Giovanni’s Desires

Board meeting

NICOLE

I woke up feeling a little nervous. I'd be having my first official meeting with the board today and I know that this will be a great opportunity to prove myself worthy of my position and make my father proud, but I can't help but worry that I may disappoint him.

What if I was unable to contribute something meaningful to the meeting? I would be sitting with people with years of experience. What if they think I am not qualified to be among them?

"Ma'am, breakfast is ready," Florence said gently, gaining my attention. I didn't even realize when she came into the room.

"Thank you, Florence, I will be downstairs shortly."

"Your parents want to have a word before you leave for work," she said before taking her leave.

I released a sigh before getting on my feet and went into the bathroom to prepare for the day. I searched my closet and picked a decent dress for work and grinned back at my reflection in the mirror.

If there was anything I learnt from my mother, it would be dressing nice and using makeup to mask up your fears because people will exploit your weakness if they sense the barest form of vulnerability.

"Good morning, Dad," I greeted, as I kissed my Mom's cheek before pulling my chair to join them for breakfast.

"How are you, dear? Were you able to get a good night's rest?" Dad asked, his attention fixed on his food, and I nodded.

"Yes, I did."

Florence helped to dish my food and we ate in silence until Father broke the silence.

"Are you prepared for today's meeting? Our new investor will be there and I think this is your chance to show your intelligence. I heard the investor is difficult to please, but I trust you to do a great job." He said, without breaking his eyes from his food.

Sometimes, I wonder why he does that.

"Of course, Dad. Will you be there?" I asked, suddenly anxious.

"I would like to see the look on both the board and the investor's face when you impress them with your level of professionalism." He answered, which means, yes, he would be there.

"Sure," I said, forcing out a smile before pulling my chair back. "I better be on my way now," I announced.

"You barely touched your food," Mom frowned, but I kissed her cheeks instead.

"I will eat at work. Bye Mom, see you at work, Dad," I shouted on my way out.

I heaved out a sigh for the umpteenth time today as I stepped into my office.

"Good morning, ma'am," Shelly greeted.

"Just call me Nicole. What is my schedule like for the day?"

"Erm…" she paused, going through the tab in her hands before looking back at me. "You have a meeting with our investor in an hour, after that, you will be having an arranged dinner with Mr Brown."

I stared at her confused about the last part. "Who is Mr Brown?"

"He is one of the most successful bachelors in the city. From what I heard, he started his business from scratch and last year, his business made it to the top ten in the country. He is a billionaire," She giggled, fanning herself, "and hot!" She exclaimed like a fangirl.

"Okay, so why am I having dinner with him? Do we have some business together?" I asked, still trying to figure out why I would be having dinner with him instead of going home.

"Erm… I heard he is single, and your father might have had a few words with him so…"

"So, this is a blind date." I finished for her, and she nodded.

"Great! Just what I needed." Shelly gave me an apologetic look before leaving my office. I saw that old man before leaving home. Why wouldn't he tell me about it? Why do I have to learn about Shelly? I know why though. It was because he knew I would refuse, and I'd gladly left the man hanging because I wouldn't be going for any stupid dinner.

I sat down angrily, working on the files on my computer when Shelly peeped in. "What is it this time?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's time for the meeting."

"You said I have an hour." I hissed.

"I thought so too, but everyone is waiting in the conference room."

I sighed and picked up my phone before heading into the room. Everyone was already waiting like Shelly said, and I prayed silently not to mess this up.

"I'm sorry for coming late, I was told the meeting won't be held until the next one hour."

"Yes, but why wait when everyone is already here?" One of the board members said, and I smiled.

"Right." I turned to Shelly and she handed me all the documents we had prepared before now. Thank goodness I decided to work on it earlier or I'd be f****d.

"So, what do you have for us? We are convinced that you can handle the new project alone, but we need to see how prepared you are and your ideas too," another one said with a smiling face, but it was as if they were waiting for me to fail.

I knew it was just my mind playing a trick on me, but I wanted to believe that was true so that I could prove them wrong and show my capacity.

I looked over the table, to see my father watching me with an amused smile. Everyone seemed familiar and it didn't take long to figure that the investor wasn't there.

"Can I begin now? The investor doesn't seem to be here yet." I pointed.

"Go ahead, the result is all that matters," Father said, and my heart skipped a beat. Right on cue, the door cracked open and the man from last night walked in casually, carrying grace and audacity as he entered.

God please, don't let this asshole be the investor, I begged, but I guess it was too late.

"Please go ahead, don't mind me," his husky voice filled the air, and I inhaled sharply. He had a smile plastered on his face as if he was enjoying my misfortune, and I glared back at him, before covering it up before anyone else could notice.

"Looks like we are now complete. Please go ahead, Miss Harrington," one of the board members said, and I nodded.

Giovanni took a seat directly opposite me, watching my every move. The way his eyes were fixed on my lips, the way he licked his dry lips as if trying to gain my attention, the way he chuckled every time I said something impressive, they were so distracting.

Focus, Nicole, Focus.

I tried to act unaffected, but I couldn't help but feel exposed under his gaze. I avoided his gaze despite how he was shamelessly digging a hole in my skin through his gaze and wrapped up as soon as I could.

"Considering the market research I made, I think this is the best option to get a favourable result," I smiled, as I finished up.

"Wow, that was great." Everyone nodded, agreeing to the comment, and I couldn't help but notice the proud smile on my father's face."

"I'm proud of you," Father smiled and I almost forgot about why I was angry before the meeting. Everyone walked out of the conference room one after the other, and I waited for them to leave before addressing the father about the dinner when Giovanni broke the silence.

"Miss Harrington, may I have a word with you?" He said, eyeing me with a smile. Before I could refuse, Father nodded.

"Of course. I hope you like the presentation."

"It was beautiful," Giovanni smiled and Father looked pleased.

"I need to attend to other things, but I'm glad you liked it." Father left us alone and my anger came rushing back in double folds.

"I thought moaning out of pleasure was the only thing those lips know how to do, but they speak intelligent words too," he said, licking his lips and I flared up.

"If you have any manners, I expect you to respect your boundaries. I won't have you disrespect me in this manner," I hissed.

"Of course, who says anything about disrespecting you? The only time I'd be disrespecting you is when we are alone, with my c**k in your mouth, calling you dirty names to turn you on, as I f**k you with my fingers," he grinned.

"You can bear that much disrespect, right?" He winked, and I hissed, feeling even more disgusted that I almost pictured that in my head.

"Has anyone told you that you are one disgusting man? I don't know you, and even if I do, I refused to acknowledge your existence so take the hint and f**k off," I barked.

He smirked at my words, which annoyed me even more. "You sounded so needy the last time, almost begging for my c**k. Do you want roles to switch now? For me to chase after you?" He leaned closer until I could feel his hot breath on my skin.

"Mr Salvatore, this is the last time I will remind you about your boundaries," I turned on my heels to leave before stopping abruptly by the door.

"And yes, I was the girl from the other night but it was merely a nightstand so treats it like one and leave me the f**k alone because I don't want to remember what happened."

I walked out of the room with a burning rage, but I couldn't help the mischievous look on his face from my confession. What a psychopath.