Episode 23

Episode 23.
The building is big,huge to be precise. The walls are tinted glass walled like those skyscrapers you'd see in London or so.
When Mr Marcello's limousine pulled up at the side,my scowl deepened and I quickly stepped out before Mr Marcello.
There's a red carpet running down from the main entrance, a tall looking man standing guard at the door,another man on the opposite, welcoming everyone in. A man and a woman were walking in hand in hand. The woman is wearing a dark brown gown,the man in suits. Was this like a couple something?
I didn't know I'd stopped walking,neither did I know of Mr Marcello's presence beside me until he spoke close to my ear "magnificent, isn't it?"
I turned my face to his,watching the sinister smile on his lips. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him and just looked forward instead.
"Shall we?" He said,placing his hand on his waist so I'd put mine in it. No way am I walking anywhere with my hand in his!
"I can manage" I told him before walking ahead. I could hear the small laughter from him as I walked ahead.
When I got up to the door,the man welcoming everybody put a hand out for me to stop and I did.
"No single person allowed in ma'am," he said with a polite smile "the event says a man and a woman to come together"
Mr Marcello's laughter became louder to my ears as he stepped beside me again and I abruptly turned to look at him.
"Looks like you're gonna need to take my hand,Ashley" he said,posing his hand.
I sighed exasperatedly before interlocking my arm with his,his smile wicked and intimidating.
The man smiles and said "welcome to 'Yours Night'"
I gave him a fake smile before walking in with Mr Marcello, my arm a little bit uncomfortable around his.
The moment we stepped inside,a few eyes turned to see us. The room was congested. At least,with the big width of the room,the people here tonight could be easily concluded to be a hundred or more.
A waiter appears from a corner,offering us a trey of wine. Mr Marcello took a glass but I refused it. He starts walking us to a table.
My eyes wondered around. The men are well dressed in suits and tuxes,the women sophisticatedly dressed in plain gowns of beautiful designs.
"Mr Marcello!"
"Oh hello there"
"Good evening Mr Marcello"
Some people went on to throw greetings at us,some standing up to shake hands with Mr Marcello as we went. I was getting really uncomfortable, especially when they greeted me too.
"Riccardo!" A slim,tall man called as he walked towards us,his arms spread apart and a wide grin on his lips.
"Pablo" Mr Marcello called aloud too,letting go of my arm to hug him. I must say I've never seen Mr Marcello laugh so much before. I stood awkwardly behind them.
"Who is this fine,beautiful, young woman?" Pablo said,addressing me.
"Hello," I quickly extend my hand before Mr Marcello beat me to it and embarrass me again "I'm Ashley. I'm Mr Marcello's assistant"
He takes my hand "it's nice to finally meet you"
"Finally meet me?"
"Yeah,he talks abo....."
"That's about enough introduction" Mr Marcello cuts in,pulling my hand from him. Pablo's smile is unchanged as his eyes continued to stair at me.
"Beautiful name for a beautiful lady by the way" he said.
"Thank you sir"
"Please,call me Pablo. I insist"
"Okay Pablo" I gave him a long smile,especially since Mr Marcello started watching me so closely.
"Come," he said,snaking an arm around Mr Marcello's back "I have your table over there"
He walked us to the center where a table is empty. He walks out after we sat down.
"He's the host of the party?" I asked Mr Marcello as quietly as possible.
"Why yes,Ashley. You must feel so proud of him now"
"Please,I barely know him. Besides,he seems like a good man"
"You'll be surprised" his smile is stoic as he drank his wine and again my eyes wondered around the room.
Soon after,I gave in to a little food and some wine. I was getting bored. Pablo comes back and takes Mr Marcello away,leaving me to wonder around the room.
"Attention everyone" a feminine voice boomed from a loudspeaker from up at the show floor and I looked to see a man dressed in a jet black tuxedos with a stunning red necktie. The noise died down immediately as all heads turns to him.
"I'm very well honored to have you all here tonight," he continued "from the well respected men and women. I feel very pleased that you're all gathered here to celebrate this event with me tonight. I'd like to call on Mr Morrison,to give us a little piece of his mind. Please welcome him"
Everyone clapped their hands as a man stood from a near table and walked up to the stage to replace the former man on the microphone. He starts talking and I felt like this was gonna be a really long night. Speeches wasn't my thing. My eyes moved from faces to faces. Then they stopped at a particular set of green eyes.
I gasped as I found these eyes staring back at me. The face holds a smile,like he was smiling at me. His face was unmistakable. He was the man from the previous party who'd been staring at me. I felt my skin crawl as he continued to watch me,his smile widening. Who the hell was he and why does he keep looking at me that way? His smiles creeps me out. He held up his wine glass to me before drinking. I forced my gaze away from his and counted to five,hoping he'd disappear like the last time by the time I look back but instead,he's still sitting there,his smile unchanged and his eyes traded on me. This was starting to freak me out. Was he a stalker? Do I need to tell somebody? Don't be ridiculous, Ashley,he's probably some dude who finds you attractive. Okay that could work.
Slowly, he turns his face away from me and watched what was happening up front. And I did too,stealing a glance at him every now and then.
Soon Mr Marcello was called up to give a little words after Pablo himself. As he talked,I couldn't help notice how his eyes darted around the room,like he was searching for someone. I followed his eyes until my eyes met the red haired man from earlier. He isn't looking at me anymore. I felt a great relief.
For over an hour it was all talks and claps. I was beginning to wonder why exactly Mr Marcello brought me along to such a boring event. Just when I turned away from the stage to my table,someone is occupying Mr Marcello's seat in front of me. The man who's been staring at me since forever. He has a small smile on his barely visible thin lips.
"I'm sorry do you know me?" I asked,honestly tired of his presence .
His smile only widened before he spoke "yes of course. You're Mr Marcello's assistant. You see,your boss is a very popular man. Known amongst many and vast of us."
"So? You've been staring at me all day and I remember seeing you at a party a week ago"
"I'm sorry if I acted like a creep. Forgive me,I'm just an ordinary man" there was something off about his smile "hi," he points his hand across to me "I'm Frenchie"
Frenchie.......Mr Marcello had mentioned his name to me before. Says he's the right hand man of his enemy. I slowly began to look around for Mr Marcello.
"Are you gonna take my hand?" He said "I promise I won't harm you"
I gave him a fake smile before shaking his hand "I'm Ashley"
"Of course I know your name. Like I said,Mr Marcello is a very popular person"
"Why is that?"
"He owns half the most popular companies around the globe,he's a popular bastard too and a pain in the ass,I'm sure I don't need to tell you that"
I mentally nodded. Yes,I know that alright. I agreed with him. Mr Marcello was everything but nice so if he had uncountable enemies, I shouldn't be surprised. Besides,looking at this man now,he looks nothing bad,he looked rather nice especially judging from the tenderness in his voice.
"I even heard he's planning something big in Manhattan. A project, they say" he leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially "tell me,what is it all about?"
It's one thing that this man is badmouthing Mr Marcello and another that he's suddenly interested in his business.
"As you know,it's merely a project yet and its disclosure now isn't really advised"
"Oh I know. I was just curious. Heard that some people are trying to steal it from him"
"True but as you know,Mr Marcello wouldn't let that happen"
"Then what is he doing about it except sitting down and watching?"
"Mr Marcello knows what he's doing,Mr Frenchie,I assume you should know that already. You just watch and see"
I quickly gulped down more drink,not believing I'd just defended Mr Marcello.
"I really like you,Ashley"
"Thank you. You seem to know everything about me so well and I barely know a thing about you except your name"
"Well....like everyone here I belong to a secret circle"
"Secret circle?"
"Yes,the mafians"
I stared at him in surprise. Isn't that supposed to be illegal?
"I know what you're thinking but not everyone in this room is as clean as you think. Not even your boss and I'm not sure you're ready to know who your boss truly is"
My eyes moved up to catch Mr Marcello as he stood talking with Pablo and a few other men. What could he possibly be doing wrong?
Riccardo's POV.
Many have thought me wrong,a few thought me right but I honestly can never care about what anybody thinks about me. I'll walk on whichever path I choose to walk on.
After talking with my old friend and business partner, Pablo concerning the event at Sonia's home coming party,he'd arranged for this party. He'd invited Michael Amoretti himself and hopefully, I'd see him here today and finished the scores with him. But as the time went by quickly, he was nowhere to be seen.
But just a second ago,my eyes met with Frenchie, his hand man. Somehow, I knew Amoretti was somewhere close. My first instinct was to walk to Frenchie and have a few words with him but I saw Ashley doing that for me. I know that leaving her with Frenchie is a very bad Idea but Ashley is a smart woman and I trust she should handle him well. What other reason were she here for anyways?
"Riccardo" Pablo calls,noticing my diverted attention from the group "I know just what you need. Come,there's a booth at the back room. With lots of women"
I returned his smile,not really interested in women tonight but follow him through the back door anyway. He walks me to an empty boot and said "you just sit and I'll send a very beautiful gift for you"
"That won't be necessary, Pablo. I think I've seen the woman" I looked behind him to a woman sitting on the bar stool, a wine glass in her hand. She doesn't see me but her face is an unmistakable one. Pablo's eyes followed me to her and back to me again.
"She's not a hooker,Ric,she's a guest. Ya know her?"
"She's Miranda Morales"
"A who? You know what? I habe somewhere to be.Have fun then" he said before walking out.
I sat back on the empty booth,my eyes watching Miranda Morales on the bar stool. She looked completely different from.the Spanish woman I'd had lunch with the other day. There's something really off about her,so off that I wanna bring out my phone to make a research on her. There's something about how she talked And laughed with the men sitting around the table. I know she's a stinking rich single mother,but I never pictured her to be such a social person.tioned that Nina would be getting esome clothes for the gala but I didn't know he was serious about that!