CHIARA
As we watched the event downstairs. Lia Bianchi walked in, shining like the brightest star in the sky. She took a glass from a passing by waiter. Regality and confidence oozed from her, something that she was suppressing because of her stupid worthless piece of shit ex-husband, Bormann. Even his name sounded bitter in my mouth.
"Who is she?" asked Carmelo. "Lia Bianchi. The new CEO of Royal Sculptures company." I stood up straight and faced him. "Remember when I told you about the surprise the other night?" He nodded. "She is the surprise," His eyebrows drew together, both of us turned to look down. She was smiling as she spoke with some guests. "You must have heard of one of my many scandals, where I beat some CEO to pulp because he refused to sign a contract with me, blah, blah, blah," I returned my gaze to him. "Yes. Made it to the headline with that one, tesoro. My favorite video of you." He rubbed my cheek smiling.
I smiled back, "That wasn't the real reason. He was a harasser, and I just can't work well with those hideous creatures. I was going to let it go but then he harassed his wife before me, and the rest was history."
Something shone in his eyes and then he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "You never cease to amaze me, Chichi. Just how many times do you want me to fall for you? Have some mercy on me, tesoro." He whispered in my ear.
My pulse picked a pace. And how many times are you going to give me a heart attack? "Melo," I murmured, "Hm?" he responded. "We have to go down there for the surprise." He pulled back, "Yeah?" I looked up at him, "Yeah." I raised my hand and grazed his lips with my pointing finger, making his lower lips pop, all the while he watched me with hooded eyes. If only he knew the state of my heart and mind.
I traced down his neck, feeling his Adams apple bobbing under my touch. I stopped on the right side of his chest and punched it lightly. His eyes widened as if I just pulled him out of his trance. He grunted. I chuckled, "Prepare your heart, Mr. Conti. You are about to fall for me all over again." I then walked downstairs, ignoring his heating presence behind me. Chiara, this was no time to get horny, for fucks sake!
"Lia," I called out. Causing her to turn around, along with the people that surrounded her. "Chiara." We shared cheek kisses, "You look stunning. Where did you get your dress from? I don't think I know that brand." Her eyes narrowed at my dress. I stood between the crowds and twirled around. No, actually, showing off. "That is because only one brand can make such a dress, the iconic Vittoria De Babesy." Gasps erupted.
The strapless floor-length dress that flattered some of my assets. It was designed with a strapless neckline, a high thigh slit, corset bodice and glitter detailing, the floor length hem with a short train that extended slightly beyond the floor. My hair was up in a messy bun with loose strands. A matte deep red lipstick and silver YSL heels. Viva brought the iconic dress, I added my own touch to my look tonight.
"As expected, Viva the icon never disappoints." Said Lia, appreciating the dress. I never enjoyed the company of a woman other than the few ones I had in my life, but I had a feeling that I was going to have a good time with Lia. I took her hand and pulled her to the crowd to stand along with me, Yusuf and Safiya.
Carmelo stood behind the crowd with a glass of wine in his hands, his eyes glued at me. And Chong was nowhere to be seen. Probably dealing with the orders of the customers tonight. I made a toast and said my appreciation to the guests first and congratulated my artists. Then I moved to the other important issue.
"As you can see, we have another element in our exhibition unlike the former ones." I pointed at the sculptures. "The woman standing before me, some of you may know her already but let me introduce you to the new CEO of Royal Sculptures company, Lia Bianchi." People clapped for her. Yes, Mr. Worthless Bormann was not in the picture anymore and Lia was the CEO of the company.
"But if she is the CEO, who bought the company? I heard from my husband that it's some anonymous foreign investor." Said one of the guests. "You are standing before her." Lia said, pointing at me, and I smirked. Another round of gasps and murmurs erupted. They might as well make a melody out of it. It was going to be a hit.
Also true, I bought the goddamn company. When Lia reached out to me about it, I wasn't sure about her proposal. But when she said that she wanted to get rid of Bormann in her life and become independent… I told her to say no other word and accepted the offer. Lia made the company go on the verge of bankruptcy first. I didn't even ask how she managed to do that. You don't ask a soldier what methods they were using to survive at war.
That's when I came into the picture as a pretense savior. You should've seen Bormann's face on the contract signing day. It was all done online with only Chong and my lawyers physically representing me, but I felt the old man's disappointment and anger right through my laptop screen.
Then I handed the management to Lia, and Carmelo and I were the sole shareholders of the company. Of course, he doesn't know that yet. I turned to see him watching me with that look again on his face. Like I was a gem and his entire world. All in all, Lia was happy, I was happy and horny, and the rest of the world could go and fuck itself.
Almost half of the items were bought. Except those that belonged to me, which I brought out only to add vibrancy to the exhibition. What more can a businessperson ever wish for than a successful purchase? I smiled so hard tonight my jaws were hurting. I was in dire need of an appointment with a dentist.
"Tesoro, can you come with me for a second?" Carmelo said, his hand finding my waist and pulled me away from the guests. I gave them a look of an apology. "What is it?" I asked. He only smiled and took me to the back room. When the door opened my younger brother came into view. I took a step back and faced Carmelo in disbelief. He shrugged, still smiling and walked away.
I rushed and met Marco in the middle as we crushed into a hug. I pulled back and kissed his cheeks, not caring about the tears streaming down like a damn waterfall. "I missed you." He said, "You have no idea, bud." I replied, hugging him again. I missed them so much it hurts. "Great job out there, sis. Proud of you." He said, wiping my cheeks. "Hey, stop making me cry and look like a panda. I still have an event going out there." He laughed. I missed hearing him. We conversed for a while. And then he face-timed our Mamma and I cried even more. They were fine. Both of them.