Chapter 2: Moretti Holdings
1862 Words
The alarm went off at six-thirty.
Aurora's hand shot out from beneath the covers, silencing it before it could ring a second time. She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, wondering if she could somehow convince herself that today wasn't happening.
It was.
She dragged herself out of bed and made her way into the bathroom, still half asleep. By the time she stepped back into her bedroom, the woman staring at her from the mirror looked nothing like the girl who had spent the previous evening laughing with Sophia.
The chestnut-brown wig fell just above her shoulders, soft waves framing her face. Her grey eyes were hidden behind brown contacts, and the simple shirt and grey pants made her look painfully ordinary.
Exactly what she wanted.
Aurora picked up the employee badge sitting on her dresser and studied it for a moment.
Vivianna Grace Bennett.
She slipped it into her handbag, grabbed her coat and took one last look at herself.
“Let's not embarrass ourselves today,” she muttered.
She grabbed her bag and left.
By eight fifteen, she was standing outside Moretti Holdings.
She had seen pictures of the building before, but they hadn't done it justice. The glass structure rose above the surrounding buildings, reflecting the pale morning sky. People in suits moved through the entrance with coffee cups in their hands, speaking into phones and walking with the kind of confidence that suggested they had somewhere important to be.
Aurora adjusted the strap of her handbag.
She wasn't nervous.
At least, she wasn't going to admit that she was.
She took a breath and walked inside.
A woman behind the reception desk smiled when Aurora approached.
“Good morning. Can I help you?”
“Good morning. I'm here for the new intern orientation.”
“Name?”
“Vivianna Bennett.”
The receptionist checked her computer.
“Welcome to Moretti Holdings, Miss Bennett. Conference room three, second floor. Someone from HR will meet you there.”
“Thank you.”
Aurora stepped into the elevator with two other people.
The elevator doors opened, and Aurora followed the signs toward conference room three.
The room was already half full when she walked in. A guy sitting near the end of the table looked up.
“New?”
Aurora smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
He laughed. “You still have hope in your eyes.”
She pulled out the chair beside him.
“Give me a week.”
“Adrian.”
“Vivianna.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
Before they could say anything else, a woman carrying a folder walked into the room and introduced herself as Elena from Human Resources.
For the next couple of hours, Aurora listened to company policies, working hours, dress codes, employee benefits and everything else people usually forgot the second they left an orientation room.
There were about fifteen interns in the room, all assigned to different departments.
Moretti Holdings had divisions in finance, technology, marketing, public relations, legal affairs and several other departments.
Aurora wasn't here to become employee of the year.
She just needed to fit in.
Elena asked everyone to introduce themselves.
“I'm Viviana Bennett. I studied business administration, and I'll be working with the PR department.”
Nothing interesting.
Perfect.
She noticed the girl sitting beside her had started losing the battle against sleep. Her head dipped once, then twice, before she finally rested it against the back of her chair.
Aurora hid a smile.
When the girl noticed Aurora looking at her, she gave an embarrassed smile.
“Did I miss anything?”
“Only about three introductions.”
The girl groaned. “Please tell me none of them were important.”
“I'm sure you'll recover.”
She laughed. “I'm Amelia, by the way.”
“Viviana.”
“I know. I heard yours.”
“Then we're already ahead.”
Amelia smiled. “Where are you from?”
“Florence.”
Her expression brightened. “Seriously? I've always wanted to go.”
“You should. It's beautiful.”
“My mom's family is from there. I've heard stories about it my whole life.”
“Then you definitely need to visit.”
Amelia nodded before glancing at Aurora's badge.
“Bennett?”
“Yeah.”
Amelia's eyebrows lifted. “That's my surname too.”
Aurora stared at her before laughing.
“So we're both Bennett?”
“Looks like it.”
“This is going to be confusing.”
“We'll just have to answer to both.”
“Or one of us changes our name.”
Amelia gave her an offended look. “Why should it be me?”
“I was here first.”
“You literally just met me.”
“Exactly. And I'm already establishing seniority.”
Amelia laughed, covering her mouth as Elena glanced in their direction.
“We should probably stop before she kicks us out.”
“Probably.”
Aurora turned toward the front, quietly amused.
She had spent weeks constructing an identity that could disappear into a crowd.
Somehow, on her first morning, she'd managed to find another Bennett.
She followed the other interns toward the elevators, checking her employee badge as she walked.
“PR is this way,” someone called.
A few seconds later, Adrian walked past.
“You're going the wrong way.”
Aurora turned.
“Seriously?”
“Unless you're planning to join accounting.”
She looked down at her badge.
“Wow. First day and I'm already lost.”
Adrian laughed. “Don't worry. I got lost three times yesterday.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“You'll survive.”
Aurora smiled.
When she reached the PR department, she was introduced to Emma, her supervisor.
“Your first few days will mostly be observation and assisting the team,” Emma explained. “Don't worry about trying to prove yourself immediately. Learn how things work first.”
“Of course.”
“These are some of the current projects. Go through them when you have time. If you have questions, ask.”
Aurora nodded.
“Thank you.”
Noah from IT stopped by to help her log into her account.
“Your password is temporary,” he explained.
Aurora typed it in.
“It worked.”
“Congratulations. You've officially achieved something half the employees here can't do.”
She laughed.
“That's reassuring.”
“I try.”
By lunchtime, her brain felt like it had been switched off.
Sophia: Alive?
Aurora smiled.
Aurora: Barely.
Sophia: LMAOOOO. How bad?
Aurora: I've been here for five hours and I'm already considering resignation.
Sophia: You're dramatic.
Aurora: I'm an intern. It's my legal right.
Sophia: Did you at least make friends?
Aurora: Define friends.
Sophia: People you would willingly sit with without being paid.
Before she could answer, Clara appeared beside her.
“We're going to lunch. You coming?”
“Sure.”
They ended up at a restaurant where she joined Clara, Adrian, Noah and two other employees from the PR team.
For the first time that morning, Aurora actually relaxed.
Noah took a sip of his drink.
“So, Vivianna. Important question.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Are you single?”
Clara groaned.
“Noah.”
“What? It's important.”
“To you.”
“Exactly.”
Aurora shook her head.
“Why do you need to know?”
“Research.”
“Research for what?”
“Future purposes.”
“You're ridiculous.”
“Thank you.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Sophia: Don't tell me you've already made friends 😭
Aurora: Unfortunately.
Sophia: See? I told you you're lovable.
Aurora: Don't ruin this moment.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly.
Emma gave her a small assignment before the day ended. Aurora finished it much faster than she should have.
She looked at the clock.
Too fast.
She went back through the document before walking over to Emma.
“Sorry, could you explain this part to me?”
Emma looked at the page.
“It's just the client reference.”
“Oh.”
Aurora nodded slowly.
“Right. I thought so.”
Emma gave her a small smile.
“It's fine. You'll get used to everything.”
“Thank you.”
Perfect.
Not too smart.
Not too slow.
Just another new intern trying to figure things out.
By six o'clock, most of the interns had started packing up. Aurora saved the last document, shut down her computer and slipped her notebook into her bag.
Her first day had been far less eventful than she'd expected.
Exactly how she wanted it.
She said goodbye to Emma and the others before making her way toward the elevators. The lobby was quieter than it had been that morning, with only a handful of employees still moving through the building.
She had barely unlocked her car when her phone buzzed.
Instead of another message from Sophia, an email notification sat at the top of her screen.
Subject: Executive Introduction — New Intern
Her brows drew together.
She opened it.
Dear Miss Bennett,
This is to confirm your executive introduction with the CEO of Moretti Holdings tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. Please report to the executive floor five minutes before your scheduled appointment.
Regards,
Human Resources
Aurora stared at the screen.
Tomorrow.
Eight in the morning.
With Dante Moretti.
She scrolled through her contacts, already knowing exactly who she wanted to call.
Matteo answered on the third ring.
“Hey, Rory.”
“Are you busy?”
“I just got home. Why?”
Aurora glanced back at the towering glass building behind her.
“HR sent me an email.”
“And?”
“They want me to meet Dante tomorrow morning.”
“Dante Moretti?”
“Unfortunately.”
“I thought interns weren't supposed to meet the CEO until they became junior associates.”
“So did I. Maybe they changed the rules.”
“I’m serious, Rory. Did anyone say anything to you today? Did someone from management pull you aside?”
“Did your wig slip off at some point? Or did you accidentally take your contact off or maybe—”
“Jeez, Matteo, no. Nothing like that happened.”
“I still don't like it.”
“I know.”
“And you know I wouldn't say anything if I thought it was nothing.”
Aurora fastened her seat belt.
“I'll be fine. It's just an introduction. I walk into a room, meet the CEO, smile politely and leave.”
“The CEO that you plan on killing.”
“I mean, I'm not doing that just yet.”
Matteo sighed. “I still don't like it.”
“I know.”
Aurora looked at the email once more before locking her phone.
“Then I'll be careful.”
“Good.”
She put the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking space.
Tomorrow morning, she wouldn't be another face among fifteen interns.
She would be walking into a room with Dante Moretti. The man she hated.
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