Counterpoints (Counterpoints #1) Page 22

  “Nope, his name is HOTTIE. Exhibit A” she had insisted, waving his picture on the magazine at her. “Seriously, what did you do?” she asked again, finding it hard to believe her friend a hundred percent.

  They were walking in a stationary at Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Isabella had just said goodbye to her parents and her brother and sister and was now wondering around the airport with Cristina, before security check.

  “Talked about our lives, ate, shared a milkshake to keep us awake and then a lot of touching and flirting…we kissed…” Isabella’s voice had changed a little towards the end, giving away her emotions.

  She really liked Christopher, too much actually. So much it scared her to death and made her want to take things slowly. Hadn’t she already told him that she thought he was wrong for her? And he said that I am wrong for him, too. Then why was it that they kept looking for each other?

  It was so frustrating, Isabella had thought, to want something so badly on one side but also feel the need to stay away. For one’s own sake.

  “Thank God. I swear, if you hadn’t said touching and kissing after the word ‘milkshake’, I was going to hang myself!” she raised her voice a little, but two tourists squinted at her and she apologized with hand gestures.

  “This is Italy, we move our hands a lot and raise our voices” she had whispered to Isabella with a grin on her face. Isabella had then covered her mouth, trying to contain her snickering.

  Once they had paid for Isabella’s trip supplies, they had mingled a few minutes in front of security check.

  “Have you heard from the asshole?” Cristina asked. Asshole being Salvo.

  “No and I don’t know he truly is an asshole. Can we not talk about him, please?” Isabella said without the least bit of anger in her.

  She didn’t want to jump to conclusions: so Salvo had told her he was seeing someone and then Angela had gone up to him in the pub. It didn’t mean anything or maybe it meant everything, but Isabella wasn’t sure.

  “What about the bitch?”

  Isabella smiled at her friend. She loved how her friend had cute nicknames for everyone. Not that she wasn’t right calling them like that, it was absolutely legit.

  If what they were assuming was true, that Salvo and Angela were together. And have been seeing each other since God knows when! Isabella shrugged that awful thought away.

  No, she wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Next time she was in town, she would ask Salvo directly.

  “Why would she try to call me? She hasn’t since I left. Actually she stopped calling me way before that”

  Cristina mumbled something under her breath, something probably very ugly and mean but Isabella didn’t quite grasp it.

  There were so many people around, going through security that it was impossible to make out her words.

  “Did hottie call you?” Cristina asked, this time with a grin on her face.

  “His name is Christopher and he did call me once and then we texted a little these past couple of days. I don’t know” her shoulders had gone up and so had her anxiety level.

  It was all so exciting in away and all so incredibly uncertain.

  That’s probably why it is so exciting, it is something I can’t figure out or categorize.

  That’s what she had done most of her life: Isabella had chosen the safe way, especially in relationships. She had gone out with guys that had fitted a certain profile – the boy next door, the down to earth kind of person. Like Salvo.

  Emotionally, she hadn’t let herself go that much. And she blamed her father for that, for making her so unsure and so distrustful towards men in general.

  But then why was she jumping into something crazy like a relationship with a race driver? A man so out of her league, out of her world? It’s different this time, I am falling for him. She had squinted to her own thoughts and had removed that concept from her mind, hoping to wash away the panic. She was falling for Christopher and she was well aware of how hard she was going to hit the floor, once their fling would be over.

  “Any news?” Isabella hesitated.

  The last time she had spoken to Cristina over the phone, her friend had told her that her husband Carlo was probably getting a promotion. He was going to be head of the Milan office of his company and that would mean he would have to live in Milan or commute every weekend.

  “He got the promotion” Cristina said without looking up. She was holding a magazine and was quickly going through the pages, in search of a distraction probably.

  “Really?” Isabella exclaimed.

  “Yup. He’ll have to move there in June”

  “How are you dealing with it?” Isabella asked, searching her friend’s eyes. Cristina lifted her stare and looked at Isabella.

  “We are all moving to Milan I guess” her voice was a little flat, as she said the words.

  “Oh” Isabella nodded. “What about your law firm?”

  “I don’t know” she said shaking her head a little. Cristina put down the magazine and looked at the screen.

  “Are you okay?” Isabella put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes, yes I am fine” she smiled at her friend “I haven’t worked out the details yet but I think we will all move there”

  “Okay” Isabella said without wanting to pry, but there were so many things she wanted to ask her friend. Like why not try commuting for a while, how was she going to keep working in Rome? Was she going to close her law firm and start again in Milan? She bit her tongue, seeing her friend so upset. Maybe it wasn’t the right time to ask.

  Cristina and Isabella had said their goodbyes and she had once again left Italy with butterflies in her stomach. Butterflies for Christopher, butterflies for the new adventures ahead.

  And now here she was. Different context, same butterflies. She was sitting in the meeting room at the MB factory, where Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jenkins had asked for hers and Hillary’s presence.

  Her hand was a little shaky after what she had dared to do in Australia. Thank God, Hillary was going to be there. Apparently, she had demanded to be at the meeting, as Isabella’s supervisor.

  Isabella loved her, she was such a strong woman who didn’t take crap from anyone. Especially men.

  Isabella just couldn’t believe the meeting was actually happening. Nothing had really happened in Australia. They had posted two stupid pictures and a post about the race without Mr. Control Freak’s approval. That was all.

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Some people are never satisfied, some people have egos bigger than the Titanic.

  Her attention was abruptly diverted from the window to the main door. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jenkins stepped in the room, along with Hillary, who was looking cool and impeccable as usual. Her short hair was down and she looked more relaxed than she did a week ago in Australia.

  “Isabella, so good to see you” Mr. Johnson shook her hand and welcomed her to take a seat at the marble and glass table in front of them. Isabella kissed Hillary, who briefly asked her about her break in Italy and if her trip had gone smoothly.

  I hope today goes smoothly, she secretly wished.

  “We are all flying out to China tomorrow. All the equipment has been sent over according to the deadline. How’s everything else going?” Mr. Johnson looked at Hillary, who then assured him that everything was set, updating him on their schedules and on the events of the week. Noah was going to present a motor event on Tuesday, Christopher had to participate to a car driving session. Both drivers had events with sponsors in the evenings and then signing session on Saturday at the track, just after the qualifying session.

  “I just saw Noah and Christopher down at the simulator earlier. They are ready to go” Hillary said and Isabella thought everyone present in the room could hear her heart beat faster and faster.

  Christopher was there, but he was busy. Push it down, be professional, suck it up.

  As Mr. Johnson and Hillary went on talking about what they should do at the events, how Isabella
should participate too of course and write it all down in the blog and on social networks, Mr. Jenkins sat there listening to everyone and not joining in the conversations. Good.

  Until half an hour later.

  “The reason why I am here, as Christopher’s manager, is that there is a situation I’d like to clarify today” he started saying and, unlike other occasions, his eyes stayed on Isabella the whole time he spoke.

  If looks could make people shrink or disappear, there would have been an empty seat by the end of the meeting, right where Isabella had been sitting.

  “You told us what happened already” Hillary said, looking from Mr. Jenkins to Isabella a couple of times. “Alfred, look at these statistics: followers of Noah, Christopher and of MB have doubled during just this first race. It’s a huge hit, a lot of publicity. Isn’t this what you wanted? What we all wanted? We wanted to involve more people and fans in the sport”

  “That is not the point. I represent Christopher, I have to make sure his image is not damaged. I would like to know what is going on here at MB, before the press or followers do” he snapped at Hillary and she didn’t say anything back, but just stared at him with a serious expression on her face.

  He looked scary when he was upset, Isabella couldn’t blame her for not talking back.

  “We are on the same team…” Isabella jumped in, her voice steady but never aggressive.

  “And what team is that?” he snapped back, obviously annoyed at her for speaking.

  “Well...I work for MB. I’m here to advertise their image on the web” she looked around a little worried from Mr. Johnson -who hadn’t even said a word yet about this whole situation- and Hillary’s stubborn face.

  She was about to say something back at Mr. Control Freak, something about how good things had started, shuffling her papers around the table but Mr. Jenkins wasn’t done yet.

  “I am not sure what image it is you want to transmit and I’m not sure we are on the same team”

  Isabella sat there, feeling like a complete idiot. Here it was again, asshole number one hundred seventy-nine, trying to make her feel a worthless, meaningless nobody.

  She didn’t want to get into an argument, but It would have felt nice to slap him, just to see if that smugness and rudeness of his, could be kicked out of him.

  “We all know what happened to Christopher last year. Things got out of hand and I had to make amends, for him and indirectly I saved MB from a lot of crap, too. Therefore, I insist I see anything that goes online first. Articles, entries, titles, pictures. Everything” he firmly put his hand on the table and looked around at everyone else, with a determined look on his face, as if the meeting was already over for him. It didn’t matter if others had things to say, that was that.

  Isabella’s blood felt like it was boiling in her veins. She was upset, because she had no idea what he had been referring to a second before, when he mentioned Christopher and things that had happened the year before.

  She was upset, because apparently she was paying for someone else’s mistake.

  She was upset, because he was the kind of man that had to have the last word.

  “We are not on the same team actually” said Hillary putting her hand on the table and kept the other clutched into a fist on her lap. “Isabella works for MB, she works for Mr. Johnson and I” and she turned towards them, escaping the hideous glare that Mr. Jenkins had reserved for her.

  A look of astonishment, betrayal and anger crossed his face but Hillary ignored it and looked away. Isabella’s legs were shaking like never before. She was anything but sure that Hillary had done the right thing, to confront him openly, in public.

  But this was the start of the season, they would be working together for months. Things needed to be settled once and for all. More importantly, Isabella just couldn’t stop wondering what had happened last year to Christopher.

  Then Hillary turned to Mr. Johnson, who had been listening very intently and said:

  “If you say Isabella has to send things to Mr. Jenkins first, she will do so. But I honestly believe that she should check in with me, I am her manager” and with her index, Hillary pointed at herself, to stress the reality of things. She was Isabella’s boss and Mr. Johnson was her boss.

  The man in charge of MB touched his beard, while thinking about what was right and what needed to be done to set the record straight, without jeopardizing the balance in his team.

  Nothing scared him more than a team that wasn’t united and committed to the same goals. He had seen it happen before- in his own team in the past and in other ones as well- and he was well aware things would not end well.

  Before Mr. Jenkins could put in a word, he said:

  “I think that’s a good idea. Alfred, you trust Hillary don’t you? Well, she will be checking on Isabella. After all, they work together all day, it’s easier for them to cooperate”

  “I want to know what is been said about Christopher, I won’t let things get out of hand again” Mr. Jenkins started saying.

  “And you will. The girls will send you a copy of what is going to be posted on the web, when they post it. They will bring it to your attention, that way you can read it instantly” Mr. Johnson stood up and they all did, too.

  He was a busy man- a kind, busy man, who’s phone kept ringing all the way through the meeting. Still, he hadn’t interrupted anyone or flinched even slightly.

  “Besides, Isabella is part of MB. She signed a contract with us, she knows very well what she can or cannot show or say” he excused himself and picked up a call.

  That was when Hillary decided to soften a bit.

  “Alfred, it’s going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen” she tried to reassure him.

  Isabella looked at Hillary, her eyes begging for an explanation, but all she got from her was a look that said it wasn’t the time to talk. So Isabella decided not to ask any questions.

  “I won’t put Christopher’s reputation in the hands of a stranger” he said through gritted teeth.

  “Sir, whatever it is you are talking about, I would never do anything to damage Christopher or Noah” Isabella tried to sound as convincing as possible.

  Maybe she should have been quiet, but she just couldn’t hold back any longer. She couldn’t sit there and listen to that nonsense, without speaking her mind.

  Mr. Johnson was back in a blink of an eye. He was needed elsewhere in the factory, so he said his goodbyes and walked out of the room, next to a rather upset Mr. Jenkins – who was still trying to make him understand his point of view.

  Mr. Control Freak had completely ignored her words, he hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge them. Isabella heard them speak as they walked away from the room.

  What was he going to say about her? That she was insolent, unexperienced, too young. Like I care. Like she hadn’t heard it all before.

  Even though she was happy to have Hillary by her side, she didn’t feel okay. Had she and Hillary just detonated a bomb, by going against Mr. Jenkins’ will like that?

  And was that last thing Mr. Johnson had said –that Isabella knew very well by contract what she could and could not say- a declaration of trust in her or a threat?

  More importantly, what was Mr. Jenkins so worried about? Why did he feel the need to protect Christopher from her and the rest of the world?

  “No functions or press conferences tonight, you are as free as a bird” Hillary smiled at Isabella and put her folders and laptop in her bag. They were alone in the meeting room now, the two man had left still discussing over what had been decided minutes before. “We should go through these now. I want you to read this interview Christopher did a few weeks ago and this funny game Noah played with a TGM journalist in Sidney. Interview is going to press tomorrow, Noah’s recording is going on air next race weekend”

  Hillary was all business. As she spoke, she pulled her green sleeves up and put her hair behind her ears. Then, she passed the memory stick to Isabella, who went on plugging it into her ow
n laptop.

  Hillary stood up and walked around the table, right over to her colleague, but didn’t sit down. She walked back and forth behind Isabella.

  “What is it exactly that you want me to do?” Isabella asked.

  “I’d like to know your opinion. I showed them to Mr. Jenkins already. The MB team is represented beautifully, nothing bothering me about that. I want you to do like a brief summary and post it on the blog and on social networks tomorrow. Something like: out today, interview with Christopher Taylor… bla, bla, bla. And ‘this weekend stay tuned on TGM and watch Noah…something along those lines” She bit her lip. “Can you do that?”

  “Of course. But what does…” Mr. Control Freak!!! “…Mr. Jenkins have to say about this?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve sent him the stuff already and he’s okay with it”

  “I mean about me writing about this” Isabella said a little hesitant.

  “You heard Mr. Johnson. He’ll get our copy in his email” Hillary shrugged again and smiled.

  Isabella smiled back and got to work, happy to have a tough boss like Hillary.

  She watched Noah’s video first. It was basically a rugby training session with the Australian rugby team. He was a little friendly, not too much outgoing, very serious as always. Exactly what you would expect from him, very reserved, a little cold at times but in the end he had never been arrogant during the game and the questions he had answered. He was a good driver and he knew it, luckily for him his arrogance didn’t show on TV.

  The friendly game ended in a small interview on how he loved Australia and his Aussie fans.

  She looked up and saw that it had started raining outside. Hillary was reading the press. She went on reading Christopher’s interview.

  As always, the journalist started with the same questions over and over again.

  It seemed pretty straight forward: Christopher liked racing for MB, he felt confident enough that the car was one of the fastest this year. He commented positively on the changes introduced by the federation, he told the journalist he spent most of his week exercising and in the simulator, doing his best to develop his car. He was very diplomatic, a little funny as usual.