When he said mail, Eleonora didn't think he meant the actual postal service. 'How historical of him,' she thought. According to the contents of the mail, she was to leave with him for a renovation project in Greece. She did a little happy dance on seeing the overseas trip she was about to partake in. Logging onto the company account she had received details of, she looked over at the files with drool almost running down her mouth. If that wasn't a mouthwatering design he was working on, she'd have considered him to be more beautiful.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she read well into the night until her phone alerted her with a message. 'Pack for 3 days and 2 nights. Read through the files and draw up suggestions. Please let me know if you are in your best health.'
The last line of the email threw her off and she found herself smiling softly at his concern. A huge boulder of guilt settled into her chest, gnawing at her while a bittersweet realization dawned on her. He takes care of the people around him, regardless of their gender.
"A gentlemanly jerk," she muttered with a dismayed chuckle to herself. If he noticed she hadn't slept the day before, it would be entirely her fault. Responding to his e-mail in the affirmative, she called it a night, snuggling in. At least, she tried.
The next morning went by faster than she imagined and by the time she prepared all the essentials for her flight she had one little problem. She had faked everything. Appearance, ID, voice, medical reports, college reports and even a passport with her alibi, courtesy of her dad.
Her problem didn't dawn on her until she arrived at the airport, waiting to go through customs. They would ask her to strip to check. Well, she had done that before. Just not in front of men. She did not want to blow up her cover just when her plan was slowly coming to fruition.
As she was fretting and sweating about the procedure, Raul appeared from behind her, turning her to him with such force that she stumbled on her feet, grabbing his shoulders to steady herself. When she looked into his eyes, she knew he knew.
He took a step back, distancing himself from her. His eyes weren't reflecting rage. They were calm pools of disappointment and even loathing. Words stuck in her throat as he pushed her in the direction of the women going in and out of customs.
Without waiting for her to say anything, he walked back towards a different wing of the airport. Fear griped her heart unlike ever before. In a fight or flight reaction, she took off behind him, gripped him by the shoulders the same way he did and forced him to turn. Before she could open her mouth to a sassy punchline, he silenced her with a flick of his fingers. "Get yourself checked, Von Berg. I don't want my plane blowing up."
His nonchalant eyes were a storm of grey but his impassive expression told her she would definitely get the chance to explain herself. If justifying her unjust actions was any kind of explanation to go by. She quickly turned and reached the ladies' room to rid herself of the wig and other manly accessories.
After washing her face and shrugging off the suit jacket, she looked at her reflection with a weary expression. She couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen from there on. What she would tell her father or if he would turn her in for forgery or if she needed a new angle to guide her plan forward.
Yet, time wasn't on her side that day. One of his burly bodyguards entered the washroom, after a polite knock. "Miss Von Berg, it would be wise of us to leave now."
"Of course," she muttered with a plastic smile in the face of that stranger's pitiful yet cautious eyes. As they walked back to Raul, the bodyguard passed her a fleeting look before warning her. "I hope you know what you are getting yourself into, Miss."
"Worried for me, stranger?" She shoots him a cheeky smile, an idea forming in her mind. "Not at all. I just don't want to be the one to take out a pretty woman," he shoots back cockily, earning a chuckle from her.
"You can take me out, alright." She chuckled at him, shaking her head. "Well, do you have a name?"
The bodyguard assessed her appearance for a quiet moment before looking ahead and taking a step back from her. "Ercole Lagana. After you."
She whipped her head back to look at him with big brown eyes, wide and alarmed. "Wow, you are that Lagana bast- excuse me. You are him? Who would have thought you were working for Raul." There was a quiet, mocking chuckle in her voice and she got the reaction she wanted from him.
Her outburst caused him to stiffen for a moment before he relaxed back into his poker face. "Looks like I'm famous," he bit out a dry response, but his reaction did not go unnoticed by Eleonora. She looked at him curiously and said with a shrug. "Is it that surprising, Ercole?"
This time around she did not wait for a response and quickened her steps, reaching for the private planes lined up. Ercole kept his mouth shut but his posture was obviously stiff as he guided her to the plane. "Your luggage has already been loaded." She walked in without a word and found Raul focusing on his laptop. He didn't look up at her nor did he start lashing out.
She had to admit, he had an impressive temper. She understood that this behavior of his must have made a lot of employees tremble in fear and how he seemed to have a commendable emotional quotient. For the fear of confrontation is crueler than confrontation itself. Yet, she knew the confrontation would only set her plan in motion faster and waiting could be sweet. It was a long flight and she could use some time to go over the files he sent her and to plan her next move. Maybe even take a nap.
Shooting a conspiratorial smile at Ercole, Eleonora buries her nose into her notes, determined not to crack first. Her immediate next step would be, pretend nothing happened until he asked. 'Bring it on, Boss,' she thought to herself, as she falls asleep, owing to her sleepless night the previous day.
For this may be the last of the peaceful sleep she will get for days to come.