Chapter 4: Mine

Finally, the day of the most important meeting arrives, and everyone in the office is going crazy. The reason? From the assistant to the person who cleans the offices everybody know: The Maledettos after years of enmity… are officially going to work with Kol House and today is their first meeting with the executive committee. Everyone says that it is a strange and unexpected event, that two families that hate each other terribly, will be partners.

For some strange reason Aurora has been invited, Margaret is on a trip, and she couldn't explain why she is required. Therefore, Aurora dressed as professionally as possible, hair pulled back in a low bun and a few strands close to her face, a medium-fitting knee-length skirt, and a white shirt. Formal and elegant.

She can't explain why, but she feels anxious, not knowing if there is a logical reason for it. Perhaps because she goes to a meeting unprepared, no one told her what it was about or why she was there. But it seems important.

Maybe it is because she was busy, but she did not notice that the guests arrived, they were a few feet from her when she realized their presence. It must be that because... for no reason they go unnoticed, they are two men who appear models... as if they were superior to the others.

Sometimes it seemed to her that Conrad was special, but…with the Maledettos, it was something else entirely different. They were two exceptional men that would stand out in a crowd, in the middle of a stadium, at a rally, on the busiest street… without a doubt they were Massimo and Luca Maledetto.

The little encounter that take place next happens as if time froze. Aurora's gaze met briefly with the youngest Maledetto, and she felt her heart race just seeing him, he is... the most attractive man she's ever seen in her life. Jet black hair that fell shinning, thick black eyebrows, a fine yet very masculine face, full lips, a shadow of a very black beard, and frankly flawless ivory skin. To say sexy and hot is an understatement.

The Maledettos are royal in appearance, formal and dressed in all black with tailored clothing. Massimo Maledetto moves with ease and charm. Aurora doesn't know if she's hypnotized, but thinks she sees him staring at her too, and stops short, as her uncle waves to other people and seems to continue down the hall.

For seconds, Aurora remains in that kind of trance, and accidentally drops the files she was holding. How clumsy! She thought with embarrassment, right at this moment when an incredibly attractive man was finally looking at her!

So there she was on her knees, gathering her papers that seem to have decided to fly everywhere. She is so focused that she isn't aware of approaching footsteps until she sees shiny black shoes, and a dark figure close to her.

He has an intoxicating and manly perfume like wood mixed with the smell of rain, and he sees big, snowy hands, that look like works of art, with some striking rings, which handed her a piece of paper. When Aurora raises her face little by little, she sees a knee on the floor, long legs, an impeccable suit, while, with an embarrassed gasp, she reaches the face of the man who has crouched down to help her.

The dark-haired god who she was staring open-mouthed minutes ago, is inches away from her, and is even more attractive. It seemed impossible... but it was true. Massimo has an overwhelming beauty, his lips look like a delicious fruit, his face is impossibly symmetrical and perfect, his hair looks like silk and his eyes… are brown like honey.

It's absurdly captivating, Aurora is stunned watching him, considering him a moving work of art. Surely he must have a thousand women after him, and probably he is an eternal player. How not to be? With that beauty and elegance.

Aurora sees her large, dark pupils, against the background of that honey-gold color, and loses herself in them. He watches her with a puzzled expression, his eyes make a gesture of surprise, his soft lips move, collide with each other in a soft vibration, the shadow of the dark beard makes them stand out even more. Aurora vaguely hears him say, with a sigh, as if he can't control what he's saying… but determined at the same time.

—Mate. Mine— Aurora blinks like a fool as he stares at her.

—E-excuse me?— she says. She sees him gently biting his lips, as if trying to contain himself, and he looks even more sensual. He then hands her a sheet of paper, and Aurora remembers that she had dropped her files.

—I was asking... if I could help you with anything else— he tells her, clearing his voice, and he sounds kind, his tone is serious and charming. She could listen to that voice forever.

—Oh… no, there's no need— she tells him, dismissing the situation, laughing nervously, brushing aside the strands of her hair. He doesn't seem to hear what she says, but continues on the ground, collecting the files. When she gets up, he doesn't offer his hand to help her.

Aurora details Massimo, he is imposing with his stature and bearing, radiating power and greatness. Aurora feels that he sees right through her with those honey-colored eyes, those golden sparkles that make her sigh. She feels her lips tremble, and she almost puts her hand to her chest to stop her heart from jumping out of control.

—Thanks for your help— she tells him in a shaky voice.

Massimo stares at her, he doesn't make another gesture, he doesn't say anything, he just gets ready to leave. Little by little he moves away, but meanwhile…. he keeps looking at her.

Aurora manages to see a strange emotion in his eyes, before he finally turns around, and she sees his broad shoulders, his long legs moving away from her. It almost seems like a dream. Aurora goes to her desk clutching the papers to her chest, remembering Massimo's long, precious hands on them.

Hours pass and Aurora tries to calm down, that encounter has affected her much more than she thought. Suddenly, she received an email from Conrad Kol himself asking for a summary of all the projects she had worked on. In the email, it was mentioned that it was urgent and that it had to be impeccable for the directors' meeting in the afternoon. The subject was ASAP.

Aurora was worried about doing everything right and not screwing up, so she dedicated herself deeply to her work, in such a way that with five minutes left before the meeting, she was running, straight to the meeting room.

When she entered, the first thing she realized was that she was a little late and the entire executive committee, plus other large investors, lawyers, finances, administrators, among others, were already there. The room is large, with a big rectangular table made of polished wood and many black leather chairs placed on the sides of it.

Conrad Kol, the big CEO, was at one end of the table, and she also realized that the Maledettos were there too. Luca smiled at her kindly, and the youngest stared at her in a way that made her knees tremble. The others' director look at her in astonishment, asking what the hell she was doing there... to make matters worse, she was the only woman present.

The meeting goes between comments, data, financial information, while Luca Maledetto is the spokesman for Dark Moon Corp. Aurora feels as if someone is looking at her intently, and she stares at the wooden table as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, feeling nervous and wondering if the others could hear her racing heart.

—Yes, we prepared the report that you had asked us for — Conrad says as if mentioning something unimportant — I think our consultant had it… Eh um…. eh Miss Wallace… — he says looking at Aurora and suddenly all eyes are on her. Obviously, there was no other girl in the room, so it had to be her, simply by discarding it.

—Wells…— she says nervously, and her voice comes out so soft that Conrad motions for her to raise her voice, in a frankly impolite way, as if he were suddenly deaf or implying that she was weak. Aurora never felt so small in her life.

—Miss Wells…— she repeats, and Conrad motions for her to give him the report. She approaches him.

Massimo watches her carefully, and she notices that he is holding his nose as if he smells garbage. His honey-colored eyes make her feel insecure, and she suddenly feels like a cockroach. She sighs sadly as she sits back in her seat.

—Miss Wells... of course... I must say that you have the most interesting and outstanding resume I've ever seen in my life— says Luca Maledetto in a friendly way and begins to praise the report that Conrad has just given him. Aurora had never received so much recognition, that little detail makes her smile.

— Well, if you agree, she will be supervising the interests of Kol House, within Dark Moon Corp — says Conrad and right there she finds out about her role. It wasn't a question for her, her participation was settled. Was she the selected consultant? Would she work with them? Not only with them, but within Dark Moon Corp, she will work with them very closely.

The idea of working with the Maledettos seemed tempting. And yes… just the thought of having Massimo close made her breath catch. How could she work around a man who made her go crazy with just a look?