00. prologo
Agosto 1995
Napoli, Italia
The ringing of the elevator brought Stefano back to the Formosi HQ, he had nearly fallen sleep on his ride to the fifteenth floor. Stefano’s father had insisted on him coming in today, saying he didn’t want the company to be doomed once he retired because Stefano didn’t know how to hire adequate people.
Stefano had been doing this for a long time, he knew what to look for in employees. He didn’t think missing this one would make a difference, but he didn’t have to stay for long. He was welcoming two groups of potential employees, the Italian one in the morning and the international group in the afternoon.
Stefano entered the meeting hall and greeted his father as he took his seat. The Enterprises were hiring computer scientists and software engineers to expand into the virtual world.
They might hire everyone that had been contacted, but Stefano knew they wouldn’t. A guy at the back of the room seemed so on edge, lacking confidence in your own abilities was a real shame. This group had been selected with care, they were deemed to be the best of the best.
‘I’m starving,’ Stefano whispered to his dad once he had told the group everything he needed to say. ‘I’ll be back in the afternoon.’
‘You better,’ his Gaetano Formosi grunted under his breath. ‘We’ll have a problem if I’m the one who has to do your job.’
‘So much for trust,’ Stefano answered, flashing him his biggest grin.
Rosalie’s eyes followed the man exiting the room. He was so attractive, Rosalie found it difficult to keep them away from him. She had been ogling him for the entirety of his speech, not paying attention to what he said, but she didn’t understand anything he said anyway. That was something she hadn’t given much thought until now. Relocating to Italy on a whim was probably not her best idea.
It had seemed like the most logical thing to do, she had to leave Belgium. She just had to get out, but there were a lot of French-speaking countries she could have gone to. She could even have gone back to London. Or she could have told her parents.
Now that she was the only black person in the room and the only one who didn’t speak Italian, Rosalie second guessed her decision.
