Well... This Is Awkward

Well... This Is Awkward (4)

Luca

As soon as Naomi walked out of the room, Maame turned towards me.

“What’s your intention with my cousin, Luca Amoroso?” She asked me.

“Well I intend to marry her.” I replied quoting that same cheesy line that is used in oh-so many movies.

“Well obviously but is it because you want to or not?” She pressed on.

“It’s not like I have a choice in the matter.” I replied smiling slightly.

“You and Nay are the same. There is always a choice in life; you just have to be willing to make it.” She told me.

“I wish it were that simple.” I grumbled but she shook her head.

“It is that simple.” She told me and then Naomi walked in.

I wished it were that simple. I wouldn’t have to spend time trying not to be a complete arsehole to her which is like a knee jerk reaction. When Naomi asked about what we were talking about, I couldn’t help but blurt out a sentence with a word ‘piggy’. At first it was just going to be a little joke but I loved seeing her so feisty when she argued with me. It was like the greatest arts of seduction.

I regretted it though when her brother came in through the door. Brown eyes have never looked so cold to me. It was bone chilling. He really didn’t like me; that much was clear. I looked in the corner of my eye and I could Maame in the same position with a smile on her face. She was clearly very amused at the fact that I was seconds away from getting my arse kicked. I was happy when he continued on upstairs and almost cheered when Naomi suggested that I leave. It was just so awkward and I didn’t want to anger her brother anymore by overstaying my welcome.

When I got home, I received a text from Maame. Wait, what the fuck? I don’t remember taking down her number... That girl is a sly one.

‘Don’t break her heart’ was all it said.

How am I going to make sure that I do that? I’m no good at relationships; in fact I’ve managed to break many girls’ hearts without even realising it.

I tried to take my mind off it by designing the advert for our new company. My father had called me while I was on my way home and said it was to be ready for him in the morning. He never considers that I may have a life and it really irritates me. I’m their golden boy so they expect great things from me and are constantly telling me that I can do better. Now, you may think that parents who encourage you are great. Well they are but after putting your entire being into something and receiving a ‘you can do better than this’ speech, you would get pretty annoyed as well.

I focused carefully on the shading and tone of the pencil. I would rather not use my art pencils for the company advertisement but I don’t want to have to redo it too many times after my father rejects so I might as well get it as close to my parent’s view of perfection as possible. I knew as soon as I started that I wouldn’t be going to sleep that night.

I finished all of the motions of the advertisement at seven o’clock in the morning. I took a shower and changed into a suit. I really hated wearing suits but they were the compulsory dress code for men in our company; there were no exceptions, not even for me. I drove down to the city centre to our building and parked in the car park. I went to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. My father had to choose the very top office; this is going to take forever. There were a lot of floors and even though there were only a few people in at this time, it still took a while.

“Ciao Luca.” My father greeted cheerily as I walked into his office.

“Ciao.” I mumbled before yawning.

“Speak clearly son; that’s a bad habit you need to grow out of.” He tutted and I walked sluggishly over to his office.

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked.

My father’s rule number one: don’t tell people your weaknesses and problems; you’ll look weak.

“There’s nothing wrong. I’m absolutely fine.” I said sitting up straight and covering all possible signs of tiredness on my face with an easygoing smile.

My father watched me a few moments to see if my mask slipped but I kept myself in check and he nodded in approval.

“Have you brought it?” He asked.

I obviously wouldn’t be here if I didn’t bring it. I refrained from saying something rude to my father and pulled out the designs from my briefcase. I passed it to my father silently and patiently awaited his verdict.

He looked over them with a complete straight face. He called another one of the senior members and asked him to come up to his office. He didn’t offer any praise or criticism. He simply sat back in his chair waiting as if I wasn’t waiting on his opinion. The guy came in and my father passed him the designs. This guy had a completely different reaction to my designs. His whole face lit and as he flicked through them, he had a big grin on his face.

“Wow young sir, you have a great talent. We will definitely use this for the advert.” He added to my father after praising me.

“Thank you sir.” I replied.

My father nodded at him and he walked briskly out of the office.

“You could have done better than that Luca.” My father commented as soon as the door closed.

I wanted to whine and complain about not sleeping but that wouldn’t gain me any sympathy. My father would be unimpressed that I failed to follow his rules of life.

“I'm sorry; I’ll try to do better next time.” I apologised.

“Don’t apologise and don’t say that you’ll try. Just give your all into your work next time.” He said before looking down at his paperwork.

I was dismissed. I walked out of his office and back into the elevator.

I drove down to Starbucks because I was in desperate need of coffee. I was tired, hungry and in a foul mood so I didn’t really pay attention to my surroundings and accidentally barged past someone. I turned back to say a quick apology before getting my coffee and going home. Naomi stood glaring at me slightly and I forced a smile onto my face. I didn’t want to look weak in front of her especially.

Naomi was a complex character. For so many years, I’d convinced myself that I hated her but recently I realised it wasn’t hate at all. She intrigued me but I couldn’t be friends with her because her parents’ company was proving to be competition for my parents. I didn’t actually know on the first day; I was trying to put her through the initiation process of the school. I always tease the new kid to see how much guts they have because if they don’t have a lot, they won’t survive in the school.

I was completely zoning out by this point, reminiscing on our secondary school days. I could vaguely see Naomi’s mouth moving but I couldn’t process what she was saying and my eyes kept glazing over. Then she said something that made me snap back into attention.

*****

So I will be posting another two chapters so continue reading and please vomment!