The difference between Gio and Michael was that Gio tended to keep to himself while Michael was just scary to be around, and the fact that he was barely here despite being the heir made him even more intimidating. While all the girls embarrassed themselves to even get a second of his attention, I tried my best to avoid him and felt a bit ashamed after he tossed me to the side like I was nothing, but that was who he was, and I knew it beforehand.
"We are waiting for you guys!" Maya yelled while sticking her head out the door. Besides Chloe, Maya was the only person in here who I actually got along with. All of the other girls were either rude or just didn't care at all. They were here for themselves and saw everyone on their path as competition. Luckily, Ricardo wasn't as strict, so we barely got scolded, even when we showed up a bit late, which would happen quite often.
"We're coming!" I yelled back and pulled Chloe's arm. With all my strength, I tried my hardest to pull her out the door as she applied her lip gloss until the very last second.
After Chloe and I left the dressing room, we joined the other girls who were perfectly lined up in Ricardo's office, only it wasn't Ricardo standing there. It was one of the guys who I had always tried to avoid at all costs and the son of Ricardo Morales, Dante. He walked past Chloe and took a few steps towards me until he was right in front of my face. But too scared to even meet his eyes, I immediately looked down at my feet and heard him chuckle.
"Do you always show up late?" I heard him ask me and felt chills throughout my body. Today must've really been my unlucky day. Chloe and I were both late, but he only decided to call out one of us.
"I'm s-sorry, w-we a-a-and, uhmm we-" I tried to explain myself, but no words were able to leave my mouth.
"Look at me when you talk to me." He demanded, and within a second I looked up and met his eyes. For some reason, I had expected him to yell at me, but he didn't. Dante had a bright smile on his face and tilted his head while inspecting me. He brought his hand towards my cheek and squeezed it before a chuckle left his mouth. It wasn't exactly cheerful but more so a chuckle of disbelief. All the girls started laughing while I gave him a confused look.
"I was just kidding, squirrel, but I think I might make it my new hobby to bully you." He commented before he let go of my cheek and took a few steps back.
"You're so lucky," Chloe whispered as I held my cheek in disbelief. Lucky? I didn't really know why. To many of the girls, this might've been an achievement, but I liked to stay in the background, so I considered myself anything but lucky, and him saying he would make it his new hobby to bully me made it even worse.
"As you all know, we have a very important business meeting today with one of our potential business partners. The main goal for today is to make sure he and his entourage have a good night and that we get his signature by the end of the evening. The meeting will be held in the private lounge, and I'll be needing a few of you. If I don't call your name, please make your way downstairs and continue work as usual with our other guests," Dante explained while pacing back and forth.
As always, I remained calm. Meetings like this happened often, and I wouldn't get picked anyway. Unlike the other girls, I also didn't want to get picked; all I wanted was to make my money downstairs and leave. I had no desire to serve anyone at one of those private meetings, and Ricardo knew it; that was the reason why he never picked me.
Dancing and serving drinks to strangers was not an issue, but whenever I got put into uncomfortable or awkward situations, I got confronted with the lack of social skills I actually had, and Ricardo was aware of it. We had a close bond, and he could read through me, so I had no reason to be worried.
"The girls I want to join me are: Maya, Bella, Lily, Chloe-" Dante spoke and took a small pause. As expected, he would probably mention Anya last and go to the meeting with the standard girls who were usually chosen.
"And squirrel."
Surprised, I looked up and saw all the girls, including Dante, staring at me. What did I even do to deserve this?
"M-me?" I stuttered. Dante nodded his head and excused all the other girls who had left the office. I was still in disbelief and stood frozen in the exact same spot....me? He could've chosen anyone, but he decided to ruin my day like that. I was not interested in playing waitress, and especially not for men who were most likely in the mafia, but I would never dare to speak against Dante. As easy-going as he was, he was still my boss.
"The men who will be here tonight are tough and hard to handle, but I trust each and every single one of you to not mess this up," Dante instructed us with his million-dollar smile. Even when he was serious, he still had the same smile on his face.
"Are you nervous, Squirrel?" Dante asked me. I looked at him with big eyes and gave him a questioning look. Was I? Maya and Chloe leaned their heads against mine to calm me down.
"Will you be there?" I immediately asked him. Out of all the people I felt uncomfortable with, he was crazy enough at the bottom, and I already had an issue forming a sentence with him, so just imagine. Dante laughed and playfully pushed my shoulder.
"No, but don't worry. Michael will be there."
The moment those words left his mouth, there was only one thought going through my head.
Why me?