6

The place where she lived, was a rather humble one, there was not much to show off, and, as she had very bad luck for the places where to live, and that's why she had to move a lot constantly, she never worried about the proportionate decoration of her living place, anyway, almost nobody ever went there, in fact, Leonardo was one of the few people who set foot in that place. Emma didn't have many friends, and the few she did have, were not invited to her house.

"Sorry for the mess," she said to her boss, who was looking at everything in complete silence. It was only when she stood in front of Leonardo at that moment that she realized how small she was compared to him. And she was not a small woman, in fact, she stood out in stature with the rest of her friends.

"There's no mess here," he observed, laughing, "Are you feeling better, Emma?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, not quite knowing how to behave, never believing that not inviting anyone to her apartment, even her own mother, would ever take its toll. "You can sit wherever you like".

"Wherever I like?" Emma understood the double intention of his question, but decided to overlook it, maybe she was just misunderstanding him.

"Yes, wherever you like, I... will go to... prepare... prepare... what would you like to drink, sir?"

Leonardo took a seat on the sofa, making sure to adjust his back before answering his secretary's question.

"A coffee".

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"It's... seven o'clock at night..."

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No, it's just that coffee at this hour... I don't think you'll sleep well at night..."

"Are you worried about my sleep, Emma?" A smile was marked on the man's lips, Emma was about to answer something, but he decided to interrupt her. "I'm just kidding, I won't drink coffee at this hour, don't worry, I don't want to drink anything".

"Are you sure?"

"I am" Leonardo's gaze fell involuntarily on Emma's legs, and she noticed this, which caused her to tremble.

"W-well, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and prepare myself something t-to get rid of my headache..."

"Didn't it go away?"

She denied.

"It just calmed down a bit" She had lost the courage to look him in the eyes, she didn't even understand why, she had never been a withdrawn woman -at least not too much-, but what Leonardo's look transmitted weakened her. When she saw how he looked at his watch, she decided to change her mind, she told herself that she was wasting an important man's time. "B-but I'll listen to you, your proposal, I'll listen to it".

As Emma approached the couch where the man was thrown, he stood up.

"No, Emma, if you want we can go to the kitchen, we'll talk better there".

"No, no, t-tell me now what y-you want... y-your proposal... what is it?"

"Well, all right, I'll tell you, have a seat".

The woman nodded and shakily sat down on the sofa where she and her boss sat facing each other. The woman swallowed saliva, her gaze wandering, a sharp cough escaped her lips, for an instant, the air left her.

"I think you'd better make yourself some tea, or something, don't you think, Emma?" When Leonardo's hand slid down to her thigh, she impulsively scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry, Emma, I really don't want..."

"I think I'd better make myself some tea or something, you're right".

After saying this, she walked briskly to her kitchen.

She needn't have been upset, he had only put his hand on her thigh, even, chalked it up to a mistake, it was nothing to worry about, it wasn't as if he had kissed her, or anything of a similar nature.

Emma began to brew the tea quickly, holding the cup with her giddy, but also sweat-laden hands, which caused the glassware to slip out of them.

The noise of that cup turning into pieces caught Leonardo's attention, who did not hesitate to stand up and walk towards the kitchen, although he was not sure if that was the kitchen, he had only seen Emma enter through that place, but when he arrived, he confirmed what he thought.

"Are you all right?" Emma jerked in a sharp intake of breath when she heard her boss's voice behind her. How had a man with such heavy footsteps made almost no noise to approach her?

"Y-yes, don't worry, it's just... I'm a little clumsy" Emma bent down abruptly to pick up the glass, when she felt Leonardo's serious gaze on her, that's when she reacted to the fact that she was wearing a skirt and had bent down without any care or precaution. A blush sought to spread across her cheeks, but she hid it as best she could. When she held up the pieces of cup, she cut herself with this one. "Damn it!" she shrieked, forgetting her boss's presence for a second, then, when she seemed to come to herself, she put her hands to her mouth in sorrow, "I-I'm s-sorry, sir, it's just that..."

"Don't apologize, I'll help you".

Actually, hearing her curse had pleased him. During the three weeks, almost four that she had been his secretary, the woman acted like a kind of robot, like that kind of perfect employee to whom nothing seemed to bother her, but her eyes expressed that yes, in fact a lot of things did bother her, she just didn't have the courage to say them.

Emma felt nervous in her stomach when Leonardo bent down in front of her and perfectly picked up the pieces of glass that were scattered haphazardly on the floor, it didn't seem to take him even a little effort to hold that without cutting himself, and in Emma was born the strange feeling that he could do everything better than her.

Emma took no notice of the wound her skin had sustained until she felt red droplets distill to the ground. Only then did her eyes become stained with intense concern. She knew it was a tiny cut, but she harbored an enormous dread of blood, from her earliest years it had been that way, and no one seemed to know the reason, not even her.

Fear was soon drawn in her expressions, on her face, her lips throbbed, and her eyes did not try to hide it, he, who was very analytical, noticed it immediately: dread. Every time she saw blood flowing from her, even if it was the tiniest drop, an intense dread flashed in her eyes.

"What's wrong? It was just... a minor cut".

"I... I... I... have... to... take that off"

She walked hurriedly to the faucet, turning it on and feeling the thick blood become more and more invisible as the water destroyed it. It was only when a single drop of blood did not leave her fingers that she calmed down, regaining her composure.

"Does it hurt?" An electricity invaded the woman when she felt Leonardo holding her finger, as she looked at it as if it was the most extravagant and particular thing she had ever seen.

"Not much, don't worry, I think it would be best if you tell me once and for all what you are going to propose to me".

Leonardo looked at her, not letting go of her finger.

"Of course, it's for the best".

The man's cold fingers finally slowly released Emma's hand, who watched him leave and sit down on the couch, an action she plagiarized, sighing. There was no need for her to say anything, he began to speak.

"You seem to me to be a very good girl doing your job, and I like you... I like what you do, you do it well, Emma, I want you to know that. Previously, I've gone to Dad's company and lasted several months there, supervising some secretaries, in fact, since I was fifteen I've been doing it, Emma. But I've never asked a secretary who was my exclusive secretary before" The woman swallowed saliva, she didn't know whether to feel special, because the position of being his secretary was too much, so she chose not to feel anything, although she knew it was impossible, she couldn't help but create a stupid illusion. "And you have amazed me, your work has amazed me, that's why I didn't want you to resign just like that, Emma, do you know what it would mean to lose an employee like you? It would be a tragedy, my father would never forgive me".

Emma looked at him, little by little, disappointment began to well up in her eyes. Was she doing all this just to avoid her father's reprimand? She must have supposed so, anyway, a part of her, she created illusions, illusions that she didn't even understand too well. She believed she was different from the others, that he had chosen her because she was different, but she didn't know what kind of different. She felt stupid to be unable to understand her own thoughts.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Leonardo, I always give my best..."

"I can feel it, that's why you can't leave the company, Emma, we need you there".

She scratched the underside of her head and declined her gaze to the floor.

"It's w-what... I already explained..."

"Yes, yes, stress, that, but just what I want to propose will take a load off those tension-filled shoulders" Leonardo's hands were placed hilariously on Emma's shoulders.

She looked at him, desperate, she wanted once and for all to know what his proposal was.

"Tell me..."

"I am very powerful, Emma, you know that, don't you?"

"I-know, sir..."

Leonardo removed his hands from the woman's shoulders.

"I have the same power over the company as my father, so if I feel like it, I can take work away from an employee and make him earn his salary without doing anything, or... on the contrary, fill him with so many things that he doesn't even have time to live".

"Is that what you did to me?" Emma wanted to seal her lips with glue when she heard herself say that, she had fallen victim to an uncontrollable impulse.

Leonardo just laughed, it had been exactly that, but he didn't plan to answer that question.

"The point is that I can take a considerable workload off your shoulders".

"And w-who will do that job, sir?"

"I don't know, another secretary".

"It's b-because I don't w-want to overburden someone s-such as myself, I think that actually the most viable thing to do is to just resign..."

"No, no, no, no, and no, Emma, you're not quitting, put that out of your head, you're not quitting!"

Emma looked at him without knowing how to react, she didn't think she was asking him for authorization to react, she didn't think you had to ask a boss for authorization to quit.

"B-but, sir..."

"No, Emma, you can't quit, do you understand me? Yes, I know you understand me".

"It's…"

"The point is, I'll have half the job you have now taken away from you, Emma, isn't that what you wanted? What does it matter if it goes to someone else? Is that how much you care about others? What have they done for you? Do you think if another secretary were in the same situation, she would choose to give up a high-paying job just so someone else wouldn't get too much of a burden?"

"No..." she answered sincerely. Leonardo was right, no one would do for her what she wanted to do, so... why do it?

"Exactly: no, they wouldn't, so... give up the idea, just the idea, not the company" A faint smile tugged at Emma's lips. "So, tell me, what do you think about what I'm proposing, about taking hours and loads off your work?"

"I think it's great, sir..."

"Wouldn't you quit if it was like that?" She shook her head, she knew it was too good to be true, it was like a small print contract. "I'm glad that's how you react, but there's something else you need to know, and that's where my proposal comes in".

Emma settled into her seat, rubbing her hands together nervously.

"What do I need to k-know?"

Leonardo smiled.

Emma knew there was a but, that there was a hidden condition.

"All this is within your reach, but... on one condition. If you don't accept the condition, your working hours will not be reduced, and then you would have to either put up with it or quit".

Emma swallowed saliva, rubbing her hands together more quickly. Her eyes and thoughtless movements revealed how uneasy she was to know once and for all what that proposal was.

"What is the proposal about, sir?"

Leonardo adjusted himself in place, then held Emma's hands gently, she barely let herself.

"You have to go out with me on a date, Emma".