Chapter Seven
Working with the Enemy
Monday, September 3, 2017, 7:37 pm
Abruzzi Lodge
...
"Thank you."
It must have been a fluke. Her ears must not have been working properly for there was no way that Sylas Uri, arguably the most ungrateful person she'd ever encountered, had thanked her. Not only that, he had kissed her and that thought alone would have been enough to have her mind running in circles if their schedule wasn't so hectic. The awkward air surrounding them had dissipated and been replaced with nothing but business. It was easy for her to push the kiss in the elevator away when she had to shake hands and trade pleasantries with strangers.
The rest of the meetings for the day went off without a hitch. No one had taken as much liberty as the Sabaku shareholders had and for that, Amia was relieved. She wasn't sure she had the energy nor the capital for a repeat performance. After the rigamarole they had gone through today, she now knew why Sara was Sylas’ assistant and why he was so against adding more to his already full plate. It wasn't all bad though. The employees they spoke with appeared more than excited to meet with one of their company's mysterious heads.
"We are not able to amend the agreement. Your profit margins have been in the decline every quarter so far this year. We cannot give you more-"
Now that the day was winding down to their final event, she could breathe a little bit. From the corner of her eye, she saw the group they were supposed to meet pull up to the front of the restaurant in a small brigade of sleek black cars. Several members of the Santiago family and their companions stepped out of the vehicles. The Santiagos were the quintessential essence of what her father liked to call new money.
Outside of a handful of events, she didn't interact much with the family. She knew they had made a lot of money buying and selling exotic animals and furs worldwide. That market, while lucrative, was highly volatile. It depended too much on the tastes of the time and was nothing her father would seek to invest in. On the other hand, the Uri had a strained working relationship with the family whenever a need would mutually benefit both parties.
"We do not have time for would haves or could haves. Your director deliberately disobeyed our orders-"
Luckily there was no real business to negotiate through this dinner. It was just a way to keep the lines of communication open between the two companies. She looked over at Sylas who still had his phone glued to his ear before tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention. He glanced down at her, then toward the Santiagos and tried to wrap up the phone call but whoever was on the other end wasn't budging. Things would not end well for the caller from the sound of their conversation. With a sigh of defeat, she gave up waiting for Sylas to finish the call and walked over to greet the new arrivals milling about the entrance. At her approach, the matriarch of the Santiago ushered their horde into the restaurant. The only one left standing by her side was her son and heir, Kane.
"Hello," Amia said warmly when she reached them. "It is an honor to meet with you today."
"The pleasure is all ours." Tanya said with a broad smile. "It's quite the surprise to have you join us today."
"Yea, I'm sure you are much better company than Ice Prince over there!" Kane laughed and his mother elbowed him in the ribs.
Amia blushed at their remarks and mumbled an apology on Sylas’ behalf. Kane offered her his arm and a smile that hadn't faltered despite his mother's reprimand.
"Let's head in shall we?"
Amia looked back at Sylas who was still on the phone before taking the arm offered to her. The inside of the Abruzzi restaurant was...interesting. Every single one of the tables and chairs was artfully mismatched and animal horns hung from the light fixtures and walls. Several taxidermy animal heads were mounted on the walls, staring down at the diners below. Even though the rustic atmosphere wasn't something her father would endorse, it had an engaging quality. An escape to the Italian mountains was the only way she could describe it.
As Kane and Tanya led her through the busy dining room towards the more reserved private spaces in the back, she did her best to ignore the double takes and low whispers of people who recognized who she was. She couldn't fault them for their curiosity. This certainly wasn't the usual place that one would find a Hato. When they finally reached their room, Kane pulled out a chair for her to sit in before taking one himself and his mother took her place at the head of the long wooden table. The matriarch raised her glass and clinked her fork against it to get the attention of her noisy companions.
"We have a surprise guest with us tonight!" Tanya announced with a flourish of her outstretched palm in Amia's direction. Amia blushed and stood up from her chair.
"Thank you for having me!" She squeaked and bowed quickly before the Santiagos who all laughed.
"No need to be so formal dear! When you are with us, you're family!" Tanya smiled as Amia's blush deepened.
"We are more than happy to have a Hato among our midst. Even if all of you are rather uptight!" A woman said from directly across the table with a feral but welcoming smile. She outstretched her hand for Amia to shake it. "I'm Isabella by the way!"
Amia hesitantly shook her hand and Kane snickered next to her.
"You sure are a charmer sis." He said sarcastically as he rested his chin on his palm. Isabella rolled her eyes and resumed paying attention to the head of the table.
"Tonight there will be no talk of business. Please relax and feel welcome!" Tanya said and the raucous group held up their beer glasses and cheered.
Amia smiled. Their energy was rather infectious. She raised her own heavy mug to her lips and took a small sip. Kane shook his head in disapproval and clicked his tongue.
"That's not how you drink a beer." He smirked and held up his mug to his lips. "This is how you do it!"
Amia's eyes widened as he swiftly emptied the contents of a heavy mug roughly the size of his head down his throat. He didn't even appear to pause for air. When the beer had vanished, the table cheered and he slammed the heavy glass back down. A server quickly took the empty mug away and replaced it with a fresh one. Kane leaned back in his chair and grinned at Amia.
"Now you try." He said and Amia shook her head.
"There's no way! I-I can't!" She replied but the Santiagos were hearing none of it.
Soon fists were pounding on the table and chants of 'Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug' reverberated through the room. Not wanting to disappoint them, she squeezed her eyes closed and brought the mug to her lips. She tried to drink as much of the bitter, hoppy liquid as she could but it was a much more daunting task despite how effortless Kane made it look. She could only make it about a quarter of the way through her glass before she had to give up. The crowd groaned at her defeat but Kane waved them off.
"She's just an amateur, an amateur!" He laughed. "The whole lot of ya are alcoholics! Nothing to brag about!"
The Santiagos howled with laughter along with him and went back to boisterously conversing amongst themselves. Amia felt her face heat up even more as she placed her mug back on the table. Kane turned to her and flashed a toothy smile.
"Don't mind them. They're no better than a pack of animals."
Amia returned his smile with a small one of her own, her blush of embarrassment finally starting to recede.
"Amia, right?" He asked and she nodded her head. "Want to know a trick?"
Amia nodded her head again tentatively, not sure what he had in store. Kane scooted his chair closer to hers and exchanged her beer with his.
"If you are going to be with us, you have to drink like us. First, sit all the way to the back of your chair." He instructed as he placed a hand on her shoulder to pull her back. She leaned back into the chair as she was told and flinched when she realized how close Kane was sitting to her. "The secret is to breathe through your nose as you're drinking and to relax."
"Next, you need to drop your jaw when you're drinking, otherwise your mouth is too tight to take in everything. Just relax and take a deep breath. Now try it."
Amia hesitantly brought the mug to her lips again and attempted to follow Kane's simple instructions. She hesitated a bit but his bright, encouraging smile reminded her of a certain blonde she wanted to forget. She closed her eyes to eliminate the negative thought and began chugging the beer as instructed. As soon as the foamy liquid hit the back of her throat, Santiago's hands started pounding rhythmically on the table.
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"
"I can't believe she's doing it!" Isabella laughed.
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"
Kane and his family made drinking in this manner look so easy but it really wasn't. The volume of their cheers mounted, filling the intimate space and encouraging her further. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, the beer stopped flowing, the Santiagos went wild, and their energy was infectious. She slammed her mug down on the table the way she had seen Kane do earlier with a broad smile on her face and a sense of accomplishment. Kane grabbed her hand and dramatically raised it high as though she had just won a cage match. Santiago hands drum rolled excitedly on the table. Even Tanya joined in on the noise.
"The champion!" Kane declared and his family cheered.
"What is going on here?" A monotonous voice cut through the overly excited atmosphere that the room had created.
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Kane lowered her hand and she looked over to see Sylas standing in the doorway, his face as impassive as always. Kane leaned back in his chair and took a big gulp from his mug.
"Well look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!" Kane said with a sarcastic smirk which quickly dissipated as some of the young female members of his family began to drag Sylas from the door and to the table.
Sylas didn't rise to Kane's poorly veiled jab but instead bowed in acknowledgment to the Santiago matriarch at the head of the table and allowed himself to be led to sit on her left side. Amia noted the prominence with which they had placed the youngest Uri. While she was seated in the center of the table next to Kane, Sylas had been placed in proximity to the concentration of power. Amia watched women her age and younger flirting shamelessly with Sylas, batting their eyelashes and slyly touching his arms and hands. Amia felt her face form a grimace when one of the women dared to squeeze his upper arm and suddenly it clicked.
They weren't talking about business but this entire meeting was nothing but. The women of the Santiago were being used to gain interest from the Uri. If there was a strong personal tie, the Uri would fund their endeavors further or feel more inclined to include them in future ventures. Her eyes narrowed as one woman placed a slender hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He expertly removed her hand and engaged Tanya in conversation. Amia had to hand it to the man. He was slick. The woman on his other side hadn't even realized she had been rejected.
Amia raised her new mug of beer to her lips to hide the uncontrollable smile that was working its way to her lips. Why should she care if the Santiagos were making a blatant power play to rise to greater prominence? This was company politics 101, so why did she feel satisfied seeing Sylas’ rejection of their advances? She shouldn't. It was inappropriate to care what he did with his personal life but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel relieved.
A guilty, petulant part of her didn't want him to kiss any of these Santiago women the way that he had kissed her only a few short hours ago at the Sabaku headquarters. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she recalled the feeling of his body pressed against hers and the heat that radiated from his touch. His gaze turned from Tanya to her as though he could read her mind. Obsidian eyes pinned her to her chair and made her feel exposed to the crowd of near strangers that surrounded them. He slowly brought his mug to his lips as he seemed to blatantly undress her with his eyes. A distinct moisture dampened her panties, and she clamped her legs under the table.
Amia looked away from his intense gaze and pretended to be more interested in whatever Kane was discussing. Instinctively she nodded along appropriately, and for all intents and purposes, she knew she looked as though she were an equal participant in this conversation. Unfortunately, her mind was elsewhere and her body was tense. She shouldn't be feeling this way. Why was he able to illicit such immoral reactions from her with nothing more than a look? Her mind flashed back to the kiss he had stolen in the elevator and a warmth spread from her center all the way to her toes. She bit her bottom lip and, against her better judgment, chanced a quick glance in his direction. He smirked as though he knew exactly what she was thinking and had no remorse for making those thoughts exist in the first place.
...
Tuesday, September 4, 2017, 3:19 am
Hato Enterprise
...
The next morning she had a slight hangover from drinking more than she had realized with the Santiago and their cohorts. Nothing was worse than rolling into work early on a Tuesday morning with a hangover. It had taken all her energy just to roll out of bed and throw on her least wrinkled lavender blouse and beige slacks. She used what little effort she had left to put on a matching pair of tennis shoes and shoved a pair of oversized dark sunglasses on her face to hide the bags under her bloodshot eyes. It certainly wasn't a get-up that her father would have approved of but the fortunate thing about arriving early is that she didn't pass anyone of importance who might report her condition back to him.
Last night had been a lot of fun overall. The Santiagos were overly friendly, overly excited, and overly obnoxious. Her ears were still ringing from all the noise they had made in the restaurant. It was a surprise that none of the servers were bothered by their raucous attitude and just kept the beer flowing freely. Her glass was never emptied for more than a few seconds before it was replaced with a fresh one which made it difficult to keep track of how much she drank. She placed her forehead on the cold metal of the elevator doors and took a deep breath as a wave of nausea rolled through her body. Never, ever again would she try to keep pace with them.
The elevator doors slid open and she slowly made her way down the nearly deserted floor to her office. It was torture just to slide one foot in front of the other. Hopefully, there wasn't too much to do so early in the morning, and she could take a small nap before Sara and Sylas arrived. When she reached the door to her office, she sucked in another deep breath as the intensity of her headache increased and another wave of nausea hit. She tightened her hold on the doorknob and prayed that she had a bottle of pills stashed away in her desk that would help relieve her from this hangover. When the onslaught of nausea finally lessened, she opened the office to find it unsurprisingly occupied. It was dark since the sun hadn't risen yet and the overhead lights remained untouched. The only light in the room was her partner's active computer screen, steadily typing random letters across the screen. She could barely make out his slumped-over silhouette.
"Did he not go home?" Amia mumbled under her breath, concerned since she knew that he had even more to drink than she had.
She tried to close the office door behind her softly but the clicking of the lock caused Sylas to jolt upright at his desk and squint into the darkness at who had intruded.
"Sara?" He groaned as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"No," Amia whispered as she shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her. "It's me."
"Hato." He replied. She heard his chair squeak as he stood up. "What time is it?"
Amia glanced down at her watch. She couldn't read the numbers without the lights on. She felt around on the wall next to her for the light switch and flicked it on. Both she and Sylas sucked in sharp breaths as the fluorescent lights only added to their mutual discomfort. She looked back down at her watch but the numbers all jumbled together and she felt as though she were seeing double. The back of her throat stung as she felt the impending sting of bile bubble up.
"Hato." Sylas said as he noticed how scary her half-hidden face looked with the lights on. He walked around from behind his desk and made his way over to her.
"Hato." He repeated.
Only when he put his hands on her shoulders did she realize she was swaying where she stood. She shrugged his assistance away. He hadn't changed his clothes from the night before so he still reeked of stale beer and cigars. It only served to fuel her nausea further. Placing her hand over her mouth, she swayed as she tried to approach her desk. If she just sat down this nauseous feeling would surely pass? Wrong. She took three more desperate steps towards her desk and the bile she had been holding back burst through her resolve and would have landed on the hardwood floor if Sylas had not pressed a small trashcan against her chest and held it steady.
She could hear her vomit hitting the bottom of the plastic trashcan and the sound only made her want to throw up more. She sank to her knees and Sylas followed suit. She held her puke bucket close and felt tears of embarrassment pinprick behind her eyes as another wave of vomit came up her throat. Sylas didn't say anything even though his face was just as pale as hers was. Instead, he sat beside her, pulled her hair off her sweaty neck, and kept the long dark strands from mixing with the bile in the trashcan.
It took another forty minutes for her to finally empty the entire contents of her stomach and while she felt better she was even more exhausted than before. She groaned as Sylas adjusted her so that she was now lying in his lap. Moving hurt but it felt good to lay her head down. Sylas’ nimble fingers ran through her now damp hair, making her forget her discomfort and lulling her to sleep.
…..
Tuesday, September 4, 2017, 6:15 am
Hato Enterprise
...
Sylas sighed as he leaned back against the front of Amia's desk. The troublesome woman had finally ceased her spewing spree and had fallen asleep. Mentally he kicked himself since it was his fault that she was like this anyway. The Santiagos never knew when to stop and he should have known that Amia would succumb to their infectious habits. He had thought it wouldn't be so bad since it was a weeknight but he had been woefully mistaken. He hadn't been able to take more than a sip before somebody topped off his glass again. Even when he stopped drinking for more than a few minutes, the women around him tried to engage him in other activities and conversations, none of which interested him so he just kept drinking more. He had the tolerance though to push through the copious amounts of alcohol that had been consumed. Amia did not.
He opened his eyes a little and looked down at the ashen-faced woman using his thigh as a pillow. He really, really should have known better but what was done was done. At the very least, the Santiagos had enjoyed her company, and her presence in the room made the entire ordeal slightly more bearable. As he looked down at her sleeping peacefully, he was reminded of that morning he had woken up next to her. That morning had been strange since his usual urge to kick her out of bed immediately didn't surface. Instead, he was content to let her sleep a little longer, allowing him to selfishly commit her face to memory. At the time he had thought he'd never see her again but fate clearly had other plans. He pushed her sweaty bangs off her forehead and closed his eyes again. Maybe he should follow her lead and try to get some sleep in as well...
"What the hell is that smell?" A scandalized voice said as they opened the door to the office.
Sylas groaned and squeezed his eyes closed as though it would make the intruder disappear. Sara's head poked into the office; her nose scrunched up at the noxious fumes he had gotten used to smelling. When she spotted him and Amia on the floor, her mouth fell open.
"Sylas? Amia!" She shrieked. Amia groaned in his lap from her volume and Sylas sent her a weak glare.
"Why are you yelling?" He mumbled and Sara quickly made her way across the room.
"Sylas what is going on?" She asked, jumping back as she accidentally touched the trashcan with the tip of her shoe. "Oh my god!"
"Sara-" Sylas growled. "Stay here."
"But-"She began to protest but was silenced by another glare.
Sylas gingerly adjusted Amia off his lap and gently laid her head on the floor. The small woman whimpered a little but quickly settled down. He grabbed the offensive trashcan, unperturbed by the contents sloshing within, and made his way to the door.
"Stay here until I get back. There's another trash can under her desk if she needs it again but I believe she is done." He said as he walked through the door.
"Sylas-" he heard her call out down the hallway but ignored her.
When he returned a little over thirty minutes later, Amia was still asleep where he had left her but this time her head was on Sara's lap. He set down the plastic bag he was carrying and fished around his new clothing for a bottle of aspirin and water. He quickly swallowed two pills himself and brought the bottle to the women. Sara shook the sleeping Hato awake gently and pale puffy eyes blinked up at them. She squeezed her eyes close and sat up slowly with Sara's assistance.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled weakly and Sylas rolled his eyes. He handed her two pills and the bottled water which she accepted quickly.
"Sara, cancel our morning meetings-"Sylas started but Amia shook her head vigorously.
"Don't you dare! There is too much to do." The small woman protested.
"You are in no condition to work." He replied firmly. "You are hungover."
"So are you!"
"Now where have I heard that before." He said with a smirk and crossed his arms over his chest. Amia blushed but still looked up at him defiantly. "Fine. Just don't slow me down."
Amia's eyes quickly turned from defiant to surprise before finally settling on determined as she stood up on shaky legs. He had to admit that her stubbornness was impressive. He was curious to see just how stubborn this woman truly was. Sara stood up as well, genuinely perplexed as to what in the world was going on. Sylas reached into his plastic bag, pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste, and tossed it at Amia, who could barely catch it.
"Brush your teeth. We leave in an hour."
……
As she splashed cold water over her face she was reminded for the millionth time why she didn’t do business dinners. Perhaps she should have listened to him and stayed behind. The lights around the office were too bright. The voices of their colleagues too loud. Every drink she had the night before came back to bite her with a vengeance. Still, she persisted. At least she had tried until she had to excuse herself from the last meeting of the day. Why oh why did these men have to talk so much? It was at times like these that she appreciated her father’s brevity. Amia groaned as she dried her face with a rough paper towel. She really didn’t want to go back out there!
‘Think of this as a test, a trial….It’s about time Uncle acknowledge you…’
Ezra’s words from the other day floated through her mind. Escaping from her responsibility was not an option. If her father found out that she was not performing adequately she would likely be regulated back to working under him again. Those days of being his personal secretary were not that distant of a memory. She shivered and looked back in the mirror at a puffy eyed reflection. Going back to being under her father’s thumb was the last thing she wanted to do.
Smacking her cheeks firmly, she found a few modicums of resilience. She could do this. She had to. As she exited the bathroom, she found the hallway to be filled with the businessmen they’d been meeting before. They were all gathered around Sylas, jockeying to shake his hand. Sara stood at his side graciously accepting all of their business cards on his behalf.
“Thank you Uri! We look forward to speaking with you again on this endeavor!”
“We have to do this again soon!”
Amia stood off to the side a bit as they passed her in the hall, hoping to melt into the wall. Her wishes were almost granted as none of them spoke to her but she noticed a few giving her odd glances. Whispering behind their hands. Why was she even here? Who the hell was she? She couldn’t blame them. She’d hardly spoke up at all in any of the meetings outside of a hurried introduction. Guilt nibbled at the edges of her mind. She’d been nothing but dead weight.
“Sylas, we should grab a late lunch.” Sara said brightly as Amia approached. “I think it would do us all some good to put food on our stomachs.”
“There’s too much work to be done.”
“We can always do the boring paperwork stuff later! There’s this cute little Mediterranean place that I’ve been dying to try-“
“No.”
The dark-haired man turned back into the conference room, flatly rejecting Sara’s invitation. The briefest look of disappointment flitted across the woman’s face before being replaced by her usual perky mask.
“They have a great lunch special as well. Everyone as just been raving about the grilled squid.”
Amia watched as Sara trailed behind Sylas, gathering papers and prattling on. Had her friend always been this persistent? It was fine in a casual setting. Sara had always been great for pushing them out of their comfort zones so they could enjoy new things but there was only so much pushing one could do. So much pushing before it seemed like desperation. Clearing her throat she interrupted Sara’s attempts.
“I can take care of the paperwork this afternoon.” She said and the two looked at her as if she’d grown a third eye. “I, I can handle it on my own. Besides I haven’t been much help all morning.”
“Amia-“ Sylas started, his surprise turning to disapproval. She looked away, unable to maintain his heavy gaze.
“Really, I can handle it.”
“Thanks so much Amia!” Sara chirped and pulled Sylas from the room with an astounding amount of strength.
It would have been comical if not for Sylas’ glare as he left. When the door closed behind them, Amia left out the breath she’d been holding. Her shoulders slumped as she regarded the paper that littered the conference table. Part of her was relieved to see them go. This morning had been one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.
“At least… at least I can do this right.” She sighed and went to work.
They would need to shred all of the agenda minutes and notes left behind by the businessmen. Then she would need to email their secretaries thanking them for the meeting and set up action items to be completed before the next one. From there she would need to reply to any emails that had come their way that morning and decide what they needed to make a priority for the next day.
It didn’t take long for her to dispose of the papers and make her way back to the office. When she returned it was thankfully empty- a rarity these days. Just as she made herself comfortable at her desk, ready to power on her monitor, there came a knock at the door. Amia blinked. She wasn’t expecting anyone to visit. Ezra was out of the office with her father for the day so it couldn’t be them. Curious, she made her way to the door but when she opened it there was no one there. Just a brown paper sitting on the floor. Amia looked to the right and the left of her door to see who could have left it but found the hall deserted.
‘How odd.’ She thought but brought the bag inside.
As the door shut behind her she looked at the contents to find a Styrofoam box with a note on top.
Eat
There was only one word but it was undeniable who had written it. Against her will, her heart skipped a beat.