutes she had hit her bed to have a beauty sleep and now the annoying alarm is waking her up. She sat up when she had finally put the alarm off. It was a Saturday and she was supposed to be curling up in bed sleeping till at least noon. But she had to pick up Mrs Wallace from the airport and she had to do that by eight. "Uhhgg!" she groaned and got down from the bed, only in her panties and headed towards the bathroom. Who had asked her to claim Mother Theresa yesterday, when every other person had dodged picking up Mrs Wallace? She had stepped up to do it and she wasn't even trying to impress her boss Justin. She went into the bathroom, held the sink for a while to steady herself, then she turned on the tap and water gushed out. She cupped her hands and let the water run into them and she splashed it on her face and finally opened her eyes, staring at herself in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled. For a second, she thought it was her mother staring back at her, that gracious Italian aura. She never saw her mom though, but she had seen her in pictures. Aunty Bianca had always shown her her mother's pictures and there was no difference between her face and that of her mother's. Same thick brows and lashes, large sea-blue eyes, full lips and that high cheekbone. She had a determined look but she was beautiful. She checked herself out in the mirror and tried to arrange her hair with her fingers. "Am I adding weight?" She panicked. She was too lazy to go to the gym these days, even though her friend was a gym freak, she had joined her a couple of times and decided that gyming wasn't for her. God, she wasn't getting fat, was she? She examined her neck and cheeks and decided that it was her eyes that were deceiving her. She was still Sassy Bella. She smiled to herself. She left the mirror and went back into her room, grabbed her scrub from the dresser and went back into the bathroom. When she was done having her bath, she left the bath and went straight to the closet. Choosing a clothe to wear was always another difficult thing for her. She liked being fashionable but going through clothes and accessories that matched was always taking a lot of time. She scanned through the closet and decided to wear a white mink coat, black leather pants and boots. Once she was done wearing her clothes, she went to the mirror to apply lipstick. She once read in a magazine. "Keep smiling and always wear lipstick" It became her favourite phrase since then. She picked up her Chanel purse from the bed and started to leave when her phone began to ring. Fetching out her phone from her purse, she smiled at the name on the screen. It was Adrian. Adrian was her American boyfriend, his father is a rich and reputable lawyer, she had met him when she had filed a lawsuit against someone dubious with her. It had been love at first sight for Adrian, but for her, he had to be a perfect gentleman to woo her and she had been charmed by his impeccable chivalry and she had started going out with him and he never changed. He still adored her and always wanted to live his life making her happy and that was enough for her. That he loved her was enough. "Hello, lover boy? What's up this morning?" She got into the elevator. "I called to make sure you are not hungover, Miss da Costa." "What do you take me for?" "Your voice seems pretty firm, I take it you are no longer in bed." "I'm off to the airport already to pick up Mrs Wallace." she got off the elevator and walked towards her blue convertible BMW, unlocking it as she went. "Workaholic," Adrian teased with a drawl. "I'm still in bed and I wish I could spend the whole day here with you." Isabella chuckled. "If only wishes were horses." She got into the car. "I hope your evening is free? My parents are having this little get together at home and we are invited." She strapped her seat belt. "Oh really? Isn't it like a family something?" "It is, but everyone's coming with someone. Chris, Angela, Simon, they are coming with their partners." "Angela and Chris are married so their partners are like your family, Simon is engaged. Don't you think I'll be a little out of place?" She ignited the car. "No. You know how much my mom adores you." "Alright, I'll go. What's the time?" "I'll meet you by six?" "Six is the time." "Alright, My lady, drive safely." "You know I never take that advice," Isabella said and stepped on the accelerator. The car shot forward and in a matter of seconds, it was out of the garage into the streets of New York. "Catch you later, lover boy." She hung up and tossed her phone on the dashboard. She had to speak with Leonardo and Luca, her brothers and father back in Italy. She didn't really know her family, her aunt took her away after her mother's death when she was still a baby, but her brothers had always come for holidays in New York and that was how they had bonded as siblings, and they speak every Saturday on FaceTime, but she had never gone back to Italy. Something about her aunt not wanting her to join her dad in his business. Riccardo jerked up from his bed cursing as his phone kept ringing incessantly. He hated to wake up in the morning. He had slept real nice since yesterday he arrived in New York. He didn't have to see his father or his mistress. He had gone to the club last night with his business partner Jamie Stout and they had sealed the deal last night. He had gotten drunk and had fought in the club, although the memory was hazy now. He sat up in bed and picked up his phone from the nightstand and looked at it, it was an unknown number. "Hello," he said once he answered. "Riccardo, you have to leave there now!" the person at the other end sounded distressed. "Who is this?" "No time for that. Look out of your window, you would see some men downstairs, some of them are coming up the stairs. You have no time, they are coming to kill you." "What?!" Riccardo went to the window looked down and saw two men in black suits, they hovered around the area suspiciously. "s**t!" he muttered. "There men are all over the place and there is no escape unless you disguise." "Disguise as what?" "Someone would knock on your door now, please open the door for them." A knock came at the door and Riccardo shot a sharp look towards the door. "Why would I open the door?" "For once Mr de Rossi can you listen to instructions?" Riccardo went to the door and opened it. A man in a hotel attendant's uniform stood there with a baggage cart. "Mr de Rossi, you must hurry quickly." Riccardo looked up and down the hallway, the phone still held to his ear. "Mr de Rossi..." the person at the other end started to say. "My name is Riccardo!" Riccardo interjected irritated. "Pardon me. You must leave now if you want to leave there alive. Your adversaries are close. We will explain when we get you to a safe place." Riccardo didn't know what was going on or who he should trust. He quickly went back into his room, grabbed his Bluetooth, his passports, his revolver and his wallet and quickly went to the door. "How am I supposed to trust you?" he asked the man. "Mr de Ro...Riccardo, please get into the cart and let me help you out of the hotel premises." Riccardo looked at the man and looked at the cart, there were two travelling boxes by each side, leaving a centre that was big enough for a man. His phone rang again, it was the same strange number, he answered it through his Bluetooth. "Riccardo get into the cart now!" The elevator door clicked, Riccardo looked at the elevator and quickly went into the cart and squeezed himself between the boxes, the hotel attendant covered the cart with a blanket and wheeled it away from his door. The elevator door opened and Riccardo peeped from where he was squatted. A group of serious-looking men in suits come out of the elevator. The hotel attendant was visibly shaking as he came face to face with the men. They looked at the man for a while and walked away. The man quickly wheeled the cart into the elevator. The men walked up to Riccardo's door and broke in, they searched but didn't find anyone. "We have been fooled," the man that seemed like the leader said and kicked the foot of the bed in frustration. "That hotel attendant! Alert those downstairs! Let's go."