Chapter 2
ALESSIA
Giada was a firework laced with gasoline—her presence electrified a room and enchanted everyone she came into contact with.
Where I was cautious and a touch introverted, she was bold and always the life of the party.
She’d been my best friend for as long as I could remember.
Our mothers were sisters-in-law, and we were born one month apart.
Where she was the oldest of three girls, I was the middle, but we might as well have been twins we were so close.
Yin to my yang, the opposite nature of our personalities kept us perfect in balance.
It was as if we were born to be close friends—soul sisters.
We ate lunch together at least once a week, often at the same deli where I was currently headed.
It was close to my office and had the best Kaiser rolls around.
I reached the place first after moving up our lunch so unexpectedly.
Grabbing one of the four tiny tables inside, I played a game on my phone while I waited.
I’d never been big on social media. My parents didn’t let us girls get on Myspace or Facebook when we were younger, and now that I was on my own, it had never felt all that necessary.
Outside of Giada, I didn’t have a ton of friends, which was fine with me.
I had two sisters and three female cousins—that was plenty of girl drama in my life.
“Hey cuz, what’s going on? Hope you didn’t have to wait long. I got here as quickly as I could.” Giada plopped down in the seat across from me, impeccably dressed, as always, long auburn hair falling in thick waves down her back.
“Hey G! Not long at all. Sorry to spring the time change on you.”
“Not a problem. I hope everything’s okay.”
“Yes and no. Let’s grab our sandwiches, and I’ll tell you about it over lunch.”
“Please tell me it’s not your dickhead of a boss again.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand. “Food first, then talk.”
We ordered and took our food back to the table as the deli slowly began to fill with people on their lunch hour.
I quietly relayed the events of the morning, attempting to keep the conversation just between us in a restaurant the size of a shoebox.
I started easy with my sultry elevator encounter, and once I had her distracted with lust-filled ideas of romantic rendezvous, I quietly recounted what had happened with Roger.
As I suspected, Giada was fuming by the time I finished. I had hoped the elevator story would take the edge off her anger, but no luck. G was a mama bear ready to throw down on my behalf. “Al, I know you don’t like conflict, but you can’t let that man keep doing this shit.”
“I know. I realize it’s not going to stop if I don’t do something about it. You know how hard I’ve worked to make a name for myself at Triton and for Dad to see me as an equal. I wanted to handle the situation discretely, but it’s not working.”
“You don’t have to raise a stink, just tell your dad. He’ll fire that guy’s ass in a heartbeat—no one has to know why.” In theory, her suggestion seemed like the easy answer; however, life was rarely so simple.
“That’s the very last thing I wanted to do. Crying to him for help would ensure he still sees me as a child incapable of handling my own problems.”
“Then go to HR and file a complaint. That’s not asking for help—that would be you handling the matter with the proper authority.
Hell, file a police report for assault while you’re at it.
Better yet, we’ll find a guy to take out his kneecaps.
It’d be a lot harder for him to put the moves on you when he’s in a wheelchair. The slimy toad deserves it.”
I choked on my diet soda. “No, G. We aren’t committing any felonies.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“I will, thanks.” I gave her a wink. “But I get what you’re saying with HR.
That would show a degree of assertiveness, even if it’s not me grabbing the bull by the horns.
I just want the employees at Triton to respect me.
That’s why Dad didn’t just give me a job at the top to begin with—I’m supposed to earn my position—and I want to give him that.
Show him that Triton would be in good hands under my leadership. ”
“I can’t say that I totally understand. You don’t even need to work. Your family has plenty of money.”
“What else would I do with my life? Go shopping and host parties? I’m not my mother, that’s not enough for me.”
“Too bad,” she mused. “I’ll have to find someone else to accompany me on my shopping runs and spa treatments.”
“Whatever. That’s not you either, and you know it.” I narrowed my eyes and tossed one of my chips at her.
She laughed, her vibrant green eyes shining. “I know no such thing. What I do know is if you don’t do something about that boss of yours, I’m going to come up there and raise holy hell. Got it?”
“I get it,” I smiled at my best friend. “And I promise I’ll file a complaint with HR. In the meantime, he’s gone for the rest of the week!”
“Fabulous! We should take a long lunch break and hit Saks later this week.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“So, is that a yes?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Yes, I think that could be arranged.”
“Boom! Now, get your ass back to work and file that damn complaint,” she ordered with every ounce of moxie in her five-foot frame.
“Yes, sir, Colonel, sir.” I saluted her as I stood, then hugged my amazing friend. Not every girl was lucky enough to have a Giada in their life. I thanked my lucky stars on a daily basis that I’d somehow managed to score the best cousin ever.
I walked back into work feeling optimistic and empowered.
I would file the dreaded HR complaint and finally get Roger out of my life, not to mention prove to myself that I could handle the matter.
I wasn’t sure how my dad would react, but I could only control so much.
I’d be proud of myself. That would have to be enough.
My dad’s office was the only one along the wall of windows that was fully enclosed for privacy.
It was on the opposite end of the floor as my office, so I didn’t run into him all that often.
In fact, my job in marketing didn’t require a whole lot of interaction with the CEO’s position, but every now and then, I’d have a budgeting issue or some other business matter that needed to be signed off on by my dad.
On this particular occasion, I had budgeting paperwork that needed his signature. When I approached the open door, I heard my dad’s steady voice as he spoke to someone from within his office. I listened at the door for a moment to decide if I should wait or come back later.
“I called to speak with the concrete rep this morning, discovered the guy killed himself,” came my father’s voice.
“The Venturi kid? The one you met with last week?” I recognized that voice as well—it was my dad’s long-time best friend, my Uncle Sal.
I wasn’t sure if Sal was technically related to me—he wasn’t an uncle but had carried the honorary title since I was little.
He’d been a part of our family for as long as I could remember.
He’d even been a pallbearer at my brother’s funeral.
“Yeah. Hung himself just a day after I talked to him. Not sure how that will affect my price negotiations. If that cousin of his takes over, it’ll be a nightmare.” My dad had never been particularly empathetic, so his comment didn’t surprise me.
“Frederico?”
“Yeah, that man’s a lunatic,” my dad grumbled.
I decided their talk wasn’t overly-sensitive, so I poked my head around the corner. “Excuse me, am I interrupting?” I cautiously cut in.
“Alessia—my favorite marketing pro!” called Uncle Sal. “You aren’t interrupting at all, come in.”
“Hey, Uncle Sal! What are you doing up here?”
“I was nearby and thought I’d steal your dad for lunch. How have you been?” He rose from the chair he’d been occupying and gave me a hug, kissing my cheek like he always did.
“I’m great, just had some paperwork for Dad.”
“Enzo, this girl of yours is going to run you out of a job soon!” he joked with a warm smile.
“We shall see—she has a way to go yet,” he said coolly. My dad had remained seated behind his desk, not including himself in our exchange.
Sal waved him away like my father’s comment was rubbish. “This one’s a hard worker. I have no doubt she’ll be sitting in this office soon enough.”
“Alright, let’s head to lunch before you have me forced into retirement.” My dad slowly rose and walked to where his jacket hung on the wall. “Alessia, you can leave the paperwork on my desk. I’ll have a look at it when I get back.”
I offered the two men a tight-lipped smile as they said goodbye. I had no delusions I would be invited to lunch. Whether it was because I was still a child in their eyes or merely because I was a woman, I wasn’t sure, but whatever the reason, I was not a welcome addition to their party.
A part of me desperately wanted my father to take me under his wing and include me in things like the occasional lunch with associates.
My father had never guaranteed me any position at Triton, and there were times like this when I wasn’t sure he truly considered me an option to replace him.
Unless he outright told me there was no chance, I wasn’t giving up hope I could rise in the ranks and would continue to do everything I could to make that happen.
By the time I made it home that night, I was exhausted. I never got around to filing the complaint but swore I’d do it by the end of the week. The emotional toll of dealing with the incident itself had been enough for one day. I’d save the drama of dealing with HR for another day.
After changing into something comfy, I warmed up one of the dinners delivered by the meal service I used and poured myself a glass of wine. Deciding to take advantage of the beautiful May evening, I opened a couple windows and sat at the kitchen table.