The morning sun bathed the city streets in gold, but to Elena and Goldie, it felt like a race against time. They had woken before dawn, their tiny rented room an hour outside the city, and yet the buses had been late, the traffic endless. By the time they stumbled breathless through the glass doors of Marino Enterprises, the clock was already ticking past nine.
The marble lobby gleamed. Men and women in perfect suits clicked past them in polished shoes, their eyes sharp, their steps swift. Elena felt small in her worn dress, her hair tied back with the red ribbon she had made with Goldie days before.
The manager spotted them instantly. His sharp eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening like a man eager for prey. He strode across the lobby, his shoes echoing against the marble.
"You," he barked, pointing at them. "Late! Your first day, and you stroll in as if this is some village farm? Do you think this is acceptable?"
Elena's cheeks burned. Goldie tried to speak, but the man cut her off with a raised hand.
"I warned you," he snapped. "This place has no use for incompetence. Out! Before you waste more of my time."
Elena's stomach twisted. All the effort, all the hope—they were about to lose it before they even began. She opened her mouth, desperate to explain. "Sir, please—"
But before she could finish, the lobby fell silent.
The sound of footsteps echoed from the far corridor, steady, commanding. The kind of footsteps that made people straighten their spines without thinking.
Every head turned.
Vincenzo Marino entered the room.
Gone was the mask of the countryside nights. In its place was the elegance of a man disguised as a businessman—charcoal suit, silk tie, watch that glinted in the light. Yet even without the mask, his presence carried the same power. It was in the way the air seemed to shift around him, the way silence followed him like a shadow.
The employees bowed their heads slightly. Some murmured, "Good morning, Signore Marino." The manager practically bent in half.
"Good morning, sir," the manager said smoothly, gesturing toward Elena and Goldie. "These two… are the problem. Late on their very first day. I was just sending them away."
Vincenzo's dark eyes slid toward the girls.
Elena's chest tightened under his gaze. She forced herself not to look away, though her knees trembled. For a moment, the world seemed to shrink until it was only him and her, the rest of the lobby fading into blur.
Goldie nudged her gently, as if to say, speak.
Elena swallowed hard, her voice soft but steady. "We live in the countryside, sir. It's far. We left early, but the buses were late. We tried our best."
Her words hung in the air. The manager sneered, waiting for the CEO's approval to cast them out.
But Vincenzo didn't look at the manager. His gaze stayed fixed on Elena, unreadable. Then, to everyone's shock, his lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
"Then the fault is not theirs," he said calmly.
The lobby gasped. Employees exchanged stunned glances. The manager's face drained of color.
Vincenzo stepped closer, his polished shoes clicking against the marble. "You live in the countryside?" he asked, his voice softer now.
"Yes, sir," Elena said quietly.
He studied her for a long moment. Then, with a decision that would ripple through the building like a storm, he said:
"Once your shift is finished today, you will be given an apartment in the city. Both of you. No more excuses about distance."
The words crashed through the silence like thunder.
The manager blinked, stunned. "S-sir, surely that is unnecessary. Company housing is—"
Vincenzo cut him off with a single glance. The manager's voice withered.
Elena's lips parted in shock. Goldie's eyes went wide as saucers. They had come expecting rejection, punishment, perhaps humiliation. Instead, the most powerful man in the building had just handed them something they had never dared dream of: a home in the city.
The employees whispered among themselves, disbelief spreading like wildfire. Vincenzo Marino was known for being ruthless, untouchable, merciless in business. Kindness was not his reputation.
Yet here he was, bending the rules for two country girls.
Vincenzo turned away without further explanation, his stride confident as he disappeared into the private elevator. His men followed, leaving the lobby in stunned silence.
The manager stood rigid, his jaw tight, humiliation flashing in his eyes. He turned to Elena and Goldie, his tone icy. "You heard the boss. Do your work. Don't give me another reason to regret this."
Goldie's grin returned the moment he turned his back. She grabbed Elena's arm, shaking it in excitement. "Elena! Did you hear that? An apartment! In the city! Do you know what this means?"
Elena nodded slowly, though her mind was a whirlwind. Why had he done it? Why them?
She could still feel the weight of his eyes on her, the way his voice softened only when speaking to her.
Goldie whispered eagerly, "He likes you."
Elena's heart raced. She shook her head quickly. "No… no, he doesn't even know me."
But even as she said it, doubt stirred in her chest. Because when Vincenzo Marino had looked at her, it hadn't felt like the gaze of a stranger. It had felt like recognition.
As the day unfolded, Elena worked quietly, keeping her head down, polishing tables, carrying files, assisting wherever the staff directed her. Yet no matter how hard she tried to focus, her thoughts returned again and again to the man in the glass tower above.
The man who had spared her family in the countryside.
The man who had looked at her without a mask.
The man who had just changed her life with a single command.
Vincenzo Marino.
And though she didn't know the truth yet, Elena Rossi had already stepped deeper into his world than she could ever escape.