Uncovering The Boss

CHAPTER 19: ABSTAIN AND SACRIFICE

An hour before we arrived in Asia, I knocked on Uriel's door. After the incident earlier, she stayed inside her room and avoided me the entire time. She even stopped talking as much as she could and decided to be friendly to the other women on the plane just to avoid my eyes.

"B-boss, h-hello. Do you need anything before we land at the airport?"

"Yes. I need you to stop being too bothered by what happened when you woke me up. I'm sorry if it happened, but I only apologize for my part of the scenario, but I can't say I'm the only one to blame. My body has a mind of its own when I'm asleep, you know."

"Y-yes, sir, I know. I'm sorry if I stuttered too much and practically avoided you the entire ride. Umh, I-I thought that when we landed, you would fire me or something because of what happened."

"I won't fire you because of an honest mistake, Uriel. However, I would like to ask you to keep your distance from me and make everything more professional for the remainder of this trip."

I saw her blush, and the look of embarrassment and hurt was visible in her eyes. I smiled and reached out to close the door behind her quickly so she would be sandwiched between the door and my body. A shiver instantly formed inside me, but I refused to show it, while Uriel shivered visibly due to the motion.

"This is the reason why I want you to keep your distance from me, Hope. I won't pretend to be a saint and say you don't affect me. But I will be honest enough to tell you that you affect me too much for me to focus on my company right now. I need help to keep my hands and mind to myself, and only you can help me by avoiding me until this trip is finished."

Uriel nodded, but the blush that her face had was visible, making her too irresistible. I lowered my head, and my face slowly got closer to hers while my body pressed hers closer to the door.

"I'll kiss you, but I'll stop if you move your head to the side. I still have enough self-control to avoid you for now."

Uriel kissed me hard on the mouth, and the both of us melted into each other's kisses. It was rough and urgent, but a gentleness showed her emotions through the kiss. I never touched her anywhere, but our lips connected perfectly.

We kissed for a minute or two, and Uriel slowly lifted her head away from mine. We were breathing hard, but a small smile crossed both of our lips, and I reached behind her to open her door. 

"I'll fix everything that we'll need for the meeting, boss, and I'll see you in a little bit."

"Thank you, Miss Knight. Make sure you retouch your lipstick and fix your clothes before the meeting. Wear something that covers you later, but you can wear whatever you want when we're not in the office."

I smirked at her blushing face and shocked expression. I wiped my lips with my thumb as my smirk never left my lips. She quickly turned around and closed her door while I shook my head, smiling at the thought of the coming month.

We arrived at the airport. The entire ride, both Uriel and I only talked about the company and the meeting that was about to happen. Though I despised the atmosphere, I adored the thought of testing her skills in the business world and hopefully introducing her to the mafia world.

"When we reach the hotel, your room is adjacent to mine, so that when I need you, you are easy to reach. There might be times that the company back in Italy would require our presence, and I need you to be prepared. Do I make myself clear, Miss Knight?"

"Loud and clear, boss. I made sure to contact Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Dela Mayor to tell them that we had landed safely in Singapore, and now we're headed to the hotel they booked for us. I'll be the one who will update them of our schedules and updates."

We reached the hotel, and we both prepared for the upcoming meeting. The tension was in the air as both of us tried our best to avoid anything that would distract us from focusing on the discussion. My phone rang, and Steph's voice was like cold ice water that calmed the raging heat inside me. I released a sigh of relief when I heard her voice on the other line.

"Wow, boss, by that sight, you're either running from your annoying investors or running away from your feelings. I heard that you had a lot of fun on the plane and a boring ride to the hotel. May I know why you suddenly became the responsible boss that I only believe you are."

"Hilarious, Stephanie. I'm not even shocked at why you knew about those things or how you knew about them. However, I expected you to be proud of me and my patience."

"I am proud of your patience, boss. But I am even more proud of the fact that you're admitting that there is finally a girl that can make you abstain from your lustful acts for an entire month. I think she'll make you live up to your name, De Angelo."

She laughed hard on the other line, and though we bickered for a few more minutes on the phone, I had a genuine smile on my face. There was no way to survive a month of abstinence from going near my beautiful secretary, who was also interested in me.

An hour later, Uriel and I were inside the meeting room, and only a few investors were inside. I was bored with a few introductions and small talks, but when the door opened to reveal the heir of the dragons of the Italian mafia, I stood in attention. 

Damien Kane Mondragon was tall, but he only stood about six feet, a few inches shorter than me. His eyes were dirty brown, and his brunette hair was fixed in a neat hairdo, and he wore a black coat and slacks, but his shirt inside was blood red.

We shook hands, and the aura of authority and power radiated from both of us. You could feel the other businessmen return to their seats and remain silent as they watched the rare exchange greetings from two influential company owners.

"Well, if it isn't Italy's dragon heir. It's nice to meet you here in Asia, Damien. I hope that your father, Mr. Fuego, is doing alright."

"Well, my father is doing great for his age, and I'm sure that if he could, we would have wanted to meet you again, Michel. I'm honored that the De Angelo empire's King is now a possible business partner."

The two of us exchanged more small talks while the tension in the air became even thicker. When the final investors arrived, we all got back to our seats and began the meeting.

When our secretaries came inside, I saw that my secretary stood out the most. She wore a black suit and pencil skirt with a simple white blouse that emphasized her beautiful figure. It was a simple yet eye-catching outfit, but it made me feel pride and anger due to the men's eyes.

"Well then, gentleman, I'm sorry if my secretary and I are late. This is Miss Uriel Hope Knight, and she will be giving you all of the files you will need for this presentation. By the end, I'm sure that you will not regret the investments that you will be providing for this project."

I locked eyes with Morozova Volkov who visited the meeting on behalf of her child for the day, and she nodded with an encouraging smile on her face. While Uriel presented our project regarding the new hotels and stores we planned on building, I saw most of the men nod in agreement. However, Damien Kane Mondragon had a weird face that made me annoyed.

"My boss, Mr. De Angelo, is one of the most successful businessmen in Italy, and so having multiple connections will help us build these easily without delay. Multiple options are written on the list of documents that you are given. These opinions contain suggestions of how we can maintain the sales of every store and hotel."

Damien opened his but never really bothered reading them. Instead, he raised his hand to indicate that he had a question.

"Excuse my interruptions, but are you sure that these hotel and store projects are practical? This is not as big as Italy's, but Italians and Asians have different tastes in hotels and things. If this small project fails, how can we be sure that all of our investments are not a waste."

I felt anger boil in me, but I remained calm, and poker faced, so I nodded towards Uriel and provided images and information that answered his doubts. By the look on his face, Damien was pissed.

"Well then, ladies and gentlemen, If you have any more questions, you can read your documents. Upon the next meeting, you can give other questions so we can all put our trust in the success of this project. Thank you all for your time."

We all prepared to leave, and one after another, the investors left. However, Damien never left his seat, and he stood to his full length when I went to him. 

"It looks like you took in a great employee, De Angelo. If she gets tired of working for you, then tell her my company's arms are open wide for her skills and mind."

Damien left, and I had the urge to punch a hole in the wall. However, I made sure to calm myself down to try and control my emotions.

The meeting ended with something heavy and annoying lifted up from my shoulder, and I felt light. I stood in the middle of the empty room while Uriel fixed everything. I watched her as she hurriedly prepared everything before leaving.

"Boss, you specifically told me to prevent you from being near me. Therefore, I suggest that you stop looking at me. I may be able to tell you to keep your hands to yourself, but even I can't force myself."

"You know, Miss Knight, I appreciate your intentions. However, I was looking at you because I wanted to ask you something."

She stopped what she was doing and looked at me directly. Confusion was written on Uriel's face.

"Ti piacerebbe uscire a cena con me?"

(Would you like to go to dinner with me?)

The shock on her face told me that she was not expecting what I said.

"Non riesco a smettere di pensare a te, Miss Knight."

(I can't stop thinking about you, Miss Knight.)

Uriel just nodded, and without another word, we left the room with Uriel a bit farther from my heel. I knew that both of us only wanted dinner, so I forced myself to focus on dinner.

"I want you to talk about the meeting during dinner, Miss Knight. I want to eat with you, but I don't want to eat you...yet."

I winked at her when I looked back at her, and I saw her blush and nearly drop everything she was carrying. I decided to take some of it and ignored her refusal.

"Sei cosi seducente, Miss Knight. Sono dipendente dei tuoi baci."

(You are very seductive, Miss Knight. I am addicted to your kisses.)

I whispered to Uriel as we stood outside of the building and watched as the car maneuvered to our left. I saw her shiver, and I smiled at the fact that I was about two feet away from her, and she only heard my voice. And yet, I had a significant effect on her physically.

I told her earlier that I kept using Italian because I knew that spies from other companies wouldn't understand us if there were spies from other companies. However, I was guilty when she said I kept using Italian to flirt with her.

She never spoke Italian back, but when she did, I couldn't help myself from taking in a deep breath. I nearly choked on air when she whispered something to my ear before she went inside the car.

"Boss, mi fai eccitare. To penso sempre."

(Boss, you turn me on. I'm always thinking about you.)

I froze on the spot where I was opening the door for her. When we were seated in the car, she looked back at my tensed posture and giggled.

"However, boss, I'm still going to help you keep your hands to yourself. We can't let this business trip go down because we can't keep our hands to ourselves."

I slammed the door shut and decided to ride beside the driver instead of at the back with Uriel. The driver looked shocked, while I saw Uriel suppress her laughter by biting her lips and avoiding my eyes when I turned to look at her.

This woman was the death of me, and I felt excitement at the thought of Uriel.