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𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 - 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 ཐིཋྀ⋆

The last time I had a stage fright was in high school and with getting older, one realizes, there was no need to. I was not scared of failing in front of the students, since I was neither popular nor an outsider. Erring in front of the professors was worse.

Growing up in a Brazilian family means pressure to perform and become a lawyer or a doctor. At least that was, what my Mom wanted me to become.

My Dad didn't really care about my future occupation as long as I'm happy.

As an extrovert, talking isn't hard at all. Doesn't matter if it's with one person or in front of a whole audience. Portraying that situation from my childhood to now is pretty much the same. The unfamiliar workers and sponsors are my neutral classmates, some of them are friends with me, some probably don't like me and the majority most likely won't give a fuck.

But Matteo is the teacher who's going to judge my rendition. I know that he won't be harsh with me, even if anything goes wrong, still have the urge to be the best version of myself and prove to him that choosing me for the job was the right thing to do.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Today you're going to listen to a presentation by the Californian interior architect, Lara Sequiera!" The program speaker announced and I took a deep gust, before stepping on the vast stage.

My mind raced and I held the index cards with my sweaty palms. Loud applause from the audience loosened the tension in my body a bit and the man handed me the mic.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much for gathering together this evening to listen to my presentation. As you heard, my name is Lara Sequiera and my assignment was to design your future office of Edge Force."

Even more cheering reached me and I reminded myself to talk slower.

"First of all, I'm going to thank Mister Díaz for hiring me and everyone listening."
Wait I already mentioned them listening how embarrassing. Luckily was somewhere in the crowd, invisible to me, otherwise my nervousness would tip over the edge.

About three minutes into the presentation I stuttered a lot more than expected and the structure seemed to get lost.

"Excuse me, I don't know what's wrong," I murmured into the microphone and then remembered how it always worked to make the best out of the situation to regain confidence and be honest.

I laughed, clearing my throat and thinking about all the moments Matteo and I experienced, assuring me that he would be the last person to judge. The time, my ice cream dripped on his shirt, he also acted calm.
However, this is an important presentation.

A fantasy of Carlos hyping me up right now gave me what I needed.

My heartbeat seemed to calm and so did the noises in front of me.

Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale

"Sorry, I can continue now. I don't know what happened." Some assuring smiles from strangers informed me, everything was fine.

Happily, I garnered the zeal to persist, and the words splattered more fluently out of my mouth. Some easygoing jokes here and there escaped me, and earned me chuckles and laughter.

"You won't work in little boxes, since I know from my family how tiring office jobs like that can be. I designed a larger section for your personal space and it was my idea to buy the newest computers for your best work experience."

Cheering filled the room and I tucked a hair strain behind my ear before continuing with my presentation. As soon as I finished, everybody moved into another hall to celebrate.

It was decorated with royal blue balloons and trays for alcohol. Some people came to congratulate me for doing such a good job and everything was nearly perfect. Nearly.

Matteo was nowhere. I didn't see him during the presentation and neither in the mass of people.

Suddenly a person tapped on my back and I whirled around, expecting them to be the hotly awaited person. Instead, a man on eye level stood in front of me with a warm smile.

His ginger luxuriant hair was middle length with a low taper fade. Carribean blue eyes stared into my soul and I also pinpointed freckles over his cheeks and nose.

"Excuse me. Miss Sequiera, right?" He interrogated friendly and I nodded, intertwining my hands in front of me.
"That's right. But I prefer being called Lara in conversations. Who are you?"

"Ryan O'Sullivan."
Ryan shook my hand and I returned the favor.

"Nice to meet you, Ryan. Do you work for Edge Force?" I always needed to bite down my lip not to laugh at the company's name. For some reason, I believe it was Leon's idea and Matteo was just too innocent to comprehend.

He stiffened at my question. "I work for a different industry. But I just wanted to tell you, that I'm interested in your work and would like to hire you for a project for our company as well."

I cocked a brow and thought about his proposal.
"That sounds too good. Do you have a business card so I can call you later or does Matteo have your contact?" Again did he act a bit nervous by roaming his hand through his fluffy hair?
Not in the best relations with Matteo, huh?

"Yeah, I do so a business card isn't needed. Do you want to go outside, perhaps?"
"I'd rather stay inside."
Going away with a stranger during the night? That'd be dangerous and he's working for a foreign company.

"But if you want to be at a quiet place, I'd recommend walking out the glass door which leads to a little garden."
The rather little piece of green is surrounded by the building so kidnapping is pretty much impossible.

Ryan nodded and slid the door open, walking next to me on the pavement with hands dangling on the sides.

Shame filled my body and I wondered why it felt like infidelity to Díaz.
Why does it feel wrong to go outside with another dude? It's not even by romantic means and I need to stop these weird thoughts immediately. 

"Our boss is right about you, you're indeed a lovely woman." My head shoots up.
"How does your boss know me?"
"I assume that he doesn't know you, but saw pictures of you and your work on the internet. He thinks highly of you."

Saw pictures of me?  That's super strange.

"Oh, tell him thank you...I guess."
I wanted to ask so many queries about his boss, of who he would be.

"Our company worked with EF once, but Matteo is a sick traitor, so we stopped the cooperation, it's just a matter of time until you find out."

My heart skipped a bit regarding his description and I stopped walking.
"What do you mean by that? "I interrogated, seeing the slightest smirk on his lips.

"You don't know him yet, do you? He didn't tell you about our relations?"
I shook my head, wondering if he meant himself or their company.

"You know him personally?"
Ryan hummed and gave me a thumbs-up.
"We used to be friends, that's one of the reasons why my boss sent me here. "

I circled him, tracing my hand over his shoulders meanwhile, feeling how he jerked at that
movement. If you want to get information, one of the best tactics is seducing.

"And how did he betray you?"
He took my hand and held it as if he was going to arrest me.

"Stop asking questions Matteo should answer. "
I frowned, scanning his suit to find a brooch with a biblically accurate golden angel on it.
"What does this brooch stand for?"

"My company."
"What's the name of your company?"
"DAI."

I freed my hand from his grip and took some steps backward. DAI are Matteo's business enemies and the same people who followed me into the woods.

"Y-You tried to kill me!"
I shouted, hoping someone would hear me, but everyone was inside.
Ryan shushed me with his finger.
"I don't know what you're talking about."

The rage made me boil and I slapped him across the face. His head flew to the side and this guy even laughed afterwards.

"That was strong."
"Why did you chase me into the woods?"
Ryan seemed puzzled and squinted his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My
company hates violence against women.
I mean, I can ask my boss, but I'm sure we're
not the only ones who despise Teo. "

"Give me a meeting with your boss immediately.
I want to get to know this fucker."
Ryan bit the inside of his cheek, chuckling meanwhile.

"That's not possible, baby. He's a busy man. Maybe he'll make an exception for a gorgeous, special woman to him, such as yourself."
Baby? I rolled my eyes at his attempt to sound sultry.
"You know O'Sullivan. I start to believe that
you're the liar here."
I whirled around, quickly walking away from him.

"Lara, wait!", he yelled.
"No interest."
"Look, we can talk it out!"
"I've heard enough."

He's clearly lying, because which kind of boss wouldn't meet the... (what am I of Matteo?) of his business enemy. Perhaps, he could seduce me to get revenge or let me reveal secrets.

But Ryan's next sentence let my blood freeze to ice and stand still. Three words are indeed able to catch your whole attention. I turned around calmly, though my blood pressure worked the opposite way

"I knew Gabriel."

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