The Italian Heir-CASTELLANO SERIES: MARTIN’S STORY

10

“Hello hello!”

I need not to ask, I just knew who it was at the front door.

Rhea and that boyfriend of hers clearly had a whole other idea of privacy.

The alarm on the door lock went off, the sound of heels dropping on the floorboards echoed at a distance, followed by feet padding across the hallway noisily. Was it too much to ask for a quiet morning before work started?

“I swear if they keep this up…”I muttered, eyes gazing lazily at the entrance of the kitchen. I made a mental note to change the passcode of my door lock if I ever wanted to put this shenanigan to an end.

“Bright and early now, are we?” Rhea appeared with a grainy smile, dropping her tote and laptop on the kitchen island, coming around the table to give me a quick hug before pulling back with her neck straining to get a second look at me. “God damn Castellano, you look like absolute shit.” She said disapprovingly, giving my choice of clothing a once-over. Bare chested paired with pajama pants.

“Top of the morning to you too, Rhea.” I grunted in reply. “And there I thought— if I finally got a place for myself, maybe my friends would understand that not only do I need privacy but quiet time to myself before I toil through the day, but somehow it seemed to encourage you guys to pop over more often. Tell me, am I missing something here?”

“Your point? Mr. Grumpy pants?”

“My point is, for all you know, I could have a woman in here at any given moment and the last thing she needs is to get walked in by my best friends prancing around the space like Shetland ponies.”

Rhea folded her arms and twisted her lips. “Really? A woman?” she repeated as she raised a brow, looking skeptical as ever. But gradually, her eyes widened on their accord. “Wait.” Her voice dropped a notch lower. “Do you actually mean to say that Zara is here, upstairs?” she asked, noticing my bedhead and my topless frame leaning against the kitchen counter sipping on my cup of drip coffee. She gave me a simpering smile.

“No she’s not.” I said. “I was giving you reasons why I don’t take guests early in the morning. Take the hint.”

But my thoughts argued that I had Erika over just yesterday…

Rhea pulled a face with her nose scrunched, not getting the memo at all. “Then why the s*x-deprived look?”

“I just didn’t have any sleep last night, that’s all.” I said blandly, pinching the bridge of my nose in hopes it'd dial down my growing annoyance.

“And why the hell not? What could possibly keep Martin Castellano up all night aside from work? However, by the looks of it, I’m guessing work wasn’t the culprit that rearranged your face. What’s wrong?”

I swear females have this thing called the ‘sixth sense’. In this case, Rhea’s sixth sense was ferreting out the shady s**t you’re doing your best to hide. Nothing in this world is more terrifying than a woman’s intuitions being right. Oh yes, and being scorned by one.

“Nothing’s wrong.” I lied, averting my eyes from her projected scrutiny as I turned around and reached for the coffee pot to pour another cup for Rhea. What was so wrong about kissing? Really? Last I checked, it was just a different way humans interacted with one another when… When what, Martin?

“Coffee?” I offered.

“Yes please.” She said, helping herself to my fridge. “I heard Erika brought Lucien over for dinner at your parents’ last night and that Marco and Ana were there too.”

“Of course you did.” I muttered. Nothing really surprises me anymore at how fast news travels amongst family. Yes, my friends were considered as family. I mean, look at how they walk right into my home without so much as giving me a heads up.

“So, what do you think of Montague?

“Who?”

“Lucien.” Rhea rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “You don’t even know his last name; it’s so unlike you to not know who works for you.”

“Interning.for.me.” I enunciated the words to her. “His surname must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Just like how you forgot Zara’s name,” she pointed out. “Hey, that was an honest mistake. Also, it wasn’t a date.” I remarked, not really wanting to add that Zara had asked for another in exchange for her name.

“I smell a very strong sense of discontentment and jealousy in this room.” She inhaled a deep breath, sniffing the air in front of her. “Smells quite strong too, if I might add.” It’s seven in the morning. Give me a break.

“That’s your perfume.” I said flatly. I had a feeling Steve had ratted me out for my forgetfulness. Zara didn’t seem like a petty woman.

“You don’t like that kid. I can tell.” She poured milk into the cup of coffee I gave her, stirring the liquid with a teaspoon she pulled out from the drawer while pacing the kitchen.

“Not knowing his name doesn’t mean I don’t like him. How you went ahead and deduced that—I didn't have the slightest clue. I just don’t have the time to remember menial information as such. Mind you, I have a whole department to run rather than play happy office.”

“You can just say you don’t keep irrelevant information that you don’t need. I won’t judge.” She smiled smugly. There was a short pause where the both of us were sipping our coffee quietly. “Victoria also told me you didn’t look too pleased when you saw the two of them together—”

“Last I checked, there wasn’t a memo saying that I had to smile like a clown at all times.” I lowered my coffee cup on the island to check the fridge to see what I could make for breakfast even though I wasn’t hungry. “Followed by disappearing with our dear best friend, Erika for quite some time.” She flatly drawled—I could tell she was doing it on purpose to see if I would c***k open like an egg.

“You did something you weren’t supposed to do,” she remarked.

“What makes you think so?” I looked up, watching her with measured interest.

“You don’t deny it either.” She took a calculated step forward, humming. Sometimes I wonder how the cogwheels in a woman’s head turned.

“I’m neither denying nor confirming.”

Rhea smirked, completely feigning ignorance at my agitation. “You see, if it’s the two of you, chances could be that it was some sort of petty argument or…”she trailed, searching my features as if to see I’d give it away with just a blink of an eye. But I pride myself on being able to look as emotionless as possible, gazing unseeingly at her. “You did something you weren’t supposed to do.” She concluded.

Oh please, do enlighten me as to what I did.”

“You two did something really sneaky, did you two kiss?” Rhea pushed.

“Incredulous.” I stated mechanically. “You and I are not having a conversation based on unsubstantiated assumptions.”

“You’re usually calm but your eyes are saying something else.”

“And you’re formulating scenarios in your head based on what you heard from my sisters and creating a scene possibly deduced from your chain of wild thoughts. Really, I expected more from you, Buchanan.” I snorted derisively, dumping the rest of my unfinished coffee into the sink.

“So that didn’t happen?” she didn’t look too convinced either, saying it. “It’s all in your head,” I said in a final tone.

“Really? So why did Erika say that’s what happened?”

“Is that so?” I looked up casually albeit my palms were getting sweatier by each passing minute. Rhea’s eyes were still narrowed towards me as if waiting to catch me waddling around in my own lies, but I wasn’t going to give her the benefit of doing so because I knew if she did, this wouldn’t end well. I did not hear what Rhea was saying to me next while being too consumed in my own thoughts.

If I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about what happened last night, but the least I could do was to make sure no one else would find out and that meant nothing between us should seem amiss. I groaned quietly at my festering frustration from the night before.

What turned out as an impassive, reckless decision could just be my biggest mistake; yet another twisted side of me had wanted to try it and that I wasn’t truly sorry that it happened. But as for what Erika thinks of it…

“Now, if you’re done here with your childish deductions, please do excuse me; I need to get changed and head to work. You’re welcome to come with me if you’d like, perhaps say hi to your group assignment buddies.”

“No can do, Castellano. I’m called for an urgent meeting right as we are speaking.” She informed as she scrolled through her phone with a concentrated mien. “Thank you for your coffee and I’ll see you really soon.”

“You know, you haven’t even told me why you’re here. Surely you didn’t come here all the way for a cup of coffee and a friendly interrogation.” I exited the kitchen, following Rhea to the front door. “Of course not. Do I actually need a reason to visit my friend?” she slipped into her heels while I held the door open for her.

“Unwanted visits.” I said. “Come again?” she asked innocently. “Urgent meeting, you’re late for that sweetheart.” I reminded her.

The sound of the usual phone ringing and fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard greeted my ears the second I stepped into the Finance & Accounting Department. John stood by the door, dressed sharply as ever.

“And Erika?” I asked, interrupting him as he was giving me my schedule of the day.

“She arrived a while ago, Sir.”

Lucien was seated next to Jackson from Marketing. He looked up when he heard the mention of Erika’s name.

The second his phone vibrated and I saw how fast his eyes darted towards it and his lips formed a silly smug look. I clenched my jaw and made a beeline to my office.

Erika was already there in her small corner I had set up for her, dropping her phone when she heard the door open. She turned around, not looking too happy. For a moment there, I genuinely thought she was about to question me about last night. She didn’t.

“This desk—” She began, “ is too small.” She pointed at it with her fuzzy blue pen. Just as she was about to turn around in her seat, she knocked over the pencil holder, causing all the pencils to spillover to the ground. “God damn it.” she hissed, proving her point.

“A small table for a small person.” I dropped my briefcase on my desk and walked over to where she was seated, picking up the last few stray pencils. I glanced at her phone screen and saw that she was in the middle of replying to a text.

“Tut tut, I believe that was verbal harassment at the workplace, you horrible, horrible boss. You simply can’t just go around calling people small.” Erika said disapprovingly. “Oh please, since when did you go through our company policy handbook when you were so busy redecorating your table with…are these curtains?” I lifted the thin white fabric in my hand.

“Yes,” she said proudly.

“And whatever are they for when my office has actual blinds that aren’t actual decorations?” I raised a brow, letting the curtain slip from my fingers.

“I’ll have you know they will serve me with good purpose. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to work before a certain domineering person gives me another lecture about unrelated lessons on personal affairs.”

“Crawford, has anyone told you that you’re quite the drama queen?” I brushed the stray hair out of her face and I noticed she was wearing lipstick, a sheer red color. Just looking at her lips brought me back to last night when I had actually felt them on my own. Retracting my hand, I stuffed them in the pockets of my slacks. “You look nice today.”

“Don’t I always?” She sat back down in her chair, turning back around and went back to her laptop.

Minutes passed as I watched her type away on her keyboard then delete the same sentence over and over; she looked stupefied with the challenge I had given her, and I was completely absorbed in the challenge that was her.

As if on cue, Erika angled her head as if she caught me staring through her slanted eyes, with one flick of her wrist, the curtain dropped down from whatever was holding it, shielding her completely from my view through that stupid small window-like hole in her desk.

“I was only checking to see if you were doing your work and not texting a certain someone on the other side of my door.” I said tonelessly, signing my name on a document folder and slamming it shut. “You mean spying.” She corrected.

“Get over here.” I gestured to her with a nod of my head as I walked to the bookshelf filled with all sorts of books that had to do with business management, accountings and advanced math reference books. “What now? I’m in the middle of writing my report.” She groaned. “Crawford, fifteen minutes have since passed and you’re still stuck writing the first line.”

“On my way!” she interjected, slipping away from her tiny desk and coming up behind me. “Look, I know you’re here for a designated assignment. And know that I don’t do this very often.”

“Sharing less than a fraction of your vast intelligence? Oh, I’m familiar.” She smiled cynically.

“I want you to master managing accounts as well. I know it’s not exactly emphasized in your syllabus of Business major, but my years of experience have taught me that, aside from running a business, it’s vital that you’re aware of the money that goes in and out of a company, every transaction being made, what adds up or taints your revenue…”

“Are you perhaps trying to turn me into a clone with a brain that’s wired like yours in such a short period of time?”

“Sweetheart, if I had intended to do so, I would have got you started many years ago. Most children as old as two years will be able to absorb a substantial amount of knowledge as they begin to sharpen their five senses, fine tuning their superb information processing and developmental skills and then motor skills. At least they know which of which is more important.”

“In other words, if I was just an exceptional child like you were…” She nodded towards my desk with my name plated in silver, bold capital letters with the fancy title next to it. “Will I be seated on that chair today as well?”

“That chair is only meant for one person, Crawford.” I voiced, although not really talking about the seat itself. Just like how a throne is only meant for one king.

“That’s alright; I could always sit on your lap.”

“Be my guest. You’ll be surprised to find how comfortable you’ll feel.” I said, meeting her eyes, not wanting to back down on this one. Surely, I do hope we both know what sort of hole we’re digging for ourselves. It wasn’t anything new—this flirting.

“Are you goading me into breaking one of your many ridiculous rules set up for your employees if I were to fraternize with my boss?” she slammed the book shut, her eyes lifted to meet mine.

“I’d make an exception for you.” I said calmly as I paid attention to her facial expressions. “You look agitated.” I added. “Why?”

She heaved her chest and breathed out quietly as she stuffed the book in her hand back into the shelf with controlled force. “I’d like to think you’re smart enough to figure that out on your own, Sir.”

I smirked. She was back to addressing me formally. Of course, I knew where she was going with this but I wanted her to say it out loud on her own. Leaving my spot at where I stood, I pinned her against the many books that were seated quietly on their hard wood shelves. I leaned in, resting a palm against the books and looked at her. “You shouldn’t leave your sentences hanging like that. That’s not a very nice thing to do, ma’am.”

“What do you know about being nice, Martin?”

“A great deal about it, I assure you.”

“Your assurance doesn't do me any good. And I can’t say I’m not curious as to why you’ve been exceptionally involved in my personal life and what I do as of late— it seems to me that you have now found joy in making decisions for me. You know, working with you doesn't give you the absolute right to boss me around, whenever, however.” She lifted her eyes to meet mine, defiance circled in those irises. The rays of sunlight that streamed into the floor to ceiling windows made her deep brown orbs seem almost gold.

She was talking about last night.

“That’s what best friends do, right? They keep each other accountable in every aspect of their lives, even if that means we need to boss each other around.”

“Last I checked, best friends…” she yanked my neck tie forward so that now we’re nose to nose, her voice dropped a notch lower.

My gaze fell on her lips and then back up again, subtly inhaling her scent—It was hard not to, especially when we’re just an eyelash of a distance away from each other.

It was that moment I knew, if she were to complete the remaining distance between us, I’d break my resolve. I was about to eat my own words on my rule of not getting involved with my employees. “Don’t kiss one another without reason and then pretend it never happened in the first place.”

The glint in her eyes told me two can play this game, although, I’m not so sure if I wanted to win this time.

Erika smirked, pushed me back with a jab of her finger. She tightened the knot with just one hand, allowing her knuckles to graze my chest, then slid it way down to my belt that was just inches away from my groin, then stopping there. “Is this it?” she asked. “Is what it?” I repeated, ignoring the subtle throbbing from my abdomen.

“The books you wanted me to read, Sir.” The word rolled off her tongue languidly as she answered. I was starting to regret that I had asked her to call me that in the first place. She grabbed the books from my arm and started for her desk.

“It got me wondering about last night,” she stopped mid-walk, turning her neck only slightly. I turned. “Do all your employees that break your rules get a taste of discipline that way?”

“Like I said, I only make an exception for you.”