Chapter 5 No Manners

As he wrote in the book, Elsie decided to use that time to look around his office. It was much bigger and prettier than Mr. Hunt's office, she observed.

There were potted plants in Luca's office. The floor-to-ceiling window he backed was curtained in soft white colors, giving his office a dreamy glow and atmosphere.

Elsie noticed that the metal-colored walls on both sides were covered in paintings, spaced four feet apart. It dawned on Elsie that he was a CEO who took interior design seriously because most men she'd come across did not care much about decorating their homes or places of work.

By the time she finished admiring his office, Luca had finished writing in his book.

He looked up to find Elsie smiling warily at him. Seeing the smile made his frown deepen.

"You're going to drive me home after work, cook me dinner, and ensure that my clothes for the day are catered for. You also do the same in the mornings. I don't want to be the one to call you. You should be at my home at seven-thirty in the morning. If you can be earlier than that, that will be even better. I don't want you to be any later. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Elsie nodded. Luca noticed the necklace on her neck and he thought about using his teeth to rip it off. His sudden reaction was too carnal, he was shocked at himself. He grunted and signaled for Elsie to leave his office.

When she left his office, Luca slumped deeper into his desk chair. He loosened his tie and reached for a bottle of water at the side of his table.

He couldn't remember the last time he reacted to a woman that way. The last time he did, he was in college, and it was to a childhood friend. Since he started working on his company, building it from the ground up, he hadn't had the time to focus on women.

He wondered why Elsie sparked his attention. Luca then became angry at her, for making him feel that way. He vowed to himself to be ruthless and cruel to her, so the feelings don't fester. With that, he dialed Calvin.

"Come up, we have something to discuss," Luca said when Calvin picked up his phone.

"Luca, you're going to have to learn manners, man. How are you even a CEO?" Calvin joked and Luca imagined him shaking his head.

"Just come up," Luca commanded.

"Fine," Calvin relented and Luca swore he felt Calvin smiling through the phone. When he dropped his phone, he looked towards his door. He wondered what Elsie was doing out there.

Luca then shook his head, telling himself that thinking about her was not good for his productivity. In minutes' time, Calvin arrived through his door, entering the office like he owned the world.

Luca resisted rolling his eyeballs at Calvin's carefree attitude. Calvin took a seat on the couch instead of meeting Luca at his desk.

Luca ignored Calvin's presence and typed something into his iPad. When the silence stretched, Calvin spoke.

"Seriously, Luca? Did you bring me up here to boast about being the CEO?" Calvin pretended he was flecking dust off his blazer and leaned back on the couch, spreading his arms and crossing his legs at the knees.

Luca sighed and got up from his chair. He walked to the couch where Calvin was seated and joined him.

"Where did you get my new secretary?" Luca asked Calvin.

"Ooooh. Are you already in love with her?" Calvin grinned, teasing Calvin. He playfully punched Luca on his arm.

Luca frowned harder, trying to intimidate Calvin into a serious mood but Calvin was never serious and he was immune to Luca's tactics.

"C'mon. You know that won't work on me. Now, do you like her or not? I did a good job, didn't I?"Calvin smirked at Luca, his blue eyes dancing in mirth.

Luca shook his head. He wondered how he was best friends with Calvin.

"I don't know why you're joking about this. She is clumsy and she has no manners. When she came into my office, she openly checked me out. No shame at all. That is rude, Calvin." Luca stated his worries, matter of fact.

This only prompted a laugh from Calvin, "you're in for a ride then." Calvin laughed.

"I can fire her if I wish but that will reflect poorly on the grounds we hired her on," Luca contemplated and Calvin nodded his head in agreement. Luca scrubbed his face with his hands, seemingly exhausted.

"I'll give her a month. If she's no better than Clare then she'll have to go. Now, where in god's name did you get her?" Luca demanded an answer from Calvin.

"Whoa, easy man. I hope you didn't expect me to walk around asking people if they wanted to be a CEO's secretary. It was a normal online process. She applied, just like others and when I went through her application, I figured she was the best pick. So here we are." Calvin supplied his answer.

This did not soothe Luca's worried thoughts about Elsie but he supposed it was good enough for a reason.

"Alright then."

"You may leave now." He told Calvin as he stood up and walked back to his desk.

"Harsh, Luca. Harsh, man." Calvin said, putting his right hand over his heart and pretending to be hurt. Luca sighed at his dramatics and went back to work.

"So you're just going to ignore me then?" Calvin asked Luca who paid him no attention.

"Fine then. Don't ever ask me to look for a secretary replacement ever again and from today, you're no longer welcome in my home."

Calvin tried to threaten Luca but it did not work. Luca briefly looked up from his paperwork, winked, and smiled at Calvin then returned to his task.

This earned a laugh from Calvin.

"Nice one, man." Calvin laughed and stood up. "Drinks after work tonight?"

"Cant. I want to sleep in early today, got lots of meetings tomorrow." Luca told Calvin.

"You're aware you're going to be in those meetings right?"

"I'm just the President, the Vice-President does most of my work. Plus, you're the CEO. Most CEOs aren't always in the office. Stop being a stuck-up boss and use your money and influence. Go live your life, for once." Calvin meant the last part.

Luca was already back to ignoring him. Calvin felt bad for Luca because he'd become like his parents, who were always working when Luca was a small child.

He tried to remember the last time Luca went on vacation and it dawned on him that Luca had already been on vacation but only when work was involved. Calvin shook his head and reached the door of Luca's office.

He hoped Luca's sudden interest in the new secretary. Calvin hoped it could blossom into something more. Something that could make Luca loosen up and start to enjoy life.

With one final look at Luca, Calvin left his office and closed the door. When he strolled past Elsie, he winked at her.

She blushed, embarrassed and shy. Calvin smiled to himself, satisfied. He hoped Luca could make Elsie blush more in the future.