Uncovering The Boss

CHAPTER 11: WOMEN OF MY LIFE

“Hello, sir? The thrashing headache has now left the building. You may proceed to the meeting room and conduct the interview for your next secretary.”

I laughed at Alex and his attempt to make me laugh. The little sucker is actually bold enough to talk to me playfully after all these years.

"Thank you, Alex. I am on my way to the meeting room now. Make sure that the ladies are all prepared to impress me with everything they have."

"You're welcome sir, I have already prepared all of the files that you will need for them to be interviewed quickly. All of them are the best of the best among all of the applications that applied."

I turned off the call, and in a few minutes, I reached the meeting room door. I passed a few of the ladies along the way, and I heard collective gasps as every pair of eyes in the room instantly checked me out from head to toe.

I didn't bother giving them a glance as I would be meeting them in a few moments. You could feel the tension in the air as I reached the door and closed it behind me.

"Sir, here are the documents that you would be needing for the interview, and the coffee you asked for is on its way. When you give the go signal, I'll send the first lady in for you to interview."

I've read all the documents of every lady that was scheduled for the interview. However, none of them struck me as special in terms of skills and competence because a resume is just words to me. They need to impress me first for them to get the chance to try and stay at the company.

The first lady came in, and she was beautiful in every way you look at her. It may sound like a perverted move, but her beauty is essential for business. The hotter the secretary, the easier it is for her to get what she wants from a client or a partner.

"Hello Ms. Bianchi. I've seen everything that you wanted to show me in your resume. Now, I will give you a situation that you will need to pass in order to become my secretary."

She stiffened, and by the look on her face, she wasn't expecting the sudden information that I stated. She boldly said yes, and I proceeded to signal Alex to give her a folder.

"Now, Ms. Bianchi. I want you to make me sign that contract right now. You don't know the full content of that, but you need to convince me that signing that contract would allow my company to succeed better. I will give you thirty seconds to convince me."

I could see her mind race as she thought of the best way to convince me. After five seconds, I gave her the go signal, and I proceeded to sit back and wait for her to move.

One after another, all of the women failed to convince me to sign the papers, and none of them even got close enough to make me at least think of signing them. The thirty-third applicant came in, and I was in a sour mood.

I looked at her up and down, and I saw that she was wearing a simple office attire that didn't compliment her hidden figure enough. I knew based on how the clothes hung on her body, that she was hiding something interesting.

"Hello, Miss Uriel Hope Knight. I see that you are adopted by Americans and have now stayed in America for years, but you are an Italian by birth. That is interesting, Ms. Knight. Now, please have a seat. I am impressed by your resume, especially your fluency in multiple languages such as Italian, English, Russian, Filipino, Mandarin, and Korean. Those qualities are a plus if you are going to work for a company that is international."

Hope radiated from her as her name states, and I saw a small smile form on her plump lips. She was beautiful when she smiled, and it took away the nervous aura that she had.

"These languages, however, are not enough when you are a secretary. You also have to make sure you can convince a client to do something whether in their language, or yours."

I closed her resume and proceeded to lean on the table as she tried her best to relax. I smiled at the thought of this little woman, who was the same height as Stephanie, working for me. I had respect for women since Steph made sure I knew what a woman was capable of in the battlefield.

"Ms. Knight, I want you to make me sign that contract right now. You don't know the full content of that, but you need to convince me that signing that contract would allow my company to succeed better. I will give you thirty seconds to convince me."

I repeated the same line as I did with all the other applicants, and as I leaned on my chair, I showed her my boredom. She slowly stood up and approached my table with the folder in her hand.

"Hello, Mr. De Angelo. I am Ms. Uriel Hope Knight, and I'm Mr. Michael's secretary, and I have been tasked to give you this Contract to sign. My boss is eager to work with you and your company."

She held my gaze while she said her lines, and I was impressed by her sudden change of aura. She was like Alex who was shy at first, but had a gift of shifting characters to suit their job.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Knight, but I have no interest in signing that agreement with your boss anymore. I have found out that my company can now sustain all that it needs for the coming years, and I don't need your company anymore."

"Well, sir. I am sure that your company is very capable of sustaining ourselves for the coming years. However, based on the reports that I have gathered, your company is only on the verge of recovering from your problems financially. The future is an unpredictable place, Mr. De Angelo, but the partnership that you are going to form with our company is a sure deal."

Ms. Knight proceeded to push the folder closer to me, and took the privilege to grab a pen and put it in my hand. Our fingers brushed for a second, and I felt sparks as she looked deep in my eyes seductively.

"I'm sure that you are doing great on your own as a company now, Mr. De Angelo. However, I believe that by signing this agreement, you can secure not just a surviving company, but a thriving one. Our company doesn't aim for our own benefit alone, because we know we are established enough to stand on our own for years. However, we have compassion for you and your company. You know it yourself, Mr. De Angelo. You badly need us more than we need you."

The two of us were now only two feet apart, and for the first time in a long time, I was impressed. The door burst open, and Alex was walking fast towards us.

"Sir. I am so sorry for the inconveniences and interruptions, but one of our investors from Asia is at the lobby and has requested your presence. Her name is Morozova Volkov, and she is an investor from Russia who bought three of our major investor's companies in Asia.

"You can now leave, Ms. Knight. Our people will make sure you are updated whether you are Hired for the position or not. Thank you for your time, and goodbye."

I stood and left the room without a second to waste as I felt Ms. Knight's eyes following me. I wanted to stay and interview her some more, but I knew I had to go to Morozova now.

"Wow, I never thought that you were a man who had great taste in furniture, Michael De Angelo. I was sure that you would rather have plain and boring wall lr decorations. It looks like you still have a touch of glamour in your life."

"Hello, Morozova, thank you for noticing, and it is nice to see you again. I had no idea that you are now the owner of multiple companies that are partners with us in Asia."

"Yes, I wanted my son to take over all the companies that I own outside Russia, so I gave him those that are connected to you. I wanted him to learn more about the business world and just our world, Michael."

"Ahh. I understand perfectly, Morozova. I am sure that your son would be a great partner indeed."

"Okay, now that we have passed the formalities and basic business update, I want to cut this plasticity and talk to you, Michael."

The tension was high, and I could feel Morozova's authority leak out of her. However she suddenly stood up from her chair in front of me and proceeded to sit on the sofa and sat lazily. Her head was propped on her hand, and expressions turned bored.

"I know you have something that is bothering you, De Angelo, and something is bothering me too. One of my men had investigated you and your background, however, he couldn't find any. You were an orphan, but none could find any records of you. It was as if you never existed on this planet earth."

I refused to be shocked, and yet by the smirk on Morozova's face, I probably showed a little reaction to her. She was indeed a great mafia boss when it comes to her words and tactics.

"I assume that you are hiding from something so you erased your identity. Well, either that, or you had no records at all in the past."

"I am not an alien, my dear. But I am an orphan as you said, so you will find no track records aside from when I got adopted to the Dela Mayor's servants."

"Well then, Michael. I came here to give you a little gift for being a good partner to me so far. Here is a folder containing a few of the information that you will need to handle the investors in Asia. I suggest booking a flight to go there yourself, and meet every investor. There are wolves in the forest, Michael, and only those who are not alone can survive and thrive. Make sure you get their trust, because the Mondragon Inc. and Fuego are already ready to kill every member of your pack."

A few more seconds and Morozova left my office. I was left dumbfounded at the thought of leaving the company to go to Asia

"Morozova is right, Michael. You need to go and handle Asia as well as the Mondragon's there. Those dragons in Asia are planning something, only you and I could handle it. Asia is important, but your safety is first, so I already appointed Bruno's men to follow you there."

Steph spoke out a few minutes after Morozova Volkov left my office. I looked at her and listened to her suggestion, and I realized that it could work.

"I can't leave now at a critical condition of forming the business. Who would handle all of this while I would be away."

I earned a slap on my right cheek, and I stared at her in confusion. The war she stared at me with venom made me understand her point.

"Okay, fine, you will be the head of the company for now, Steph. But I would do this only because I feel like I'm losing it here. It's like the truth is haunting me because it's not found out yet. I need to have a quick vacation away from people so I could sort things out about my brother, my missing life, and the future I need to take care of. It's for me, our company, and the De Angelo family."

"Do what you have to do, Michael. I can handle all of this for a month or so. Besides, Morozova is a good ally, and I am sure she would be your help going to Asia. Bruno will be with you."

"Are you sure that you can do this Steph? I would be gone for a month, and that would be different from-"

"Okay! I will be careful, and I'm sure that if you doubt me one more time, I will cut your finger off."

We both laughed, and after a few minutes, I proceeded with watching Steoh leave my office in a hurry. I was sure it was either Bruno or Alex, or her entire team. Whatever it is, I fully trust the temporary Godmother of the De Angelo Italian Mafia Family