Episode 27.3

The next day when he woke up his brother hadn't returned, but he didn't think it was important, sometimes he disappeared for days. So he had breakfast, took a bath and got ready to go to his work like every day.

She didn't want to think about all this business with Massimo, at times it seemed so unreal that she suddenly had the feeling that she had dreamed it in one of those mid-afternoon naps when she could clearly remember every part of an absurd, disturbing dream. Had it been all a delusion of her brother after drinking a whole glass of vodka or did he just try to convince her, scare her into accepting that proposal?

She wasn't sure.

That Italian didn't look like he needed a wife, if he wanted that he would already have her, why would he wait for her, why would he ask for her hand in secret?

She sighed in defeat, it would be better to wait and...

She got ready to go to the office as usual, life went on. Her work was her strongest link with reality, as well as her brother Nicolai and the letters that her Russian friend Anouska wrote to her. It was her space, her contact with people, she had no friends in Italy nor had she been able to have a romance, she hadn't had a chance either... Sometimes she felt lonely and after finishing her studies she felt that she had nothing to occupy her time and spending the whole day watching TV and eating desserts was not for her: she needed to do things, to feel useful. In addition, she had planned to do a university degree one day like her brothers, she had a good memory and she liked to study, but something in her life was not right...

Leaving the building she didn't see her brother's guards, but she didn't care, the driver wasn't there either so she had to take a bus.

She was very determined not to give up her job, she wouldn't, nor would she marry that Massimo. She did not accept that Italian as her savior, maybe it was a lie and Nicolai lied to her because she owed money or favors to that man and he apparently had no other place to find a wife.

But her brother wasn't a liar, despite having secrets, he wouldn't have lied to her with something like that.

When she got to work, her head was a mess, but seeing his boss: rich, so handsome and with a carefree expression, she distracted a little from his problems. Men like him had a special charm, something that made them unique and she could feel it. She didn't quite know what it was, but one of the reasons why she had refused to resign had a first and last name. Alberto Galli.

Feeling observed he hid a smile.

She was a rogue of course and to him, she was nothing more than an assistant he wanted to sleep with. Yes, it was true, she was not fooled, when she was studying she had many Romeos, Italians who said nice things to her, who pretended to be friends but only wanted something: sex. Galli was a plus, or maybe he wasn't. She liked him, perhaps too much, and to make matters worse, the guy was married.

It wasn't right to go out with married people, a coworker of hers kept her up to date on everything, but she liked it...

"Good morning signorina, how are you?" Arrive on time.

"Buongiorno signore," she replied, blushing at her intense blue gaze.

"There's a backlog, per favore signorina..."

-Oh yes of course...

Yes, there was a lot to do that day... He did nothing but go around all morning: looking for lost contracts, making fifty calls, writing emails and finally breaking into a meeting with his boss when he had expressed that he did not want to be interrupted.

She spoke in Russian again which increased her anger as her friends and associates stared at her. That really wasn't her day! Her eyes sparkled. He didn't agree to talk to the girl who seemed to be hysterical for talking to him. It wasn't the first time she had called and he never answered her. Who would she be? Any rejected old girlfriend or...?

She wasn't the only woman he called. He was a much sought after man. And that he was married. Didn't his brother say so? What Italy was the country of cuckolds?

-You can leave now. Thanks ragazza," she told him.

Ragazza. He hated being called that, she wasn't fifteen but twenty-one, she was an adult woman and he seemed to be making fun of her by calling her a rookie or very young. Without experience.

She felt like a fool fantasizing about that man. She was wasting her time and getting involved in a dangerous way, and it wouldn't do her any good.

But hell: she needed that job, she didn't want to leave it.

She returned to her office and ordered the chaos that her boss had left behind, she thought that she should leave before her but she did not want to tempt fate, she had been escaping early for too many days, if she continued like this she would they would throw...

He suddenly saw Carla enter, an office worker with glasses with whom he sometimes talked during lunch. She was one of the few that she actually spoke to him, the others were very reserved, suspicious.

"Irina, what do you have?" Something happened? She –she wanted to know.

Carla used to carry contracts from one floor to another and she left some documents on her boss's desk and she received them.

—There is a woman that she always calls—Irina didn't miss an opportunity to complain—And Mr. Galli gets angry when she tells him, but she doesn't understand... she doesn't stop calling and there are others too.

Carla smiled.

—Oh don't worry about that, it's just that your boss is a true lover... But she doesn't get angry, on the contrary, she has fun. You know... I think he likes you, you're his type, he likes blondes with round faces, he's never liked very skinny or long-faced ones.

Those words surprised her, it was the first time that someone insinuated that in such an open way, that is, at first she did notice that he was looking at her, but later... In reality, he ignored her and didn't treat her too well, he maintained a strange attitude . He had invited her to lunch yes, only to ask her questions she couldn't answer and then…

"Why do you say that, Carla?" She—she wanted to know.

The young woman adjusted her glasses and smiled at him. "Wow, and you like the boss too, but hey, be careful... He really likes women and no... You shouldn't make plans, just enjoy the moment without getting involved." Don't forget that he is married and married people are a problem.

Irina had the feeling that despite understanding Italian, she had not been able to decipher the meaning of her words. What would she have wanted to tell him?

"Wow, did I puzzle you?" You do not understand right? Look, I think you're not like the other girls and this isn't... I'm not saying anything bad, but he's not for you, you look like a teenager who's run away from his house. You seem to need affection, love, something more than a selfish and egotistical man who doesn't want anyone. Unless you have a boyfriend and then... Well, forget what I told you.

So he was an egomaniac who played with everyone? She must have imagined it. Many rich men were like that. There was even one that made them think differently. At least that's what the women's magazines specialized in the subject said. In love with a ladyboy? Seven keys to win over your man... Find out if you've fallen in love with a man who doesn't really exist. Intense sex... When you don't dare to...

Well, it was amazing how educational women's magazines were on various topics like sex, friendship, love, and relationships that turned out to be destructive. She had learned a lot because she had no one to ask certain things and yet there was plenty of material on human relationships. She imagined that at some point in her life she would have a boyfriend and then maybe some problems and...

A flirt, her boss was a flirt. And apparently that young woman believed that she was planning to trap him or something.

—Excuse me, I hope you don't take what I told you the wrong way... I just thought that... There were other secretaries before who left sad, I think that this man has something to fall in love with, that fascinates and falls in love and then destroys .

The arrival of her boss put an end to the chatter, Carla almost vanished and she thought about her words for just a moment because the presence of her boss invaded her thoughts.

—Miss Irina, please sit down, I must talk to you.

Those words caused her alarm, her blue eyes moved from one place to another without hiding her nerves while she obeyed. He seemed angry, upset...

—I have asked you not to interrupt in the meetings and I'm afraid you forgot, like you forget to speak in our language and some names that I asked for...

Yes, it was a reprimand, he had no doubts and luckily for her as he spoke quickly he didn't understand everything. Except that he did notice that he was upset about various things.

"If you wish, I can resign now, Signore Galli," he then said proudly. He wouldn't stay in a place where it seemed he was doing nothing but screwing up.

His words did something he hadn't expected: they left him baffled for a few minutes.

"Don't you think it's easier to apologize and say it won't happen again?" He then said very slowly.

—Maybe, but I think his anger can't be appeased with a simple apology, signore.

He held his gaze.

—He seems to forget that he is my assistant, he lives thinking about something else and I would like to know what he thinks about. Is something worrying you? Perhaps I have been harsh and have some very serious personal problem that interferes with her work.

Irina did not answer. What did this man care about his personal problems? Since when were bosses so humane and condescending? Maybe since they were planning his secretaries.

—It's that I don't have any problem, it's just that people call to talk to you, many people and I can't guess if that call should be diverted or answered—he finally said—Sometimes I forget the language and my memory isn't very good.

She had to invent something, it was better for him to think she was an idiot than to think she was a little stupid for him and she used to forget names, yes, because the list of undesirables was long and it seemed to grow day by day.

That answer seemed to satisfy him and then, as if nothing had happened, he asked her to make some calls. But Irina did not forget him and that night, when she left the company, she seriously thought that she should resign. Not only because of the reprimand from her boss, but because of Carla's words about the tricks of a seducer that she seduced, but she never got involved. If she had no hope of winning him over, of having a beautiful and romantic relationship like the ones in the movies, what was the point of her staying?

She had nothing against platonic love, she didn't really know any other kind of romantic love, but she was a little sick of nobody paying attention to her. Being Ravelli's new fool didn't appeal to her at all. How long had she been in that situation of looks, sighs and nothing happened? Ugh... Wow, she had the feeling that there was no other kind of relationship for her than a made-up, unreal, and platonic one. She peeked at the man she liked and he was on another planet.

She called her brother's driver, but he did not answer. Well, she would take a cab, she didn't feel like waiting for the bus, she wasn't in the mood.

When she was taking her bag and leaving the building she met her boss. Without knowing why that meeting she found it disturbing.

—Irina... Haven't you left? Do you want me to take you?

Of course I won't go with you, she thought to herself.

She looked around her in a daze, uncertain. Her brother wouldn't have allowed that, she didn't want any flirt to know where she lived, but something in her words made her agree. She imagined that Nicolai would be away for several days and she didn't want to go back to her house alone, she was somewhat depressed, to tell the truth.

That's why she accepted him to take her, knowing that it was a bad idea...

-Would you like to take a walk? To dinner? —She asked when she got into her car.

Irina did not want to go, she was in a hurry to return to her house and find out where her brother was.

And then she received a call, when he was asking her which address she should take her to, her cell phone blared like a full volume trumpet.

Her brother Nicolai... It was a miracle.

-Where are you? She—she wanted to know. It was unusual for her to ask because he was the one who disappeared for days without saying where she was going.

"I'm going home, I'll be there in ten minutes" was her answer.

"And why didn't you call my driver to bring you?" Irina, I told you that I want you to quit that job... Are you on a bus? It is very dark, it is not prudent for you to walk alone at this hour.

She looked at her boss because he was very attentive to the conversation even though she certainly didn't understand a word because they spoke in Russian.

"Are you home, Nicolai?"

There was nothing better than curbing someone's curiosity by answering with questions.

—I've just arrived, if you want I'll send Ralf... Irina, I don't like you walking around alone, you know.

When she ended the call she told her address to her boss who was looking at her with an expression of intrigue and admiration.

—Sorry, I didn't know that... Were you talking to your boyfriend? She said very slowly.

Those Italians lived pending that if you have a boyfriend, that if you are a virgin, that if you want to take a walk or...

"No, it wasn't my fiancé signore." It was my brother Nicolai.

He looked at her with an incredulous, almost foxy expression, but he accepted the answer and backed off. He had the impression that she was taking too long as if he didn't know the streets or did it on purpose to talk.

But the conversation was interrupted, she was too anxious to get there, and she hoped that her brother would not see her arrive with her boss and she would have to endure a lecture, because apparently her brother's work was so secret that no one could know where he lived. , nor could she speak of the matter.

She had the feeling that a thousand years passed until she found herself in the block of the picturesque building.

"Is it here, Signorina Irina?" Her boss looked at the place curiously as if he wanted to memorize every detail.

She nodded eagerly and almost forgot her bag and her cell phone because all she wanted was to jump out of the car and into her apartment.

She said goodbye to her boss and thanked her almost without looking at him and she was running to the building when a car slowly approached her.

"Irina, beautiful friend," said the driver.

She looked at him frightened, it was that Neapolitan who was pretending... Massimo.

"Excuse me, did I scare you, beautiful?" Her," she said, slowly removing her sunglasses. In a second he was out of the car and invited her for a ride.

"Thank you, but I can't go out now, sorry, my brother is worried and I have to go back now," she replied nervously.