Character: South Italy "Romano" / Lovino Vargas
Lovino Vargas loathed the stiff fabric of his button down shirt and the chokehold of his tie. He detested the sweat that pooled around his collar and the uncomfortable pinch of his too-tight faux leather shoes, the toes polished until they sparkled. More than anything, he abhorred waking up early in the morning and fighting to tame the dark locks of his hair, eyes bruised from lack of sleep, stomach growling for sustenance, he having been too tired to eat dinner after a long night at the office.
Upon the top of his desk sat a paper cup, half-filled with cold coffee, long forgotten amid the hustle and bustle of his work. There were numbers to crunch, calculations to make, information that needed to be sorted and filed for his superiors.
Fingers tightened around the neck of his pen, the tip bouncing off the page in agitation, leaving tiny smears of ink he couldnât be bothered to pardon. No doubt she would claw him open, flay his skin with the sharp edge of brightly painted fingernails. Streaks upon important documentation were unprofessional, and Lovino knew well that she would treat him to a verbal lashing.
He couldnât bring himself to care.
Loosening the tie around his neck, he leaned down to discreetly open the drawer of his desk, picked up his phone to scroll through the text messages. Most were from Antonio, the Spaniard constantly prying into business that was not his own, desperate to know if the Italian had taken his âmaravillosa CEOâ to bed yet.
Sending off a (rather rude) response, Lovino opened the pending messages from his brother, brow furrowing in annoyance when a flood of text spilled across the screen. Jaw clenched, he sifted through the countless communications, undeniably bored with the childish bouncing around of the topic. Huffing out a breath, he lifted his head to cast a discreet look around. No doubt they would fire him in an instant if he was caught slacking off.
His blood was quick to run cold at the sight of the well-dressed woman stood in the doorway of his cubicle, arms crossed beneath her breasts. Dropping his phone back into the drawer he slammed it shut, jolting back only to stumble forward once more. A strangled noise escaped his lips, the end of his tie having been caught in the drawer.
âShouldnât you be working, Mr. Vargas?â
Your voice sent shivers trailing down his spine, Lovino scowling in mingled annoyance and embarrassment, cheeks stained red. For several beats no one spoke, the air tense and charged, before at last you turned to strut back to your office, beckoning him to follow. Cold dread settled in the pit of his stomach, sweat prickling upon the nape of his neck. Even though you were the most attractive woman he'd ever seen, he couldn't help the groan that rumbled within his chest.
You werenât a CEO of the company due to your kind-hearted nature, after all.