(Renata Pellegrini)

Who would have thought, I am actually stepping into the headquarters of the company Computing Diamond. Currently occupying the fifth place in the ranking of the most profitable companies in the world. And its owner, occupying the first place in the ranking of the richest man in the world, having a fortune of over $359 billion.

Suspicious, how come his company is fifth and he is first? Well, he must have investments in other fields besides his own company.

This is none of my business, I have seen so many advertisements of the computers and their operating systems created here, the cell phones, smartphones and smart tvs sold with Computing Diamond systems are some of the most expensive on the market, my consumption dream was to have a notebook from Diamond line (both its physical structure, as well as all the circuits were created and produced in this very company). Who knows, as I now work here, maybe I will get some discount when buying.

My profession is systems analyst, I studied for four long years, but now here I am, as a cleaner. At least I'm working for one of the biggest companies in the world, and I'm sure the salary is good. At the end of the day, I will look for Veronica to settle the outstanding issues and sign my work permit.

"Good morning, could you tell me where Mr. Valentini's office is?" I ask a young woman.

She is dressed in a pencil skirt, a white shirt, and her hair is tied up in a high bun. She's very pretty and unlike Veronica, she doesn't look down at me.

"Good morning, are you new here?" she asks nicely, I like her.

"Yes, I was hired a few minutes ago."

"I see, my name is Sophie, I am Mr. Lucas Parmanel's assistant, what is your name?"

Lucas Parmanel. I looked him up on the Internet. He is the vice-president of this company. The gossip sites say he is a womanizer, but his intelligence is second only to the CEO's. The rough idea of the Diamond line notebooks were thought by Lucas, Filippo improved them and put them into practice.

"Renata Pellegrini, nice to meet you," we shake hands. At least one person in this company is kind.

"Welcome to the Diamond family, that door at the end of the hall is Mr. Valentini's, there, the extra key to the door is under the rug" he guides me and mentally I thank God for putting him in my way.

"Thank you very much," I thanked him and walked to the door.

What a big door, mirrored glass, all very fancy.

I am not an envious person, but I wish I was dressed like that girl. I studied to go to work in those kinds of clothes, but look how I am. Wearing a cleaning uniform, cleaning and dusting, I studied so much... I left everything behind, could I get a better job in Brazil?

I enter the room, it smells like money, the cream colored walls are well lit, on top of the large rectangular table are several papers, a computer from the Diamond SX line, behind the table a large padded chair. I'm sure that this room alone is worth more than my life. I observe the bookcase full of trophies and whiskey bottles of various types, there are also several picture frames with huge photos, I take one of them in hand and look closely at my boss, here he is even more handsome than in the magazines and gossip sites, the full dark eyebrows and frowns gave him a bad face look.

I put the portrait holder in place and immediately began my work. I observe another bookcase, where there are several types of weapons. I imagine they are plastic, I have never seen these models. What kind of boss collects weapons in the company where he works?

I take the duster and start to remove the dust, being very careful not to move anything. Then I organize the table and pick up the little balls of paper from the floor. I decide to open one of these little balls, is this a weapon design? Meticulous drawings of each part, did Mr. Valentini draw it?

What an ugly thing to do, looking at your boss' things, that's not what your mother taught you, my conscience scolds me, I crumpled the paper again and threw it in the trash bin.

The room was not as dirty as I thought, I used the vacuum cleaner on the two-seater sofa next to the door and on the floor, finally only a little red stain remains on the top hat. I take the damp cloth and get down on my knees, I start to rub the stain hard, but it is too persistent.

You won't be able to beat me, you stupid stain! I bend over even more and put even more force into scrubbing.

"Who are you?" an extremely deep male voice speaks behind me.

My heart feels like it is going to come out of my mouth, what a day Lord, what a day... Why do I have to be so unlucky?

I turn around, Mr. Filippo is looking at me with a frown, and just like in the picture, he has the look of an evil man, all my danger alerts are firing inside my head, my blood is freezing, I can't take my eyes off his deep, deep gaze. Can he see my soul?

"Are you going to stay there on the floor, ragazza?"

"N-no, sir," I stand up and adjust my apron in an attempt to look as presentable as possible.

Suddenly this room seems to have gotten so small.

"Who gave you permission to enter my office?"

Why do I feel so intimidated? What is it that exudes from this man? Rather, what has happened to my voice?

I feel as if I am being caught doing something wrong, and he is going to punish me. My fingers tingle.

"Sir... Clean... Stain... Sorry, I…" damn, I'm so nervous that my voice is shaky and my sentences come out all disjointed.

"Be clear, damn it! Who do you think you're talking to?" he shouts and approaches me, I take steps back. I feel that this man could kill me!

My whole body is trembling, I'm afraid, today should be a day of joy, but it is only coming trial after trial. When will this end?

Veronica enters the room with a big smile on her face, taking Filippo's attention away from me.

When she sees me, her smile dies and she gives me a deadly look.

Oh my God, I'm going to be fired... My portfolio hasn't even been signed... I've only worked for ten minutes and I've already lost everything, I think.

(Renata Pellegrini)

"You're here early," Veronica says with a trembling smile on her face. I think even she is afraid of him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"And since when do I owe you any satisfaction? You're the one who works for me."

I'm not even surprised, what could you expect from a big CEO like him? He's just another asshole in the world. Arrogant and overbearing. Just another idiot who just because he has money thinks he has the world under his feet.

Maybe he really does, he is the richest man in the world, he must have everything he wants. From objects to women, maybe for him it doesn't even make a difference, men with money think that women are objects, that all they have to do is shake a few hundred dollar bills and they are theirs.

I don't doubt Veronica is one of the women who dreams of having him. I roll my eyes at this thought. But well done to her, it's exactly as the saying goes: he who wounds with iron will be wounded with iron. I smiled inwardly as I finished my thought.

"Sorry, sir, it was not my intention to demand anything from you," Veronica says with her head down, now she remembered that just like me, she is just another employee.

Well, maybe not like me, I'm sure that as soon as I set foot out of this room, I'll be out of here.

"And what about you?" He turns and approaches me again, why does this man exude so much danger? His eyes stare at me suspiciously.

Never in my life have my legs felt so weak as they do now. This man looks as if he is going to turn me inside out just by looking at me. The air seems to have thinned from nowhere. Every step he takes closer to me creates a sensation of shrinking in size. He must be at least forty centimeters taller than me.

"Ragazza, don't make me say it one more time," he whispers menacingly in my ear, his deep voice coupled with his Italian accent making the hair on my legs stand on end. Do I have a thing for Italians? Is this why I have never fallen in love with a Brazilian?

Ragazza means girl and this brings back memories of my father, only he called me that.

He puts his hands in his pants pockets, striking a bad man's pose. I feel a tangle of butterflies inside my stomach.

Where did my voice go? Lord help me! Get this man away from me! Help me!

I look away from him and see Veronica hurriedly approaching.

"Mr. Valentini, she is the new janitor…"

"New?" he snaps his tongue. "When did you start employing people without my consent?"

Wow, I had no idea he was so controlling. I thought tycoons his size didn't care who was or wasn't hired, at least not the janitorial staff.

"She was desperate, sir. I just wanted to help her…"

"I didn't know this was a charity, Miss Veronica."

"I'm sending her away right now, sir."

Oh my God... I knew it would end like this, just when I think something in my life is finally going to change for the better, the storms come and blow it all away again.

I feel my eyes burning, how am I going to go back to Brazil? I am ashamed to ask for help from my teacher who has already done so much for me.

I will have to humiliate myself once again, I can't be fired now. I need to at least receive my first salary so that I can return to Brazil.

I hope this man has something beating inside his rib cage.

"Mr. Filippo," I start, but a hand stops me.

What was that? My cheek is burning, did I really get slapped? In the face?!

"How dare you call him by his first name! You little shit!"

I've never fought in my life, I've always been against violence. But I've reached my limit of humiliation for today. My father, when he was alive, taught me the art of self-defense, while a friend of my mother's - he died a year before my parents - taught me street fighting, and said that I should only use it if I needed to impose respect on someone.

That time has come!

I am about two inches taller than Veronica. I grab the collar of her dress shirt and pull it tight, making her stand on tiptoe. She tries to pull my hands to let go, but I just bring her closer to my face.

"Look here, you stuck up little prick, I'm not your fucking punching bag so you dare raise your frumpy hand to me. And if you do it again, mark my words," I look into her eyes and she trembles before my gaze, I like it that way, I bring my mouth close to her ear and whisper: "You better have a lot of money anyway, because you're going to need a lot to fix your face because I'm going to punch it until it's deformed."

I let go of the collar of her blouse and she falls on her ass on the floor. I stop myself from laughing at her frightened face, but it only lasts a few seconds, she gets up from the floor and her face gets redder and redder.

"How dare you threaten me, you dirty girl!" she shouts in exasperation.

"Lower your tone, bitch, you're not talking to your little girlfriends," I say calmly, making her even more irritated.

"Ungrateful snake! You were desperate and I helped you!"

"If you really wanted to help me," I start to spit out the words, feeling all the anger I've been holding inside me for the last fifteen minutes. "You would have let me do the interview I came here for and not forced me into a cleaning job!"

"And you have shown that you are not even qualified for a simple cleaning position, you would never be suitable to be Mr. Valentini's assistant!"

Oh, how I hate her! I clench my hands into fists and start stepping hard on the floor, approaching her.

"Puttana," I call her a bitch between my teeth.

I'm going to break this woman's high nose right now! I'm already in the mud, I'm going to sink a little deeper, I have nothing left to lose here.

With blood in my eyes, I raise my arms to grab the thin neck of this giraffe dwarf, but Filippo puts his big body between me and Veronica.

"Leave the room, now!" he orders in a deep, dominating voice. What a man with a strong presence!

Is this right? I can't believe my eyes.

(Renata Pellegrini)

"S-sir?" she blinks several times not believing what she heard. I can't believe it either. "I-I didn't quite understand what you said, could you…"

"Oddio, dammi pazienza," he says in italian. God, give me patience. "I want you out of my office, now!"

"But, sir, what about her?" Veronica points her finger in my direction.

"Stai zitto!" he increases the tone of his voice, telling her to shut up. I am not sure if she understood what he said, but she is startled by the tone of his voice and shuts up. I understood what he said because I always heard my father saying those words in Italian when I did something wrong.

Veronica's jaw quivers with anger, she is certainly feeling humiliated, she looks at me once more, I can read in her eyes: You will pay for that!

I smile and her face gets redder at my provocation, she turns around and walks stiffly out of the room, leaving me alone with the Italian tycoon.

I swallow dryly, all the anger inside me is gone and only nervousness and fear remain.

He turns and stares at me, I feel awkward before this look, he seems to study every part of my body, he won't be able to see much, the uniform doesn't mark my curves, and I don't even have many, the only thing that stands out about me are my breasts, they are average, but at least they are not small like my ass and not as thin as my legs. It is possible to squeeze them really tight. At least, that's what I think, I like the texture and size of my breasts. My mother, when I was thirteen, always encouraged me to know my body and taught me where I could never let someone touch it without my permission.

I try to concentrate on some sound other than my heart beating so hard it hurts. But the room is so quiet, I feel desperation trying to take over. I try to slow my breathing down, I can't have a piripaque here.

"Non ricordo di averti visto, di quale parte d'Italia sei?"

"What did you say?" I asked in a hushed voice, the only thing I could understand was: which part of Italy. And I don't even know if I understood correctly.

"Non parlate italiano?" I think he is asking me a question, but again I don't understand anything beyond the word Italian. His eyes look at me again, from top to bottom, it bothers me, I feel my face getting hot.

"Can you please speak in English?" I ask, staring back at him.

I don't want him to think that I find him attractive, or that he has awakened something in me, I will take that to my grave with me. Never in my life did I think that someday I would be attracted to the kind of people I despise most in the world.

He clicks his tongue and goes to his chair behind the table, sits down and without taking his eyes off mine, points to the chair in front of the table. I don't want to sit down, my brain wants to get out of here, but I am curious and I need this job.

I have made up my mind, if he gives me the opportunity to continue, I will work only until I receive my first salary. I will not stay here to work as a cleaner, if at this time I know some other company that is hiring, I will try, but if not, I will go back to Brazil and follow my life there.

"Where are you from, and what is your name and age?" he asks in English.

I am thankful that my mother put me in an English course when I was six years old. I never stopped practicing, so I was able to travel here without any problems. And it was also for this reason that I thought I had a chance to do well in the interview and live in another country.

"I'm from Brazil, my name is Renata Pellegrine and I am twenty-four years old," I answer, and he raises an eyebrow, looking at me suspiciously.

"You don't look like a Brazilian," he says quietly to himself, but I can hear him, so I decide to remain silent. "Both your name and your surname are of Italian origin," he notes and crosses his arms, I just keep quiet watching him, he clicks his tongue. "How did you get here?"

"My teacher got a job interview here," I explained, trying to keep calm.

"What is your teacher's name?"

"Juliana Lueni.

He puts his hand on his chin, and closes his eyes for a few seconds.

"Never heard of that name," he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms again. "What did you study?"

"Information System, I graduated last week," I explained more excitedly.

Is he doing the interview? Will I change positions? Oh I hope so, it will be a dream come true if I get a better position.

"How did you end up in the janitorial position?"

"Well, that manager, Veronica…"

"She's not the manager here," he cuts me off, leaving me confused.

"She's not?" I look confused at him.

"No," he answers.

Putting on all that pose, giving me a job, when she wasn't even responsible for my interview.

"What is she then?" I ask, hoping he doesn't kick me like he did her.

"Head Attendant, she is in charge of training the new attendants and organizing the shifts," he explains."

"Right, well, when I came in here, she had told me that Miss Carol had told me I was coming along with other applicants for the position," he frowns, as if he had only just learned these details. "But I couldn't even say I was here for the interview, she sent me away saying I wasn't up to working here."

"Then she offered you the position of janitor," constants.

"Yes," I confirm.

"What is your marital status?"

"Single, sir."

"Any children?"

"No children."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do and call you by the end of next week, write down your contact phone number and email address."

He hands me a notebook and a pen, and I write down the information he asked for.

Oh Lord, put your hand on this man's heart and make him hire me, I pray in thought.

"In the meantime, am I supposed to keep coming here?"

"To do what?" he asks with a raised eyebrow looking at the paper with my information.

"Um, cleaning?" I say. "Let me come, I can do the work. I need the money."

What humiliation, but what can I do? In the apartment there is nothing to eat and I don't have a penny in my pocket, nor do I have any credit cards. I have to at least get paid for the daily rates.

"Take it."

I look at his hand holding a hundred-dollar bill.

"W-what is this? Are you doing charity now?"

Mannaggia! Why can't I control my tongue? I need the money.

"The payment for your hours worked today."

"I only worked for fifteen minutes," I tell him suspiciously. I don't believe in genuine kindness coming from people like him.

"Then take it as a retraction for the way you were treated when you arrived."

Oh, if that's so, then I'll gladly accept this money. I take the note and put it in my apron pocket.

"On second thought, I will give you a position now. It will be temporary, you will start as an attendant, do you accept?

Don't frown, don't frown, I repeat in my thoughts. Well, it's better than continuing as a janitor.

"I accept!"

"Okay, go to the reception and look for Amanda. You'll start right away."

"Okay," I stand up.

"Buona giornata, ragazza," he says, wishing me a nice day. But once again the memories of my father, speaking those exact same words, waking me up come to mind.

"Anche per Il sig" I say, wishing the same for him.

A pity I have only learned a few words and short phrases in Italian.

Filippo smiles, a wide smile that makes me feel something strange in my chest. I hold my breath and hurry out of the office.

Now it's time to look for Amanda.