Chapter 84_ Business Proposal

Arya immediately got her phone out and searched for the emergency number as she dialed and thought frantically, ‘Come on, come on, come on.’

“Pronto?" A deep male voice came through the phone as the call connected.

“I need an ambulance at Maranello Auto, immediately!” Arya said.

“Come again?" the man replied, and Arya cursed inwardly, ‘Damn it! He only speaks Italian.’ Arya focused and tried to channel all the Italian she had heard in the last six days, along with what she had heard from Kane.

“Serve ambulanza a Maranello Enterprise! Subito! Uomo sta male,” Arya said.

“Arriviamo. Okay, Miss, okay!”

“Grazie," Arya said and hung up.

Some minutes later, as Lewis was carried away by the ambulance, a mood of defeat fell over the office. Marco was in his office, Martina was silent for the first time, and Victoria was on the phone, constantly checking on what was happening.

“Ma come sta? Lo so che solo i familiari possono sapere queste cose, ma —--” It was hard for Arya to follow the whole conversation, but apparently, Victoria was trying to get some information about Lewis. They didn't tell her anything because of confidentiality rules since they were not related. After a few more attempts, Victoria dropped the phone and just sat in the chair, staring at her desk with blank eyes.

Marco’s office door opened as he rushed out and faced them, “Here’s the solution. I tried to reach every local pilot I know, but they're all busy or unreachable. I could drive the car myself, but I can't speed like I used to. So, if you know anyone who can kick some ass on the asphalt, this would be a good time to give them a call.”

Victoria and Martina shrugged, while Arya picked up her phone again and tried to reach Kane. ‘Come on, pick up.’ She was met with an automatic reply from customer care, and she ran her hands through her hair as she mindlessly scrolled through the numbers on her phone and stopped when…..

‘Wait a minute, Piston! He isn't anywhere near Kane's skill, but I can solve the test problem and maybe even make up for the fact that he got fired.’ Arya called him immediately.

“Hello?" Piston said.

“Hey, it's me, Arya."

“What do you want?" Piston asked, his tone unfriendly.

"I might have a business proposal for you,” Arya said.

"What business proposal?" Piston asked and then fell silent for a moment.

“Hey, are you still there?”

"Yes. I'm just thinking about whether I want to have anything to do with you,” Piston answered.

"Come on. I'm here to fix my mistakes, not to make them worse,” Arya assured.

"We can meet at a bar,” Piston offered, and Arya shook her head even though he couldn't see her.

"Why don't we just go to the restaurant?" Arya suggested instead.

"I can't afford a restaurant. As you might remember, I lost my dream job because of you,” Piston spat.

“The check is on me. After all, it's a business lunch, and paying for it is the least I can do,” Arya said, and Piston agreed.

"Fine, but if it's an actual business lunch, I expect it to be conducted professionally, with the right attitude. I won't do you any favors. It didn't pay very well last time,” Piston said.

"I’ll meet you at the restaurant in twenty minutes," Arya said and hung up.

======

Twenty minutes later, Arya was seated in a restaurant that was a short distance from the office as she sat in a chair, facing Piston, who looked quite happy to be next to her. “I know this is a professional meeting, but I can't tell you how long I’ve wanted to be on this side of the table. Despite everything, just the fact that I’m in a position to have a nice lunch with you means that I’m changing my life already.”

Arya took a deep breath and went straight to business as she said, "I don't want to play games with you. Today we have an important test drive, and our driver is K.O. I strongly suspect that Evelyn is behind it, but the point is that we need a new man to pilot the car, and I thought of you.”

"So you are asking me to drive your car after you destroyed my dream of driving professionally? You have some nerve,” Piston spat, and Arya nodded.

"I do. That's why I'm good at my job. And by the way, nothing bad would’ve happened if you hadn't worked for that bitch,” Arya retorted, making Piston sigh.

"Actually, I liked her. She reminded me of you in many ways,” Piston said, and Arya frowned.

“What? I'm nothing like her,” Arya exclaimed.

"Are you sure? Because she's a strong and driven woman, exactly like you,” he said.

"Maybe, but I didn't go rogue to advance my career.”

“Aren’t you the one who used insider information to get an edge?” Piston said, cocking his brows at her.

Arya shrugged, “I was just fighting fire with fire.”

"Whatever,” Piston muttered under his breath.

“Well, at least you got all the fun you could from that job,” Arya said, and Piston’s brow pulled together.

"What do you mean?” He asked.

"You said you liked her. Evelyn doesn't strike me as ‘hard to get,’” Arya answered, and Piston chuckled.

"Are you kidding me? We called her ‘The Ice Queen,’” Piston said, and when Arya raised her brows, he continued, “And it's quite ironic because she keeps a picture of this guy with a burned cheek on her desk.”

"So, she doesn't have any man?” Arya asked curiously.

"Nope. The Ice Queen keeps everyone at arm’s length,” he answered, and Arya mused silently, ‘Is Evelyn really capable of love? I really have a hard time believing that. But I'm losing my focus here. I'm not here for Evelyn; I’m here to get a driver.’

“Anyway, Evelyn aside, would you like the job or not?” Arya asked, and Piston nodded at her.

"Of course. It would be unfair to turn you down after you took my side when that crazy chick at the bar made a scene over me just for taking a look,” Piston said, and Arya let out a small laugh.

“You're good, Piston. You just need to learn how to communicate with women.”

“I’ll work on that. For now, let's take this driving test like champions,” Piston said, and Arya clapped her hands as she stood up and led Piston out of the restaurant as they headed back to the office.