Hidden Heart by Camelia Miron Skiba Page B

only to
feel uncomfortable throughout the play. She swore off sushi for the
rest of her life.
    She didn’t want to answer
the phone. If only she could sleep longer. If only.
    “ Hello?”
    “ Tessa, thank goodness I
found you, I’m almost at the hospital they called me from the
office saying Victor is short of breath and then they called the
ambulance and by the time I got there they already took him to the
emergency room. It’s crazy, and Elena is out of the country and so
is her husband and I, I…I just hope and pray he’ll be
alright!”
    Tessa bolted straight up in
her bed.
    “ Dina dear, listen to me,
you need to breathe; yes, just like that keep breathing. Good,
you’re doing great. Everything is going to be okay, you are a
strong, very strong woman.”
    “ Okay, now it’s much
better, thanks Tessa…sorry I blurted all that out…I think I just
had a panic attack.” Dina’s voice sounded haggard.
    “ So, you’re on the way to
the hospital. Go there and call me once the doctors tell you what’s
going on with Victor. I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Tessa tried
to sound reassuring. She saw another call coming in; it was Eva,
but she ignored it.
    “ I promise, I’ll call. Can
you call my daughter later in the afternoon, she should be back
from her trip, and she needs to know…” Dina’s cry tore at Tessa’s
heart.
    “ I’ll take care of this,
don’t worry. Now, you need to stay focused, Victor doesn’t need to
see you cry, I’ll talk to you later!”
    Tessa’s mind raced a
hundred miles an hour. She called her assistant while pulling a
dark gray two-piece outfit and a white silky blouse out of her
dressing room.
    “ Eva, hi. Listen, is
R.O.C.A. still there? Okay. Here is what I want you to do. Find a
way to hold them, even if you have to lock them in; I’ll be there
in twenty minutes max.”
     
    ***
     
    “ Good morning, everyone, I
apologize for the late arrival.”
    Tessa’s entrance forced
everyone to silence. Four pairs of eyes focused on her. Pleased to
have everybody’s attention, a candid smile brightened her
face.
    She recognized three of the
men in the conference room; one of her co-workers from the
Management Department, R.O.C.A.’s representative and…Alessandro.
Her stomach did a somersault but she forced herself to remain
calm. No time to feel
sick .
    “ Monsieur Deuvault, what a
pleasure to see you again.” She walked catlike towards the older
gentleman, shoulders back, her head held high and extended her
hand. They met during one of her trips to London months ago when
she presented her project to future and possible investors. Since
then, she met him on two different occasions and each time the man
fussed over her more than allowed by business protocols. She
pretended not to notice it.
    “ Ah, Miss Tessa, finally a
familiar face,” he said, took her hand between both his and kissed
it. “You have no idea how terrible we feel for what happened to
Monsieur Victor and we were getting ready to leave.”
    She moved sideways, placed
a hand between his shoulder blades, leaned towards him, and tilted
her head slightly. She had his full attention. “Well, it’s
unfortunate what happened to him, but since we are all here, why
don’t we continue our meeting?”
    Monsieur Deuvault
introduced her to his business partner. He told the story of how he
met Tessa and how she captivated him with her knowledge and
experience.
    “ That’s an exaggeration,
Monsieur Deuvault, and paying me compliments won’t help you
negotiate a better deal. You know that, right?”
    Everyone except Alessandro
laughed. He just smirked, an expression that Tessa wished she could
simply rub off of his handsome face.
    With skilled hands, she
took the bull by the horns, leading the discussion until lunchtime,
effortless and knowledgeable. They came up with a meeting plan for
the remainder of the week. Both companies would bring in more
experts and work closely with lawyers to draft a