|| VALENTINA's POV ||
" James!!!", I gasped in surprise, looking at the guy who was my savior once. He grinned big up at me, getting on his steps to pull me into his bear hug. I met James a year back at the bar. I was a rookie back at that time, and was harassed by gamblers. Then James appeared like my knight armor, saved me from them and even helped to send them to the cops.
We became close friends after chatting up and even contacted each other many times in the previous months. However after he went abroad, we lost touch. James was a professional designer and had big names in the fashion industry. His height never failed to amaze me because I looked like a kid, standing next to him.
He chuckled, looking at Lorenzo behind me,
" Lorenzo! So, is this the special girl that you were talking about?"
I was confused, glancing between them. My eyes met Lorenzo who didn't look well. Jealous...?
Lorenzo extended his arms to pull me by his side, spoke in a cold voice,
" You two know each other?"
James nodded with a smile and shared the small details of our first meeting. However, Lorenzo still looked pissed off as he snorted lightly at our story. Lorenzo finally spoke to him, introducing me again,
" Yes! She is the girl that I want to talk about, Valentina, my girlfriend. She is the one who is managing king fashion now."
James eyes lit up brightly as he praised,
" That's great. It will be more convenient for me if I know the other party. Valentina, be my guest. We are going to be partners."
I gasped in bewilderment,
" What.. what do you mean?"
Even Lorenzo sounded shocked too,
" Do you agree? Well, I offered him to work for our brand but he wasn't happy with the arrangements."
I was left stunned too. So far what I heard, James only worked for big brands. Agreeing with our offer was real surprising. James chuckled at our baffled expressions, stretched his arm out to take my palm. He planted a quick kiss on its surface and mumbled with a grin,
" Anything for the beautiful lady."
I cheered happily but felt Lorenzo's hand tightening around my waist. He wasn't happy at all. Lorenzo cleared his throat, a bit pissed off,
" Well, happy co-operation then. Don't stress my girlfriend too much at this stage. She is pregnant."
I blushed hard as James gave a baffled look, clearly didn't expect the news from him. However, he smiled the next moment and congratulated us,
" Wow! So fast! Congratulations to both of you. Anyways, I should be going now. See you soon, Val."
We bid farewell and James left first, leaving us alone in the whole office. As soon as the door closed, I felt a sharp pain in my waist. Lorenzo turned me around fiercely to smash his lips against mine. I let out a small gasp of surprise, whimpering as he began to push me against the desk.
He didn't stop until he kissed me hard, sucking all my breath out. Only after my lips were left swollen, he let go of my lips. I was panting, gasping to breathe when his cold voice echoed into my ears,
" Don't smile at other men always!"
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was Lorenzo king jealous?
I wished to tell him but realized that I had something more important to notify him. Dismissing the thoughts away, I grabbed onto his arms tightly to tell in a serious voice,
" Right, Lorenzo! I have something important to tell.. It's about Jenny..She set up a store next to our store. Do you think that she is being intentional?"
Lorenzo's gaze darkened dangerously. Putting me down to sit on the chair, he responded with a growl,
" What do you mean? When did Jenny start a store?"
I was completely taken back by his answer. I expected Lorenzo to know about it at least. However, he looked shocked too. I told him the entire story about how Jenny and I accidentally met,the fight between Leonardo and her, not missing a single point. At the end of my explanation, Lorenzo was oddly quiet and slapped his hands over his thighs furiously,
" Leonardo!!"
He spoke in heavy breath, panting furiously,
" Definitely, it's his mother's evil plan to lower your values in front of my father. She wants to show that her daughter-in-law is more capable than you."
I asked for something confusing,
" For what reason? We aren't even married. "
Lorenzo explained, snorting out angrily,
" For the position of hostess of this house. She wants to secure that position for her son's wife. They started the business deliberately to lower your status. You must be careful, Valentina. Jenny is dangerous too."
I was shocked as well because like Lorenzo, I didn't think too much. But I remembered small details about them. Jenny didn't look surprised to see me there as if she knew that I would be nearby. The worst part was that Leonardo was there too.
Were they plotting together to destroy our business?
I took a deep breath to process the news that I just gotten. In no way, I was going to let them affect Lorenzo's hard earned money. I smiled at Lorenzo, assuring,
" Don't worry! I won't let them do anything as long as I am in charge. They can't harm us so easily. I won't let them win so easily, Lorenzo.."
His eyes softened at my sincere promise. Without saying another word, he pulled me on her lap to kiss me again.
______________
The next day, I arrived at my store earlier. James was supposed to be here today. So, I was thinking about throwing a small welcome party for him. As a designer, he needed more motivations, positive vibes behind his creativity. I ordered a small cake, and made a few arrangements to decorate the entire place.
When I appeared on the doorway to take my order, I spotted the most unexpected person in front of Jenny's store, Mr.King, Lorenzo's father. They looked quite happy together, gossiping and laughing. Although I could tell that he had no intention to visit my store, I couldn't ignore my responsibility.
I walked over to him personally to greet,
" Hello, Mr.King!"
His eyes snapped at me in surprise then replied with a smile,
" Valentina! Jenny was mentioning you just now. She said that you took charge of Lorenzo's store?"
I nodded my head nervously, offered him politely,
" Yes! Please take a look at it!"
He didn't leave immediately and huffed rolling his eyes,
" Do you know how to run a store or are you just here to waste your boring time?"
His sharp words stabbed into my heart directly. I saw Jenny's eyes curling up in happiness. She wanted to humiliate me which was the reason that she invited Lorenzo's father to her store. I dared not to be rude to him. Forcing a smile on my lips, I replied confidently,
" No, Mr.King but definitely I have better ideas since I am graduating from fashion designing than others."
Jenny's face turned blank the following moment. She knew that the comment was meant for her. I didn't want to show my distaste at her but since she was asking for a tight slap, I was going to do it to show her the place.
Mr.King nodded his head a bit satisfied, finally replied pointing at our store,
" Let's go then! I have always thought of wanting to visit for once at least! "
I smiled big and showed him the way eagerly with Jenny following us closely. He spent a long hour checking the dresses and finally commented with a sour expression,
" These are all old fashioned clothes. Is that how you are managing this top branded shop? Nothing has changed since the last time I checked it online. This business will fall if you don't handle it well now."
I was speechless by his negative words. Ever since we met, he hasn't said a good word about this store. I didn't know what his exact problem was with Lorenzo but he was really toxic. Right at that time, I heard commotion outside and saw my manager rushing to the entrance to greet the VIP person..