A Twisted Tale

Restraint (Part 1)

Valerio's POV

I heard her voice and that was enough to drive me mad.
"Baby, che cosa è sbagliato? You told me it was urgent. va tutto bene?" She asked confusedly because I never asked her to come home in broad daylight.
She mostly spoke Italian. Her English was decent but she had a thick Italian accent.
"Is everything okay, you ask?! You left the room in a mess and almost sabotaged my plan. I told you a hundred times that I have my reasons for doing this and that I would like you to stay out of this."I seethed with anger.
"Mi dispiace. Ero molto arrabbiato! You left me standing there alone. Questo non succederà più." She said and hugged me.
I sighed and thought to myself that I'll have to get rid of her very soon because she can turn out to be a huge problem later on.
I thought I had everything under control until Meera told me about the room. To say I was shocked was an understatement. I was very confident that she wouldn't doubt my intentions even for a second. But thanks to my stupid girlfriend, Meera started having suspicions. I tried to mask my shock with anger which wasn't a very good idea.
I was a fool to think that lashing out at Meera would make her stop asking questions. But Meera wasn't like any of the women I know. She immediately retaliated which shocked me and frustrated me all the same. I somehow salvaged what was left of my impression by apologising to her. I couldn't wait to drop her back so I could have a long chat with my girlfriend and give her a piece of my mind.
I asked Meera if I would see her tomorrow and she said yes which was a relief and it meant that I didn't screw things up totally.
"It's been a long time since we've spoken about just the two of us. Sei diventato molto lontano. I don't like it." She said.
I was gritting my teeth in an attempt to calm myself down just enough to get rid of her without causing her to throw a temper tantrum.
"Sweetheart, you know that this company means everything to me. Si prega di avere qualche pazienza. Once everything is settled, we can celebrate and stay together as much as you want. For now, you need to leave because us getting caught would only lead to our relationship being exposed." I said ushering her outside.
Her face set into a pout and then she said "Fine. I'll go now. Ma ricorda che sono una donna gelosa. I don't like seeing you with anyone else. So I may do some things out of jealousy." With that being said, she walked away.
What she said in the end only made me shudder. It was meant to be a warning.

I remembered the day when I first bumped into her at a party. She was dressed in a gold sequined knee high dress which hugged her figure perfectly. She looked beautiful and her smile was welcoming. We hit it off instantly. We laughed and danced for a while and then ended up in bed together. I forgot all about it since it was a one night stand. I moved on with my life until she came in for an interview. We had various posts open and shortlisted the qualified individuals for a personal round of interview. Only a handful of them with impressive resumes were brought to my attention. And she turned out to be one of them. I didn't even know her name let alone the fact that I spent a night with her.

It was her squeal of excitement which made me look up at her. It looked like she waited for me to recognise her and when I didn't, she got irritated. She reminded me of the night at the party and I dismissed it saying she was here for the interview and if she wanted to get personal then she should leave immediately. She took offence to it and switched into a professional mode and I continued with the interview. She did well at the interview and was hired as a PR representative.

She was just like every other employee. She mingled with everyone with ease. There wasn't a single person who didn't like her. Since I had a strict policy against dating employees, I didn't let it go beyond professional interaction.

It all started when the tabloids clicked a picture of a Emma and I. We were at a gala and we were just getting comfortable with each other. There wasn't anything going on between the two of us but since the day the photos were published, Emma started getting threatening calls.
Since she was a media representative herself, she was accustomed to getting such calls all the time. She didn't seem very bothered by it because it usually never went beyond threats.
But one day she received a post while she was at work and it contained dozens of photographs of Emma. They were taken very discreetly. Some of them were of her undressing. It scared her enough to hire a PI to find out the person behind this.

Emma called me up one day and said it was urgent and that she had to meet me immediately. I drove by her office and as soon as I went into her office she threw the photos on the desk and asked me to take a look at them.
"What the hell is this?" I asked.
She glared at me and said "That is what happens to anyone who is caught being friendly with you."
I gave her a blank look and said "Help me out here. If someone is stalking you, how is it my problem?"
She then pulled out a file from the drawer and handed it over to me. I flipped through the file and clenched my teeth. She said "Judging by your reaction, I'm assuming you know how this is your problem. Imagine what would have happened had we been caught kissing in public. Since she is your employee, I gave you a heads up before going to the cops with this information. If you don't handle this situation, you won't like the repercussions."
"Thank you for giving me a heads up. Damage control is the last thing I want to do right now. Especially when we're doing great in the stock market. She'll not trouble you anymore. I give you my word for it." I said and left to the office.

When I reached the office, I asked for her and waited impatiently. She knocked on the door and asked if she could enter. When I said yes, she came in smiling and stood in front of me. I pulled out the photographs from my jacket and threw them on the desk and asked her to take a good look at them.
Her smile faltered when she said "Non so perché mi stai mostrando queste foto."
"Stop playing games woman. I know this is your doing. I have a file full of proofs which clearly give you away. All I want to know is who set you up for this? How much money did they pay you?" I said banging my fist on the table.

She didn't even flinch. Instead, she said "Nessuno può controllarmi. I'm my own person. Don't you understand? I did this for you! That bitch isn't worthy of someone like you. You need someone who can match up to your thinking! She's lucky that she was just accompanying you. Had she done anything more, I would have done far worse to her. So, instead of getting angry, you should be glad that I pushed her out of the way."

"Are you delusional? Who is worthy of me? You? I'll tell this to you only once. You are fired. I want you to leave and never come back. If not, I'll take all these proofs to the cops and get you behind bars." I said.
She started laughing as though I had cracked a joke. She looked at me, shook her head and said "Poor baby. You don't get it, do you? I love you. You're my soul. How can the body stay away from the soul? I'll not hesitate to kill anyone who comes between the two of us. We're meant to be together."
I noticed that her Italian accent became more pronounced every time she got angry. And what she said next made my blood boil.
"And coming to you firing me. Sweetheart, it's not your call to make. I'm a PR representative in one of the top companies in Milan. I have been advertising you as a brand to all the right clientele. Posso rovinarti. Non minacciarmi."
As angry I was, I had to tread carefully because she wasn't wrong about her creating a positive brand image of me. I couldn't risk her teaming up with my opponents right now. Also, I was at the cusp of finalising the deal with Italy's biggest export company.
"Alright. Let's discuss this like two professionals. What do you want from me then?" I asked her.
She looked at me as though I was the most stupid person on this earth and said "Nothing. I want us to be together. And you have to make it official."
I waited for her to add on but she didn't. I said "Wait, that's it? Not expecting any monetary gain?"
She rolled her eyes at me and said "Ti ho appena detto che ti amo."
I looked at her incredulously. If this was the way to get things under control, so be it. I needed to buy time just to come up with a permanent solution. "Fine. I accept your terms. I'll make it official. Now will you let her be in peace?"
She beamed at me and said "Of course! I will gladly do whatever you ask of me. Also, just because we're a couple, I will not let it affect the work I do here. I'll make it my personal goal to take this company to great heights. After all, your happiness is mine."
I sighed in relief thinking that was easy. But little did I know that I was very far from the truth. It didn't take me long to realise it.