Recommended Song For Book:
"Wildest Dreams" by Taylor Swift

Chapter 3

Allison's POV

I stood in the doorway, frozen, with my lips parted in shock. Part of me wanted to scream in fear while the other half of me wanted to keep staring at his handsome face.

"Miss Green, I know I'm incredibly handsome but did you realize that staring is considered rude?"

"Yes I do, Mr. De Luca. I'm very sorry." I apologized, gripping my purse tightly in my hands.

'Oh My God! It's him! I'm not gonna get the job! He probably hates me!' I thought, scared of what could happen next. But I held my head high with my shoulders back, hiding my nervousness with confidence. A technique I had learned from Camilla.

Since I wasn't going to allow him to see my fear, then as Camilla says and I quote," If you show them your fear then you show them your weaknesses."

"Please have a seat, Miss Green," He motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk. "I have a meeting in fifteen minutes and I would not like to be late to it." I nodded and took a seat in one of his chairs, placing my purse in my lap.

"Now I see that you have no experience in being a personal assistant but you did have a job as a secretary for a small business," Mr. De Luca stated, looking down at what I assumed was my file.

"Yes, I did. I worked as a secretary for a small law firm near by." I replied, shifting in my seat under his intense stare.

"Now Miss Green, I know you have no experience as a personal assistant but your reviews and records from your past bosses are what I'm looking for. But--" My phone rang, cutting him off before he could say anything else.

I gave an apologetic smile and grabbed my phone from my purse, quickly putting it on silent. I looked back up to be met with an angry pair of blue eyes. "I'm so sorry. I forgot to put my phone on silent. But that won't happen again. Please continue, Mr. De Luca."

He nodded and took a deep breath before continuing with my interview. "As I was saying, Miss Green, I want to talk about what this job entails," He said, pulling out another piece of paper. "I am going to ask you a series of questions in regards to this job. Please answer them truthfully and appropriately."

I nodded in response. "Good. Now, Miss Green, do you have any other jobs?"

"No, I do not currently have any other jobs," I replied simply.

"Excellent. Do you know how to work with an iPad? iPhone? Because I will be using these items in order to communicate and work with you." Mr. De Luca states, showing me his iPad.

"Yes. I do know how to work with both."

He nodded his head before looking back up at me. "This next questions are very personal, Miss Green, and I would like you to answer it with pure honesty. Understood?"

"Yes, I understand." I answered with a slight nod. He put his pen down and folded his hands in front of him, placing them on his pile of papers. His body was tense and he looked frustrated almost bothered by something. I couldn't help but wonder what was bothering him.

"Do you have a boyfriend, fiancé, or any sort of man in your life?" I looked up at him, bewildered and astonished by his question. I didn't understand what this question had to do with the job or why it was any of his business.

I cleared my throat. "No, I do not have any boyfriend, husband, or fiancé in my life." I reply honestly. "Not right now at least." I added, attempting to not seem so alone.

He nodded his head and took out a form from his desk drawer. His once tense body becomes relaxed and he slides the form over to me.

"Great. Now let's discuss your salary and your work days," He began, flipping through another file. My eyes widen as I realized what James De Luca had just said.

Did I get the job? I thought excitedly.

"Yes, Miss Green, you did." He answered, chuckling at the end. Did I say that out loud?

"Indeed you did."

My heart raced inside my chest and I couldn't control the bright smile growing on my face. "Thank you so much, Mr. De Luca." I say, trying to contain my excitement.

"Don't thank me yet, Miss Green. Now can we please get back to what we needed to discuss?"

My smile slowly died from his bitter tone but I regained my composure and crossed my right leg over my left, putting on a fake smile as if it didn't affect me. Camilla had taught me this technique a few weeks ago after telling me about how she dealt with a rude coworker that same day. She explained to me that the only way to not let people see that they get under your skin is to seem confident and carry on as if it didn't happen.

"Yes, We can. Please go ahead." I told him. "Also, Mr. De Luca, you can call me, Allison if you'd like."

"Okay, Allison." He stated with a straight face. But I could see the corners of his mouth move slightly upwards and a warm, fluttery sensation appeared in my stomach. I ignored the strange, stomach twisting feeling and return my focus back on the interview.

"You will receive a paycheck of $10,000 every two weeks making that a total of $20,000 a month. Sally or I will be handing you an iPad and iPhone for work purposes, tomorrow morning."

"Mr. De Luca, you don't have to pay me that much. That seems like a lot," I said, registering how much money I would actually be making.

"Miss -- Allison, I take care of my employees and how I do that is my business." He replied. "Plus if you work hard and represent my company in a good way then you deserve the money."

I nodded in response.

"Anyways, you will be working five days a week and sometimes on the weekends, if I call you in. I expect you to always be available whenever I call you to come in or to do something for me. That is your iPhone's purpose."

I watch as he wrote something down on a post it note before reaching over to hand it to me. I took the note and read:

1 Medium black coffee from "La Luna" cafe.

"That is my coffee order and I count on it being on my desk, tomorrow morning at 8:00 A.M. sharp. I don't know if you recognize the cafe but that's where I always buy my coffee and I want it from there." He demanded.

"Yes I do recognize the cafe. My best friend works there." I informed him, putting the yellow note into my purse.

"Well Miss Green, we are finished with your interview." He announced, standing up from his seat. I follow his action and stand up. "Please allow me to walk you to the door."

I nodded and make my way over to the door with Mr. De Luca close behind me.

"Thank you, Mr. De Luca. I'll be here tomorrow morning at 8 A.M. with your coffee." I opened the door when a hand quickly slammed the door shut, causing me to jump back in fear and hit something behind me.

I felt two arms wrap around my waist, preventing me from moving. The smell of coffee hit my nose and I held back a smile, knowing the reason of why he smelled like coffee. I looked up and my eyes connected with his.

"Also, Miss Green, please call me, James. Mr. De Luca makes me feel old," He said with a smirk.

My cheeks burned a bright pink but instead of looking down, I kept eye contact with him. "I'll call you James when you begin to call me Allison." I got out of his grip and walked out with a smirk on my face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I got the job! I got the job!" I yelled as soon as I walk into the cafe.

My eyes searched for Camilla's curvy figure to find her cleaning the counter. Our eyes meet and I watch as a smile appears on her lightly tanned face.

"You got the job!" She screamed, racing over to me.

I nodded my head and she squeals, pulling me into a hug. "I knew you could do it! But I bet my outfit helped a little!" We pulled away from embrace and Camilla smiled brightly. "Now tell me everything!" She exclaimed.

Before I could explain anything, Joshua interrupted. "Camilla, you and your friend better be quiet or you lose your job."

I turned to look at Camilla with wide eyes but she only scoffs, placing her hands on her hips.

"Joshua, we both know you wouldn't fire me because then you'd miss me too much," Camilla retorted with a flirty smirk.

Joshua's pale cheeks slowly flushed to the color of scarlet. "Camilla, just get back to work and talk quieter," he spoke before walking away with an irritated look on his face. Joshua held the position as Camilla's boss and the manager at "La Luna's" cafe.

He seemed like a good guy except Joshua always treated Camilla differently than everyone else. Because why else would he let her off the hook so easily or let her talk back to him. Anyone could tell that he had a thing for Camilla.

"Why do you lead him on?" I ask her, taking a seat by the counter. I knew Camilla didn't like Joshua nor wanted to be in a relationship right now. But I also knew her better than anyone else and knew that she was lying about the last part. Camilla wanted love, but she just hadn't found it yet.

Camilla rolled her eyes and scoffed, walking around the counter to stand in front of me. "I am not," she answered while placing a glass of lemonade in front of me. "Now tell me about your interview!" She demanded, leaning over the counter.

"Okay, okay. Well it turns out that the man I had an argument with, before the interview, was James De Luca," I announced. Camilla's face was filled with shock. "But during the interview, he acted as if the coffee-- I mean argument never happened," before I could continue, Camilla burst with questions.

"Was he incredibly sexy? Did you kiss him?" She asked enthusiastically.

I opened my mouth to respond when Joshua yelled," Camilla, get back to work! You have a customer!"

"Damn it," Camilla groaned. I grinned and took a sip of my lemonade. I guess I didn't have to tell her anything else or answer her questions about how incredibly attractive James De Luca was.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Camilla announced, glaring at someone behind me. I turned in my seat to see my big brother, standing there, with a wide smirk on his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be nice to your customers, Camilla?" Daniel asked jokingly, walking over to us. My brother kissed my head and takes a seat next to me.

Camilla gripped her notepad, trying to control her anger. "Fine. What will you be having, sir?" She asked, emphasizing the word "sir."

Daniel gave Camilla a sarcastic smile and leans over the counter.

"A medium black coffee, please." He orders, emphasizing the word "please."

I chuckled and Camilla quickly turned to glare at me. I raised my hands in surrender with an innocent smile causing her to roll her eyes and turn back to Daniel.

"Coming right up, sir." Camilla replied, glaring at my brother before leaving in the direction of the kitchen.

I turned to speak with my brother but I noticed Daniel following Camilla's retreating figure with his green eyes. His eyes held some unknown emotion in them. It almost seemed like...appreciation. Did Daniel like Camilla?

I shook my head at the preposterous thought and cleared my throat, breaking Daniel from his trance. Daniel jumps up from his seat, a small blush appearing on his pale cheeks.

"Why were you staring at Camilla?" I ask confused. My brother never really liked Camilla and always acted really harsh towards her for no reason. So why was he staring at her now?

"I was not starting at anyone! Especially Camilla!" Daniel said hotly, giving a nervous smile. "But anyways, how was your interview?" I smirked at his attempt to avoid the subject of Camilla, but I decided I would leave it for now.

"It was rough at the beginning but I managed to get the job."

I didn't want to tell Daniel about the whole coffee incident between James and myself because of the constant teasing I would get for it.

"Well that's great! But I'm getting a feeling your not as happy as you should be."

I thought for a moment and concluded that Daniel was right. I didn't know what my feelings were towards this new job anymore. After meeting James De Luca, my opinions and hopes had changed. At first, I had felt excitement and nervousness. Now, I just felt nervous and afraid for what the future held.

"I'm just confused, Danny." I laid my head on my left arm and sighed. "I don't know how to feel about this job anymore."

"Allie, you'll be fine and you'll do great. You always do," My brother said to me, comforting me with a pat on the back. "Now where's that beautiful smile that dad and I love so much?"

I smiled and pushed his arm away from me, jokingly. "Stop it! I don't want to smile when I'm nervous!"

Danny chuckled and poked my cheek," See, there's that beautiful smile." I swatted his hand away from my face, joining him in his laughter.

Seconds later, a cup of black coffee was placed in front of Daniel and we look up to see Camilla with a questioning look on her face. "What are you guys laughing about? Are you laughing at me?" She asked and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an answer.

"No, no! We weren't laughing at you." I paused. "I was just having mixed feelings about my new job and Daniel was trying to cheer me up. He keeps telling me that I'll be fine, but I'm not sure."

Camilla nodded and leaned on one hip. "Allie, even though I hate to admit this," She paused, taking a deep breath. "Daniel is right. You'll be fine and with the help of my fashion advice, you'll look great!"

I nodded my head, feeling a bit more confident. I smiled at my best friend and my brother, receiving two smiles in return.

'Maybe I will be alright. But all I could right now is hope for the best.' I thought to myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James De Luca's POV

"So I heard you have a new personal assistant." Adrian said to me, walking into my office with a black leather portfolio, resting in his hands.

"I do. Her name is Allison Green and she starts tomorrow morning." I announced, looking up at my younger brother from my computer.

"Oh I know who she is. I met her in the elevator." My brother stated. He took a seat in front of my desk and leaned back in his chair with a smile. "Allison seems very sweet and innocent, but has some fire in her eyes. I think she's the perfect woman to handle you."

"That's why I hired her. Plus she was perfect for the job. Everyone else was more interested in the boss than the job." I replied, smirking as my brother chuckled.

"Well what can you do. Like father says: All women are attracted to the irresistibly good looks of all De Luca men." We chuckled at our father's well known quote. Our father had first told us this during the telling of the story of how he conquered our mother's heart.

A few seconds later, Adrian stopped laughing and his face becomes serious, a questioning look appearing on his face. "Are you sure you didn't hire Allison for any other reason?" He paused, looking at me cautiously before continuing, "Maybe because she reminds you of someone from your past. Like -."

I cut him off, slamming my hands on my desk angrily. "Don't you dare say her name, Adrian. You know perfectly well that I don't ever want to hear her name again or speak of her!" I yelled at my brother.

Adrian nodded his head and smiled apologetically. "I know you don't but I still did and I'm sorry, James."

I took a deep breath and close my eyes. I knew my anger had gotten the better of me and I hated myself for it. I never got angry with any of my brothers especially with Adrian, who I was so close with. He already had enough on his plate with being a single father and he didn't need me being angry at him.

"No. I'm sorry, Adrian. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you," I apologized, receiving a nod in reply. Adrian stood up and walked over to the mini bar in the back of my office. I watched as he made two of our favorite drink, scotch on the rocks, and brought them back to my desk.

Adrian handed me a glass of scotch and took a seat before taking a sip of his drink. "I'm just worried about you, James. You know I am."

I nod," I know you worry about me. But I also want you to know that you don't have to. I'm the older brother and you are the younger brother. Therefore, I'm the one that needs to worry about you."

He shook his head at me. "I also don't want you to mess with Allison. She doesn't seem like the type of girl to put up with any of your crap." Adrian chuckled. "Actually you don't even seem like her type."

I smirked and took a sip of my scotch before answering my brother. "I'm everyone's type."

~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading and tell me what you think!

Editor: bilautaaxoxo

Dedicated to: one of my best friends, whynotread24 , for always supporting me!