“Yes, did you start dating her before or after she joined the company?”
“She has been working for us for nearly 10 years, so it was well after she started with the company.”
“I’m assuming the hotel doesn’t have a policy forbidding co-workers to date each other?”
He looked directly at me, his eyes holding mine. “No, we don’t.”
I was really uneasy with the way that I found out this information about Sophia and, at first, I thought he should have told me from the beginning that I would be working with his ex-girlfriend. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this wealthy billionaire did not owe me anything. I didn’t want to make a huge issue out of it, especially because I felt like I had nearly crossed the line with my questions so I decided to just drop it.
“We’re starting to descend so you should put your things away Elena.”
As I powered down my laptop I started to feel giddy about seeing São Paulo for the first time but the thought of having to work with Sebastian’s ex-girlfriend was leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I was sure she was going to be pissed that I was the person she had to work with, given the way daggers flew from her eyes when she saw me the night of the gala. The wheels of the plane touched the ground and I couldn’t wait to get the initial meeting with her over with.
Chapter Eight – São Paulo Part 2
As we rode in the car to the hotel, I noticed that São Paulo was not what I expected at all. I thought I would see a vibrant, thriving city but instead I was met with gray buildings in all shapes and sizes, high density living, horrendous traffic, iron gates and electric fences surrounded even the most modest homes. I knew that crime was prevalent in São Paulo but once I was there, I could see that the people were truly concerned about it. Even the people I saw walking on the street were much more conservative than I thought they would be, wearing modest clothes and little to no jewelry. As the biggest and most cosmopolitan city in Brazil, it just was not what I expected. I had to admit I was a little bit disappointed and it must have been obvious because Sebastian asked me if something was wrong.
I looked at him and decided to tell him the truth. “I guess I had this pre-conceived idea of what São Paulo would be like and it is very different.”
He cracked a small smile and a knowing look fell over his face. “Oh, you’re not the first person to say that. Trust me, São Paulo is a beautiful city and you will have a chance to see that later today.” He waved his hand around at the buildings. “This is only one part of São Paulo, I will show you many other sides and you will not be disappointed.”
His words made me feel a bit better so I sat back and relaxed as I took in all of the scenery on our drive to the hotel. We rode in silence as Sebastian checked email and I checked out the city. When we arrived at the hotel two men immediately surrounded us and Sebastian told me they were his bodyguards.
“They will be with us the entire time we are here so don’t be alarmed if you notice them every day. Having bodyguards is one of the things that I have learned to live with, you’ll get used to it.”
“Why do you need them? Is it that dangerous here?” I was starting to feel nervous about being in a foreign country.
“No, they are not with me because I am in São Paulo, they are with me everywhere I go. There have been a couple of kidnapping attempts on my family in the past so we all have bodyguards. You might not always see them, but they are always there. I see that look of fear on your face but trust me Elena, you’re not in any danger. You will always be safe when you are with me.”
The bodyguard thing freaked me out a little bit because it never occurred to me that they would be necessary, and why would it? I didn’t live in a world where I was so rich that I had to have constant protection. But Sebastian’s words telling me I would be safe put me at ease. I was beginning to feel extremely comfortable and natural around him and it was a good feeling.
I was blown away by how beautiful the hotel was and I felt like I was in a completely different city than the one I had just driven through. The hotel was a five star hotel and sat behind what had to be gates that were at least 20 feet tall, and there were two security guards standing by the doors. Once we entered the lobby I was blown away by how elegant it was. It was extremely ornate but not in a gaudy way, and the signature crystal vases filled with beautiful fresh flowers were on display everywhere.
The concierge staff nearly broke their necks to get to Sebastian and me to make sure that we had everything we needed. I had never been fussed over like that in my life, but I had to admit that I kind of liked feeling special. We were escorted to our rooms and I just assumed that I would be far away from Sebastian and he would have a gorgeous penthouse suite or something since he was the owner of the hotel. When we didn’t go up on separate elevators I just thought that they were making sure the boss was taken care of first, so when we got to his door on the top floor I casually leaned against the wall fully expecting to be asked to wait outside while they made sure Sebastian was settled.
Sebastian waited for me to enter the room first and I was totally confused. Does he want me to see his room or something?
“What do you think?”
What did I think? The room was enormous and stunning and I wished that I was going to be staying in a room like that. The super rich really did have a chance to live like no one else in the world. We walked around the room and the concierge pointed out all of the amenities and little extras and I was hoping I would be shown to my room soon because I was exhausted.
“Is everything to your liking miss?” The concierge had a friendly smile on his face but I was baffled by his question. I stood there looking like what I had to assume was a complete idiot because my brain did not want to allow words to come to my mouth to answer him.
“Elena? Is something wrong? Do you not like the room?”
I turned toward Sebastian’s concerned voice and I glanced at the concierge who looked extremely worried and all I could think was “why do they care what I think about the room”? Say something Elena!
“Your room is beautiful, Sebastian. I’m assuming my room is on one of the lower floors?”
He casually put his hands in his pants pockets and smiled at me, amusement written all over his face.