"I didn't― I'm―"
Amelia bit down her lip to stop herself from cackling at the mortified expression on Kelsie's face; then she had to remind herself to not cross his boundaries, in case she ended up like Kelsie. She would have to call him Mr. Montgomery at all times.
"Come on, don't be so stuck up, Matteo. It was just a slip of her tongue," Caleb complained, his face redder than a baboon's ass. Amelia guessed not only was bravado coursing through Caleb, but copious amounts of alcohol were too.
That man probably drank a lot during the auction earlier, if he was delusional enough to expect her to strip for the comfort of his lover.
True enough, Caleb was staring at Matteo with barely concealed dislike. How could he hold his head up high in society if he let his beloved get scolded by another?
"A beautiful woman calling your name is a blessing, I tell you. Why are you being so pedantic about it?"
Matteo barely blinked as he stared blankly back at them. "I see no beautiful women in front of me."
This time, there was no stopping the snort that escaped from Amelia's lips, while Kelsie blanched, so shocked by his words that she stomped on Caleb's foot, causing him to let out a howl of pain.
Amelia had hoped that Kelsie would accidentally knee him in the crotch, but alas, that was not to be. The couple clung to each other, shooting Amelia dirty looks as though she was the one responsible for Matteo's words.
Amelia could only shrug. It wasn't her who said those words. It was Kelsie's attitude that was fouler than garbage, not her face. She gave Matteo a discreet glance from the corner of her eyes; he didn't seem like he was trying to be funny, or insulting her on purpose.
He seemed honestly befuddled at the thought of Kelsie being considered attractive! His face was a stony wall, as though he was a scientist observing a particularly nasty strain of bacteria.
"Well, never mind then, we must be going now," Kelsie blabbered, for once losing her composure in the face of Matteo's apathetic disdain. "Come on, Caleb."
Caleb seemed like he wanted to continue arguing, but Kelsie gave his arm a sharp tug, and the both of them stumbled away. Amelia had never been so glad to see the back of Caleb's retreating back.
"Are you alright?" Matteo asked Amelia, eyeing her from top to toe. "Did they scare you? I should have made them apologize before they left." There was a furrow between his brows, and a soft warmth bloomed in her heart.
Once again, Matteo had protected her from being bullied, even though she was nothing more than his employee.
Amelia shook her head. "It'll take more than that for them to scare me. Thank you for handling it though, Mr. Montgomery. I would not like being forced to strip in public."
His eyes darkened. "That was a preposterous request, to begin with. Caleb Walton had no right to demand it of you, even if you had ripped the dress in retaliation for them splashing wine on you."
"Ah," Amelia said shamefully, staring at the ground. "You found out?"
"I guessed as much from their words. Why did you not tell me?" Matteo asked, sounding strangely hurt. "I could have demanded an apology from them."
"And what good would it have done?" Amelia pointed out. "In the end, it's their words against mine. No one would bother listening to me, Matteo. But thank you, for trying anyway. It means a lot to me."
Amelia smiled at Matteo sincerely, and he nearly fell to his knees. She had finally called him by his first name! His name had rolled off her tongue so smoothly, as though she had been born to say it over and over again.
Matteo had to suck in a deep breath to calm himself down. Amelia's gentle smile was like the first rays of sunshine in the middle of winter, banishing the cold darkness lingering in his heart.
He wanted to make her smile again and again.
Matteo was like a blind man who finally got the chance to see the world for the first time. Her entire face was bathed in a radiant glow, and it suddenly made him feel unworthy of her presence.
Meanwhile, Amelia caught the grimace that crossed Matteo's face.
Oh no― she accidentally called his name! How could she be so foolish, to be overly familiar with her new boss after he had done so much to help her! Her smile vanished and she gingerly stepped further away, internally cursing herself.
Matteo didn't even want his first name to be spoken by Kelsie. And if someone as stunning as Kelsie could not hope to inspire anything more than a passing glance and cutting remarks, there was no way anyone as unremarkable as Amelia herself could ever catch his eye.
Then, Amelia reminded herself that she was Matteo― no, Mr. Montgomery's employee. She was not here to date him, or fall in love with him, or marry him, or whatever fairytail ending a writer could spew out. This was reality, and she had to keep her feet firmly on the ground.
"My apologies for calling you by your name," Amelia said hurriedly, bowing quickly. "I won't do it again."
His expression darkened even further, and Amelia wanted to all but bury her head six feet underground. She couldn't handle the way he was heatedly staring at her, as though already imagining the three thousand and one ways he could murder her for daring to utter such things.
As Amelia was debating whether to apologize once more, or straight up take off her heels and make a run for it, Matteo spoke once more. He said those words in such a soft voice that Amelia thought she had mistaken him.
"But I want you to do it again," he muttered, his voice as soft as the flutter of a butterfly's wing.
Amelia blinked. "Eh?"
Amelia wondered if she misheard. She squinted in Matteo's direction, but he merely pursed his lips and kept quiet. The venue lights must have been strong if it left him with a slight flush on his cheeks.
"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that," Amelia said hesitantly.
Matteo cleared his throat and looked away. "Never mind then, it's nothing important."
"Alright. If you say so, Mr. Montgomery," Amelia replied agreeably enough.
There was no way someone like him would be alright with her using his name. If Matteo didn't find Kelsie attractive, he must not be attracted to women at all!
There was a tiny pang in her heart at the thought of such a man being unavailable for women. Matteo was kind and respectful, and he seemed to have a strong sense of justice. He would make a good husband for any woman out there.
The both of them stood in the hallway, and Amelia was beginning to feel the slightest bit awkward at the burgeoning silence.
Just before she was about to ask if it was possible for her to change out of the dress, it was broken by the sound of the auctioneer running towards them, his sweaty forehead and panting chest visible from the other end of the hallway.
"Mr. Montgomery! Thank goodness you're still here! We found the flute!" the auctioneer exclaimed, and Amelia jumped in surprise, while Matteo turned and frowned.
"Where was it?" Matteo demanded. "And where's the culprit?" He peered behind the auctioneer, half-expecting him to be hauling the person responsible.
"Follow me, please, this way. We have her secured," he said hurriedly, and he led them down a few corridors, to a room with the words 'STAFF ONLY' on the door. There were two security guards flanking it and they bowed politely in their presence.
"I trust there have been no escape attempts?"
"None, Mr. Giovanni," one of the guards answered. "But the girl is making a lot of noise, claiming that she's innocent."
Amelia and Matteo exchanged a curious glance. The thief was a woman?
They entered the room and were greeted with a scene of chaos. There was one woman who lay on the floor, hysterically weeping on the tiles, her long hair loose and messy. Plastered at the other side of the room were her other co-workers, who were staring at her in disgust and pity. There were also security guards in the room, and they stood around a particular opened locker protectively.
"Mr. Giovanni!"
The guards parted to reveal the jade flute, haphazardly thrown into the side of a messy locker as though that would have been enough to disguise its luster. A frown crossed Amelia's face; how could her mother's prized possession be treated so callously by someone who attempted to steal it?
Matteo stormed towards the locker and plucked out the flute carefully, holding it to the light to check for flaws, his eyes deadly focused underneath the harsh lights of the locker room.
Amelia marveled at his concentration; she was finding it tough to focus when her ears were continuously assaulted by the relentless cries from the woman on the floor. They had promptly increased in volume when she caught sight of the auctioneer.
"Mr. Giovanni! Please! I'm innocent! You have to believe me!" The woman wailed, the very image of heartbroken grief. "I would never steal something like this!"
A muscle twitched in Giovanni's jaw as he heard her desperate pleas. He wanted nothing more than to shut this idiot bitch up! Her screaming was disturbing Mr. Matteo's appraisal of the flute― the five-million-dollar flute she had the nerve to steal right under their very noses!
If not for the fact there were so many pairs of eyes on him at that very moment, he would have eagerly slammed her face against her own locker.
"Shut up!" Giovanni yelled. "I've already called the police, and they'll deal with you shortly. To think you would destroy your sister's good reputation like this, you're despicable!"
"Sister?" Amelia asked, and Giovanni elaborated.
"This woman is Gina. I only hired her because her sister swore she was a hard worker who would give me no problems. Gracie had never given me issues in all these years of employment, so I trusted her judgment," Giovanni snarled. "Now, I have half a mind to fire her as well!"
"No!" Gina slammed her entire body on the floor, reaching out to grab Giovannie's legs. Tears and snot streamed down her face, forming a pitiful picture. "Mr Giovanni, I've been framed… I would never… I'm just a college student, how could I dare to steal a flute? Please… please believe me!"
"Who would want to frame a college student like you?" Matteo's cold voice echoed throughout the room, putting an end to her sobs.
"I… I… Please… I don't know… but I didn't do it! I swear!"
Gina's eyes darted back to the floor. She dared not meet this man's eyes. He seemed the epitome of danger, and she had a feeling one wrong word would mean her immediate death!
"Let the police investigations decide that," Mr. Giovanni declared hotly, before turning to bow to Matteo. "Mr. Montgomery, I'm terribly sorry that you had to witness this turn of events. We will do our utmost best to make up for this lapse in security."
"See that you do," Matteo said evenly. "Because of this incident, I've found a few scratches on the flute. How do you intend to compensate me for the damages?"
"Com― Compensate…" Giovanni paled, sensing his profits going up in smoke. But still, losing his profit margin was vastly preferable to losing his entire auction catalog and his professional reputation. "Yes. Of course, we can compensate you for the monetary value lost. Can we discuss this over―"
"No need," Matteo cut in curtly. "I'm not interested in your money."
"Then what else do you want?" Giovanni asked helplessly, dabbing his sweaty temples with his handkerchief. Short of money, he had no idea what else he could offer.
"I want you to blacklist Caleb Walton and Kelsie Friesent from all future auction events," Matteo said, and Amelia's mouth fell open at the audacity of such a request. Was that even possible?
If Giovanni was pale before, he was positively ashen now.
"Blacklist?! Mr Montgomery, that's impossible!" Giovanni spluttered. "Think about it, they are also our clients, we can't just―"
"You can, and you will," Matteo growled out.
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