Angels Chapter 3

Charlotte is worried about her love life while, unbeknownst to her, Angleo is trying to protect the building from danger.

Charlotte Laroche was a woman who knew how to get what she wanted. Not that she hadn't had her fair share of heartache and hardship in life so far, but she had stood strong in the face of it, refused to crumble, and contented herself with material wealth, power and success instead. After all, why not use her natural assets, intelligence and cunning to make her life more comfortable? If she didn't look after herself, no one else was going to. So, when she wanted something, she got it. And top of her 'want' list were always new contracts with the most sought after designers, so that she could develop her ranges and be the envy of all of her competitors.

 

Today she had a meeting with Sarah Richmond, who had designed an interesting range of sunglasses, and Charlotte wanted her on board.

 

"Hi Giorgio," she smiled to her assistant as she headed towards him and her office. "Everything running smoothly?"

 

A thin, smart looking man, dressed in a beige suit looked up from his desk and smiled at Charlotte, his white teeth contrasting sharply with his deeply tanned skin. Charlotte had always had a soft spot for Italian men after her first trip to Rome as a teenager. It was during that trip that she'd found her fascination with fashion from watching all the immaculately dressed men and women bustling about the busy shops and cafes.

 

"Everything is…" he kissed his fingers, "bellissimo. And you are looking as delicious as always tessorina mia."

 

"You are a gentleman, Giorgio" she said, dropping her soft, light leather briefcase on his desk.

 

"Di niente Charlotte," he said, placing a hand over his heart, "I speak only the truth."

 

"Giorgio…" she began, but was immediately interrupted by the chirping of the mobile phone in her handbag. She tutted and reached into her bag, fishing out her phone and opening it to check who the caller was. "Sorry Giorgio, I have to take this. We'll talk afterwards," she said, rushing into her office behind his desk and closing the door after her.

 

"What do you mean you're not coming to our wedding?" the voice on the other end asked as soon as she answered the call. "And didn't you think we deserved the courtesy of hearing this from you in person rather than over my voicemail!"

 

She bit her lip. "David, I'm so sorry, but darling, I wanted to let you know ASAP and you weren't answering your phone."

 

David wasn't in the least bit taken in by her apologetic tone or seemingly reasonable excuses. He'd known Charlotte for years now, and if there was a way of sweet talking herself out of a situation, Charlotte would have a go. In the past he'd have fallen for her charm, but not now, not after all he'd been through with her.

 

"Fine so, an explanation wouldn't go amiss either," he replied sarcastically.

 

He wasn't sure why he was even bothering to ask; he knew what her reply was going to be and hearing it wouldn't only make him feel more angry.

 

She sighed. "Well, of course if I possibly could come, I would. But I'm right in the thick of things here at work and there's absolutely no one I could dream of leaving in charge," she lied. "I'm completely exhausted Davie and would love a break from work, but," she sighed again, "Alas, it's an impossible situation."

 

Typical! She was turning everything around and trying to make him feel sorry for her!

 

"Okay, well you stay there then and carry on building your business empire Charlotte, you're going to need it, because one day you're going to wake up and realize it's the only thing you've got!" he replied angrily, hanging up on her.

 

"Davie," she said fruitlessly, after he'd already hung up. Damn! She felt wretched now.

 

She sighed and stood in the middle of her office, contemplating phoning him back. What was the point though? He was too angry to listen to her. She'd give it time for him to calm down and then telephone him, although she had the feeling that even she was going to find it difficult to talk her way out of this one.

 

Maybe she should…

 

She strode suddenly and decisively then, back out to Giorgio's desk.

 

When Charlotte returned to Giorgio, he was on the telephone at the time, finalising appointments, and so she stood in front of him, waiting impatiently for him to finish the call. Staring at him, she hoped to make him realise how much she needed all his attention then, and no later. He was used to Charlotte's demanding ways however, and, as much as he loved to pander to her, he'd learnt that sometimes he needed to make her wait, or he'd end up getting the sack from his own boss for not doing any work other than acting as her psychiatrist!

 

She folded her arms and refused to budge though. Giorgio's eyes swung away from her as he continued with his telephone call. She growled with annoyance and strummed her fingers on his desk to get his attention, showing her impatience. When this didn't work however, she sighed deeply and pouted. She scrumpled up her face as if she were about to start crying and he finally hung up the telephone, putting his hands on his hips.

 

"Charlotte my sweetheart, what boy has pulled your pig tails and stolen your Barbie doll now?" he teased.

 

She laughed and leant on his desk with her elbows, taking hold of the lapels of his jacket and talking to him as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

 

"Giorgie baby, what's the likelihood that you'd be able to cope without me for a couple of days?" she asked.

 

"My darling Charlotte," he replied, stroking the side of her face with the back of his fingers, "I would manage the world for you, as well you know, but the question is, will you let me cover for you and go to that wedding or not?" he said, with a knowing look. "The ball's in your court."

 

Giorgio could look straight into Charlotte's heart. He knew her so well, and there was nothing she was afraid to confide in him. He also knew that she'd been struggling greatly with the decision of whether or not to go to David's wedding.

 

"I don't know Giorgie," she said, dropping her hand from his lapel and fiddling with the coffee cup on his desk. "We are extremely busy at the moment, and we do need to get Sarah Richmond on board too; that's going to take a few days to finalise," she said, lifting the cup to her mouth and taking a sip of the strong, dark liquid.

 

Giorgio tutted at her. "Excuses Cara. It is because David's brother, your ex husband, will be there, eh?”

 

Charlotte looked sheepish. "Not exactly," she began. Giorgio shook his head at her in disbelief. "Well…maybe that's part of it," she admitted.

 

"Ahhhh, you are still innamorato, in love with him after all this time," he said sadly.

 

She frowned and slammed the coffee cup down. "I am not! I simply don't want to see that scheming, two faced harlot that he left me for," she said fiercely.

 

"No," he corrected, "you don't want to see him with that scheming, two faced harlot that he left you for."

 

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

 

Angelo had just finished his end of shift checks and was heading for Frank on floor one to coordinate with his superior before he could leave for home.

Spaghetti and meatballs, yes, that's what he would eat tonight… like his mamma used to make. He felt like treating himself this evening. And he'd open a nice bottle of red wine too. Nothing went better with spaghetti and meatballs than a few glasses of red wine.

 

As he patrolled the corridor, the usual swarm of business executives rushed past him, nothing unusual there. His mind was still focused on his dinner until… out of nowhere, a frission of fear crept up his spine and chilled him to the bone. It was so sudden and so intense that it made him stop in his tracks for a moment and glance around himself, unsure of what to do, or what had made him feel like that. He quite often relied on his instincts in dangerous situations, especially when working as a body guard, but there was nothing dangerous about this job. He was letting his imagination run away with him. Maybe he was missing the thrill of proper work and should find something a bit more challenging than this.

 

Then he spotted them. Two men dressed in almost identical dark suits. Why he should have thought there was anything odd about those men, he wasn't sure, because the place was crawling with 'suits'. But as soon as he spotted them, he knew there was something wrong. The men were some forty metres away from him, down the corridor, but Angelo needed to get past the crowds to reach them. He sped up and kept his eyes glued on their dark jackets so as not to lose sight of them through the hustle and bustle. Damn, they'd split up, with one heading towards the elevators at the far end of the corridor, and one disappearing around the corner past Frank. What was wrong with Frank? Was he totally blind?

 

"Those men," he said, a little breathlessly when he finally reached Frank, "they're not from the agency so who the hell are they?" Angelo demanded to know, a little frustrated with his superior for not stopping them.

 

"What men?" Frank asked.

 

"What men?" Angelo repeated incredulously, "the men that just got past you. The two men in black suits!" he exclaimed.

 

"Alright, alright," Frank replied defensively. "You got a problem with me?" he frowned.

 

"What?" Angelo couldn't believe that Frank was choosing this time to get all defensive with him! It was so obvious that security had been compromised, and Angelo had a strong feeling that the two men were not the only ones in the building at that time either. He didn't have time for this.

 

"Where can I find the big boss?" he asked. "Charlotte Laroche, where can I find her?" he repeated impatiently. If Frank wouldn't listen to him, then surely she would. He couldn’t imagine the ‘Woman of Steel’ letting the head of security get away with not doing his job properly.

 

"Now you listen here…" Frank began angrily.

 

That was all he needed: a fight with Frank now. "Never mind," he said, rushing off towards the elevators.

 

He had intended to go back down to the lobby to find someone who'd know how to contact Charlotte, however, on entering the elevator, for a reason he couldn't explain, he instinctively pressed the button for the forth floor. Oh well, if he couldn't find her there, then there was bound to be someone on the whole floor who'd know where she was.

 

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

 

Charlotte sighed, suddenly drained of energy. Sipping the coffee again, she paused for thought. "What shall I do Giorgie? I want to be there for David but…" She shrugged her shoulders and handed him the cup. "And now David detests the very ground I walk on," she said dramatically.

"Such nonsense," Giorgio replied dismissively, "he is, and always will be, in love with you cara, just as I am. But since your heart will always be with your ex husband, we have no choice but to carry on with our lives as best we can," he said with a serious tone, mixed with a hint of sarcasm.

 

Charlotte often found it difficult to know when Giorgio was being serious or not, but he was right about one thing, she had always known about David's feelings for her. Of course, a relationship between them had always been unthinkable, especially considering how deeply she'd felt about Phillip, her husband at the time and David's brother. In a fit of fury, she had considered once or twice sleeping with David simply to exact revenge on Phillip, but she'd never gone ahead with it in the end. Mostly because she liked and respected David too much.

 

"Giorgie, you flatter me so," she said, taking his hand in hers and kissing his knuckles lightly.

 

"And you my dear are a heartbreaker," he replied cynically, but making no move to pull away from her. He lapped up any attention from her whenever he could, and physical contact was like gold dust to him.

 

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

 

By the time Angelo had reached the fourth floor, his patience was close to breaking point. With all the security in the block, what the hell was wrong with everyone? Was he the only one who knew that someone was in serious danger? Who, he had no idea, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt at that point that someone needed his help.

As soon as he exited the elevator, he spotted the woman he’d met earlier. Giorgio and Charlotte looked the picture of a couple of lovers as they gazed into each others eyes and held hands across the desk. For a split second, all thoughts of security flew out of Angelo's head. For some reason, he hadn't expected that the next time he saw her, she'd be smooching with another guy. And another Italian one at that! Why that should bother him, he had no idea. But the moment he set eyes on them both, it did. Then he came to his senses.

 

Storming up to them both, he exclaimed, "When you two love birds have finished smooching for everyone to see, could you please tell me where I can find Charlotte Laroche?"

 

Charlotte looked up at him in bewilderment, dropping Giorgio's hand and turning to Angelo with hands on her hips.

 

"Yes actually," she said, looking him up and down, "I can."

 

"Well? Where is she then?" he replied with annoyance.

 

Charlotte laughed out loud, making him even more angry.

 

Giorgio coughed and pointed to Charlotte to indicate that Angelo was looking at her.

It took him a moment to understand what Giorgio was suggesting.

 

"You?" he said with a frown, his eyes travelling up and down her body.

 

Charlotte chuckled. "You sound terribly disappointed darling, were you expecting someone different?" she asked with amusement.

 

"No… well, yes…"

 

He had actually expected someone different, a lot more different!

 

"I need to speak to you; it's urgent," he stressed.

 

"Oh," she smiled at him, not appearing to be overly worried. "Of course, come into my office," she offered, gesturing for him to move ahead of her. "You can go for a coffee break Giorgio, sorry, I seem to have just drunk yours," she said over her shoulder.

 

"I've just got a few more phone calls to make," he answered her. "And don't worry, I don't know where that coffee came from, but it wasn't mine," he shrugged, picking up the telephone.