Chapter 6

The intensity of the ringing from my phone makes me grunt in pain even as I was barely awake. I curse under my breath,wanting to grab that phone and toss it away where are won't disturb me anymore. My face dug deep into my pillow,I stretched my arm to the other end of the bed and searched for my phone.

'Got you!' My fingers brushed against it and grabbed it,turning it's screen to my face just to at least laugh at the caller before cutting it and going back to my sleep. But the number on the screen is not saved. Hugh.

Reluctantly,I picked it and put it against my ear,not caring about my grumpy morning voice when I spoke "Hello?"

"Meet me in my house now" came a thicker,masculine voice. I bring my voice to my face to see if I could actually recognize the owner of this number and maybe find out who the owner of the voice is too. But I don't get anything so I bring it back to my ear again.

"Hello?"

"Do you always sound this way in the mornings?"the words are mocking and the voice teasing.

"Who's this,please?"

There's silence for a while,then I hear shuffling sounds on the background before the voice came on again "It's your boss"

The revelation makes me sit up immediately and I quickly tried to adjust my groggy voice before speaking "good morning sir"

"Be at my house. We leave for work from there"

"I don't know your house"

"First assignment"

That said,the call disconnected,leaving me to stair blankly at my phone's screen till its screen light went off. Okay,he did not just do that. He didn't just wake me up from my sleep only to tell me to be at his house without even telling me his house address!!! Anger was an understatement for what I felt right now. I didn't know the word for it. But as the seconds passed by,I decided I wasn't gonna lose my job on a second day. It's freaking six in the morning,can't a girl have some sleep? If it isn't Katie waking me up with her stupid guitar then it's this man Called Marcello!

I dragged my feet,no scratch that,I ran into my bathroom and showered as quick as i could before hurriedly throwing on a black T-shirt dress with my nude wedge shoes,while constantly checking my time.

Tossing my phone and other necessary work gadgets into my black handbag,I hurried out of the room and into the empty sitting room.

Katie was still probably sleeping -obviously- but I call her anyway,one hand on the door knob "Katie! I'm off to work"

"So soon?"her sleepy voice reaches me from her bedroom.

"Yeah......I got to be somewhere first!" I yell back,pulling the door open.

"Yeah,yeah,see you later"she replied,probably still half way asleep than halfway awake.

I run out like someone who'd seen a ghost almost falling over the sidewalk as I tried to stop for a cab. but then I realized I had no idea where my boss lived. Damn it. I rummaged my bag for my phone to maybe try to get that info from the Internet. Luckily,I'm able to find it Ashley style before quickly stopping a cab. I could not have expressed the great relief I felt when the cab driver told me he knew the address I read to him.

By the time the cab stopped at a spot in New York which I doubt I've ever been to,the time was 7:34a.m. the estate was no doubt inhabited by rich people judging from the white glass houses with 3D windows staring right back at me. The number on the brick wall holding the compound's gate had the exact address numbers on my phone's screen on them. I paid the cab driver and stepped down. a security man talked to me from the inside,asking what business I had there. After I told him who I was,he made a phone call before letting me in and directing me upwards towards the house.

I made my way through the property,admiring the plant beddings and the fountain before Reaching the house's door. The contents on the inside is on full display through it's glass walls but I don't pay attention to that. The door makes a sharp beep sound before it slid open. That looked like an invite enough into the house and I stepped in,casually looking around to spot whoever had let me in. To spot Mr Marcello. I notice the expensive and imported looking house decors,from the leather lounge and couches to the landscape paintings hanging off the walls. and then there's a spiral stairs at the corner side of the room. But there's no presence of anybody. Was this the wrong address? But the security back there did let me in after mentioning Mr Marcello and somebody must've controlled the door to open for me,it can't be automatic,can it?

"I see it's you again" a feminine voice calls from behind me,causing me to jump around to the stairs where a rather too bursty blonde woman stood,hands on the stair's rail. The blond hair,the heavy make up,the nasty look,she was unmistakably the woman who'd joined Mr Marcello at the restaurant yesterday. I think he'd called her jas or something. They cohabited? Or as I've guessed yesterday,they could be dating or just......

"Jasmine,love"Mr Marcello appears behind her,a stoic smile on his lips as his eyes watched me,amusement dancing in them. He's dressed up in his suits,his hair well made,the said Jasmine dressed in a red second skin mini gown too.

"I should leave now,darling"she says back,me trying to look anywhere but them and hear anything but what they were talking about but that was hard. The room was as quiet as a graveyard and all that's heard across it is their husky voices.

"As you please,Love"He replied,his eyes meeting mine for a split second before I forced my gaze away and buried them on the ground.She starts walking down the stairs,eyeing me as she she passed me and walked out.

"Are we ready to leave?" He asks me the moment he reached the foot of the stairs.

"Yes sir" I nod. He doesn't say another word and just walked out,Jasmine's car pulling out of the compound. I still wondered that essence of him calling me to meet him here. Trying to show off his stupid girlfriend?

A black SUV pulled up in front of us and he sat down at the back. Dreading sitting anywhere near him,I wished I could sit at the front but I knew that was impossible and in the end,I end up sharing the back space with him. We rode the car I silence and I couldn't quite appreciate that enough. I had absolutely nothing to say to him......even though I wanted to know why he called me from my sleep to be at his house only for nothing.

When the car pulled up at the office,I'm the first to step out and walked staring through the door and into the elevator. I don't see him walking in as the elevator doors closed and I didn't care either.

I pass Trevor's office where he's sitting,engrossed in something inside his computer. I throw him a 'good morning' as I passed which he replied just as briefly. Then I settled down in my office. While in Mr Marcello's car,he hadn't told me anything concerning any plans for today so I figured I'd present the cancelled schedules from yesterday. I'd already called and informed them to meet with him today anyways. Soon,he walked in and doesn't even as much as glance at me before disappearing into his office.

After working some few things on my laptop,I checked the time and it was 10:00a.m. Mr marcello had a rescheduled meeting with a Mr Joan at a music gallery at 10:30. I walked over to his office and planted a firm knock on his door before pushing it open and allowing myself in.

He's sitting at his desk,his eyes trained on his laptop. He looks up to see me before looking back to his laptop.

"What is it?"he asks,not looking at me again.

"You have a meeting with Mr Joan at a music gallery,sir"

He looks up at me now before adding "who's he?"

"Um....he, ah.....works at the car company?"

"Oh. Mr Joan. Get ready then,we leave in twenty minutes"

"I'm....going with you?"

"Well what's your work then if you don't go with me to my meetings? You think you're just gonna sit on that desk all day?"

Okay,maybe he's right. I just throw him a nod before walking back out. Who the he'll did he think he is anyway? Talking to me like that.

Twenty minutes later,his driver was driving us through the streets in silence. The silence was becoming unbearable when the car pulled to a stop. Mr Marcello walks out first before I followed. To my surprise,I hadn't been here before. I think I should be ashamed of telling anyone that I lived in New York city.At the far side across the terrace walk sat a big building which looked unquestionably like a music gallery judging from the Neon lights at the front of the building flashing BIG JOE'S to the eyes,the number of people walking in and out of the building and the grande manner in which the building itself stood.

He walks up and I followed till we got into the building. He takes a sharp corner to a wide and almost empty room where one or two people walked out from. The room is empty except for a few,probably ten people sat,some standing. The room is well decorated,almost looking like one of those green houses you'd see in Disney cartoon shows,a few tables sitting around,sophisticated looking people standing around,in serious discussions. On the wooden and well designed walls hung landscapes,the marble floor making creaking noises with each step we took.

"Mr Riccardo" a man calls from an empty table saved for him at the back. He looked Scottish,with the red hair and the red averagely long beads,the white skin. when we reached him I could see the freckles around his eyes,his doting green eyes,the roundness of his protruded stomach. His grey suits oversizes him,but when his teeth came out in a big grin,they were as white as goose.

"Welcome to my gallery,son"he adds,his arms still spread apart.

"Mr Joan,"Mr Marcello called,taking his outstretched hand "it's nice to be here"

"She ya laidie'?" He gestures to me,his Scottish accent a little bit strong for someone who lived in New York. Maybe he doesn't.

"Meet my assistant,Ashley"he points to me.

"Ain't ye a faine laidie?"he chuckled,extending his hand to me.

I take it,smiling back "it's nice to meet you sir"

"Oh call mey Joan,Kay?" I nod "les be sitting down,shall we?"

We all sit around the table before he flagged his hand to the waiter. He hurries to us with glasses of red wine for each of us.

"So,Mr Riccardo,I hear ye be building a park in Manhattan"

"That's true,Joan. I'm sure your little Nathalie would love to go there once it's done"

"Ye bet. Nathalie be all grown up into a woman now,lad"

"I'm sure she'll still squeak at the mention of a park now"I could hear Mr Marcello's faint chuckle at his own words .it amazed me honestly. I've never seen him smile at anything before until this moment.

Mr Joan nods,sipping at his wine before speaking again "so lad,your man told me you wanna import me cars" I found his Scottish pore amazing. Hearing him talk was becoming addictive to me over the minutes.

"That's right."

"I bet ye old man be proud of ye. Sure he's smiling down on ye right now"

Somehow,I could see the smile appear on Marcello's lips and disappeared almost immediately. Then I knewthis man was more than just one of Mr Marcello's business partners.

"Ye been seeing ye mother lately?"he pressed,his accent wasn't just amazing but the fastness with which he said them was mind blowing.

"Nah"he replied,drinking the last content from his glass,reminding me that I'd been paying too much attention to them to actually have a taste of my drink.

They continued to chat about the good and bad stuffs,about business and Mr Joan's family while he threw me compliments every now and then.

We'd stayed for a longer while before leaving,after they'd concluded on the car business before leaving.