Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Luca’s POV
I exited the office after a little while without ending up getting any bit of work down, it was of no use, my
mind was too unfocused to get any more work for the day and I ended up giving up trying.
It was currently some minutes after ten pm and I was making my way through the office building and
into the empty elevator. I massaged my fingers through my hair and tugged on the roots a little just as
the elevator doors slid open and I got out in an instant. I headed outside the building and nodded my
head at the receptionist who greeted me good night as I walked past her desk, all the way outside the
office building.
“Get in the driver’s seat, you’re driving me home tonight.” I said to the guard who usually follows my
car, and sat in the passenger’s seat, beside the driver.
“On it, sir.” He replied and tugged the back seat’s door open for me, I got in and tugged the door close
myself. I knew he knew how to drive really well so I didn’t need to worry about him crashing the car with
me in it.
The car pulled out of the company’s premises, into the busy express roads of Venice and I slumped
completely into my seat, stretching my legs out against the driver’s seat and bending my back against
the chair a little in order to give my back muscles a much needed stretching. The cars windows were
pulled wide up and I stared out the window, wondering if there was anyone out there from the auction
who was currently monitoring my movement and following my second car containing the rest of the
guards.
I’d have to be extra careful than I used to be on a normal day, from now on. I’ve always had guns on
me everyday, and a knife, Incase anything happens unexpectedly. There were also different weapons
in the office, we’ve only been attacked there once, one certain morning, in the winter.
Everyone had suddenly poured out of their different offices the moment they heard the loud sound of a
gunshot going off, instead of them remaining right there in their office like normal, sensible people.
The people who had caused the commotion had made use of that time to get on different floors,
deactivating the whole elevators from moving from one floor to another. Once it got fixed by those
people, a crowd of people dressed in orange poured into the hallways immediately.
Worst, I hadn’t been at the office at that moment, which made everyone finally come to the conclusion
that they were too scared to come when I was in the company’s premises and had monitored and
waited on me until
I left for somewhere else. It was a good thing James was here at the office then, he had raced through
the long rows of staircases because the elevators were currently not functioning at that moment. Once
he got there, he fought with the dude controlling the elevator and had it fixed immediately, which had
automatically soiled the people’s plans because they had hoped the workers would remain in there
without any option of leaving.
The guards and security guards were finally able to intervene together with the supervision and help of
James and together, those that actually organized that attack caught before they could escape. The
police got involved because everything that happened was completely legal, and ever since then,
we’ve upped our security even more in the office, and I had done the same for the house.
Which was why I had placed two guards on Sofia the very next day after we got married, because I
knew how risky it was being without a guard, in this world of ours where almost everyone with greed in
their minds are brutal as hell and had no care for anyone and anything, all that matters to them was
finding what they came to get and taking what they want.
I sighed and tugged my phone out from my pocket when it suddenly started vibrating against my thigh.
I accepted the call on seeing who it was.
“Where are you, man?” James’ voice came up immediately. I placed the phone against my ear and I
stared at my fingers while the car moved at a steady pace, barely jostling me around, thanks to good
roads.
“What is it?” I demanded, feeling emotionally drained and having no strength in me to entertain James
for so long, at the moment.
“I hope my ears aren’t deceiving me right now, and that I am indeed hearing faint sounds of moving
cars and homes and the sound of someone in a moving vehicle, and not someone still sitting still in an
office, working himself to death.” James said calmly without any pauses and I patiently waited for him
to get it out completely.
“I’m hanging up on you right now.” I informed him and heard as he chuckled quietly for a few seconds.
“You still haven’t hung up, by the way.” James’ voice drifted into my ear after about a minute and I
rolled my eyes, knowing that he had only said that to try to goad me into losing it.
“What do you want, James?” I echoed again after a few more minutes. I dragged my fingers through
my hair once again and breathed out a slow sigh. I leaned my head against the headrest and allowed
my eyes to slid close, with the phone still pressed against my ear.
“I just wanted to check on you, and how you’re doing and shit… and most importantly, if you’re still at
the office or heading home.” James replied, all traces of playfulness completely out of his voice this
time.
I scrubbed my hand over my face for a few seconds, the demarcation between the front and the back
of the car wasn’t closed at the moment, which automatically means I won’t be able to reply to him In
details.
I’ve always put up a font in front of the whole guards – in front of everybody, rather, except James.
“Luca?” James' voice nudged me back to the present moment once again and I breathed out another
sigh, my head was starting to pound really badly at this point.
“I’m heading home, at the moment. I’ll text you once I get home tonight.” I replied to him and heard his
mind move, without him saying a thing.
“The guard’s driving,” I added and heard something that resembled a relieved sigh escaping his lips.
“That’s good, I guess. Please text me when you get home.” He answered back and I nodded my head
despite the fact that he couldn’t see me and ended the call almost immediately.
I dropped my head onto the headrest once again as my head pounded strongly on one part of my
head. I really needed to get something into me, make use of some drugs and get some sleep.
I wasn’t even sure if Sofia was still going to be awake at the moment, but I really hoped she wouldn’t
be. This was the earliest I was going to get home since I got married. I had wanted to still stay behind
at the office until an hour to midnight, but the heaviness in my heart, which I had no idea where it
actually came from, and the pounding of my head, including the tiredness in my bones, made me
reconsider after a few minutes.
The car drove on and on and I wished my problems could drive themselves out of my life, head and
mind at that same speed.
Another small sigh escaped my parted lips.
******
I headed into the house, climbing up a few stairs slowly to avoid my headache from going up a few
more notches. I stood outside the door and waited for a few seconds, I knew Sofia’s guards would have
left for their homes by now since it was already some minutes to eleven pm.
I fished out my keys and inserted it into the door before turning it around and getting the door open. I let
myself and closed the door silently before locking it up once again. The lights in the lounge were still
turned on and I turned it off as I walked past it, into the living room. The living room was empty as I had
expected, and I made my way towards the kitchen slowly.
I stood at the doorway and stared at Matilda who was the only occupant of the kitchen at the moment.
She was currently washing some kitchen utensils while rinsing the rest of the things in the sink and
carefully stacking them into the dishwasher.
I watched as she wetted a small cloth and carried a bowl of water in another hand before turning
around and pausing in her tracks. A shocked sound slipped out of her mouth just as the things in her
hands slipped out her slacked grip and she proceeded to grab her chest, whine breathing deeply,
heaving deep breaths in and out of her lungs.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Mr Ricci, you scared me so much just now!” She cried out and I chuckled
quietly before staring away from her, down to my feet. I was still standing at the kitchen’s entrance and
was currently leaning into the wall beside the doorway.
“I didn’t mean to, you shouldn’t be that jumpy because no one can come into the house once it’s late
except me.” I finally said to her before glancing back up at her. She had picked up the empty bowl and
wet towel and was cleaning up the spilled water when I finally replied to her and I watched as she
paused in her tracks and glanced up at me.
“I didn’t think about that, I’m sorry.” She replied and I nodded my head as I started to slowly make my
way into the kitchen. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I answered her as I paused beside the counter.
My gaze landed on the other side of the counter and noticed that it was still a bit dirty with little bits of
food here and there, and a little spilled water on another part, I guess that's what she had wanted to go
clean up when she had sighted me.
“I’m so sorry about this mess, I had meant to clean it immediately we had dinner.” She said as she
started to mop the whole spot clean. Matilda and I hadn’t really gotten along the way Sarah and I did. It Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
was probably because I’ve barely got any time on my hand for chit chats and she had only gotten here
about two to three years ago, compared to Sarah who had been working here for over ten years.
“It’s alright, you can clean up the kitchen whenever you want,” I said to her, because it was true. I’ve
never had to complain about her ever since she got employed, and I’ve never ever dictated when her
chores were supposed to be done, that was none of my business and all that was supposed to matter
to me was that she does her job well, which she has always done. It wasn’t like I also make use of the
kitchen frequently.
“You and who had dinner here?” I asked her as I headed towards the tap and picked up a cup from
neatly stacked racks of cups before proceeding to fetch cool water from the kitchen’s tap.
“Oh, Sarah, Sofi– I mean, Mrs Ricci and I.” She replied and I didn’t miss the way her eyes had widened
at the tiny slip she had made around Sofia’s name.
My eyes narrowed at her immediately as my brain started to work. Were Sarah and Matilda
disrespecting Sofia because she was so young compared to them?
That particular thought echoed in my head and I placed my half filled cup of water on the counter
behind me before leaning against it and staring straight at her.
“Have you been disrespecting my wife all these while… because she’s quite younger than you?”