Hidden Heart by Camelia Miron Skiba Read Free Book Online

say something and needed her
to reply back? Was she supposed to stand up and continue his
toast?
    He came to her rescue and
said, “What I want to let everyone know is that I’ve decided to
step down from my position as Director of the Titan Project Development office here
in Bucharest and I’d like to introduce to you the new
Director…Anastassia Cosma, or as many of you know her, Tessa
Cosma.”
    The room exploded in
applause and cheers. Victor let the cheering go for a couple more
minutes then made a sign and soon the room fell quiet
again.
    “ Nine months from now I
will send you all greeting cards from the French Riviera, a cigar
in one hand and a brandy in the other, but most important I
will not think of
any business, any contract, or even of you.”
    Laughter from all tables
interrupted his speech, but he again demanded attention and
continued, “And you know why? It’s because I know that the company
will be in the best hands I could possibly trust, in the right
place and with the right commander. For those of you who know
Tessa, you know that she is a beautiful woman, with a brilliant
mind and big heart, but a tigress when it comes to business. She’d
show her claws in a split second. Fear her and don’t try playing
games; her sweet smile is just a mask.”
    People laughed again, some
clapped and someone shouted, “You better believe it, she is
ferocious!” which prolonged the laughter in the room.
    “ Now that I said what I had
to say, please join me in congratulating the new Director of our
company!”
    Victor put the microphone
down and reached to help Tessa stand. He shook her hand, then
hugged her for a few seconds and stepped aside, for others to come
around and congratulate her.
    Tessa felt like a truck had
hit her. She had no idea Victor wanted to retire so soon, nor that
she would replace him. Her mind swirled and struggled to respond to
all the questions people asked her, shake their hands and accept
their congratulations. It felt as she had just gone through an out
of body experience.
    “ What an incredible
surprise, dear,” Daniel said when he finally caught her in his
arms. He took her hand and walked to the dance floor and moved with
her in the slow rhythm of the music.
    “ Tell me about it; I feel
like I’m dreaming and soon I’ll wake up. I mean, I had no idea he
wanted me to replace him… can you imagine?” Tessa leaned against
Daniel’s strong body—she still shook from the big news Victor just
shared minutes ago.
    “ You’re on top of the world
and I’m so proud of you,” Daniel whispered in her ear. “You’re
incredible and you deserve it.”
    “ Serious?”
    She looked into his eyes
trying to read his thoughts. There were many nights they argued
about her extended work hours, her constant traveling out of the
country. He’d complained about it so many times; hard to believe
that after all these years and so many arguments, Daniel finally
accepted and agreed to share her with her work.
    “ You know this means I’ll
be away from home even more, longer trips, longer work hours… can
we survive this change?”
    He twirled her twice
releasing her from his arms, then brought her back and said, “Nice
presents would help me forget about my lonely nights.” He winked at
her and laughed while the band switched to an up-tempo rhythm and
more couples joined them on the dance floor.
    “ You know, I feel I am in
the best place of my life, ever. I have an amazing job, I have you,
I have friends and family around me that love me and I love them
back; I could explode with this incredible feeling of
ha—“
    “ Tessa, here you are! Come,
we must hurry!” Eva grabbed her arm while Daniel held onto her
other arm.
    “ Hey, I’m dancing, can you
just wait until the dance is over?”
    Tessa tried to free her
wrist, but Eva had a strong grip on it and didn’t let go. She
looked over her shoulder at Daniel, who let go and backed off. She
had no choice but follow Eva out of the