The Italian Director Next Door (CASTELLANO SERIES #1)

2

"And that concludes our meeting for today." These were my all-time favourite words at the end of the day. I squared my shoulders, taking one last sip of my tea as Sophia looked up from her laptop who looked just as relieved as I was. I had her sit in in today's meeting since I needed her to take the minutes.

"I suppose you know the usual drill if you have any other questions. Email them directly to me and I will try my best to have them answered by tonight."

Multiple heads bobbed up and down, a sign that they all had a mutual understanding. "Chief, will you be up to celebrate Madison's birthday tonight?" one of the men from the Marketing department asked.

I looked towards Sophia, signalling her subtly with my eyes darting towards the marketing guy and she immediately understood. Throughout my time here, there were many people who had joined and left my company over the span of the last few years and to be honest, I had pretty much given up in taking the time to get to know each and every one of them. That's just too much work. Sophia signalled to her phone subtly, clearing her throat and I took a quick glance at my phone at the corner of my eyes, covering my screen.

'Madison from Media, 40th birthday tonight' Sophia texted me.

"Ah, Madison." I said as if I knew who he was even talking about. "I'm sorry I can't make it tonight, I already have prior family dinner plans." I said, smiling. Liar. I hardly ever have dinner with my mother. And even if I did, I'd know she'd be only bugging me with the same old topic and that is as to why I'm still single at 27 and then she would get ahead of herself—again and start setting me up on the next blind date.

I honestly just didn't have time for another irrelevant man who was just gonna tell me that I work way too much and I needed to, in their own words, 'chill the hell out'.

That date ended with me walking out on him less than 10 minutes into our meal. Was I too uptight? Yes. But did I care? Nope.

"Oh that's alright." The Marketing guy said. "There's always a next time."

Yeah, thank God birthdays only happens once every year. "Yes, next time." I nodded and Sophia let out a sigh of relief. I smirked at her reaction while I grabbed my notebook and phone with one hand form the mahogany desk and was the last to leave the meeting room.

While I sat on at my desk, watching the sun beginning to set, I did a little reflection on my past. Throughout the last few years, I was pretty much what everyone called a workaholic. But I wasn't always like that.

I was once young and naïve, I thought love was the only thing that mattered and thought it could get me through life's greatest challenges and when my ex fiancé broke off our engagement after returning from a business trip, that changed everything. Back then, I didn't have a stable job, I was working as a small time content editor at Vogue and I wasn't earning much. I lived at a rented apartment with my ex fiancé and I refused to stay at my mother's place. I had my ego to keep and I wanted my mother to know I was doing just fine without her help and reputation. As to what she did for a living, we'd get to that later.

And then I dated on and off after that for two years, but none of them which ever worked out for me. None of them whose calls I returned, whose dates I always bailed because I just felt nothing at all, for any of them.

Or maybe romance just didn't work for me after all.

Until one day I decided to pull my shit together and eventually I was scouted by one of the Directors here at Rogue, and I climbed my way to the top, with now being the Chief Editor of this very company and right now, it was listed under my name as well.