The Italian Director Next Door (CASTELLANO SERIES #1)

3

8:00AM, Rogue's Headquarters

Not bumping into my annoying hobo looking neighbour was definitely a good start to my day. Last night's tuna surprised was indeed the last straw for me. I can't believe I even considered on trying to be nice to him.

This morning, I even had time to get myself a cup of coffee from a local cafe and made my way up to the highest floor of the building where the Chief Editor of Rogue sat.

"Morning chief, you're looking rather cherry today." Sophia commented as she places a jar of cookies she baked and three other lilac folders on my desk. "Thank you for noticing that, I am very much alive than I was yesterday, and maybe a little bit wiser."

"I certainly do not hope it's because you have murdered your annoying neighbour last night."

"I wish I could, but that would be a crime and I can't be sent to jail because of that because I have an empire to run." I hung my coat on the hanger and sat in my chair, taking a swig of my coffee and then cursing at the hot liquid. I noticed her cookie on my desk. "How is it that you have 2 kids and still have the time to bake?" I asked, opening jar of treats and munched on one.

Sophia was a single mom with two kids to raise on her own, her husband passed on two years ago due to cardiac arrest, and she needed a job to feed her kids. I hired her after two months of probation since she was so good at her job and had HR raise her salary after two years plus a hefty bonus. As uptight as I was, I was never one to let a good potential employee go unnoticed.

"How does that still surprises you every time?" she smiled, shaking her head.

"Beats me, I don't think I can juggle work and kids at the same time. Ah yes, also, I need you to clear anything that's between 12:00 to 2 PM on my schedule. My mother wants to meet me for lunch or she threatened that she will come down here by herself with another blind date towing behind her."

"Understood, Charlotte Andrews's lunch dates are not to be turned down. Remember that last time when you did though..." Sophia winced as she recalled that incident. The last time I declined lunch with my mother, she brought a whole catering service to my floor just so she could see me and discuss about her new beau she met on a cruise in Greece. I learned my lesson the hard way—never turn down meetings and meals with Charlotte Andrews, no one, not even her own daughter. That woman never takes a 'no' for an answer.

But one may also ask what the big deal with Charlotte Andrews is? Well she was Miss America in her 20's, a fellow Vogue model –before she had me, then she stepped up her game and modelled with big brands like Gucci, Burberry, Dior. The list goes on. She's gotten so many sponsorships in the last 40 decades and she was listed in Forbes as the highest paid model in the world, the paps followed her around, everyone wanted in on her business. But just like me, her love life was in a mess. Over the years, the men that she's been with constantly gave her managers a headache, sometimes even a heart attack. In short, everyone wanted to be in her shoes, everyone wanted to be like her and would definitely kill to be her daughter.

Now you see why I had to keep a low profile and lived someplace else where people didn't recognize me? Well that has changed since I have risen in status as the Chief Editor of the biggest magazines in New York. Paps photographed us having lunch one day and hounded us on the same day and bam, my name was all over the news.

"Anyways, this is the profile that I've gathered on our new Director of Rogue. This man..." she trails, pointing at the closed document file that I was too busy to even look at. "Apparently is a big shot back in Rogue branch in Italy. He has the paps following him all over town and has done many campaigns, providing organizations with sponsorship on various projects."