CHAPTER 2
MELANIE
"Miss Petrov, please sign the contract."
Their disgusting smiles all scream greed. All I want to do is to smack those smiles away from their faces.
"Mr. Petra you don't really expect me to sign this…financial setback in disguise of a contract do you?." I slowly close the file with my eyes glaring daggers at him. At all of them.
His smile drops. Perfect.
" W-w…Is something wrong Miss Petrov?" Stammering,are we now?
I keep quiet and relax into my chair, spinning a pen in my right hand,waiting for him to continue making a fool out of himself. My gaze moves between the four of them,making sure to glare at each one of them for at least seven seconds. The last one starts squirming.
"Miss Petrov, I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with this contract. Once you sign it,construction will begin immediately." Mr. Petra leans forward and place his clasped hands on the table still trying to grasp onto that bit of confidence he walked into this meeting room with. "The profits will immediately be divided into 70:30 and we can hope for another peaceful cooperation." The nerve of him to muster up that smile again.
"Greedy,aren't you?" My project manager, Mr Ivanov, asks with a scoff. "Do you think we are stupid?"He too relaxes into his chair after going through the contract for the third time.
"I don't quite u-understand Mr-."
My pen slips from my hands as I throw it in the direction of Mr. Petra who for some reason thinks he's so smart. He flinches,almost toppling from his chair.
My assistant,Reina behind me snorts,barely able to hold in her laughter.
" 70:30 huh??" I ask.
" Yes. We decided that it's already an honor working with you so we don't mind losing out on the profits in this deal if we will be able to work with you again." The skinny man in an ill fitting suit beside Mr. Petra replies probably because said Mr. Petra is still trying to catch his breath after the "fright" I gave him with my pen.
"The audacity to bring this-." I gesture towards the file in front of me. " thing in front of me is really appalling. 70:30? Sure. The thing is I'm not really the one benefiting from this ,am I ?"
They glance at one another, looking uncomfortable.
"The cost at which you placed these raw materials is enough to make you be the one receiving 80% of the profit in this deal. My company will provide the funds for the raw materials and for the manpower and all you are to provide is the architectural drawing and overseeing of this project. So tell me, on what grounds do you think you deserve this much profit?" One side of my lips tilt as I stand up from my chair and dust off invisible dirt from my shoulders.
"Mr. Ivanov,throw these greedy fools out of my company and blacklist them in the industry. If their company's name ever appears in front of me again,you'll lose your job as well."
"Yes Ma'am." He pulls out his phone,probably to call security.
"Miss. Petrov, w-what do you m-mean? It's just a little misunderstanding. I promise it will be resolved immediately. Please don't take this too far."
"Too far?? Ripping me of eighty million dollars isn't too far?" A scoff rips free from my lips.
"Reina,my next meeting please." I signal to my assistant and leave that suffocating room,reeking with their greedy stench.
I crack my neck as a wave of tiredness hit me. I'm over exhausted. I didn't sleep last night because my thoughts were all over the place because of a certain someone who for some reason makes my body tingle at the thought of him and it's been two weeks. Two weeks since that encounter. I had to use makeup to cover my eyebags and right now, the short distance from the meeting room to my office could as well be one thousand,five hundred meters. I have had meetings throughout today and if I'm not wrong, I have one in the next five minutes.
Reina rushes past me to open the door as I get to my office. I walk in and immediately collapse on the couch meant for guests. Reina kneels in front of me and takes off my heels, setting them aside. I instinctively lift them onto the couch and place a pillow under my head.
"Miss. Petrov,do you need your drugs?" Reina asks as she makes her way towards my desk. I don't even have to answer her because she knows I do. That's how well she knows me and my habits. She's been with me for six years now and she knows what I need and when I need it. She also knows about my family which makes it easier when handling some contracts for my father.
After taking my drugs, I'm instantly drowsy. I close my eyes to take a nap even if it's for five minutes. I'm sure Reina would have cancelled my next meeting.
*****************
"Miss Petrov!!." My eyes snap open at the sound of Reina's panicked voice. I sit up and press my fingers to my temples to relieve the tension there.
I look up to see Reina fidgeting in front of me. " Say it."
"Starlink Limited just called to ask if you were available for a meeting with their COO."
The name of his company has me fully awake. Every organized crime family had a legitimate front and this was the Armanis'. With the feud between our families,we should have nothing to do with each other but Starlink Limited was latching onto a land that I wanted. I have been asking for a meeting for three weeks now with their COO so that we could come to an agreement. Maybe I could give them something else in return for that land.
After all,real estate is their forte,losing one land won't make them go bankrupt. But now? I'm not sure whether I want to attend this meeting. After our encounter two weeks ago, I want absolutely nothing to do with Nico Armani even if I would not be dealing with him directly. But then again it's not like he would personally attend right?
"The COO right?" I ask Reina to confirm. No mistakes could be made this time.
"Yes but…" She glances at her wristwatch.
I raise an eyebrow
" We are five minutes late. You need to also note that Mr. Rico's assistant called five minutes ago and blamed it on Mr. Rico's tight schedule that he couldn't place the call earlier."
"Let's go." I grab my heels and quickly put them on. "It's obvious that they are rage baiting us. I don't mind swallowing my pride just for today." Not that there was much of it left after two weeks ago. Damn it!! And my mind circles back to two weeks ago. Again!
I take a glance at my wristwatch. It was already Close Of Business five minutes ago. It's obvious this meeting was a last thought.
*******************
Five minutes late my foot! We have been waiting at the proposed restaurant for the meeting for the last ten minutes without a shadow of anyone from Starlink Limited in sight. I knew this was going to be a waste of time. I massage my temples as another wave of migraine hits me. I am too tired for these games today.
I move to grab my bag and I feel it. My stomach flips, my fingers tingle and my heart races. He's here. I know that he's here. I don't need to see him but my body already knows that he's here. More reason for me to get out of here. I stand up quickly. Too quickly and I suffer the consequences of a dizzy spell.
Reina reaches out to grab me from my left side but I know she won't catch me before I hit the ground.Strong hands grab my waist preventing me from crashing onto the floor. The relief is brief as his cologne hits me. It's him. My body heats up. I'm in his arms. I'm in Nico Armani's arms!
"Miss Melanie Petrov, please watch your step. It would be a shame for you to hurt yourself." That voice!
He straightens me up and I recollect myself. Well I try to recollect myself. I clear my throat and turn towards him and stretch out my right hand with the sweetest smile I could muster.
"Good evening Mr.Armani. It's a pleasure to meet you." To my suprise, my voice is firm. That's good.
His eyes stay on my face as if committing every inch of it to memory. Does he know? There's no way he knows it's me from the other night right?
His eyes have this trace of familiarity in them that I can't place and then a smirk graces his lips making that dangerously gorgeous face even more gorgeous.
" Nice to meet you again, Miss Armani." His voice resonates around me, smooth but firm as he accepts my hand and then it hits me.
He said "Again". He knows.