THE MAFIA’S HEIR

BIANCA’S POV

The grin on my face when my boss had told me he was sending me to his cousin’s office, was as wide as anything anyone could imagine. It had been two weeks since I last saw Manuel when he paid a visit to my boss. Now, I had the opportunity to be at his office again, and I felt excited.

“You should get going immediately.” My boss said. “I would love for him to send a response today, so the files have to get to him on time.”

“Okay sir.” I nodded, before stepping out of his office. I guess I was lucky because I had worn the new dress my mama had gifted me just yesterday. Quickly applying some more lipstick to my mouth, I picked up my files and the handbag, and made my way out of the office. I decided to follow the stairs, rather than the elevator, so I could breeze in and out of Laura’s office. I also wanted to know if she was fine. Just today, the list of names of the just promoted employees had been released and somehow, Ricardo was part of them. I wasn’t surprised though. Within this short period I had worked for Mr Alexander, it was safe to say that I knew a whole lot of important stuff happening around the company. Part of it was the fact that a certain major construction contract had been awarded to Manuel Russo, because the son of the honourable who gave the contract, worked here. Guess who that son was? Yes, you guessed right. Ricardo. I guess I was more angry because Ricardo somehow happens to be Laura’s boss now. If the universe wasn’t fucking with us, then I don’t know what was. I sighed as I walked into her office and saw her typing away furiously on her keyboard, leaning closer to the screen of the computer so she could clearly see what she was typing.

“Laura.” I called and she look up to see me.

“Bibi!” She called in excitement. She was excited? Had she not seen the promotion list? “It’s not time for lunch yet.” She stood up from her seat and walked up to me. “You don’t look fine, are you okay?”

“Me?” I chuckled nervously. “I’m very much okay.”

“You?” She teased. “Are very not okay.” We both laughed and I decided to ask.

“Some of our colleagues are getting promoted.”

“Yes, I heard. I feel so jealous.” She giggled. “But I already knew that building my career would take time, so I’m willing to be patient.”

“Yes.” I said, partly distracted by my thoughts. “So have you seen the list?”

“The promotion list is out already?”

“Yes. It was released this morning. How about the house hunt? Have you been able to find somewhere?”

“To be honest, I haven’t really been searching.” She sighed. “What’s the point?”

“The point is that you have to stay far away from Ricardo until you can finally begin to stand up to him.” I scratched my brows.

“I barely see him at home these days. And it’s same at work.” She shrugged. “You already know that ever since your visit to our place a month ago, he kinda kept his distance. Yes, he still throws me those frightening glares of his whenever he sees me, but he doesn’t really talk to me or bully me anymore. And since he doesn’t do that anymore, there’s no need worrying myself about standing up to him. Stop being worried about me, I’ll be just fine. I even overheard madame Beatriz having a conversation with her husband last night. I guess he’s considering moving out of the house to his own place.”

“Who? Ricardo?” I asked in disbelief, and she nodded.

“Yes, Ricardo.” Suddenly she looked concerned. “Honestly Bibi, I wonder if he is alright. He barely returns home these days, neither does he spend so much time around, whenever he comes home.”

“Are you seriously being worried about Ricardo?” I asked, almost wanting to laugh in disbelief.

“Well, you can’t blame me.” She shrugged. “I literally grew up in the same house as he. And I guess I’m concerned because Madame Beatriz is worried. She’s been complaining about him skipping his meals as well.”

“Oh, I get you. He’s probably adjusting to life. He’s no longer a child. I guess a man always has problems of his own. Meanwhile, enough of Ricardo.” I grinned. “Guess where I’m off to right now.”

“Where?” She asked, making me roll my eyes.

“I asked you to guess.” I bit back, and she chuckled.

“Fine. You’re going to see the ultimate love of your life. Manuel Russo.” She said in a joking manner, but she really didn’t know she was right. Yes, Laura knew about my crush on Manuel Russo, and how I had landed the job. We had become that close. She usually came over to our house for sleepovers, and my parents loved her as well. I told my mama and papa her story, and they had both felt sorry for her. Seeing it as an opportunity to show her some care, they always asked that I brought her home whenever I could. I also knew they were excited I was finally socializing and making a friend.

“Laura!” I squealed in excitement.

“Wait.. what?” She blinked her eyes in confusion. Was I right?

“Yes, you were right!”

“How?!!” She asked as we both squealed excitedly.

“How else? My boss sent me on an errand. Finally!” I added, basking in the feeling of victory.

“Finally!” Laura laughed. “Knowing your boss, I’m sure he has told you to hurry there.” She chuckled. She wasn’t lying though.

“That’s true.” I whispered, realizing I had wasted a lot of time already. “I need to get going now.” I said, picking up my bag and the file that I had dropped on her work desk in the course of our conversation. “I would see you at lunch!”

“Be good.” She replied as I made my way out of her office.

I had gotten to Manuel Russo’s office half an hour later, but was suprised to see that his personal assistant wasn’t on seat. Pheeww! She was supposed to be the one to let me into his office. Having no other choice after waiting for 5 minutes without her showing up, I knocked on the door but got no response. I thought I could hear some sounds insides, or was I hearing wrongly? After giving another knock, I opened the door and scanned the entire place until my eyes landed on what I really shouldn’t have seen. There he was, with a half naked lady atop his thighs as they passionately made out with each other. He pulled away from her the moment he noticed my presence, our eyes locking with each other’s. Of all times, my legs decided to fail me then. I stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground in the process. I was really grateful for the door behind me, that did a perfect job of waging me.

“I’m sorry!” I rushed out, quickly regaining my composure and literally running out of his office. Immediately I closed the door behind me, I turned around to see none other than the lady who had been missing moments ago.

“Julia.” I muttered. “Good morning.”

“Good morning Bianca. Why do you look like you had just seen a ghost?” She chuckled. “I’m sorry I startled you.” She gave a warm smile that weirdly made me want to cry. Why did I feel like she pitied me?

“Not at all.” I rushed out, dropping the file on her desk and stepping backwards. “The file is for Mr Manuel, and should be treated as urgent.” I supplied, before walking out of her office space.

By the time I got to the elevator, tears had clouded my eyes and I felt a pang of jealousy in my heart. Why did I even feel that way? It wasn’t that deep. I furiously cleaned off the tears in my eyes, thankful I was the only one in the elevator. I would probably seem stupid to anyone who could see through my mind. Here I was, crying over a man that didn’t even notice me. I guess my privacy was shortlived when the elevator binged open at another floor and a man walked in. I didn’t bother looking at his face and just kept my eyes glued to his shoes. They looked expensive. Suddenly I heard my name and I wasn’t sure who called me. Was it the same man that was inside the elevator with me?

“Bianca?” At hearing him call my name again, I looked up to see he was indeed a familiar face, but I just couldn’t remember where I had met him. “I guess you don’t remember me.” He sighed, looking a bit disappointed.

“You could juggle my memory.” I managed a small smile and he frowned.

“You don’t look good. Are you well?”

“Hmmm.” I nodded, unable to say a word for the fear of my words failing me.

“No, you don’t.” He shook his head slowly. “Your eyes look puffy, like you have been crying.” He gave a sad smile and I slowly felt the tears gather in my eyes again. I quickly wanted to use my palms and clean off the tears, but his hand held mine stopping it from touching my face. “Here.” He said, offering me a handkerchief with his other hand.

“Thank you.” I finally let the tears freely pour out as I cleaned them away.

“It’s okay. No matter what the problem is, you’ll be fine.” All I could do was nod in agreement as I kept the handkerchief pasted to my face, feeling embarrassed that someone I didn’t really know had seen me cry. After a while, the elevator binged open and we both stepped out. “Where are you headed?” He asked.

“Back to work.” I replied, patting my face with the handkerchief for the last time, before handing it over to him.

“A. RUSSO? Let me give you a ride.” He said, collecting it.

“No no no!” I rushed out. “I don’t want to impose.”

“But you’re not. I’m also going that way. And even if I weren’t, it would be wrong for me to see you in this emotional state and not offer to help.” He was saying one thing, but I had another thing on my mind.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“How do you know where I work?”

“You told me yourself Bianca.” He smiled. “You had come to deliver some files to Manuel about a month ago, and we met in the elevator. I told you my name….” suddenly the memories came crashing in, and I called his name.

“Antonio?”

“You remember my name.” He grinned so widely, and I couldn’t help but notice how white his set of teeth were. He was really good looking too.

“You remembered mine too.” I smiled. “There’s someone who still doesn’t remember my name even after seeing me a couple of times.”

“What?” He asked, not catching on. He wasn’t supposed to. I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Uhhmmm…” Would you love to have some coffee with me before heading back to work? He asked and I found myself nodding in agreement.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Great!” He said and intertwined our hands together. On a normal day, I would have felt uncomfortable with that gesture of his, but somehow it made me feel less sad. We both walked to the parking lot and hopped into his car. Within a shortwhile, we had gotten to a nearby cafe and were already sipping on some coffee.

“How did you know we were gonna come across each other again?” I asked, remembering he had said those exact words to me on our first meeting.

“I don’t know. I just felt so.” He shrugged.

“So where exactly do you work? I had been thinking you worked at Mr Manuel’s company, but it seems to be that I’m wrong.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say thought wrong.” He countered. “When we met a month ago, I was still training under Manuel.”

“You talk like you know him on a personal basis.”

“I do.” He chuckled. “He is my cousin. My name is Antonio Russo.”

“Oh my goodness!” I clasped my mouth with my right palm and he chuckled. “I hadn’t an idea.” I really had not seen that coming.

“Now you do.” He smiled. “So I just concluded my training under him a few months back, and have proceeded to start running my own part of the Russo Empire.”

“Your own part? Is the empire divided?”

“God, you’re so funny Bianca.” He chuckled. “You should know by now that we have what is called ‘The Russo Group’. It is popular known as Russo group of companies. All comapnies under the group specialize on different things. Manuel Russo is into construction, Alexander Russo is into tech and gadgets, Antonio Russo is into cars and electronics, Dante Russo is into investment and returns….. The list goes on. So, our Nonno made sure all his sons named their first sons after themselves. For instance, my father’s name is Antonio as well.” He supplied.

“Okay.” I nodded, getting more interested.

“Yes. Likewise Alexander, Manuel, and our other cousins. So, ‘A. RUSSO’ formerly belonged to Alexander’s father who is also known as Alexander. Same with Manuel Russo. I took over Antonio Russo company from my father just recently. Do you understand now?”

“Maybe.” I muttered, confused about a little detail. “You made mention of your Nonno’s children naming their first born sons after them. What of his daughters? Don’t they have a part in the Russo empire as well?”

“Ohhh?” He chuckled. “You’re sharp. I have four aunties and they very much have a part in the empire. They are all married into wealthy and powerful families. Their first sons all have to be a part of their own father’s businesses, so they are out of the Russo structure. But their daughters take after their positions in the Russo empire.”

“Ohhh” I muttered, finally understanding him. That made sense. “So your Nonno was careful enough to strengthen the Russo empire by marrying off his daughters into other powerful families.” I commented, and he released a small smile.

“Trust me, most of them were love matches.”

“Whose wasn’t?” I asked.

“Aunt Pauline’s. Everyone in the family knows she’d rather marry for wealth than anything else.” He laughed. “But she’s happy where she is nonetheless. She’s also the most outgoing and supportive aunt we have. She is the CEO of Russo fashion store. Her daughter, ‘Pauline’ is about to take over from her in a few weeks time.”

“Wow. Your family is coordinated. Sounds like fun.”

“Until it isn’t.” He made a funny scary face, making me laugh.

“Thank you.” I sighed, and he frowned a bit.

“Why?”

“For making me feel better. I really needed this.”

“Hmmm.” He adjusted his position on his seat. “You could thank me in a different way.”

“How?”

“Give me your phone.” He ordered, and I did.

“Hmm. Just like I thought. The kind of lady that doesn’t put a password on her gadget. You work in a company that deals with gadgets. Don’t you learn a thing or two?”

“I’m a personal assistant, not a tech assistant.” I muttered, making him chuckle and shake his head. The next minute, his phone began ringing and he smiled at the screen.

“Good. I just successfully saved my number in your phone. It’s part of the emergency contacts.” He chuckled, seeing my reaction to that piece of information. “It’s just incase you find yourself in another situation where you need my help, just like today. Don’t hesitate to call me Bianca.” He handed my phone back to me, and I smiled at the way he had saved his name on my phone. Antonio with a love and smiling emoji.

“Why?” I suddenly asked as he stood to his feet.

“Why what?”

“Why are you so nice to me? You barely know me, but didn’t hesitate to be so thoughtful and caring. You even told me about your family in what seemed like details. Why?”

“Who knows?” He shrugged. “You may end up being a part of the Russo family one day.” He looked serious, but I decided to laugh it off. If only he knew the reason I had cried so bad was because of his cousin. One other thing I appreciated so much was the fact that he didn’t bug me to tell him what went wrong. He just wanted to help genuinely. “We should get going Bianca. Alexander hates tardiness.” Oh, Antonio was truly their cousin! I stood up with him and we made our way back to his car and drove back to work.

The moment I stepped into the office, I decided it was best to inform my boss of my return. I knocked on his door, waiting for him to ask me to come in. The moment I stepped in, an apologetic smile was plastered on his face. What was it now?

“I’m so sorry Bianca. Manuel just told me of the incident that took place in his office.”

Ohhh….

“It’s fine sir.” I nodded.

“I promise it would never repeat itself. I have told him to be more careful about his escapades with his fiancee. My employees do not need to see all that.” I guess I heard wrongly. I could feel my head spinning.

“Fiancee?” I asked as he was busy looking at the files on his table.

“Yes.” He reaffirmed with a nod. “That was Francesca Ferrari, Manuel’s fiancee.”

“Okay.” That was all I could manage to say. “Do you need anything else sir?” I asked, hoping to leave his presence.

“Not for now, Bianca. Thank you. And my apologies once again.” He said, reminding me of how stupid I was as I walked out of his office. What had I been thinking? That Manuel hadn’t a woman in his life? When I had seen that woman making out with him today, I thought she was his girlfriend, and it still hurt that much. I guess the pain hit different now I knew they were bound to be married. I had probably just been a fool all along. Just then, a call came in through my phone and I weakly picked it up.

“Bibi.” That was Laura.

“Laura?”

“Did you know Ricardo was assigned my new boss?” She sounded like she was about to cry. I guess that made the two of us.