CHAPTER 4

The steady tapping of keyboards and the continuous pings of the photocopying machine were only the sounds that punctuated the silence in office BLOCK V.

Celeste had been working nonstop since her unfortunate meeting with Mr Martino in the elevator, it's been over six hours now and nothing unusual or out of the ordinary had happened as the myth surrounding first days at work spoke of.

"Dove please can you come here real quick" Uncle Theo called to her, Celeste's head jerked up immediately, and she quickly scrambled over to her Uncle eager to stretch her stiff legs.

"Yes Uncle Theo" She answered, eyes eager and bright for a more interesting task than filling schedules and forms.

"We are at work, you can stop calling me Uncle Theo I'm not that old" He complained, though his affectionate smile ruined his attempt at seriousness. Celeste shrugged, at a loss at what she should call him when they were working.

"How about Theodore?" He asked and Celeste winced, "Mom will have my head if I called you like that but I can compromise and call you Sir Theo if you wish" She suggested.

Uncle Theo thought about it briefly then turned to the two young interns printing documents.

"James, what do you think?" He asked, James turned with a Grimace and shook his head, while his colleague Gia nodded in agreement.

"I think I'll stick with Uncle Theo then," He said before beckoning Celeste to come closer to his computer, "This was a complaint from one of our stores but I think there are some slight mistakes here and here..." He said pointing at the screen and Celeste peered closely, nodding as she immediately pinpointed what Uncle Theo was talking about.

"You're right there are indeed some mistakes and it looks poorly edited," She said and he agreed.

"Take this to Natasha, MR. Martino's E.A. in office BLOCK III and show this to her, tell her to see if she can reach Raymond in Chicago and tell him to check his last two emails" Uncle Theo said handing her two files.

"Aren't you abusing your Secretary too early Theodore?" Mrs Adel asked as she walked in, hips swinging in her cat-like movements.

"She needs to stretch those legs, Julia, good for the bones," He said winking at her while she rolled her eyes.

"Uncle Theo I will go now", Celeste said heading for the door, Mrs Adel turned to her after taking off her glasses and placing them on Uncle Theo's desk.

"Try Mr Franklin sometimes, this is an office, not Thanksgiving dinner dear" She cautioned Celeste, and Uncle Theo laughed.

"Yes ma'am, I'll get going Mr Franklin" Celeste said with a smile before heading for Miss Natasha's office.

When she finally reached the floor that led to Miss Natasha's office, she started having jitters since MR. Martino's office wasn't far of from her office. The possibility of running into him made her stomach queasy.

Celeste walked carefully, heels gently clicking on the floors as she got closer to the door of his E.A. Miss Natasha, Oh how she wished she was his assistant so she could see him every day, she thought wistfully.

She was about to knock when she heard a shout followed by a moan, She paused briefly to be sure, " Oh baby fuck!!!" The female voice moaned again.

Celeste was stunned, she backed away carefully unsure if she was hallucinating or if was it due to too many dark romance movies she had been watching lately.

'That definitely sounded like someone moaning, could it be Miss Natasha is having sex with someone at work? In broad daylight?'!' She thought haplessly, 'Could it be with...' She gasped, shaking at the image of Marcello in her head.

She went closer to the door and listened closely then she tried the handle on impulse. The door opened with a soft click which disappeared under the sounds of slapping flesh.

Celeste carefully peered through the slight crack to see if she was imagining things, however, right there on a desk were a couple fucking mindlessly like dogs on heat. Celeste was horrified that this was happening at a workplace, the couple either loved the thrill of getting caught or were completely oblivious to the unlocked door because they were totally lost in the haze of passion. However Celeste couldn't peel her eyes away from the scene before her as more moans and groans kept perforating the air.

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Marcello took a deep breath in as he watched the digital clock on the wall, watching time draw closer. He had agreed to dinner with the senator after he had initially lost his temper, Claudia was going to pay for her sleazy act.

He was anxious since the supervisor had not called since morning, he had called lots of times and the calls didn't go through.

Finally, his phone rang and he snatched it up eagerly

."Raffaele how did it go?" He asked, adjusting his tie before buzzing the intercom for his Secretary.

"Sir it's bad, Farmer Eugenio and Giovanni died last night," Raffaele said bitterly. Marcello swore violently, " porca puttana! ( bloody hell!) What the fuck happened?" He shouted.

"I don't know honestly but the Boss has arrived and is taking care of it, " Raffaele said, "Wait Lorenzo is there?" Marcello asked shocked that his Mafia brother would still be bothered with their business now he was boss.

"Yes sir, there are rumors that someone has been dousing most of the crops with paraquat dichloride and he is investigating the situation" Raffaele replied, Marcello buzzed the intercom some more but his Secretary didn't reply.

"How did that get into the sites?" Marcello asked, "I do not know, but I have a feeling that it is because of it that the farmers are having health problems and the harvest is failing" Raffaele stated.

"I see, well since Lorenzo is there just keep me updated on anything that happens especially with the families of the deceased" Marcello said, "that won't be a problem" Raffaele replied and the call went dead.

Marcello kept buzzing the intercom and nothing happened, even his calls weren't going through. He groaned in frustration and left the office and then headed for his secretary's office, he rarely went there since she was always competent though he noticed that she was getting distracted recently.

As he took a turn, in the short distance he saw a female bending and peeping through the door of his Secretary's office.

'What the hell is going on' he thought,

His curiosity spiked as he prowled towards her, taking extreme care not to startle her. He stood behind her and looked through the small crack she made, and his jaw clenched at the lewd scene.

Celeste had decided to leave before they found out she saw them, she carefully closed the door, making sure she didn't make a sound.

Taking a step back to move away, her back collided with a solid wall, and Celeste froze. Last she checked, the corridor was wide and this wasn't some horror movie where walls closed in on the victim, which could only mean one thing.

She could feel the terror clawing at the base of her spine with its thin fingers. She suddenly wished she had left immediately when she heard the first moan behind the door.

She tried to ignore the unsettling feeling that he was the one behind her, but that musky woodsy scent with a hint of citrus that had enveloped her in the elevator was enough proof besides his domineering aura that he was behind her.

"Why did you close the door?" That rich voice questioned casually and Celeste whirled around, heart in mouth.