𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝟏 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘
A U R E L I A :
" I applied here to get away from my family and to pursue my career. Not fall in love with my boss. "
R A I N E R :
" You signed a contract, Gold. That means you're mine and there's no escapi...
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" calm before the storm. "
"MR. MORELLI IS GONE and has left me in charge. As we all know, he recently got into a major accident and has to be hospitalized for a few weeks, and as his personal secretary, he decided to assign me to be in his place while he is gone."
There's collective gasps and nods in the meeting room, but my eyes are focused on one person. Gianna Genova. The woman who's currently on the verge of shedding tears at the mention of Rainer being in the hospital. I want to groan at her overreaction.
"That being said, I don't want you all to treat me like you treat Mr. Morelli, since I am very aware of how you all are like behind his back. As long as you treat me with respect, I won't have a problem." At least I hope they give me respect. I'm afraid that taking on Rainer's role for these next few weeks will stress me out or the company won't see me fit for the job.
I'm also nearly a hundred percent sure that this job is the reason behind Rainer's abrasive personality. Either way, there's no backing out, his job is now my responsibility.
"I hope that's clear now to everyone. Now, can we move onto the updates? Promotions? Fabrics?" My gaze shifts from Sofia to Gianna and I wait patiently as they bring out a small file with what I assume is the new information of each department. I lean back in my seat and take a second to adjust its height to fit me.
And with a sigh, the real meeting starts and I now have to play the part of Rainer Morelli.
────
"Yes! I just feel so bad for him.. He really didn't deserve that." I overhear Gianna speaking about Rainer, a stack of files in my hands. "If only he had been with me.." She pouts, trailing off and I hope she doesn't finish that sentence.
I clear my throat, announcing my presence in the room and Gianna and her friends turn their heads towards me. "Ms. Genova!" I smile, greeting her with a quick nod. She seems rather shocked by my sudden appearance though she gives me a small smile in return. Her friends give me evidently fake smiles which I have no choice but to return.
"What were you guys chatting about?" I stand next to Gianna, who's seated on an office chair with the other girls. Some of her friends snicker, I don't recognize them though I'm sure she'd love to introduce me. "Just Mr. Morelli and how it's so horrible that he's in the hospital." She fawns, pressing a hand to her chest.
Her friends back her up, and I look at her with a confused expression, hinting that she should introduce me. "Oh! I'm sorry. Girls, this is Aurelia Emberlyn, she's in charge while Rainer—" She chuckles. "I mean Mr. Morelli is gone. Aurelia this is Zavana Volkov, Blair Elizalde, and Angela Ricci, all from the promotions department."
I nod, smiling and waving to them while my other hand is occupied. Talk about wannabe mean girls, I internally snicker. The four of them continue chatting about our boss as I tap a few buttons on my tablet, arranging meetings and inserting the data into our new system so I can better sort information out. My head is pounding and I'm hoping these girls don't add onto my stress.
