Embarassed

Sofia's POV

I stared at the file he handed me like it was written in some ancient, forgotten language. There was too much to process—corporation goals, client profiles, meeting agendas—and I had barely ten minutes to absorb it all. How was I supposed to grasp everything so quickly? Skimming through, I decided to focus on the essentials: the corporation's key points and the purpose of the meeting. Even that felt overwhelming.

Leandro’s sharp voice cut through my thoughts. "It’s time to leave."

I snapped the file shut, grabbed my bag, and hurried after him. As I reached the door, he turned, his eyes narrowing as they fell on my bag.

“What are you doing with that?” he asked, his tone dripping with disapproval.

I blinked, confused. “Uh, it’s my bag?”

“You don’t need it,” he said coldly.

Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, I turned back to drop my bag at the desk. Don’t do this, don’t do that. What was I supposed to do? Was everything forbidden in Leandro Rossi's world?

When we reached the car, his driver stepped forward to open the back passenger door. Leandro slid in without a word, his every move precise and commanding. I glanced at the open front door and assumed it was for me, moving to sit beside the driver.

"Are you actually dumb or just pretending to be?" Leandro’s voice boomed from the backseat, stopping me in my tracks.

Heat rushed to my face as I froze.

“Get in the back,” he snapped, his piercing eyes glaring at me through the tinted window.

I fumbled with the door handle, mortified, and hurried to the other side of the car. Sliding into the backseat, I kept my gaze fixed firmly ahead, willing my cheeks to cool down.

Leandro didn’t say another word, but the silence in the car was suffocating, his displeasure hanging heavy in the air. I clenched the file in my lap, biting my tongue to keep from snapping at him. Who did he think he was, belittling me at every turn?

As the car pulled away, I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He sat there like royalty, exuding an air of authority that was impossible to ignore. Part of me wanted to yell at him, but the other part—the one that knew my job and sanity depended on this—kept me in check.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself of Bri’s words. "He doesn’t like smiling, he doesn’t like chatting, he doesn’t like anything normal. Just survive, Sof."

"Brief me," he said suddenly after minutes of silence. "Who are we meeting, and why?"

I swallowed hard, clutching the file in my lap. I quickly launched into what I’d managed to gather from the chaos of information he’d handed me.

But before I could even finish my first sentence, he cut me off. "No," he said sharply, correcting me. Except—it wasn’t a correction. It was the exact same thing I’d just said.

I frowned, biting back my irritation, and continued. Again, he interrupted, this time with even more authority. Yet, once more, it was just a repeat of my words.

"Excuse me, Mr. Rossi," I said, my tone edging dangerously close to annoyance. "You’re not correcting me—you’re repeating what I just said."

His eyes darted to mine, sharp and angry, like I’d just committed the ultimate sin.

"Do you now know better than me, chica?" he snapped, his voice cold enough to send shivers down my spine.

"No, I don't," I replied.

His eyes narrowed. "That’s Sir to you, not Mr. Rossi or anything else. ¿Entendido?"

"Okay," I muttered.

His gaze sharpened, and I hastily corrected myself. "Okay, sir."

Satisfied but still glaring, he leaned back in his seat. "Stop. You don’t need to brief me."

What? I stared at him, stunned. He’d made me cram all that information, and now he didn’t even need it?

"You won’t be in the meeting anyway," he added curtly. "You’ll stay outside and wait."

I bit my lip, swallowing the urge to snap. Why had I wasted my time stressing over this if he didn’t even plan to let me in?

The car slowed to a halt in front of Florencio Corporations. Leandro’s driver, a man so quick it seemed like he anticipated his boss’s every move, was already at the door, holding it open.

Leandro stepped out smoothly, like the world revolved around him, and started walking toward the building. He didn’t even glance back to see if I was following.

I scrambled out of the car, clutching my file, and hurried after him, my heels clicking against the pavement as I struggled to keep up with his long strides.

Before we reached the entrance, he glanced back at me briefly.

"My former PA will brief you on your responsibilities and give you my schedule. Memorize it. I don’t want to have to remind you of anything—ever. That’s your job."

"Yes, sir," I replied through gritted teeth, forcing myself to keep pace with him.

By the time we entered the sleek, glass-walled building, I was breathless, but Leandro didn’t even seem to notice—or care. He was already several steps ahead, commanding the attention of everyone we passed with his presence. Meanwhile, I trailed behind, feeling like a lost puppy in a world of wolves. He snapped his head at me giving me a hard stare before walking into the boardroom. I sighed in relief and headed toward the reception.

As I sat in the reception area, boredom began to settle in. I had been staring at the polished marble floors and the sleek modern decor for what felt like hours. Occasionally, I glanced at the glass doors leading into the boardroom where Leandro was in a meeting, but there was no sign of him coming out anytime soon. I sighed, fidgeting with the edges of the files in my lap.

Thank God I had tucked my phone into the stack of files. Carefully, I slipped it out and unlocked it. Predictably, my notifications were flooded with messages from Bri.

Bri: ¿Cómo estás, hermanita? Is your boss being a jerk yet?

Bri: What are you doing? Why aren’t you replying?

Bri: If you don’t text me back in five minutes, I swear I’ll barge into Rossi Group and rescue you!

I couldn’t help but smile at her dramatics. Cheesy as she was, her relentless concern was endearing. I quickly typed a response.

Me: Relax, Bri. I’m a corporate worker now, remember? I can’t just be on my phone during office hours.

The moment I hit send, the message ticked immediately, showing she had seen it right away. A second later, my phone blared loudly in the otherwise silent reception area.

I jumped in my seat as everyone turned to stare at me. Workers, visitors, even the receptionist behind the desk shot me disapproving looks. Flustered, I fumbled to end the call and quickly put my phone on Do Not Disturb. Knowing Bri, she was crazy enough to call back if I didn’t.

Bri: (via text) If that idiota fires you, I’ll take care of us for the rest of our lives. You don’t need this job anyway.

I bowed my head, mortified, wishing I could disappear into thin air. I loved Bri, but sometimes her recklessness made me want to strangle her.

Before I could fully recover, a woman I recognized from earlier walked up to me, her expression polite but stern.

“Señorita, I’ll have to ask you to leave if there’s another disturbance.”

“I’m so sorry,” I stammered, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Just then, a man appeared, his presence immediately commanding attention. He had an air of authority, and the woman straightened up and bowed slightly. “Señor Adrian,” she greeted respectfully.

Adrian Florencio. The heir to Florencio Corporations. Great, just what I needed—more embarrassment.

Adrian’s gaze shifted to me, and he smiled faintly.

“Spare her, Elisa. It was an accident, no?”

The woman glanced at me and nodded, her tone suddenly soft.

"Of course, Señor. My apologies.” With that, she bowed again and walked away.

Adrian turned back to me, his piercing eyes filled with curiosity. “You must be the pretty lady causing all the commotion.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry for the disturbance, and thank you for stepping in, but I’m waiting on my boss, so—”

“Leandro Rossi,” he interrupted knowingly.

I blinked, surprised. “Yes, and since you already know that, could you let me wait in peace now?”

He chuckled softly, his smile widening.

“Fair enough. I just came out of the meeting with your boss. If you insist on being left alone, I’ll take my leave.”

He took a step back but paused to add, "By the way, you're quite a beauty.”

I barely managed a “Thank you” before he was already walking away. I sighed, slumping back into my seat, and muttered under my breath, “This day keeps getting better and better.”

My phone buzzed in my lap, and I instinctively reached for it, thinking it was Bri again. But this time, it wasn’t her. My stomach dropped when I saw an unknown number with a single message:

“Stay away from Adrian Florencio. You don’t want to be caught in his web.”