Chapter 38 - Chapter 38

Amelia spent 20 minutes in the bathtub while having a glass of wine and listening to slow songs that played through the speakers in the bathroom.

She closed her eyes as she relaxed deeper into the bathtub "This is nice. I'll give them four stars for this" She said in a husky voice and took a sip from her glass.

After she was done, she came out of the bathroom in a robe while drying her hair with a towel, and then a knock came on the door.

She looked to it while slowly moving to her mask on the bed. "Who's there?" She asked, and Arabel's voice came through "It's me, President Amelia". She sighed a little and told her to come in.

Arabel came into the room and closed the door. She turned around to see Amelia in a robe while she dried her hair with a towel. Her slightly wet hair was wavy and it looked beautiful because of how long her hair was. And with her face exposed, Amelia looked breathtaking.

Arabel moved into the room, and in her moment of admiration, she asked Amelia a question "President, why did you not think about becoming a model?."

Amelia looked at her "A model needs a face" She said to the Arabel and Arabel clapped excitedly "Exactly! You would have been the first model wearing a mask and you would have made it a big trend. And then_" She made dramatic exploration with her hands "_when you open your face to the world to see_" She brought her hands to her chest and sighed "_Everyone would be blinded by your beauty, and then_"

"Okay, Arabel" Amelia cut her off while trying to hold back her laugh "I get you". Arabel looked at Amelia and smiled "President Amelia, you truly do not know how beautiful you are. Men will swoon and fall, women would get jealous and crave for your beauty. Maybe some might even_"

"Arabel, you think too highly of me. You might as well be my fan at this point. You have arranged my clothes already, right?" Amelia asked and Arabel nodded, smiling.

Amelia went to the wardrobe to pick out her outfit for the rest of the day "So, what brought you here?" She asked and that was when Arabel came back from her praise mode.

She shook her head slightly "Yes. I came_"

"Wait" Amelia stopped her while looking at her clothes "What did you do here?" She turned to look at her.

Arabel looked confused as she walked up to Amelia. She looked into the wardrobe and then smiled in realization "Oh, this? I just thought it would look more beautiful if I arranged the clothes according to how you wore them. I've seen your outfits so many times that I think I've grabbed unto your style of dressing. So I thought..."

She looked to Amelia and Amelia looked at her as well. Arabel bowed her head ready to apologize, but Amelia's words shocked her.

"You'll be my stylist as well. No, I should switch you with Brittney permanently. Maybe I should just make you my PA instead. That pay will be higher" Amelia spoke to herself while trying to decide what position she should give Arabel.

"What?" Arabel asked confused. She thought she was going to get scolded for doing what was not asked of her, but she was getting a promotion? She did not get it.

Amelia looked at her deeply, and then she looked back to the wardrobe "We'll think about it after we get back to Rome" She took out one of the outfits Arabel had arranged and almost swooned "Exactly how I would do it. You even got the perfect mask" She muttered to herself and smiled a little.

She looked back to Arabel again "Wait here. I'll get changed, and then we'll talk" She said to her and walked back into the bathroom to change.

After she was done, she came out wearing a sleeveless v-neck purple jumpsuit with a gold belt. She was holding the purple and black coloured mask in her hand. She went to the wardrobe where her shoes were and brought out her black flip flop heels to wear. After she was done, she turned to Arabel and asked "What do you think?" And Arabel replied " Perfetto(Perfect)" raising both her thumbs to Amelia and the woman smiled.

Amelia walked to the desk chair in the room and took a sit. She looked at Arabel who was still standing. "Take a sit" She said to her and Arabel shook her head "No. Uh... I want to give a report, so I'll do it standing. I'm okay this way"

"Just sit, Arabel. We're not at the office right now" Amelia insisted, so Arabel decided to sit on the long couch in the room.

"Um... It's about the survey you told me to take. I was able to talk to at least 50 people"

"At least? That's the least of the people you spoke with?" Amelia asked, very surprised. Arabel smiled "Actually, what happened was, I was getting a lot of good response that I just wanted to continue to ask around. Although there were some people who did not show interest in you for various reasons, but those who did are up to 90%, so the rest really don't matter" She delivered her results.

Amelia nodded, glad that it went well "So if 90% turned up, that means we would be at an advantage if we were to open a business here in Giannutri. I know that the time this place actually booms is during May to October, but other times, people can make it here" She nodded again at her own analysis, and then she turned back to Arabel.

"So what about building? What information did you get on that?" She asked about the second phase.

Arabel twisted her face a little "The thing is, that is where we have our biggest problem. Giannutri is mainly privately owned with some parts owned by the Ministry of Environment. If you want to build on Giannutri island, you'll have to seek permission from the Libero Consorzio Giannutri. They manage the island on behalf of the private owners. You'll also have to seek permission from the Ministry of Environment and other relevant authorities. From consultation and submission to assessment to review and approval and the rest of the things you need to do.... It'll take more than two years before you even start building" She said sadly.

Amelia remained quiet for a while, and then she nodded "I expected something like that, so there's no need to worry. Look on the bright side. In the next two years, we would have improved drastically, maybe even break into global market, so we will be able to deliver our best to the Island. I don't see it as a setback at all." She waved off all the red flags Arabel had been seeing.

Arabel clapped happily "President Amelia, how do you make all the problems look so mild?" She asked as she stared at her dreamily. Amelia chuckled "Because they are mild, you are the one making it look like a big thing."

It was quiet for a while, so Arabel started a conversation with Amelia "President Amelia, I did not know you were always this free with your workers. You always seemed cold and distant and everyone was scared of you. The only time you could be admired was when you were not there, and I found it a little sad"

Amelia looked at her nails before looking back to Arabel "What makes you think I'm free with my workers?" She asked as she kept her hand under her chin "I'm curious"

Arabel looked confused a little "Well.. you're free with me and you only met me like two days ago. So I thought..." She paused as she tried rethinking.

Amelia didn't let her continue and just answered her "You've seen my face, that's one reason. You're competent, that's another reason. You are not scared of me, that's another one..." She paused for a while, and then she continued "And for some weird reason, you just seem like the sister I never had. Why? I don't know, I just feel that way. So no, I'm not close to my workers, you just became an exemption" She cleared the assumptions Arabel had.

Arabel slowly nodded, and when she realized what Amelia had said, her eyes widened. She wanted to ask about the sister part, but Belle came into the room without knocking.

"You are so boring. Both of you" Belle pointed at Amelia first before turning to Arabel. She walked to her and flicked her forehead slightly and Arabel moaned painfully before glaring at Belle. Belle looked at her like she was crazy "Bring those eyes down young lady, I'm two years older than you. I can't believe you both are working. Get up now" She pulled Arabel up and moved to Amelia to pull her up as well.

She took Amelia's mask from the desk and fixed it on her face. "Let's tour around Giannutri while we are here, and then we'll go around the villa. The polite receptionist told me there was a pool and I want to enjoy that, so let's go. Let's go!!!" She shouted as she pushed two of them out of the room.

RUSSIA

A woman dressed in a long sleeved off the shoulder white dress that trailed all the way to the ground was staring out the window enjoying the beautiful greenery in her enormous house. She had a phone to her ear as she was making a call

"она уже узнала?(Has she found out yet?)" She asked the other person on the line and the person replied "Нет, она не(No, she hasn't)".

"я думал, что она умная. я ее переоценил(I thought she was smart. I overestimated her)" She paused and sighed "Прошло уже 19 лет, а она до сих пор понятия не имеет. Очень грустный(It's already been 19 years and she still has no clue. Very sad)" She mocked as she made her voice sound like a child's voice.

The other person's voice became anxious "Дарья, Амелия это не маленькая рыбка, с которой можно играть. Если она узнает, это будет война(Darya, Amelia is not some small fish you can play with. If she finds out, it'll be war)". She was extremely worried for her sister, but Darya was not having any of it.

"Бритни, мне плевать, что произойдет. Амелия, должно быть, чувствует ту же боль, что и мы(Brittney, I don't care what happens. Amelia must feel the same pain we felt)."