She had not finished processing it, and perhaps she would not finish processing it for the rest of the days to come. Two weeks had passed since she had gone from being just another secretary to being Leonardo White's exclusive secretary, and she still felt the same bewilderment as the time he had announced himself.
At the time, she had wanted to refuse him and tell him that she did not want to work in his office, but that would be hanging a noose around her neck; seeing how cruelly he had fired Sofia, she had found herself almost unable to refuse the order he had given her. Because he had not asked her, Leonardo White had not asked her to be his exclusive secretary, he had ordered her, and he seemed to have gone to her just to say that, but to her friend's misfortune, he had listened to her words.Everyone was talking about it, everyone was saying that Emma had become a closer secretary to Leonardo White, not even Emma herself knew what that implied, the only difference from her previous position was that now she had the gaze of a guy on her face... all day long. She would raise her gaze, and she would meet those male eyes, she was going to get up... and she would meet those male eyes..."Emma" Leonardo's voice brought her out of her thoughts, she looked up quickly, straightening her back, remembering the words the man had said to her once they were alone: ‘From this moment on, you are not a secretary anymore, you are my secretary, that means, you will dress differently, in a more formal and elegant way, you will wear make-up, higher heels and you will always keep your back straight, did you understand, Emma?’ "You seem distracted"."No, no, of course not, sir, it's just that...""Call me Leonardo," he interrupted her, "Or Leo".She shook her head almost imperceptibly, she couldn't see herself calling her boss in such an informal manner."I'm sorry, it's just...""You're not used to calling your bosses that way" If there was something that never ceased to amaze her about that guy, it was his ability to almost read her mind, no matter what she was thinking, he seemed to guess it, she wondered if it was due to the expression in her eyes, her movements, she didn't know, but she had stopped liking days ago that he seemed to know what she had to say, even before she conceived it. "Well, if you're not used to calling your bosses that way, you should get used to it from now on, because I don't want you to call me sir for all these days"."I'm sorry, Mr... Leonardo... Leonardo... Leo".A smile was marked on that perfect face in which more than once she found herself fantasizing."You've been here for several days, but my busy life hasn't allowed me the time to get to know you better" Emma swallowed hard, tried her best to keep the nervousness that those simple words caused her from being revealed, but failed when she heard him speak again. "You don't need to be nervous"."I'm not..., I'm not... I'm not... used to... forget about it...""To what, Emma?" He took a chair and placed it in front of the woman, taking a seat. "Tell me, what?""It's not important, really..., forget it...""But I want to know, Emma" That had sounded more like an order than a request, which aroused some fear in her. Being the owner's son and being the owner, according to what she had heard, in that company was almost the same thing, so, technically she was in front of the owner of the company, she felt that a slip, a badly formulated word or a clumsy comment could get her fired. Although Leonardo had not shown himself to be a despot in front of her, she feared that he would get his claws out at any moment."It's j-it's just that I've never had such... direct communication with one of the bosses... it's just that...""One of the bosses?" he laughed, "The boss, Emma".The woman swallowed saliva, nodding."Excuse me"."You have nothing to apologize for" Leonardo pulled his chair closer to Emma, looking her over from head to toe, those eyes seeming to have the ability to search her spirit. "How old are you, Emma?""Twenty-three," she answered, avoiding eye contact with Leonardo, there was something in his eyes that paralyzed her, or maybe, it was just stupid thoughts that she had allowed to enter her head based on what everyone was saying about him."You're young," he said, looking at her face with a completely indecipherable expression, "I'm twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight"."When is your birthday?" she asked, without even knowing why: she didn't care about the man's birthday."In two weeks," he replied, with a sly smile, "And you, when do you turn twenty-four?""In a month...""You look very young for your age, you look like a sixteen year old girl" Emma didn't know how to consider that, if as an offense or as a compliment, she constantly received similar comments, but coming from that enigmatic man, she didn't know how to feel. "It's a compliment".Again, reading her mind."Thank you," she replied, averting her gaze to the papers in front of her."How long have you been working here, Emma?""Two years...""Were you always a secretary?""Yes...""How did you get to this company?" he asked, he himself knew that it was not too easy to get a job there and that most of them did it by contacts, but a shy and young girl like her, did not look like someone with too many contacts. He could be wrong, he doubted, although he very rarely was."My dad helped me get the job" She didn't understand the reason for those questions, but with each answer, her ability to speak without stuttering became a little more and more nil."Do you live with them?""No." A thread of a voice with her answer was what he heard her say. It was, easy to notice her nerves, she didn't understand them, Leonardo doubted that he looked like an intimidating subject, although he had to admit that he liked to see that tremulous movement in Emma's face every time he asked her a question of any nature, maybe that more than anything else was what drove him to continue with the conversation."Do you live alone?""I do".Leonardo's gaze fell on the papers, then returned to her, detailing her a little: she was a petite girl, with red curly hair and white skin, the most exquisite white skin he had ever seen, her lips were pinkish, and her nose was as small and delicate as she was, the only defect he could see in that face were the huge dark bags that were drawn under her tired-looking eyes."Did you sleep badly?" he guessed."A little...""Why?"Emma raised an eyebrow, then pointed to the papers on her desk, wasn't it too obvious?He laughed, pushing the papers away from her."Don't damage your health for work"."But it is you who put all that work on me..." she dared to say."So you won't have time to meet with other men" A laugh emerged from those male lips, she looked at the floor, having no idea how to respond specifically to that. "It's a joke, Emma! Come on, laugh, woman!"A small smile escaped Emma, it was more out of obligation than true grace."I'm sorry, Emma, but it's the company's job, I don't do it intentionally, you understand that, don't you?""Yes, yes... of course I understand, sir... Leonardo"."But, speaking of men... tell me, Emma, are you single?"The woman played nervously with her fingers at that question, she did not understand the reason, there was no need for him to have so much information, but by the look on Leonardo's face, she knew that answering was her only option."Yes, I am".The man's smile widened, he was about to say something, but his phone started ringing."I have to leave you, Emma," he warned her, standing up and heading for the exit, but before he left, he stopped and looked at her one more time, "By the way, I'm also single like you, what do you think that means, Emma?"And he withdrew, before she could give him any answer.The days were getting harder and harder, heavier and heavier, there was not a moment in which she did not regret having to be Leonardo White's secretary.She could say: "to accept to be his secretary", but that's where it was: she hadn't accepted to be his secretary, he had just gone to order her to be his secretary, and as a result she had three times the work she had when she was a simple secretary, just another pawn in a huge company.Three weeks had passed since she had been his secretary, and calmness had been her most dangerous enemy: she did not have a second of peace, huge and trapping dark circles were drawn under her haggard face, at his request, she had to arrive hours earlier, she did not even understand the reason for that order: She arrived at the company and there were only him and her and very few employees, so few that a hand was necessary to count them, during the period in which both were almost alone in the company, the only thing that Emma received, were uncomfort
It was the most precious car her faded and worn eyes had ever seen, it wasn't even within her capabilities to imagine how expensive it had been, maybe it was a number she couldn't even pronounce or write.Leonardo had asked her to get out in front of him, Emma did so, although when she reached her boss's car, she slowed down, giving a glance to the blond, who smiled at her, it was a barely perceptible gesture, so much so that she attributed it to a hallucination due to the deep tiredness she felt."That skirt is a little short for you, Emma, don't you think so?" The woman's hands trembled when she heard him say that, her serious face, agitated by a blush, turned tremulously towards the man, the blue of Leonardo's eyes seemed to want to undress the soul of the secretary, who didn't say a single word. "I asked you a question".The woman hesitated what to answer, she remembered the times when she had thought that skirt was a little tighter than the others, but she had paid little attenti
Her gaze was lost, set on a non-existent place in the street, neither of them had said too much, she could feel how from time to time Leonardo looked at her, but said nothing, although he seemed to do so, he seemed to want to talk, but gave up every time he was going to execute, she for her part, did not speak because of the deep throat pain that the nausea had caused her, she could not feel more ashamed, not only had she fallen like a sack of tubers on the shoulders of her boss, but she had almost vomited on him, she wanted to eliminate her own existence.He didn't seem too upset, not upset at all really, or upset about what had happened, although Emma couldn't get it out of her head that he was just pretending and was actually disgusted by having to deal with her."Do you live alone, Emma?" he asked, breaking the extended silence that had formed between them.She looked at him, if she wasn't mistaken, he had asked her that before. He was aware that it was the second time he had done
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
For an instant, Emma became oblivious to everything around her. Her eyes became two round, hollow circles as she tried to process the words she had just heard.A tremor shuddered through her body, her lips gradually opened, so much so that the beginning of her teeth became visible. As much as she tried to digest what she had heard, it was simply impossible. Her? A simple secretary dating Leonardo White? What kind of bitter joke was that?"Are y-you s-serious, sir?" Her voice barely came out, her eyes full of deep perplexity didn't leave her boss for a moment. Him? Such an attractive man, asking her for a date? A nervous laugh escaped Emma's dry lips, it must have all been a joke, Leonardo liked to play pranks on her, she was sure that this was another one of the many he had played on her in such a short time."What are you laughing at, Emma?"The woman's smile faded to nothing when she looked at Leonardo's serious face, there was not even the trace of a smile, not even a small one, no
She had agreed that dinner would be in two days that had passed with the speed of a bullet passing through a person's chest to take their life. There was no moment in which Emma did not regret having agreed to go out with Leonardo White, she was afraid, something told her that her life would not be the same since that night.She looked out the window, a sigh escaped her lips. Darkness covered any vestige of light, there was not a single star illuminating the sky, it was as if they had all died suddenly.She hadn't told anyone that he had invited her to a dinner party, maybe because she still didn't quite believe it, there was a part of her that chose to believe that it was all a joke that would soon have an end, that soon he would call her and tell her that it had just been a bad joke.For forty-eight hours, she had thought of only two things: Leonardo and her date with him. She was a somewhat shy girl, when nerves got the better of her, words could hardly come out of her lips, she wa
For some reason, the nerves invaded her even more, she took the dress out of the box completely, delighting at the beauty and delicacy that each piece of fabric possessed. It was a dark gray dress with sequins covering her chest and thighs, with a translucent touch on the back and chest area as well, you only had to see it to realize that you didn't have to wear a bra when you put it on. It was not too long, in fact, she doubted it would reach her knees.There were more things in the box, Emma told herself, not coming out of her surprise, looking at the dress once more and wondering to herself how much money he would have spent there.Inside the box, there was also a golden chain. Glittering like the sun itself, something that led Emma to wonder how much it had cost or if it was real gold.The sound of a message coming in on her phone caught the surprised woman's attention. ‘Why did he buy this for me? How much did it cost? Why did he make the effort?’ she asked herself, distressed, r
It was a beautiful place, rarely Emma had seen something so beautiful in her life. There were huge lights hanging from the ceiling, bone colored, perfectly painted, the walls lacked any stain, everyone looked elegant and well groomed, everything looked neat and organized, that place had an antique look, for an instant, Emma felt in the past."Welcome to Hjärtan i trä".An employee gave the cordial invitation to both of them, Emma thanked with a shy smile, but Leonardo did not answer anything, on the contrary, his face became more serious when the employee spoke to him, she noticed that detail, but decided to overlook it, although the doubt was still there. Why had he behaved like that?During the trip in the car, he had been asking Emma a few questions, ones that she had barely answered, her nerves played against her and she felt too weak, she was not like that, she did not understand why when she was with him she behaved that way: tremulous, inept, shy. She had only known him for a m