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Ash scoffed, popping a decaf pod into the coffee machine. “You know what? It’s about time Design gets reined in. I’ve had it up to here with their power trip.”
“It’s management I’m worried about,” I muttered, gently massaging my earlobes. I noticed the strange look Ash gave me and added, “I read somewhere that this helps.”
“You look like you’re about to pass out,” she said then. “I doubt a light ear massage is going to do the trick.”
I sighed and picked up my tea. It had cooled to just the right temperature, and I cradled the cup in both my hands, breathing in the calming aroma. Except it didn’t have the usual effect on me at all. My stomach churned at the first whiff, sending an acrid sting of bile rising up my throat.
“Oh, God.” I blew up my cheeks and set the cup back down, using all my effort to keep from spewing my guts right there.
“Seriously, Scarlett,” Ash said, rubbing my back while I breathed through the sudden wave of nausea. “Pack up your shit and go home.”
I took another deep breath and shook my head slowly. “I’m leading today’s meeting. Luca said he wanted the stats on—”
“Luca? Are you kidding me?” Ash took me by the shoulders so I’d look at her. “He’ll see what you look like and send you home himself. Just do it. Excuse yourself. We’ll figure out the meeting.”
As much as I wanted to argue with her, I knew Ash was right. Whatever I felt before leaving home that morning, it had gotten twice as bad in the hour I’d been at work. My initial plan was to push through the day and then go see my doctor about the headaches, but wanting to throw up after smelling my tea put a whole other spin on things. And no matter what Ash knew about Luca and me, there was no way I could share the thought that came into my head just then.
“Okay,” I finally gave in. “I’ll go.”
She lifted her hands in praise. “Thank God. She finally sees reason. Now go, get your ass out of here and straight into bed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied with a weak smile as I left the staff kitchen.
Going up to Luca’s office, I was careful not to antagonize Angelique the way I did the last time. I was pretty sure by the looks I’d been getting that she’d heard some of what happened in there. Seeing her jealousy made me feel good, but I had enough class to not say anything about it.
“Is Mr. Moretti available?” I asked, coming to stand at her desk.
She frowned up at me. “He asked not to be disturbed before this morning’s meeting.”
“Yeah, well, I need to see him urgently. It’s about the meeting,” I added, hoping that would get her to give in.
Not that I needed her permission—I would’ve probably just barged right in despite her protests—but I didn’t want to rock the boat with her. The last thing I needed was for Luca to have his hands full with a bitter, spurned secretary.
She gave me a deadpan stare and then sighed heavily, as though I’d just become the biggest inconvenience to her day.
“Fine, hold on,” she said, lifting the phone to dial in my request to Luca.
She repeated what I’d told her and then nodded stiffly a few times before setting the phone back down again.
“You can go through,” she said through tight lips.
I forced a bright smile, even though I felt like dog shit, and let myself into Luca’s office. I expected to find him sitting behind his desk, but his usual seat was empty.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said once I’d closed the door behind me.
Luca was standing in front of the huge window, the morning light framing his silhouette in the most striking way. He held a cup of espresso in his hand. A strong one that filled the whole office with the rich scent of freshly ground beans. My stomach churned again.
“Could you turn up the air conditioning?” I asked, covering my mouth with my hand as I let out a slight burp.
I was thankful that was all it was, because the further I was getting into the day, the more I expected a full on throw-up attack to hit me.
Luca walked over to his desk and pressed a button on the little remote lying in the corner of it. “Is everything okay? You look… I mean, you seem sick.”
A soft smile tilted the corner of my lips. He was about to say I look like trash but stopped himself. The man had his moments, that was for sure.
“I’ll be fine,” I smiled weakly.
I went over to the bar he kept and grabbed a bottle of still water, thinking that would be the safest thing for me to take in at that time. The first few sips were refreshing, but once it settled in my stomach, the waves of nausea started up again.
