Dove
"Mister Pereira's here," I heard one of the designers whisper to answer in an almost fearful voice.
Curiosity got the best of me as I lifted my head in surprise. I was helping a fellow stitcher with the finishings of their jeans when all the designers seemed to scurry away from the window. Bodyguards filled the hallway and since the 'wall' was made out of glass we could see everything.
A small woman walked in front of what I could describe as a shadow more than a man. He brought a darkness to him that was terribly intimidating. His long raven curly hair reached his hips with a strand or two of silver which made his mature face look devastatingly handsome.
He must have been in his early fifties by the hard contours of his face. His eyes were a piercing hazel and when he looked in my direction I nearly dropped the piece of fabric I was holding. He had no smiles when he cast a glance at us. His body towered over all the guards around him and I was sure if he reached up he would touch the ceiling.
His skin was a tanned caramel and I guessed by the name he was Brazilian.
"Whose that?" I whispered to Rodney as a small red haired woman showed him around. When he cast her a smile I swore all of us stopped breathing. He had the type of smile that could stop traffic! I was not easily attracted to men who could be my father but my soul. If he asked me to pull the moon to him I'd pull Jupiter too.
"Benedito Pereira," Rodney almost seemed afraid to say his name. "World's richest man and he's the co-founder and chairman of B&B. His husband owns the majority of the company."
My eyebrows shot up, "his husband?"
He nodded eagerly, "he's gay. I think they have like two sons. I'm not sure they all look so much alike it gets confusing. Apparently he has strong ties with world leaders and he supplies them with military intelligence and their cyber security. He's easily the most powerful man on earth."
I gulped realizing why everyone was so afraid of Mr Pereira. If he wanted a jean to be redone you did it without question. No wonder Stephanie came back so frazzled from upstairs a moment ago. To think I was complaining about this man to Zahi yesterday. If I had known.
At first I didn't notice the lip piercing until it caught light. It was perfectly gold on his bottom lip and matched the one on his nose as well. The tattoos running up his hands to his neck looked like works of art as he spoke to the smaller woman. You could tell he was strict but he also had a strange warmth to him you didn't understand.
Even to me he looked like he had an extremely tough exterior but he also seemed like a gentle giant.
When he looked back into the room his eyes caught mine again and he stared for a few seconds. I almost started trembling when he raised his eyebrows before he said something to the woman again which made them both laugh before they continued on.
It was only when we saw them disappear into the elevator did the whole floor let out a breath and people seemed to remember how to walk again.
"I understand why everyone was so stressed about the collection yesterday," I shivered as I looked back at Rodney who was at his own station.
He shook his head, "that isn't the temp CEO. There's another Pereira, his son. His name is Danilo."
I had heard the name so many times since I entered the company but I could just imagine the face behind it. If Benedito Pereira had sons and he was that good looking I could just imagine how they looked! It made sense why Stephanie fixed her padded bra every time she went upstairs and why her skirts kept getting shorter and shorter.
She must have been deeply hopeful she would get lucky.
"You don't know anything about Danilo," one of Stephanie assistant designer's sashayed to us from one of the stitchers tables. "He's the richest under thirty person in the entire world. Therefore he's practically the richest young and hot man." A few girls giggled which got them an ugly glare. "I don't see why low life's like you are even talking about him."
"Didn't know his name was copyrighted," Rodney rolled his eyes, "and it's a free world we're allowed to talk. Maybe you should butt out."
"Just get this clear," she placed her hands on her boney hips. "You'll never be lucky enough to set eyes on Danilo with your bare eyes for as long as you live. He doesn't interact with nobodies and especially with the likes of you therefore don't even get your hopes up high."
Before we could utter a word she spun on her heels and walked out, probably heading upstairs.
"Sometimes I wish I could just fucking stab her eyes out," Stella, the stitcher, I was helping rolled her dark brown eyes.
"Don't we all," I sighed, "one day we're going to own our own fashion houses and be somebodies you know. Life works in mysterious ways."
"True but people like that always win," Rodney shrugged, "their vindictive and pure evil. Somehow they always get the best opportunities and are just successful."
"Maybe because they sell their souls to the devil," Stella pouted before she brushed her long curly hair behind her ears. "Either way I know Dove will be the first of us to break out. Did you see how he did the jackets? I heard that the big boss upstairs was happy with them."
A smile spread across my lips. "I saw with the bonus I got and thank you for making a mistake, my time here is compensated well."
We all let out a laugh before we continued on with our work.