10. Matteo
Chapter 10
Matteo
A fter dropping Amelia off, I went to the office. I managed to focus on work but I couldn’t help worrying about her. I wondered how her interview went and if she got the job.
I considered calling her but I knew I couldn’t. We didn’t have that type of relationship. I decided to focus on other things. I was still holding meetings to figure out a way forward for the Fitzroy Corp issue. Plus, I had a conference call to attend with some potential foreign investors. That was enough to take my mind off Amelia.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before all that ended and I was back to thinking about her. I reached for my phone but then I changed my mind. She was probably still in her first interview, and I didn’t want the phone call to distract her.
I reviewed the minutes from the conference call with the investors. Kayla had been listening in, so she took everything down. It was a great opportunity. One that would help take my company to even greater heights.
I’d experienced a lot of success since I started my business and I owed it all to hard work.
And a broken heart, a voice in my head said.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t argue because it was true. After Amelia dumped me, I devoted all my time to building this company. My anger and heartache served as the perfect fuel source for my business.
A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. “Come in.”
“Sir,” Kayla began as she stepped inside. “You have a visitor.”
Moments later, my grandmother walked into the room. I smiled when I saw her. It had been a while since I’d seen her because she was always off on one adventure or the other. My grandmother loved to travel so she rarely ever stayed in one place for too long.
I didn’t resent her for not being around because she’d been around most of my life. When I was a kid, both my parents died in a car accident. It was a tragic incident but the truth was that I was too young to really remember them. My grandmother had always been the parental figure in my life.
After my parents’ deaths, she took it upon herself to raise me forfeiting her dream of seeing the world. She used her retirement savings to send me to school which further crushed her dreams of traveling. Thankfully, I’d been able to make something of myself.
I started this company and it allowed me to pay her back for all she did. I knew I could never fully pay her back. There were things that money simply couldn’t buy. I would always be grateful to her for all the sacrifices she made and I would do absolutely anything for her.
Except for the one thing she really wanted.
My grandmother desperately wanted me to settle down. She was proud of everything I’d managed to achieve but she wanted me to have someone to share it with.
“Mattie!” she gushed as she walked deeper into the room. Her long blue skirt swished from side to side as she moved. She dressed as she always did, like a hippie from the 80’s. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kayla leave the room. “Your assistant is lovely.”
“She’s the best,” I said. I left my chair and walked into the open arms of the woman who had taken care of me since I was five.
“How are you, kid?”
“Same old, same old.” I could tell from her frown that she wasn’t pleased with my answer. She wanted to hear that there was a woman in my life and I was about to marry her. Once upon a time, she would have heard exactly that. But that dream died five years ago.
We walked over to the couch and I helped her sit down. Then I poured her a glass of water. She took it but she didn’t drink it. Instead, she kept her focus on me. “I know it may seem like I’m hounding you, but I only do this because I love you and I want to see you happy,” she said.
“I know.”
“I want you to have the type of love your parents had. My boy was the happiest when he was with your mother. They loved each other so much and I want you to experience that kind of love. Everyone deserves to experience that kind of love.”
I sighed. I knew she meant well and I wished I had good news to give her, but I didn’t. I’d long since given up on love and the possibility of getting married. Maybe my stance would change in the future but for now, it was the last thing on my mind.
Sadly, that wasn’t entirely true. I still thought about love just not in the way my grandmother wanted me to. When I thought about it, I remembered all the pain I felt the last time I let myself fall in love. The evidence of that mistake was sitting in the right drawer of my desk.
The ring that I had hoped would sit on Amelia’s finger was sitting in my desk drawer. She’d never even seen it. I couldn’t help imaging what things would have been like if I’d gotten a chance to propose to her and she’d said yes. I wondered if we would have a child by now and what we would have named it. I pull myself out of that dream before it can go too far.
I knew from experience that it was a rabbit hole with no end. No matter how many times I wondered about what would have happened, I knew I would never know. My dream of making her my wife would never come true. That dream was dead and nothing could revive it. I reminded myself exactly why that dream never became a reality. Amelia broke up with me. She killed that dream.
My grandmother stayed in my office for a few more minutes before she left. She had a few people she wanted to see in New York and then she was off to Bali. Ever since I became independent, it’s been difficult trying to tie her down. She was determined to see the world as quickly as she could. I loved the way her face lit up when she talked about her next destination. It was obvious she was living the life of her dreams.
We said our goodbyes and she left. A glance at my schedule let me know I was running late for a meeting outside the office. Kayla probably couldn’t tell me because she didn’t want to interrupt me while I was talking with my grandmother.
I left the office, my feet hitting the tiles as I walked down the hallway. employees brushed past me, greetings gushing out as they walked. I headed straight for the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. I sent Eddie a text to let him know I was on my way out.
The elevator doors slid open and I strolled into the parking lot as the wind whipped against my jacket. It was an unusually windy day. Eddie waited for me by the car. We got in and he drove off.
My meeting was at a company owned by one of my friends. I didn’t have a lot of friends but Nico had been incredibly helpful to me from the moment I started my business. He’d shown kindness he didn’t have to show and helped me out even when I didn’t ask him.
I was immensely grateful for all his help.
His consulting firm, Phoenix Consulting, was recognized as one of the best in the industry and he was always my go-to.
Eddie pulled into the driveway of Phoenix Consulting. “Thanks, Eddie. You can go have lunch if you want. This might take a while,” I said.
“All right, sir.”
I stepped out of the car. Inside, I said hello to the people I knew before taking the elevator to Nico’s office. I knocked and pushed open the door before I heard an invitation to enter. Nico lifted his head when his door opened.
“Five years and I still haven’t been able to teach you good manners,” he joked.
“You say that like I care about what you teach me.”
Nico laughed. “You’re late by the way.”
“Sorry about that. My grandmother stopped by,” I said as I took the seat opposite him.”
“How is she?”
“Off to Bali.”
“The ever illusive Mrs. Beatrice Hayes.” That was what he always called her. Unfortunately, my grandmother loved the nickname. “There’s no telling where she’ll go next. I wouldn’t be surprised if she—”
He was cut off by a knock on the door. Nico furrowed his brows, a clear indication that he wasn’t expecting anyone else. Regardless, he said, “Come in.”
The door opened and a man walked inside. Behind him, I saw a familiar head of silky dark hair. It was Amelia. Her gaze scanned the room, taking in the impeccable design before it finally landed on me.
I saw her eyes widen slightly but she managed to compose herself quickly. Her brief moment of surprise wouldn’t have been obvious to someone who didn’t know her well enough. But I knew her all too well.
The man who entered with Amelia spoke first. “Sorry to interrupt sir. This is Miss Pierson. She came in for the strategy consultant role and you asked that I run all potential hires by you first.”
It was at that moment I remembered the conversation I had with Amelia that morning. She had mentioned that she had two interviews today. The first one was at the company Eddie and I gave her a ride to. And the second was here, at my friend’s company.
I took a moment to think about how best to react to this. On the one hand, revealing my connection to Amelia could be beneficial to her. Nico might feel more inclined to hire her if he knew we were affiliated, even if he didn’t know the gory details of our affiliation.
He didn’t need to know what happened between us five years ago. I could just tell him Amelia was an old friend and that should be enough to secure the job.
On the other hand, I knew that Amelia was trying to be more independent. If I said anything to Nico then she wouldn’t be getting this position purely on her own merit. Achieving her independence was important to her and I wanted to give her that chance.
For that reason, I pretended not to know her.