"It's Alessandro…." Camila whispered breathlessly.
The first figures that slipped in were older men, stern, polished, their presence carrying the weight of influence. Behind them a wall of security men flooded the room broad shoulders,dark suits, weapons gleaming at their belts like a deep warning but none of them mattered. Not really.
Because then he walked in.
Alessandro.
The name alone rattled through my bones like a forgotten prayer, his stride steady, commanding as if the world belongs to him and everyone knew it. The tailored cut of his suit reeked of luxury, the kind of custom suit that didn't wrinkle, didn't dare. Midnight black, sharp enough to slice through the air. Shirt white as sin, tie knotted with effortless precision. And on his wrist catching the light as though it was staged sat a watch I'd once read about in glossy magazines. Worth millions, they'd said. A collectors piece, now it is rested against his skin like it was made for him.
But it wasn't the suit, it wasn't the watch, it was him. His jawline was harsher now, carved in stone and fire. His hair darker swept back, every strand deliberate, only sharpened the cruel perfection of his face. Eyes the color of storms. God help me those eyes used to look at me differently, softer, warmer. They used to laugh into mine in cramped dorm rooms, when the only thing that mattered was how close we could hold each other before morning came.
And I had left him.
Seven years...… And yet, not a day passed that I didn't dream of him, yearn for him.
Now here he was. More devastating than memory ever allowed me to believe. He looked like a Greek God dressed in Armani, sculpted and untouchable, moving through the room with the gravity of a man no one dared to defy.
And then it dawned on me. Alessandro Marchetti is my boss.
Then I noticed Celia, perched on his arms.
Is she his girlfriend? I wondered realizing she might be the one the media's been talking about.
I feel his gaze on me but I was frozen,overwhelmed ,sad and then a deep wave of jealousy hits me.
My heart clenched at the thought of him being in love with someone else. But I had no right to be jealous. I left him, I abandoned him, I was too weak to fight for him, I couldn't. I had to choose and I didn't choose him.
We had our seats and then the meeting commenced.
Camila slips her hand into mine under the table squeezing lightly in support and assurance with a bright smile on her face.
........…
After the meeting he exited without a glance to me, Celia trailing from behind like a lost puppy.
"He's gorgeous....." Daniella whispered absentmindedly blushing.
"You shouldn't say that about our boss" Alice reprimanded.
"Sorry..." she whispered back.
Camila's shock gaze were on the door and then they moved to mine.
"Girl.... You're in deep shit." She whispered
"You can say that again" I whispered back.
...….
"Come on! Come with us." She asked enthusiastically. Her boyfriend wants to take us clubbing and she's excited to introduce him to me.
"I've not done that in years..." I whispered
"More reason why you should, besides it's an elite club. You might meet a hotty!" She cuts back.
"You know I'm not interested in dating."
"Doesn't matter, anything can happen." She added.
"But I" I exclaimed
"No buts honey, these are my latest designs, try them." She handed me the clothes moving me to the changing room.