Don't Love Me

Mr. Conti

My head snaps in the direction of the deep voice, so cold and commanding.

Mr. Linch lets go of my arm and takes a step back from me. He transforms into a jovial man so quickly, "Mr. Conti, you just walked into a little misunderstanding." He turns to me and says, "You are free to leave Alexa."

I stumble a step back but my shock at seeing the hottest man alive makes it hard for me to control my body. I take in a deep breath and let it out, breaking the spell I’m under.

Something about Mr. Conti screams danger, yet at the same time, I feel drawn to him. Maybe it’s because he just saved me from a potentially horrible situation. This time, I don’t think I would have been able to dissuade Mr. Linch’s advances.

I walk towards the door, hoping to get out of this office as quickly as possible, worried I might cry. Mr. Conti has a cold, neutral expression on his face that gives away nothing as I pass him, but it feels like there is an impenetrable force field around him.

He has a power radiating from him that makes him seem completely untouchable.

Tony is at the door waiting for me. He alternates between looking towards me with a kind expression and looking at Mr. Finch in absolute anger. Once I reach the door, he puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me through, closing the door behind us.

"I can't believe that bastard did that!" he rages. "I was gone for 5 minutes. He is shameless."

He leads me towards my desk and sits me in my chair. He disappears for a moment and comes back with a black coffee for me. He also has a Coffee Crisp, my favorite chocolate bar. I smile at him and accept the offerings.

I gratefully eat the chocolate, knowing full well that I’m going into shock, and it will help keep me calm.

"Tony, how am I going to last 9 more months?" I ask, desperately.

"I am going to come with you to report this to HR," he says, rubbing his hand along my back to comfort me.

"None of my previous reports have resulted in anything other than Mr. Linch being more of a d**k for a few days," I point out uselessly.

"We'll tell them that it happened in front of Mr. Conti and that he was not pleased with the display. Something like that can risk whatever deal they are working on," Tony says reasonably.

"I don't want to use someone's name to help me."

"Then take out Mr. Conti's name and just says it was a major prospective client."

I nod and say, "Okay, let me drink this coffee and relax a bit before we go. I don't want to cry, and I think I am still in a bit of shock."

Tony goes back to his desk, but I can tell he’s keeping an eye on me. I slowly relax and feel more and more comfortable with Tony's plan. He's right, I can't let an incident of this magnitude go by unreported.

We expected the meeting to last at least 30 minutes, but Mr. Conti walks out after 10 minutes. His demeanor hasn't changed, but he looks towards me and says, "Grab your stuff, we're leaving."

"I can't leave," I say, a bit confused, "I work until 5."

"You are getting a paid week off. I'm going to walk you out."

He says it with such authority that I don’t question him. Who am I to turn down a week of paid time off? I grab my purse and phone and walk around my desk to stand beside Mr. Conti.

Being this close to him gives me goosebumps. I can feel Tony’s eyes on me, watching my reaction, but I keep my head forward. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way around Mr. Conti and I know Tony will want answers I don’t have.

Mr. Linch bristles and says, "Mr. Conti this really isn't necessary. It was all a misunderstanding. I know we should have been better at staying professional at work, but Alexa and I have a more personal relationship."

My head whips up to look at Mr. Finch, "No, we don't. I have made it clear on many occasions that I wish only to have a professional relationship with you. I will be reporting today's incident to HR just like the other times."

"Not necessary," Mr. Conti says, "You no longer work here."

He walks out the door and towards the elevators, forcing me to run after him to catch up and get some clarification. I get to him just in time to get on the elevator together.

I had been so thrown off by his last statement, that I didn’t stop to think about being alone with him in an elevator. It feels dangerous, but I don’t know why. I feel an attraction to him that I’ve never felt to anyone else.

Sure, he’s handsome, but it’s more than just that. There is something powerful in his presence that makes me want to know what he’s thinking. It makes me wish he would talk more, instead of the few short sentences of command I’d heard so far.

However, as we traveled down to the main floor, my panic at not having a job was growing. It overwhelmed my nerves and finally forced me to talk.

"Mr. Conti, I can't quit this job. My contract makes it next to impossible. I won't be able to pay off the relocation fee, and I'm here on a work visa…"

Mr. Conti raises his hand to stop me, calmly saying, "Don't worry, all of that will be sorted. Just enjoy your week off and report to work at this address next week."

He hands me a card, then steps off the elevator and walks away without another word. I’m left standing in the elevator completely shocked and am only spurred into action when the doors start to close. I get off the elevator just in time to see Mr. Conti get into the back of a car. Of course, he has a driver.

I walk home in a daze and take time to register everything that happened this morning. Am I dreaming, or did all that just happen?

Firstly, Mr. Conti is the best-looking man I have ever seen. If not for the harassment situation, I'm sure that is what Tony and I would have been discussing for the rest of the day and over drinks later.

He has beautiful green eyes, dark wavy hair and perfectly tanned olive skin. He's tall with broad shoulders that were perfectly framed by his suit. Even when he looked at me with cold disinterest, there was an intensity in his gaze that made me feel like he could see everything.

He seems like a man who is never not alert. Guessing by how much secrecy and respect the man had in our office, I assume he is a very successful businessman.

Once I’m home, I spend some time googling the new company I’ll be working for to find that Mr. Conti is the CEO of Ombra. It’s a relatively young company with massive success.

There isn’t much information about him available on the internet, which only makes me more intrigued.

Who are you Cassio Conti?