THE MAFIA’S HEIR

BIANCA’S POV

I smiled at the screen of my laptop as I read the mail over and over again. For 3 years, I worked so hard in college, just so I could graduate with a good degree and be able to bag a job at Alexander Russo’s company. Yes, it was for the sake of being in a closer range with Manuel Russo. And yes!!! I was still a hopeless fangirl. I still crushed on the man I had only seen once. The same man whom had been standing on the podium on the day of my big sister’s convocation ceremony. In my opinion, Manuel wasn’t a kind of guy one forgot so easily. I knew there were probably a lot of girls fangirling him like myself, but what made me different from them was the fact that I was more than ready to make something possible. I know I sound like an obsessive stalker, but trust me, my likeness for him is healthy. My efforts in trying to bag a job with his cousin may have been quite extreme, but it comes from a good place. Also, let’s be real. If things do not turn out as I wish, I haven’t lost anything. It’s not everyone who has the chance to work in such a big and reputable company as that of Alexander Russo. The pay is very good and I would be able to start building something for myself gradually. I still wished to become a powerful woman with a great empire. I knew my dreams would take a lot of time and patience, but it was definitely worth it.

I smiled, deep in thoughts as I remembered how proud my father looked on the day of my convocation. He had looked down at me with so much love in his eyes and said ‘You have made me so proud’. I had always hoped to see such a look on his face, and I finally did. Trust me, it was worth all the hardwork and sleepless nights. I stood from my bed and walked over to the large mirror at the edge of the wall. I frowned a bit when I looked at the reflection of my tangled hair. It had been a while I had a beauty appointment at the salon. I guess the day had finally come. I had a job interview at the Russo company tomorrow, so I had to look as presentable as possible. That being agreed upon, I quickly put on some clothes and made my way downstairs. Mama and Papa were both in the living room when I got down. They seemed to be in a world of their own until they noticed my presence. Wait a minute, didn’t they hear my footsteps as I descended the stairs?

“Bibi?” Mama called and I gave a lazy smile.

“Yes mama.”

“You’re completely dressed. Where are you off to? It’s really hot outside.”

“I know, but I need to get my hair done.”

“Why? Any occasion?” She asked, making me chuckle. I really did not want to tell them about the job until I was sure I had been hired.

“Can I not decide to look good for myself, without the pressure of a party or event?” I shook my head in disbelief.

“Well, I can’t really say.” She shrugged. “Everyone knows how much you do not like or bother to care for your hair.”

“I do not hate my hair! I do not like it either, but I pretty much do not hate it. Atleast, not anymore.”

“Whatever.” She dramatically rolled her eyes, making my father chuckle.

“Papa, I would be back soon. You both, stay safe.” With that, I walked out of the house and made my way to the salon. Midway gone, I stopped by at a store to get some cookies and other junks. I would definitely love to munch on stuff while they styled my hair. Just sitting there and moping at nothing all through the time was going to be boring. After getting more than enough snacks, I stepped out of the store and continued on my way to the salon. I passed by a few grocery stores before finding a salon. At first, the salon seemed unfamiliar to me because I couldn’t remember seeing it around there before. But then, the exterior design of the salon was lovely and it made me quite eager to see what the interior looked like. I pushed open the glass door at the entrance and made my way in. Empty? How could such a beautiful salon be so empty? But then, it was beautiful and cozy.

“Oh hello! I’m Hilda. Lovely to have you here.” I turned to the right to see a counter and a lovely middle aged woman behind it.

“Hi.” I managed a small wave. The next minute, she walked out of the counter and came to me.

“Finally, a customer. After waiting for such long hours.” She muttered to herself.

“Sorry?”

“Do not mind me! I’m just so excited that we finally have a customer.”

“Why? People do not patronize you?” I asked, a bit at loss. If such an exotic looking place wasn’t well patronized, then does that mean they do not offer good services?

“Well, technically, people don’t. But it’s understandable because if we had been here the whole time, they would have. Today is our first day of work. Welcome! You’re our lucky first customer.” She grinned, making me smile widely. Interesting.

“What makes me lucky?”

“Asides from the fact that you’re going to be beautified by one of the best specialists in town, you wouldn’t have to pay, for being our very first customer.”

“Oh wow!” I couldn’t help the grin I had on my face. I wasn’t so financially buoyant these days. I had already expended so much from the regular pocket money I got from my parents for the month. I could really use a free service right now.

“Yes. So what services what you love to be offered today?”

“I wanted a really nice makeover for my hair, and a pedicure and manicure session as well. So how much do I need to pay to get my nails done?”

“You don’t have to pay. Not just your hair, but everything you do here today is for free.” She said, displaying her perfect dentitions. Oh wow!! This was good. I was really lucky today.

“Thank youuuu.” I grinned widely, unable to contain my gratitude anymore.

“Alright then! Let’s get to it.” She turned around and walked back to the counter, where she dialed a number on the landline. “Yes, please.” That was all she said on the phone before returning to her previous station behind the counter.

“Aren’t we going to be doing it now?” I asked, feeling a bit doubtful as she returned behind the counter.

“Of course, we are, hon. They would be here to attend to you soon enough.”

“They?” Just as I asked, a part of the walls shook and the next minute, I was seeing an open door. God! I hadn’t the slightest idea that there was actually a door there. The walls and doors were so smoth. It was only when I looked closely that I noticed a door handle and lock.

“Yes, ‘they’. I am only the sales manager. They would attend to you.” Through the opened door, a few ladies dressed in the same tees that Hilda had been wearing, stepped in. Okayyy. I think I was about receiving the best beauty treatment of my life!

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“Oh, beautiful!” Mom looked at me with so much admiration in her eyes. “She really took your hair game to some other level. This is so good.” She nodded satisfactorily. “I love the way she changed your regular straight hair to a deep wavy style. Did you also get some facials done? You look really cute.”

“Yeaahhh, I actually do like my new hairstyle. And I am quite cute on a normal day.” I replied tiredly. One was supposed to feel new and better after a beauty treatment, but in my case I felt really exhausted. After I had gotten my hair and nails done, Hilda had insisted I just made use of the opportunity and get some lash extensions. After that, she convinced me that they had a mini spa where I could get a professional massage and facials done. Not wanting to miss out on anything while I had the opportunity, I followed them into an inner chamber where I got a special massage and facials done. Now I was back home, I just felt so exhausted from all the beauty sessions I had to undergo. “Thanks mom.” I muttered and retired to my room. Initially, I had gone about my business of bathing and brushing without staring at the mirror for even once. Just when I was about sleeping, I felt some rashes on my neck and decided to look at it in the mirror. When I came in front of the mirror, my breathe hitched.

I had already packed my hair up in a bonnet, but my face looked so relaxed and beautiful. I was glowing. I also took my time to admire the lash extensions I had made. I loved them. They weren’t so full, but were not scanty either. They looked pretty much natural. No wonder mom had been so impressed when I returned home. Sadly, Dad was already asleep when I returned, so hadn’t been able to see my new look. He would have been happy with my mini makeover as well. I rarely did these makeovers, so it was quite understable why this made me really excited. Well to be honest, I was also excited to be seeing Alexander Russo tomorrow. Who knows? I may actually have the opportunity to see Manuel as well. Now, I felt quite giddy. I couldn’t wait to get to Russo tomorrow. Almost immediately, I remembered the fact that I stood a chance of not getting the job, making me grow discouraged. But it was only momentary because I also quickly reminded myself that I had already come this far. I would definitely get the job by the grace of God. Finally being able to taper down my excitement, I fell onto my bed and closed my eyes in anticipation for sleep to take over. Not up to five minutes later, I was in a land of dreams.

“Sweetie! Bibi.” I abrubtly opened my eyes at hearing the sound of my name. That was definitely mama. I let out a loud yawn as I looked around my room, trying to fix my eyes on the source of disturbance, but I wasn’t seeing her anywhere around.

“Mama!” I yelled out in frustration. She couldn’t just wake me up when she didn’t want me to do anything for her, and knew I had nothing to do on my own part. Nothing to do on my part. Nothing to do on my part? Nothing to do….!!!! Fuck! Today was supposed to be my interview with Alexander Russo! Oh my God! What was the time? I quickly picked up my phone from inside the bedside drawer that was beside my bed. Oh no!! It was 7:36am already, and my interview was slated for 8:30am. I basically had less than an hour to be there. You all think flash is the fastest? Then you had to see me in action that morning. I breezed in and out of the bathroom, did very minimal makeup. Just glossed my lips, applied some mascara, and put some blush and bronzer on my face. I naturally had a slightly pale face, so I hardly stepped out without applying some blush to give my face more colour. The moment I zipped up my trousers and put on my blazer, I fled out with my files in my hands, and my hairs peeking out from the initial style it was packed into. God!!

“Jeezzz! Bibi!!” Mom yelled at the top of her voice as I ran out through the living room and out of the front doors. For a moment in my ‘helter~skelter’ mode, a face flashed through my mind and I sensed the longing inside me. It was Mila’s face. I still couldn’t believe she had left for Newyork with my sweet nephew after all. It was already a few months since she left, and I still missed her dearly. Whenever mom called me ‘Bibi’, Mila always comes to mind because she started calling me that. Just after my three seconds of nostalgia, my mind returned to the the issue at hand. I had an interview I had prepared for, for over 3 years and somehow, I hadn’t managed to keep to time. So disappointing.

I sighed in mild irritation at myself as I hopped down the cab and looked right in front of the tall building in front of me. ‘A. RUSSO’, as it was written. “Powerful.” Those were the only words I had in mind at that point in time. Hold it!! Don’t judge me by talking about how obsessed with power I am. I meeaannn… who doesn’t love to be in charge? Well, I do! After being continuously picked on in high school and part of my college days by Kyle, I have always wanted to have a say in not just my life, but others as well. Atleast, I realized that when I finally stood up to Kyle for the very first time. It felt soooo good.

Realizing I was beginning to gape at the tall building for way too long, while time ticked away, I shook my head in embarrassment and ran into the building. On going in, I looked around and by the right was a glass counter with most certainly the receptionist behind.

“Good morning.” I muttered, feeling weird for some reason as all the other people sitting in every corner of the place looked at me. A much closer look at them, and I knew they were also here for a job just like me.

“Ohhh dear…” The receptionist suddenly called out to me, catching me off guard.

Don’t get me wrong, I knew people were different, but I had always thought receptionists in such big business corporations were always saucy. Her sweet attitude made me bring my focus to her. She was a middle aged woman that still had a way of looking very young and classy. You definitely had to be classy if you were working in a place such as this. She had a coffe brown hair, which was neatly wrapped in a big bun at the back of her head. Her eye color were almost same shade as my sea green eyes.

“Hello ma’am?” I said, almost sounding like I was questioning her.

“Oh dear..” She repeated, waving her hand for me to come over. Still not believing she was referring to me, I glanced behind me to see if there was any other person behind me, before looking back at her. There was actually someone else behind me, but she was completely busy on her phone.

“Me?” I pointed at myself and she gave a positive nod.

“Yes please. Come here.” With that, I walked up to her and gave a small but awkward smile. The next second, she pulled out a few pins from her bag and began touching up my hair. “Let’s help you put these beautiful mane in order!” She grinned. I still felt weird when people complimented my hair. It had taken me years to come to terms with the fact that my hair was not so bad after all. That was what being bullied as a kid for so many years could cause.

“Thank you.” I muttered, and she smiled.

“We’re all done.” She informed me after some minutes of being busy on my hair. “This is very unprofessional, you know that right?” She asked me, and I swallowed a heavy lump that her question had created in my throat.

“I’m so sorry for being tardy. I promise it wasn’t intentional. Do you think I’d still stand a chance to be hired?”

“Oh no, dear. I wasn’t talking about you. Yes, you’re a bit tardy, but you still made it here 5 minutes before the scheduled time, so you’re just fine.” She smiled. “I was only talking about your hair. It very unprofessional for me to be fixing your hair in the office.”

“Ohhh…” I muttered when I understood what she was saying.

“Yeaahhh…” She nodded, mimicking the tone of my ‘ohhh’. “So, when you eventually get hired, make sure to have your hair properly arranged before arriving work. That should be all for now. Out with you.” She said, shooing me away. Oh wow! If I heard right, she had said I would be hired for the job. But how could she be so sure? Maybe she was simply being nice and encouraging, but it really made my day. I gave a small wave and walked towards where the others sat. Just when I found an empty space to sit, I heard a deep masculine voice call our attention. I looked up to see a well built dark guy.

“If you’re here for the interview, please come with me.” That was all he said, before turning and walking up the staircase I hadn’t even noticed was there initially. Okayyyy… it’s about to go down. Actually, up.