A Twisted Tale

Prioritize, Compartmentalize

Meera's POV

I woke up to the sound of the alarm buzzing on my phone. I grabbed my phone and took in my surroundings. I was a little confused because this didn't look anything like my room. I closed my eyes and remembered the events of last night. Everything came back to me in bits and pieces but I remembered enough to know that I was at Valerio's place. I remembered the kiss and my fingers lingered on my neck longer than intended but I was pulled back by the sound of the alarm which I forgot to turn off.
While I stretched and yawned, I realized that I was still in last night's clothes and that the makeup was still on. Adding to the list of things I detested, I wasn't in the state to brush last night so my breath too smelled horrible. I decided to first freshen up and then meet Valerio to discuss last night.

While I was cleaning up, I couldn't help but smile at the thought that he didn't take the liberty of changing my clothes while I was passed out. Though it wasn't exactly in my favour, it was comforting to know that he doesn't take advantage of a drunk woman.
I wrapped a robe around myself and walked out of the bathroom only to find Valerio casually leaning on the door by the entrance to the room. He whistled looking at me from head to toe. I raised my eyebrow and asked "Mama didn't teach to knock on the door before entering huh?" He rolled his eyes at me and said "She taught me to do that if it was someone else's room. Not mine."
I smiled at him sheepishly and said "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I invaded your room last night. I assumed that you took me to the guest bedroom."
"I actually thought of doing just that until I realized that the drunk version of Meera was a handful. Besides, I had to get work done last night and since I was pulling an all nighter, having you in the same room seemed a lot more effective." He said smiling at me.
He was still smiling as he walked towards me. He put his hand around my waist and pulled me close. I could see the desire burning in his eyes as he leaned into me. His grip on my waist tightened as he captured my lips in a hungry kiss. I let out a soft sigh as he deepened the kiss and I ran my fingers across his chest. He pulled back and said "I've been meaning to do that for a while now. After last night, the very thought of your plump lips is driving me crazy."
I moved closer to him and whispered in his ear "Play your cards right and you might end up getting more than what you bargained for." I left a bewildered and oversexed man behind as I sashayed into his walk in closet.

"Tell me something. Do you keep women's clothing in your closet or do I have to rummage through other closets before getting something to put on?" I asked while looking around  for something to put on before getting back home. In response to it, he came and stood right behind me. He encaged me in his arms and said "Given a chance, I would wish for you to walk around like this. You are totally killing it in the robe." I rolled my eyes at him as I tried his hands away. I turned around to face him and said "You're always looking for an opportunity to flirt with me. Now get me some clothes so that I can go back home." He frowned at me and said "What's the hurry? We could spend the day together. The deal is finalized here at Milan so now we've got nothing else to do other than go sightseeing. Don't you want to take a look around this beautiful city?"

I plopped down on the bed and sighed. The board members here didn't take a lot of convincing but I had to know the situation back in London. Despite agreeing to give ourselves a chance, I wanted to go back home desperately. I've been here for almost a week and I missed home. Especially missed Martha's Sunday roast and my all time favorite, Eton Mess. Also, I was worried sick about Mark not calling me up for two days in a row.
While I was having my internal monologue, Valerio received a phone call. He walked out of the room to take the call and that was my cue to talk to Mark. I pulled out my phone and called him up. He answered the phone call almost immediately. "Hey love. How are you doing?" He asked sounding exhausted.
"I'm perfectly fine. The meeting with the board went well and they're with us. The legal team too has taken a look at the agreement and there are no changes to be made. Everything is smooth on this end. But that's not why I called you up. How are you?" I asked.
My blood ran cold when he said "The attack on the storage unit was planned. Though we haven't caught the bastard behind this attack, it was planned nevertheless. And what's worst is that this is an insider job. The security cameras were hacked and put on a loop. The person knew his way around the building and he also inactivated the smoke detectors so that maximum damage could be incurred. You know that our security changes every twelve hours. The bastard used this two minute window to get inside the building. Also, he knew the access codes to the storage facility. I'm not going to lie, we've got some serious dent to our finances because of this attack. But knowing that your meeting went well, within no time our stock prices will skyrocket. I called in a favour from an old friend for some security upgrades. I'll tell you more about it when you get back here. Speaking of which, have you decided when to get back here?"

I knew he was worried sick about work and I also knew that he was trying hard to not let me know that he needed me back there. I decided to put Valerio at the back of my mind and get back home to my family.

Valerio walked back into the room without looking up and said " Hey, I've got the whole day planned for us. First let's go grab a bite.." before he could finish I interrupted him and said "I'm sorry Valerio. I have to head back home. My job here is done and I'm needed back in London. Whatever else has to happen with the partnership can wait until later. You get in touch with Ms. Megan Fisher if you need any further legal assistance in this matter. Inform Piero that our board members too need to see the efficiency of your team. We will arrange for a meeting when the two of you decide to join us at London. You can discuss the rest with the board members over there. I'll ask my personal assistant, Brad, to mail you the schedule. I'll talk to Charles and set up the meeting with the board." I turned to grab my clothes from last night when Valerio stopped me by grabbing my hand.

"Leave those clothes. I've got you a fresh pair. Put these on and I'll meet you downstairs. Allow me to book you a flight back home. I'm sure you have a few minutes to grab a bite before you leave, right? Also, I have to talk to you about us." He said that and left me to my own devices. I took my time getting dressed. Thankfully his choice of clothing was good enough for me to fly back home. I wore the distressed jeans and gray crop top he brought and went downstairs to discuss 'Us' with him.