A Piece Of Her I'll Never Have

Chapter 2

    Sophia's POV

I didn't need to be told that these were the two Alcatraz sons. They had this confident aura about them and were both oddly handsome but in two different ways with the younger one looking more playboyish and beguiling while the older had a more mature,intense and serious appearance. His eyes glistened as he looked at me intently like I was a math problem he was trying to solve. He was surprised at my appearance and I couldn't blame him. My pale figure always surprised people at first meeting.
     "Hi,Sophia. I'm Aamir Alcatraz",the younger-looking one said.
    "Pleased to meet you",I said
     "Ehm,miss De la Fuenté, let me take you to see our father",the older one said."I'm Jamal by the way"
       "Noted",I replied with a professional smile.
     We walked into the elevator.
   "So Sophia, it's strange our fathers are friends yet we've never met each other.",Aamir said.
    "Well I'm hardly in the country,I live in Australia",I replied.
   "Hmm,why would you leave your father and his business to go and live at the other end  of the world?"
     "Aamir,that's a personal question",Jamal whisper-yelled,obviously hoping I wouldn't hear.
   "The girl is strange. You've got to agree she isn't what we expected",Aamir whispered too. They were really silly if they thought I couldn't hear them.
  They both turned and smiled at me and I smiled right back. Silence followed till the elevator door opened and we walked to Mr Alcatraz's office.
   "Oh,Sophia,nice to see you again",Mr Alcatraz said,stretching forth his right hand which I shook firmly. "You barely had breasts when I last saw you".
   Great. Say that with your two sons around. I managed a slight laugh.
   "Nice to see you too,sir",I said.
   "Oh,please. Call me Rasheed. Anyway,as you know, Sophia your father is not well and you'll be occupying his position so..."
   "Thank you very much,sir. My father explained everything to me. May I just know where my office is?"
   "Err,sure thing,dear. Jamal will take you there.",he chukkled lightly and said,"It's strange, my equal in this company is young enough to be my daughter. I'm looking forward to having a great working time with you"
  I smiled professionally."Well we aren't completely equals considering I own a greater percentage. Same here anyway".
    
I left his office with Jamal who took me to my father's office. On the way we met a lady who looked at us till we were out of sight,probably a fan of Jamal's.
    "Here we are",Jamal said as he handed me a bunch of keys."Your office"
   "Thanks",I replied, taking the keys.
   "Call me or my brother...what am I saying, call only me if you need anything. That guy is a jerk".
   "You call your brother a jerk?"
    "Yeah,unfortunately we don't choose our family, else trust me,we'd not be brothers"
   "Interesting. Don't worry I'll be fine. See you around, then". I got in and shut the door before he replied.
  I got in and moved towards my desk. The office was large and I recognized my father's favorite colour, coffee brown,in the painting and furnishing. I dropped my mallet and walked towards my seat when...
  "Papa,what are you  doing here,I left you at home barely an hour ago. The doctor said..."
   "I know what the doctor said and quite frankly, I find that man extremely boring"
   "You have to watch your health, papa you know your heart..."
       "There's nothing wrong with my heart,Sophia;well at least not more than the usual. I just said that to make you come home"
    My face fell."Are you kidding me!Father you made me leave my comfortable life back there in Australia for nothing?"
  "Not for nothing,dear. I'm still your father and I deserve to see you even if I have to resort to shrewd means."
    "That doesn't give you the right to manipulate me"
   "You wanted to leave me alone, just like your...",
He sighed."I'm sorry, dear"
I held back the tears in my eyes."It's okay,papa. I'm here now and I am happy you aren't too ill. Let's stop being emotional",I said,smiling lightly.
   My father smiled."I'm proud of you dear. You handled them properly. You are tougher than they imagined. That's good"
    "How do you know that?"
  "Check your collar,to your left."
   The collar of my gown was turtle neck and quite fluffy. I preferred my gowns this way so I could hide my bony neck and fore chest.
    "It was easy for me to hide the transmitter when you hugged me this morning"
  "Evil devil"
  My father chukkled."You're better placed for this job than  I thought".

Stacey's POV

I saw Jamal again and my heart leaped again. I just wanted him to smuggle me into a deserted corridor and kiss me but he was with a lady and from her dressing  and the attention he paid towards her I could tell she was an important person. Geez,she was skinny and white. She looked so weird that I couldn't help but watch her till they disappeared down the hall. I walked into my office, okay, it wasn't an office, just a desk in a  large room I shared with more than twenty-two other people. I work in the advertising section of a broadcasting  company. We had both TV and radio stations and even our websites.
  I had met Jamal coincidentally when I came for a job interview two years ago. He asked me out to dinner and please believe me it wasn't out of interest but because of his smile which captivated me that I accepted. A few days later I got a call telling me I got the job and that surprised me considering I didn't really have experience but I was really happy because I really just needed a well-paying job to take care of my family. Most people thought Jamal must have pulled a few strings for me. They could be right. I didn't really care. All I knew was Jamal loved me and that was enough to fill in a way that even a double cheeseburger couldn't do.
      "Have you heard?",Mahi,a colleague and close friend of mine asked. Honestly speaking,the girl was a gossip addict.
  "How would I know if I've heard if you haven't even told me what you're talking about?"
"Well,there is a new boss"
  "What do you mean by that?"
  "You know Mr. De la Fuenté is ill and can't work,so he sent his daughter to replace him".
  That must've been her. That's why Jamal was being so courteous towards her.
   "I hear her name's Sophia and that she's skinny and pale,not so pretty, nothing like you".
   "Stop it,Mahi. You know there are things far more important than one's physique in life"
   "Yeah,yeah,yeah,but that doesn't apply to you. In your case your case your physique is the most important thing in your life. It got you a job and the ideal guy".
  Yeah,Mahi was one of those who thought I got this job because of Jamal. I gave up trying to convince her a long time ago. I know I'm here because I'm talented and I work hard to  prove that I deserve my job.
  I just hope I wouldn't equally have to prove that I deserve Jamal too.