CHAPTER 4

CHLOE DUARTE

“That's right, just take it up to him.”

I confess that my curiosity was also sharpened, will I have the chance to see the Big Boss with my own eyes?

“Okay, I will!”, I say decided.

“Thank you, Chloe, you're awesome!”

I watch him return to his office with calculated steps, I am interrupted when I hear Matt arrive with his motorcycle helmet, he smiles frankly at me as he removes his leather jacket.

“Good morning, princess! Where are you going?”

“Adam asked me to take that briefcase to Jack.”

Matt rolls his eyes mumbling softly, he never liked our manager at all, following Matt, Adam is a manipulator who gets everything he wants in a blink of an eye, I know Adam is very gallant, but he also never treated me badly.

“I just must take it on the top floor, you know? On the boss's floor...”

“Truth? Then you will be my spy upstairs, they say that on the top floor, they serve champagne daily for the employees and that the doors are made of pure gold...”, I laughed as I watched the dreamy face of my friend.

“I also learned that when the boss coughs, diamonds come out of his ass...”, Matt laughs at my phrase.

I leave my friend laughing alone, I turn around with the folder going to the elevator, and when the heavy doors open on the top floor, a "fucking shit" shorty escapes me when I watch the entrance hall.

The place is huge and very well designed, everything up here screams total luxury, I am delighted with the space, and the floor shines as if someone killed himself to clean it.

And to improve, there is a giant panel hanging on a wall well visible to visitors with the last name of the founder, as if to remind everyone who runs this company.

To get out of my charm, I blink several times and walk towards the reception floor, where a blonde wiggles on her computer.

“Good morning, I'm looking for Mr. Colucci”., I mean, but the secretary doesn't even give herself the right to look at me, it seems that all the people up here are snobs too, nothing like my friend Sam who welcomes everyone with a nice smile on his face.

“Down the hall, second door on the right.”, says still without looking at me as I press the notebook keyboard with his huge red nails.

“Okay, thank you!”, I do not expect an answer, I follow the instructions of the receptionist coming across a closed door and glass, nervous, I beat timidly seeing the sign "meeting room".

Shit! What if he's in an important meeting and he doesn't like it when I get in his way?

I'm about to turn around to wait for him to finish what I was doing inside, but a voice confirming my entry prevents me from leaving here.

Taking a deep breath, I touch the doorknob and push the glass door, coming across a huge room where chairs and a table are taking up most of the space, my heels echo on the carpet when I completely enter and close the door behind me.

Soon Jack appears in front of me with a surprised expression on his face to see me on his floor, I notice that another man is sitting on the other side of the table seeing his cell phone.

“Yeah... sorry to disturb you, but Mr. Smith asked me to bring you this briefcase with some documents I reach out to give you that briefcase.”

“No problem Miss Duarte, thank you very much!”, he thanks with a gentle smile.

I have an uncontrollable urge to laugh when I remember what Sam said when we were having lunch with Matt, that the quiet ones are the worst, I bite my lower lip hard, or I will surely be fired in a few minutes.

I receive an energy discharge radiating all over my body when the blue eyes of the other man fixate on me, time seems to stop.

I feel strange and uncomfortable about his gaze that does not change direction, just continues in me, I shake and shake my hands around the body, in a movement of pure tension.

Just by the look, I feel that he is a different man from those I have ever met, he exudes pure respect, and silence, and seems very intimidating.

I mentally wonder who this man will be, I look back at Jack realizing that the two are young and must be almost the same age, but he seems so important to a new man.

My curious eyes leave the beautiful face of the man and fixate on the slides of a presentation on the panel, it is a menu for a charity ball that the Colucci companies will finance or organize.

But something catches my attention in the choice of dishes, a mistake that can influence the rest of the menu, without controlling my critical side my voice fills the room:

“Accompanying this wine with this choice of appetizers is a huge mistake!”, a loud throat invades my ears and I soon realize the greatness of my mistake.

Meddling in the affairs of others where I was not called.

Jack stares at me with wide eyes and a bewildered expression on his face, perhaps surprised by my boldness, because so am I.

“Sorry...I should not have said that and meddle, a thousand apologies!”, I ask concerned about the consequences.

I should get out of here right now, that would be the best thing to do in a situation like this.

With my head bowed from the shame I feel, I hear the other man's voice addressing me:

“In this case, which wine would you choose to accompany this menu?”

“What?”, I wonder when I realize that none of them scolded me for intruding.

“He said there was a mistake on the menu, and that the choice of Italian wine La Carraia Umbria Ruber was a smart choice, so please, let's discuss it.”, He asks.

My God! What if I say something wrong and get fired at this table?

There is something sexy in his timbre of voice that makes me delighted, what does this man have?

With a wave, he points to one of the chairs available in front of him, takes a deep breath, and obeys being face-to-face with him.

“Mr. Colucci, I don't think Miss Duarte has...”

Damn! A thousand fucking times! Mister Colucci? Is this man in front of me the so famous and powerful James Colucci?

I widen my eyes and try to remain calm before the boss who does not take his eyes off me, I'm sure he is trying to decide if it is a good idea to fire this crazy asshole.

If before I was nervous, now I feel like I'm going to explode from the despair I feel.

“Excuse me, Jack, I want to hear what this young lady has to say to me...”

My God, I just criticized the work of my superior, the boss, the owner of the whole fucking thing!

“I believe that this is a charity ball, so the choice of this wine would not be appropriate, if you want to combine luxury with a splendid meal, I recommend bottles of Château de Saint Cosme. It is a wonderful wine and I am sure you will love the choice…”, I say in a restrained tone.

“Jack, continue your presentation and at the end, we will consider the idea of Miss Duarte.”, Mr. Colucci is headed to Jack who's back in front of the slides.

“And Miss Duarte, follow us, please!”, I nod starting to pay attention to Jack's presentation that in addition to interrupting, I criticized.

Listening carefully to every word that comes out of Jack's mouth, I realize that the menu is about a charity gala evening, in favor of an association to raise funds for a children's hospital specializing in cancer.

I confess that it is a noble activity of Colucci companies to care about this idea, it is something that needs attention, and they are ready to help.

But on the other hand, the same company is concerned about the menu and choice of wine for snobbish and wealthy people, while the little children are suffering from hospitalized disease, and some do not know what can happen the next day.

“So, Miss Duarte, do you still have the idea that the wine of your choice would be more suitable?”, Mr. Colucci asks me when Jack finishes his presentation.

Without looking like an idiot or a fool in your presence, I avoid your blue eyes that take all my attention and make me fumble with the damn words.

“Yes, but it's just a suggestion, Mr. Michel may have more experience in this than I do I wave to Jack who smiles even though he's visibly uncomfortable.”

“But I think the choice of wine seems rather superficial compared to the reason for this charity night since a name for an expensive wine will not change the life of a child suffering from this cruel disease.”, When I raise my head, I see the two of them looking at me with wide eyes.

Did I just throw it in his face that he cares more about a menu than the innocent lives of sick children?

Now my resignation is getting closer and closer...

Jack looks at me restrained, he must also be asking the same question as me.

What am I doing? Trying to lose my job at the company I've always dreamed of being a part of?

Silence reigns in the room for a few seconds, the expression on the face of James Colucci becomes firmer, and he raises a black eyebrow while still fixed on me.

“I understand your point of view Miss Duarte, I know that the choice of wine may seem futile to many people, but the main and only purpose of this organization is to raise enough funds to make an excellent donation to children's hospitals, it may seem that no, but I care about these children who are suffering since I was also one of them when I was 9 years old...”

Fuck! I deserved that, I feel terrible putting the judge without at least knowing something about it, I urgently need to learn to control my big mouth or soon, I can get very bad.

Even without knowing his story, I can imagine a little boy with blue eyes suffering from this damn disease, now I understand the reason for him to try to help others who are going through the same thing he, unfortunately, went through.

“ I know perfectly well the degree of suffering and pain of them, it is horrible that so innocent people have to know the worst so soon, fortunately, able to overcome and overcome this disease, but since my cure I have the will and obligation to want to help other children, I was never rich, I was not born in a golden cradle, miss, but I worked hard to reach where I am, and with the financial quality I have today, I can do it. I know money won't cure them all, but it can bring you comfort or finance some treatments, things I've never had the pleasure of having.”

“I'm sorry!”, I say sorry and she nods accepting my apology.

“I would like to have another way to get these donations from such influential people, but there is, so our only option is to organize a big party to win over and convince these precious taxpayers.”

Looking at Jack I realize the tension that the poor man is feeling since I just took a kind sermon from our superior, but of course, I deserved that.

“So please continue, we are all ears!”, he says leaning against the chair and staring at me with a shadow of a smile and a challenging expression.

Is he having fun with my embarrassment and nervousness?

I push the drug of tension away from me and soothe before resuming my explanation with more attitude in my voice, even being the CEO of a multinational, I will not let him enjoy my discomfort.

“Good...red wine is not ideal, even if it is light, it could easily break the taste of the chosen appetizers instead of evidencing them.”, I say raising an eyebrow and staring at him determined.

I already insulted him and criticized him at the same meeting, if he wanted to fire me, I'd already done it at the first opportunity, so I won't be embarrassed in front of him again.

“If you want a great wine, I would recommend the Château de Saint Cosme, it has a sweet taste and aroma, besides being very subtle and intense in the same measure...”, I say the last sentence staring at his blue eyes that seem to shine.

“Its red fruit note would leave a slight impression of freshness that would blend easily with these appetizers and meals placed on the menu”, I point to the slides on the screen.

“If you will allow me one more observation, the addition of a thin layer of truffle emulsion would fall perfectly into the sauce of Saint-Jacques”, I deliver the fatal blow by realizing the surprise due to my culinary knowledge in Jack's eyes.

For a moment I see intrigue and pride in his blue eyes, but my happiness lasts little, for he retorts with arched eyebrows as he leans toward me and says:

“Or perhaps a Chablis Premier Cru, with an aroma dominated by honey and dried fruit could combine more with Saint-Jacques.”

Does the bastard also know about wines? So why didn't he make changes to the menu and wait for me to fix it?

I shouldn't, but this little game is amusing me, by the sparkle in his eyes and a shadow of a cynical smile on his fleshy lips I know that our challenge has the same effect on him.

“Are you an expert on the subject?”, he replies smiling.