Edge of Deception

CHAPTER FIVE

Tanya worked steadily till six o clock as the floor slowly emptied. Her back was sore and she needed to take a break very badly but Ilario's words from the morning rang in her ears. Thankfully he had remained inside his office the whole time and not once called her for anything. Being his secretary was easy, or maybe it was her he didn't like working for him.

She always felt uneasy by the way Ilario De Russo treated her. He wasn't actually cruel to her or raised his voice at her. The few times he had spoken to her, she had got the idea as if he was angry with her for some reason and the contempt showed in the manner his features tightened around her, or the way he blanked his expressions if she entered his vicinity. Which was nothing compared to the way she had felt during the interview.

It had been a gruelling session. Right from the moment she had entered the room she had felt his piercing gaze on her. There were two other people interviewing her besides him, one of them her current team leader. They had been older and kinder to her, and fielding their questions had not been very difficult. She had still floundered a few times, after all, she was only an average student, making up the lack of bookish knowledge with her street smarts. In addition, she suspected that they had gone easy on her because of Mateo. But when it came to Ilario, he had seen right through her ruse.

The questions, which had been only few, had cut straight through any convoluted bullshit she had been trying to dish out and had failed to give proper replies to every single one of his questions.

In the end, he had fallen silent and left her interview to the other two men, contend to sit back and watch her instead with those deceptively indifferent eyes. But Tanya had been acutely aware of the way his hooded gaze had followed her every move, every gesture, every word and smile that tumbled out of her lips.

Those twenty minutes had been the biggest hurdle of her twenty four years on earth. Since that day, a mocking smile had been reserved just for her by Ilario De Russo.

She didn't understand exactly why he disliked her so much. She got the sense that he thought she wasn't qualified enough to work in his company, so she could understand when he had accused her of favouritism. But something told her that it was more than that. His dislike towards her stemmed from something she had no clue about.

It didn't help that she couldn't help but feel a strange quiver in her heart every time he was anywhere near her. A strong, almost magnetic force pulled her towards him. She covertly observed him when he wasn't looking at her, hung onto her colleagues' tales about him, eagerly waited for the titbits of Ilario's love life Sophia gossiped about.

Tanya was no prude. In her twenty four years she'd dated her fair share of boys. But Ilario, now he ain't no boy. He was on a totally different league altogether. Tanya was known for her quick wit and sharp tongue, but both seemed to vanish in front of him.

Her team leader called her, asking how soon she could finish her work so he could collate everything and be ready for Monday. She was anxious, it was already Thursday and with two of her teammates on vacation, she had too much on her plate already.

By seven, it was becoming impossible to keep sitting at her desk. When the last employee on her floor left, she decided to take a break. Just an hour break, she would go to the coffee shop around the corner and come back to put in another hour of work before she headed home. It wasn't as if there was anyone waiting for her at her tiny studio apartment anyway. Although, she liked her living space, it being reasonably priced at a decent location in the city close to the Metro and where shops stayed opened till late at night. Something which was important for Tanya because she often ate outside, having no experience nor much interest in cooking for herself. Her culinary expertise was limited to boiling noodles and the occasional pasta. Plus, what is the point of being in Milan if she didn't take full advantage of the gourmet Italian dishes all around her?

She got a cannoli with her coffee and sat down to spend some quality time with her phone. As soon as she opened her inbox, the notifications started popping like crazy. It's been a while she had contacted anyone since she landed in Milan and everyone she knew was pinging her like mad. She sighed and called her mother first. Bracing herself she greeted, "Hello maa."

Her mother launched straight into speech.

"Your Sonali auntie called today again. She went on and on about what an irresponsible child you are."

"You let somebody else call your daughter irresponsible?" Tanya asked in a light tone, a small smile forming on her lips. "That's your job mum, calling me flighty and irresponsible."

"Seriously Tani, I'd never understand how you could just up and leave like that."

"That's not fair, mum. I left a note. Did you tell Sonali auntie that?"

"A note? Are you trying to be funny? A note?" Her mother's exasperated voice reached her and she suddenly felt alone. So very alone in this glittering city. At that moment, she wanted to go back home. Go back to the country she grew up in, hang out in her favourite park with her friends.

And I will. Once I have at least a year experience, I will start applying for Indian organizations, my exposure to the international banking sector should help!

Just a year. I'll have to stick it out for just a year.

And then I will return. And no one would call me irresponsible or a waste of a life.

She tried to divert her mother from her tirade and started asking about her cousins. The tactic worked and mother and daughter spent the next fifteen blissful minutes gossiping to their heart's content. Then she heard her brother speaking in the background.

"Is that sis? Gimme the phone." There was a rustle and the next moment she heard her brother's voice.

"Hello baby brother."

"You have made me famous, sis."

"I have?" She asked drily.

"The way you vanished and then a week later got a job in one of the biggest banks in the world, everybody was so impressed. Honestly, I never thought you had it in you. Even dad said so."

Tanya instantly felt a pang. Her father wasn't talking to her. He had refused to come to the phone since the last five months whenever she had called. He hadn't been able to forgive her.

"If you say so." She said in a defeated tone.

"C'mon." Her brother cajoled her. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I mean, look where you are. I wish I were there. Enjoy sis. Enjoy Milan, enjoy your new job." He tried to boost her, and she smiled. In the next sentence he changed the line of conversation. "By the way, can you tell me about this credit line your bank extended to the Visconti Hotels?"

"What about it?" She asked, a little taken aback.

"I read that the Italian central bank didn't want to approve it. Apparently, the hotel chain doesn't qualify for the drawing power that was approved by your bank."