A night with Mr. Billionaire

It was a warm and pleasant evening, exactly 6:00 p.m. sharp. Lucia was already parking her bag to close for the day when she got an email from HR indicating that they had an urgent meeting in the next 30 minutes. Lucia picked up her phone and dialed Antonio’s number. It rang for a couple of seconds before he picked up. “Are you heading home yet?” he asked. “I’ll be running late.” There’s an emergency meeting at the office that requires my attention. Antonio got angry and ended the call as usual. Lucia brassed herself and then walked down to the boardroom for the meeting. The manager addressed them and informed the team about the private tasting event at Vigna Romano(Romano vineyard), the event was slated to take place at the Romano winery and Lucia was selected to attend and cover the event as a food and wine journalist. Lucia has been working for the Italian food and Wine press for six(6) months now and this was her first big opportunity to attend and cover an event at such a big and reputable company. Lucia got home late that night and her best friend Sabrina was already waiting for her so they could have their usual dinner together. “You’re late,” Sabrina said while reaching out for a hug. “There was an emergency meeting at the office, and guess who is attending the private tasting event at Vigna Romano?” Sabrina screamed in excitement. “You have to tell me about all your experiences when you’re back tomorrow, make sure you also meet a rich guy.” She added. Lucia let out a faint smile at the side of her lips. “But I have a boyfriend already, I know he’s not rich but he’s the only man who has stayed with me despite my busy schedule.” The room became quiet for a while, then Sabrina broke the silence. “That guy is not good for you, he takes money from you and squanders it on other women then still treats you like you’re a nobody.” Before Lucia could say anything, her phone buzzed with a message notification, it was from Antonio. The message says he was stuck at a place and needed some money. Sabrina glanced over and saw the message, she nodded in disappointment. “You see, this is exactly what I mean, this guy does not deserve you.” Lucia picked up her phone, ignoring what Sabrina had said, she made the transfer then called to ask if he had seen the money but he didn’t pick up the call. Sabrina left for the kitchen and served their dinner while Lucia freshened up and joined her shortly, they both had a quiet dinner then cleared the table and dishes together. In Lucia’s room, Sabrina insisted she had picked her outfit for the event the next day. Lucia went for a silk burgundy blouse with a well-tailored ankle-length pair of trousers, stylish loafers, and a silver stud necklace. Sabrina disagreed, saying she needed to look more elegant and feminine. She picked a knee-length wrap dress in a floral print, a lightweight tailored blazer in beige, and kitten heels. Then a leather satchel for a notebook, pen, and a small recorder. “This will make you elegant and attract rich men” she added then said goodnight to Lucia and returned to her room. Lucia picked up her phone and dialed Antonio’s number again, this time he picked up, his voice was cool and calm like nothing was wrong. “I’ve been calling you,” Lucia said then waited for his response. “My phone wasn’t with me.” Lucia tried to bridge the distance between them, but she only got short answers in return. “Mhm.” “I guess.” “Right.” Each of his responses came with a nonchalant tone and dismissal. “Well, it’s good to know that you finally have your boyfriend’s time after standing me up for our dinner date.” Antonio finally let out a few words, sounding cool but conveying his anger. “We had an emergency meeting at the office, I was selected to attend an event which is scheduled for tomorrow morning by 10:00am, and I had little or no time to explain to you when I called earlier. I’m sorry.” Silence filled the atmosphere, then Lucia proceeded. “I’ll make it up to you after the event tomorrow, maybe we could go see our favorite movie together and catch up on the things I’ve missed.” “You'd better do,” Antonio said then the call went off. Lucia took a deep breath then opened her laptop and went through some files then looked more into Vigna Romano, what they do, and who the CEO is, Marco Romano, he was a good-looking man, a tall, muscular man with brown eyes and fine lips. Although there were no scandals whatsoever from anywhere about him and that was quite strange, for a young and handsome billionaire like him, she was expecting a couple of juicy scandals or talks online, maybe about women or party life but he rather had a good and reputable image. “Maybe he pays the press to keep his life in check,” Lucia thought to herself then snapped out of it. She had a job to do and that should be where her focus should lie. She did thorough research about the Winery then turned off her lights and went to sleep. Her alarm clock rang at exactly 6:00am, Lucia jumped out of bed and started preparing for her almost dream come true day, she had always hoped to cover such a big event and today was her opportunity, she hurried into the bathroom and took her bath. Just as she stepped out, Sabrina was already there with a cup of coffee in her hand. “Coffee for the most intelligent and hard-working best friend in the whole world.” Both laughed and greeted each other. Lucia quickly applied a little makeup and sipped her coffee while at it, Sabrina helped style her hair and by the time she was done, she looked really great. Lucia gave Sabrina a warm hug and headed out for her big day.