Santorini's intern

Chapter five

Fidelia's POV

I jolted awake, my neck stiff from sleeping against my desk. The bright sunlight streaming through the window was a rude reminder of how time had passed. Glancing at the clock, my heart sank – 7:03AM.

“Wow”, I said to myself, running a hand through my disheveled hair. "I overslept." The realization hit me that I hadn't gone home and had no clothes and absolutely no time to waste. I sprang into action immediately, grabbing my bag and rushing out the building and heading to the nearest convenient store to buy some decent clothes, toiletries and breakfast.

Back at the office, I found my way to the staff quarters, grateful for the small shower stall tucked away in the corner. I was able to freshen up and change my clothes, after which I felt somewhat more presentable, though the lack of sleep was evident in my tired eyes.

At 8:10, I was back to my desk and meticulously reviewing the final version of my proposal . I double-checked everything to ensure that there was nothing Mr Santorini or his secretary could criticize for being sloppy.

It was exactly 8:30 “as I was so anxious that I couldn't remove my eyes from the clock” when I took a deep breath and headed to Victoria's office to submit the proposal.“Good morning,” I greeted, clutching the bound document in her hands. Victoria glanced up, her sharp eyes betraying no emotion. “Morning. "Do you have the proposal?”“Yes,"I said, extending it toward her. Victoria took the document, flipping through it briefly before setting it aside. “I’ll ensure Mr. Santori gets it.”

I returned to my desk, the weight of anticipation settling heavily on her. I tried to distract myself with other tasks, but my thoughts kept returning to the proposal. Would it meet Enzo’s high standards? Anna noticed I was in deep thoughts, and she asked, “Are you anxious about the proposal?” “Yes”, I replied, “Can I take a look at it?” She asked, “Yes”, I replied, then I gave her my laptop to go through.

I bit my nail and fidgeted with my legs as she went through it. I had to intercept and ask “how is it?” almost every second, but all I got was the nod of the head. This made me go silent and look away. After some minutes, Anna looked up and said ....” This is good”. "What do you mean by good? "I asked. "It is so good and really practical and straight to the point, everything is clearly stated and also taken care of. "I'm sure Mr Santorini is going to love it, she said. After Anna's opinion of my proposal, I felt somewhat more confident after I heard her review, but I was still anxious as to what Mr Santorini would think of it. Just after lunch, Victoria approached my desk with her usual brisk efficiency.“Fidelia,” she said, her voice clipped. “Mr. Santori wanted to see you in his office. "Bring your laptop.” The words sent a jolt of nerves through me. “Now?” “Yes, now,” Victoria replied curtly before turning and walking away.

I quickly gathered my things, steadying my breathing as I made my way to Mr Santorini’s office. Pushing open the heavy doors, I stepped inside to find Mr Santorini seated behind his desk, the proposal spread out before him.

“Miss Alonzo,” he said without looking up. His tone was neither warm nor cold, just matter-of-fact. “Close the door.” I did as instructed and approached his desk, laptop in hand.

Mr Santorini finally glanced up, his piercing gray eyes meeting mine. “So, you stayed up all night to finish this?”

“Yes sir”, his demeanor was unreadable. As he flipped through the pages, his eyes carried flickers of disappointment. Confused by his reaction, I waited for him to speak, expecting feedback on my work. Instead, he placed down the documents and regarded me with an expression I quite couldn't place.

" I am highly disappointed by this plaything you submitted, calling it a proposal, “he said,” and here I thought you had potential, “he continued. Shocked by his reaction, I hurriedly picked up the documents he had dropped, but as I looked through them, I immediately saw that it was not the proposal I had submitted, and I felt a little bit relieved, sir, you have the wrong proposal “I said,” This is not the proposal I submitted, sir.

Enzo looked at me like I was trying to look for excuses to disguise my incompetence, but I had to prove him wrong. I still had the soft copy of it on my laptop, so I opened my laptop and showed him my original proposal. He took the laptop and began glancing at my work, then "he said," You are lucky. For a moment I thought you were dumb, but I guess you've proved me wrong.

"His fingers tapped lightly against the desk as he processed the situation. "I guess there was a mistake on the side of my secretary in the submission of your proposal," he said. He continued reading and as he read through it, his disappointment faded, and was replaced by interest. "This is more in line with what I had expected from you," he commented.

As he read through my proposal, my mind drifted to how my proposal was replaced with an inferior copy, and then I remembered what my supervisor, Ana, had said earlier about Victoria hating people that stole the spotlight from her. As the thought lingered, I made a mental note to thread carefully around the secretary from now on, unbeknownst to me Enzo was going to make a decision that would push me even closer to her with no means of avoidance.