Gio and I entered my office. He had brought lunch, and it seemed he hadn’t eaten yet, waiting for me. I couldn’t recall him mentioning that we’d have lunch together.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I asked him. I wasn’t nervous because I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Answer my question first. Who were you with at the cafe?” he repeated his earlier question.
I sighed at his words. “What did Dario tell you?” Whenever I have a casual conversation with a guy, he runs to Gio. It’s like Dario thinks every guy here is into me.
“I want to hear the details from you,” he stated, walking towards my desk and formally taking a seat in a chair in front of my office table.
I had no choice but to sit in my swivel chair. I pouted while looking at him.
“I just saw someone I knew from college. We talked for a bit, but it’s nothing special, Gio. Don’t tell me you’re getting jealous again.”
He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced by my words. “Just like that? You both knew each other from college?”
The way he asked had a hidden meaning, as if he suspected Rory and me of something. This guy.
“Okay, fine. He used to pursue me, but we never became an item.”
“Why didn’t you two get together? Rory Green? The guy who courted you for four years, and you remained friends until you graduated from college. He left the country, so you lost contact, right?”
My eyes widened at what he said. I stood up from my seat, shocked.
“How did you know that?” I asked him, taken aback.
“I know everything, Millie,” he replied nonchalantly.
I slumped back into my chair and rested my arms on the armrest.
“Yeah,” was all I could say. I didn’t need to explain anything to him; he seemed to know it all.
“And is he still pursuing you?” His eyes darkened, as if the man’s fate depended on my answer.
“No!” I exclaimed. “Besides, I’m married to you. He knows I’m married. Drop your jealousy, Gio. There’s nothing to be jealous of.”
He didn’t say anything but kept his intense gaze fixed on me.
Gio stood up, and I watched wherever he went.
“Let’s have lunch,” he said, pointing towards the neatly set table for the two of us. I sighed again. If only he weren’t jealous now, I might have been pleased with what he had prepared for us. Nonetheless, I stood up and approached Gio.
“Don’t be jealous,” I told him. “There’s no reason to be jealous of Rory.”
“Ignore him, Millie. That’s where my peace of mind lies.” He walked over to the table.
Ignore? How? He’s a part of the expansion! Should I tell Gio? Maybe not for now. Knowing him, he might consider firing Rory if it comes up.
We had a peaceful lunch. We talked about other things to dispel his jealousy.
After lunch, Gio didn’t stay long and left. He just wanted to be with me and have lunch together today.
I’m overseeing the expansion project, one of the company’s largest endeavors. I want to handle it personally.
The necessary staff has already been hired, so everything is ready.
I’m on the site now. I ran into an engineer who was introduced to me by my secretary. She explained every detail I wanted to know.
“We’re going to have a meeting later, ma’am. We’re just waiting for the other team members. We didn’t expect you to arrive so early.”
I could tell she was embarrassed. It wasn’t their fault that I arrived early. “That’s okay. I had some things to take care of at the office, so I came early,” I smiled at her.
In a short while, the people I was waiting for arrived. I’m now inside the conference room, which we’ll use for the meeting. They’ll present the plans and other information I want to know.
I texted Gio to let him know where I was. Dario and the others are waiting outside. I didn’t want to overcrowd the small space.
The architects responsible for the project entered. They introduced themselves to me, and I briefly conversed with them.
The door opened again, and I peeked. I noticed a familiar man entering. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I expected him to be here, but for some reason, I was still taken aback.
“Hello, Ms. Pearce, nice to meet you,” one of the men greeted me.
My gaze shifted to him, and I quickly looked away from Rory before they noticed I was looking at him.
“It’s actually Mrs. Locatelli. Nice to meet you, Engineer.”
The engineer I was talking to seemed to be taken aback. He swallowed and chuckled in embarrassment. “Sorry, I forgot!” he said with a laugh.
He introduced his team to me, and among them was Rory. Rory smiled at me before we shook hands, and I reciprocated with a warm smile.
The meeting began, and I quietly listened to them. I wasn’t always comfortable because I felt someone was watching me from the other side where Rory was seated. Nevertheless, I resisted the urge to look at him and kept my gaze fixed on the presentation.
I liked their plan for the expansion and congratulated them. I made a few suggestions for their proposed ideas here. They assured me they would follow my preferences. Apart from minor concerns, they had successfully captured and adhered to all our plans for this project.
As I was leaving the conference room, Rory approached me. My secretary had already left, leaving just the two of us.
“So, it looks like we’ll be seeing each other more often from now on, huh?” He smiled, and I noticed his dimple.
I chuckled softly. “I’ll visit here to facilitate from time to time. Good to know that.”
He took a deep breath before speaking again. “I was going to tell you about this when we last met, but I thought it might not be you or your dad who would be handling your company. You’re now in charge of your family business. That’s great to know. I understand how much you want to follow in your father’s footsteps.”
We left the meeting room together. I noticed Dario watching us, so I waved at him. I knew he was going to report to Gio again. I’d talk to Gio later to clear things up because there was nothing to report. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Rory is just an acquaintance and an old friend, and it’s natural for us to catch up sometimes.
“I’ll go ahead, Rory.” I said my goodbyes to Rory as Dario finally stopped scrutinizing me.
“Alright, Millie. See you soon.”
I gave him a restrained smile before walking toward where our car was parked. I was keeping an eye on Dario because he was giving me the stink eye.