CAMILLA
I sat quietly like a mouse during the meeting. The meeting had powerful men like Ferrante, Antonio, Paolo and many others in attendance. I was afraid of even making a squeak that would draw their attention to me..
They talked about a variety of subjects ranging from drug trade, weapons, human trafficking (thankfully Dante wasn't involved with this), the assassin guild etc.
I sat like a piece of furniture by Dante's side. I helped him with water when he was thirsty, snacks, the flash drive (when he needed to access some documents).
So far no one had noticed me and I was extremely grateful for that.
"Who is this?" Ferrante asked as he looked at me.
I cursed inwardly as the eyes of the powerful men were suddenly fixated on me.
"My new secretary" Dante replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Isn't this your pet that you bought from my auction?" Antonio asked.
Paolo suddenly chuckled, I recognized him as the man who had almost bought me.
"You made her your secretary? You didn't have enough of her pussy at home, you had to bring her along to your meetings for quickies" he said with a lecherous sneer on his face.
Antonio winced, "Don't be crass Paolo" he said.
"Stop being a saint Antonio, it doesn't suit you" Paolo told him.
"Why is the girl your secretary Dante? Surely you know better than to mix business with pleasure" Ferrante told him.
"Not that it's anyone business but I am not sleeping with her" Dante turned to look at me in my seat.
"She is far too scrawny and little to be my type. Fucking her would be child abuse" he said.
Ouch! His words were painful to hear. Even though I knew he was only trying to protect me, did he have to be so brutal with his words?
"Well I always say that as long as the breasts are out, the girl is fuck able, they are never too young for me" Ferrante chimed in while I shuddered in disgust at his words.
"If she isn't your type, why did you buy her?" Paolo demanded.
"She is smart, I knew she was the one who helped her father run his business, I needed such a smart mind by my side" he replied, looking bored.
I looked at him in surprise, I had just told him that not too long ago, could he be more shameless.
"And that was the only reason?" Paolo asked.
Dante looked at him and shrugged. "I also wanted to steal her from under your nose. Your helpless face when I bid was a joyful sight to behold"
Paolo's face darkened with rage.
"How dare you?" he asked in anger as he stood up.
"That's enough you two, a little girl shouldn't come between your business relationship" Antonio said.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Paolo sat down back. The last thing I wanted was for a fight to happen because of me.
Ferrante looked in my direction.
"You, what's your name?" he asked.
"Camilla De Luca" I answered quickly.
"You are the daughter of the De Luca family that was brought down right?" he asked.
"Yes sir" I replied.
"Your father was a dumb weak fool, he brought your family down with his own hands" Ferrante remarked.
I wanted nothing more than to tell him what to do with his unsolicited opinion on my father. A stern look from Dante clamped my mouth shut.
Instead I clenched my fists and sat down quietly.
"All secretaries, assistants, bodyguards and staff leave the room now. We have something private to discuss" Ferrante ordered.
The rest stood up quickly to obey his order. Dante looked at me and leaned in to whisper.
"Sit outside quietly, don't say a thing to anyone"
I nodded and stood up and left the room.
I sat down outside on one of the waiting chairs. The rest chattered among themselves. They must have been seeing each other for years or months as they followed their bosses to this meetings. Hence, they were friendly to each other.
I on the other hand couldn't be bothered about making friends. I was more concerned with what was happening inside the meeting room.
What was so private that they had to send us all out to discuss? I was very curious.
A man sat down close to me on the chair. I scooted to the end to avoid him but he shifted even closer to me.
"Excuse me, do you mind moving away a little?" I asked him.
"Still a prissy stuck up bitch huh? One would think that after your family's downfall, you would be humble. But nah! You are still a stuck up bitch" he said with a sneer.
I looked at him in confusion, I couldn't seem to recall where I had seen him before. I was sure we had never had an encounter before so why was he so hostile towards me?
"Have I met you before?" I asked him.
He sneered even more, "So you have even forgotten about it? I am too little to stay in your memory, how about a little remainder?" he asked.
By now everyone was already looking in our direction, interested in what was happening.
"This stuck up bitch here got her bodyguard to push me out of the way and kick me just because I dared to complement her looks at a party" he announced grandly to the others.
I then remembered him. He had been acting like a creep that night. He had practically salivated over my body. I had been so uncomfortable and then he had called me sexy in a leering voice.
My bodyguard noticing how uncomfortable I was had pushed him to the ground and warned him to stop making me uncomfortable. He had tried to talk back and had been kicked.
"That's not true, you were being creepy and rude" I protested.
He chuckled evilly, "Now i am being rude, deal with it" said as he moved closer to me, pinning me down and trying to grope me.
I looked at all the others hoping someone would stop this but alas no one did, they all pretended that they didn't see me.
I knew it was up to me to save myself. I relaxed my body, giving him access to me before kneeing him in the groin.
He yelled in pain and fell down. "You are going to pay for that bitch" he said as he stood up and grabbed my hair tightly.
"You are nothing now, you think Dante gives a hoot about you. You are just a lowly thing he doesn't even want to fuck"
He punched my stomach hard and i screamed in pain.
The doors of the meeting room opened and Dante came out, he punched the man holding me and took me away from him.
I looked at him, he was so angry. He looked at the man, "do you want to explain what happened here?" he asked him.
"I just wanted to share the seat with her and she started to make a big fuss and attacked me" he replied.
"That's a lie, he was the one who attacked me first, he kept trying to touch me" I defended myself.
Dante looked at him again, "Did you do that?" he asked.
"No I didn't, you can ask anyone here, they will tell you the truth" he said smugly.
Ferrante looked at everyone. "is he saying the truth?" he asked.
They all murmured in agreement. Nobody spoke up for me.
"He is lying, they are all lying" I said angrily.
"Oh yeah! Where is your proof?" the man asked.
"Girl! That man has worked for me faithfully for years, I would advise you to think twice before making false accusations" Ferrante told me.
I remained quiet as I tried to stop my tears from falling. I was now aware that I had no rights at all. Anyone could do whatever they liked to me and nothing would happen.
"Ferrante, Camilla has no reason to attack him for simply sitting close to her, why would she do that?" Dante asked.
"Maybe she feels she is still a rich heiress who can act out like a brat" Paolo answered.
"Paolo has said it all, if she is saying the truth, why can't one person here corroborate her story?" Ferrante asked.
"The girl is saying the truth" a timid voice said.
All her eyes went in her direction. "Madam Ferrante, did you see what happened?" Dante asked.
"Yes and I got it on record too" she said.
She brought out her phone and tapped on it. And all the conversation played out in the room.
The man looked scared now, the truth was out that he was the one to attack me first.
"Thank you Madam Ferrante" Dante said.
Ferrante however looked furious. He slapped her hard and grasped her by the neck.
"Silvana, how many times have I warned you not to meddle in my affairs?" he asked her.
She cowered in fear and kept quiet. He pushed her to the floor, "Get out of my sight" he yelled.
She scampered up and fled the scene.
Ferrante looked at Dante. "I am really sorry about this Dante. I hope we can put this matter behind us" he said, looking apologetic.
"I am afraid, I won't be able to do that" Dante replied.