(Renata Pellegrini)
“Mr. Valentini,” Caio speaks surprised and turns his neck to look at Filippo. “What are you doing here?”
Filippo raises an eyebrow, puts his hands in his pockets and as the first time I was here, his face carries the face of an evil man, capable of doing anything evil, is it wrong that I find him so sexy in this pose? He leans his shoulder against the doorframe and the look he directs at Caio gives me the creeps.
I carefully take my wounded leg off Caio’s lap and he stands up facing Filippo, who doesn’t look at all at any moment, his attention is totally on Caio.
“Are you questioning your boss about where he is within the company itself?”
“No, sir,” Gaius hastens to answer in a fearful voice, “It’s just that you have never been here before, so I thought you might be in need of some…”
“You are not paid to think, you are paid to sit at the counter and welcome people,” Filippo cuts him off in a rude way, I stare at his attitude, he was so calm this morning, why is he so angry now?, “Am I to understand that you are short of work, and you want extra services, Mr. Silva? There is still a janitor available, I can reassign him, I guarantee there will be no lack of service.”
“No sir, I’m just on my lunch break,” Caio answers, fixing the tie of his uniform.
Idiot! I close my hands into fists feeling the anger overwhelm me, no matter how in love I am, this feeling will not change my values. Filippo is being an asshole and I will not allow him to treat Caio like this, he did nothing wrong!
“He saved my life,” I speak with a firm voice looking at Filippo in the eyes, eyes that transmit nothing but coldness, I don’t let myself be intimidated.
The pain makes my knee weak, I lose my balance, but before I fall face down on the floor, I feel Filippo’s arms around my waist giving me support, he helps me sit back down on the puff.
I breathe heavily, his fingers touch close to my wound and I bite my mouth to keep from screaming in pain, I look into his eyes and see concern, but there is something else in his gaze, I can’t explain what it is, but it gives me goosebumps and fear, not for myself, I can’t explain, I feel as if a life is in danger.
“Who did this to you?” He asks in a hoarse voice.
“It was an accident, an out of control car.”
“It was Veronica,” Caio interrupts me, I glare at him and he just looks away.
“I think she was drunk, she didn’t see me crossing the street,” I lie trying not to make the situation worse, I know that her intention was to kill me, but from the little I know of Filippo, and from what I have seen him do, for much less he has already killed someone. I still feel a little guilty for the death of that man, even though he wanted to do me harm, he must have a family that mourns his death.
Filippo stares at me deeply, as if he can see behind my lie, it baffles me, I start to blink too much. Whenever I lie about something very serious, I blink excessively.
Without saying anything, he carries me in his arms, and in my fright, I put my arms around his neck for fear of falling. I look at Caio who stares at the scene.
How embarrassing! I force my legs down so that he lets me go, but he squeezes me even harder and without saying anything, leaves the changing room with me in his arms, I hide my face from the cutting glances of the people on the way on Filippo’s neck, I take advantage and inhale his smell, why does he have to be so smelly?
We arrive at his office and he has me sit on his desk, Filippo goes to the bathroom in his office and comes back holding a black suitcase, he takes my legs and makes me stand with them stretched out on the table, some papers get crumpled, but I don’t say anything, he is quiet and serious, I don’t want to be the target of his rudeness.
He places the briefcase on top of the free space on the table, I observe his face that shows absolutely nothing, it’s as if it makes no difference whether it’s me or someone else here. I pay attention again to what he is doing as I feel the gauze with silver sulfadiazine ointment at 1% being placed over my wound, and then he carefully bandages it with bandages.
“Thank you,” I thanked him, feeling the relief in my wound.
“I’m going to warn you just once,” he says, staring at me, swallowing dryly, “I don’t like being lied to, and you haven’t forgiven anyone twice, so if you lie to me again, you won’t like the consequences.”
“I don’t…”
“I think you’d better think very carefully about what you’re going to say,” he cuts me off, lowering his head.
“I’m sorry, I was just afraid that you would do something against Veronica’s life… I didn’t want to be responsible for another death,” I speak the truth and my heart tightens, I know that for a relationship to work it is always necessary to tell the truth, but his reactions make me choose to lie, even though I don’t like it.
She holds my chin and lifts my face, her eyes are not so scary anymore, they look relieved.
“Don’t feel guilty for something you didn’t do, people die every day, and in the world we live in, it is better to kill…”
“Then to be killed,” I interrupt and complete his sentence.
“Don’t forget this, and don’t you ever dare lie to me again, you will find out that this will be the worst choice of your life.”
“All right, I promise not to lie.”
“How do you feel about Caio?”
“Huh?” I frown in confusion at his question.
“He was asking you out, proposing to you and saying that he wanted to win you over, at no point did you refuse him or mention that you are my girlfriend.”
“I didn’t have time to turn him down, you got there before he finished talking,” I defended myself.
“Did you want me to keep quiet while I saw another man hitting on my girlfriend?”
I smiled at his question, he just got jealous of me, that’s why he acted that way, that was unexpected.
“I didn’t know you were jealous…”
“I don’t, but I don’t like others to touch or desire what is mine.”
“I don’t like possessiveness, it’s not healthy.”
“Understand that you are free, but as long as you are with me, no other can come close, this is called respect. And I will teach this brat never to touch what is mine again,” he says, turning around, holding his suit before he walks away.
“I don’t want you to hurt him, I don’t rule people’s hearts, and he was on his lunch break, and he is a great professional, he doesn’t deserve to have his work damaged,” I sigh, exhaustion overtakes me.
I wait for Filippo’s answer, but all I get is silence, I let go of his suit and he walks to the door.
“Don’t worry, I won’t make Caio’s job at the company difficult for personal revenge, and if you want to keep us a secret, so be it,” he says without looking at me and leaves the room, leaving me alone.