A night with Mr. Billionaire

Chapter Three: The weekend

*Lucia’s POV:*

It's Friday morning, and I am preparing for work with the excitement from the day before. Sabrina got up early too, she had to rush down to the grocery store to stock up the fridge and buy some things for the bakery. Her parents own a bakery which is now run and managed by her. We both exchanged pleasantries while rushing for our cup of coffee. “You know I’ll be going to see Antonio today right? It’s a tradition we have for all weekends.”

Sabrina pretended not to hear what I had just said. “Sabrina,” I called out loudly, she turned and gave a faint smile then continued packing her grocery bag. She gets angry each time I leave for the weekend to see Antonio, in her words; “you deserve better Lucia, that guy is of no good.” I know how caring and concerned she is about me, but I was helplessly in love with Antonio, despite his obvious ill treatment towards me, I couldn’t help but fall for his charm every single time. And I think he’s right, I mean who can ever love and stay with me despite my busy schedules all the time? To me, he was the most loving person after Sabrina.

I checked my time and it was almost 8:00a a.m., I grabbed my bag and rushed out to get a taxi. “Bye Sabrina, I understand how much you care about me and I don’t take it for granted, but I love Antonio and I hope he’ll change one day.” Sabrina looked at me with so much emotion in her eyes, “Let go of him, someone else will love you more than you can ever imagine.” Talking about someone else, maybe I should call Marco, not for anything but to say Hi and also thank him for the free drive home yesterday. I thought to myself and headed out for work.

I arrived at my office before 9:00a.m. Mrs Mendoza greeted us with a bright smile, Mrs Mendoza is our front desk person, she has been working for the company for years as a receptionist and she’s excellent at her job. “Good day, Mrs Mendoza,” I said as I walked down the hallway to my office. I heard a knock at my office door, the HR requested to see me in his office, I took my report and went to his office.

“Good morning sir.” I greeted. “Good morning Miss Rossi.” He said while reaching out for the file in my hand, I handed him the file and the flash with pictures and videos from the event. He went through the file, and read each report then inserted the flash drive into his system and went through the photos and videos. “Good job Lucia, you did great for a junior executive.”

Just as I turned to leave his office, his voice stopped me halfway, “Keep up the good work Lucia, who knows? There might be an opening for a promotion soon.” Only the thought of it made my stomach fill with butterflies. I have worked so hard and deep down I knew I deserved a promotion and a fatter paycheck. “Thank you, sir.” I said then returned to my office.

It was mid-afternoon and I had been working on other reports for some time. I went out to grab lunch when Sabrina’s call came in, “Hello, Lucia, I’m sorry about this morning, how I responded to you and ignored you at the same time.” Sabrina has a soft heart, she has never stayed mad at me or anyone for 24 hours. “I understand Sabrina.” I just need you to bear with me and Antonio too, I’m sure he’ll come around with time. Sabrina kept quiet for a minute then she responded. “Have you called him today?” It was almost 1:00 p.m., and he had yet to call or text, I got busy at work and couldn’t reach out. “Not yet, why did you ask though?”

I know Sabrina was hiding something, she usually hesitates when she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings, “What is it this time Sabrina?” Did you see Antonio with some other woman again? “Not that, but a friend of mine who works at a hotel said she saw him coming out this morning with a lady, and it looked as if they’ve been there for two days now.” The news made me suddenly lose my appetite, I shouldn’t be bothered because this isn’t the first time, but at least I was hoping he would come to his senses soon.

“I’m sorry for spoiling your mood this afternoon.” Sabrina added, “I wish I could ignore him but he’s hurting you and it’s impossible to look away.” A part of me wanted to call him and end everything but my heart couldn’t bear the pain, “It’s okay Sabrina, I’m sure he has a better explanation for what happened or how he ended up in a hotel with another lady.” I keep making excuses for him each time, my heart keeps aching each time I do but maybe he’ll change one day.

“Come to think of it Sabrina, don’t you think it’s also my fault that he keeps cheating? I’m always busy with work and he needs my company.” I added ignoring the pain I was feeling. “Then he should stop extorting from you and he should move on with another woman instead of hurting you.”

The call ended and I picked up my bag and went back to the office without having my lunch. I truly think I have esteem issues, a very bad low self-esteem, I’ve always felt this way since my parents died, I feel like I’m not enough. I always crave love and attention from people to make me feel good about myself, so spending money on Antonio just for him to love and stay with me wasn’t such a big deal. I know that I have Sabrina and her parents, they love and care about me but I still feel this way.

My phone buzzed again and it was an unknown caller. I picked up the call and it was a female voice, “Hello Lucia.” She said while laughing audibly. “Who’s this please?” I asked then the call ended, I stood in the lobby, staring at my phone and wondering who the caller could be.