7. Accident

"Is there a problem?" Giovanni asks as I continue to stand there like a scarecrow with performance anxiety in a field of overconfident crows.

I hesitate for a moment, take a deep breath and walk in, closing the door behind me.

"Gio—Mr. D'Errico, I-I need to t-talk to you...i-in private," I say, feeling like a broken record player stuck on the stutter track."

They continued to stare at me, there were about seven of them gathered around the big round table with Giovanni sitting in the middle.

"Who on earth is this woman? Doesn't she know that interruptions aren't allowed during a meeting like this" one of them says angrily, he has a thick Arabic accent as he glares at me.

"Isn't she Emily Rivera, the heiress to the Rivera fortune!" One of them exclaims. The room began to fill with murmurs making me feel uncomfortable as they all looked at me with growing interest now. I look at Giovanni again, silently willing him to get up.

He gets up finally and they all stop taking as he advances towards me.

"Let's talk in private, excuse me, gents." He says to them as he leads me into another extension of his office which turned out to be a private room. It was cozy, equipped with a small bar, a long sofa, a small closet in the corner and a plush rug.

"The room is soundproof." He says as he crosses his hands and leans on the wall.

His eyes land on my blouse "What happened to your blouse?'' he asks with knitted brows.

"Oh i-i" I try to hide the stain with my hands "It's just a little accident that happened". He looked like he was about to say something.

"There was an article written about me in a newspaper that was very humiliating." I quickly said before he could say anything else.

He uncrosses his hands "That's just the news, Emily, they say whatever they want just for more viewers, you shouldn't pay attention to it, but if it bothers you, I'll make sure the article gets taken down and never resurfaces."

"Aside from that I didn't know you had a bunch of gossipers as employees, I heard some of your employees paint colorful pictures about me while I was in the bathroom," I say exasperatedly.

He sighs "That's just how they talk. You'd be surprised what they say about me".

I remembered what they said but felt like I didn't need to repeat it to him. It was weird enough.

I knew when I married this man things like this would happen anyways. I don't even know why I came to his office, he was right things like this happen every day. I instantly felt embarrassed and stupid that I had interrupted his meeting for something like this. Way to go Emily.

I play with my fingers in embarrassment and keep my head on the ground refusing to meet his eyes.

"Stop that," He says.

I looked up, he was looking at me again, slight annoyance written on his face. I drop my fingers.

"About my employees, I'm sorry for that, I'll make sure to address them properly, if they show any disrespect towards you again they'll pay for it, and the ones who caused this stain on your blouse, I'll make sure they pay dearly for it."

"N-no it's my fault, I had mistakenly knocked my coffee down during the meeting, it's not anyone's fault," I say quickly, I didn't want any more trouble on my first day here.

it was obvious he wasn't convinced but he didn't push any further.

"We'll get back to that but first you'll need a change of clothes, the driver will take you to the mall to get new clothes, here's my credit card", He brings out a credit card from his pocket.

I stare at it in shock. It was a J.P. Morgan Reserve card.

"Buy as many clothes as you want." He brings out his cell phone and dials a number, it rings once then he exchanges a few words with the person on the other line and hangs up.

"The driver is waiting for you downstairs, He moves to the corner of the room and opens the closet then brings out a shirt, "Here, wear this" he takes a white plain shirt from the closet and hands it to me.

He continues to look at me and I glare at him.

"Oh sorry." He says and quickly turns around facing the other direction.

I quickly remove my blouse and put on the shirt. It was big, so I rolled up the bottom to make it look better. When I was done. I adjusted my hair and released it from its bun.

"You can turn around now" He turned and gives me an approving look.

"We'll talk later okay?" He says softly moving closer then goes to the door and I follow behind him.

"Sorry for the delay gentlemen" He nods to me. I give the room a quick smile and a look of apology then go out of his office.

At the entrance waiting for me was a tall man in a chauffeur hat. He tipped his hat "Good morning ma'am, I'm Josh".

I greet him back and he leads me to the black limousine. I enter into it and make myself comfortable. it smelt clean like it was recently washed.

"Where are we headed to?" I ask.

"The Lukman Mall, ma'am" It was a popular mall known for its luxury and taste. I had been there a few times but that had been years ago.

We make our way to the mall and upon getting there the driver hands me a pair of shades "I think you might need this ma'am" I look at it surprisingly.

I take the glasses and wear them, entering the mall. After hours of shopping, I found a beautiful pink shirt I changed into. I bought more stiff. I mean Giovanni had said I could buy as much as I want. Since I couldn't have access to my money, I might as well use his however I like, right? I chuckle in my head.

If I'm not stopped I might buy a jet with his money.

The driver was by my side all through helping me with the packages. As I was paying for a dress, I noticed a man staring at me from a corner of the store. What was strange about the man was that he just stood there unmoving looking right at me He had a very unsettling look on his face.

Feeling very uncomfortable, I looked at the cashier, who looked at my card and then at me, she looked at me longer than normal, and her face suddenly lit up.

"Wait, you're Emily Rivera. Oh my Gosh, it's not uncommon to see celebrities here in our store but this- oh my Gosh can I get a picture?" She squeals.

I laugh nervously "I am so sorry but I need to go," I say. I didn't want to stay in the store any longer. I look back again. The man was no longer there, I looked around uneasily but he was nowhere to be found. I sigh in relief.

"Let's go," I say to the driver as I exit the store. He takes my package and we exit the mall and take off. After some minutes, my mind goes back to the man and a shiver runs down my spine. I'm not sure but he looked somehow familiar.

"Would you care for a drink ma'am?" The driver says he looks at me through the mirror.

"That wouldn't be necessary I'm f-

The next thing I saw was shatters of glass and a piercing ringing in my ears before everything goes dark.