large and specially made for the formal dining room. It had to be large with her family.
Antonia tried not to jump when Brett put his hand on her thigh, but apparently something on her face indicated a change. Because Carlo looked at her strangely and said, “Are you feeling ok? You look a little flushed.”
Sal looked over at her, then at Brett, then looked away and passed the potatoes to Michael, ignoring his baby sister’s welfare for the first time in his life.
“I’m fine,” she said to Carlo. Antonia didn’t know what to do. She tried removing his hand as inconspicuously as possible, but he just put it back again. Finally, in an attempt to not draw attention to the two of them, she just left it there. Although, by the middle of dinner, her leg was sore from keeping it in the same position. She was too afraid that if she moved, even slightly, his hand would “accidentally” slip higher along her thigh.
All through dinner, the men chatted about what was happening in the company and what might become a priority on someone’s schedule. Thomas, who was the strong, silent type and probably the most serious of all her brothers, was in charge of auditing the various offices around the world and had an idea to change his auditing tactics. He also needed a new staff member as one of his team had resigned after getting married. Thomas traveled nine months out of the year and it would be too hard on a new marriage to be gone that much.
Michael had some ideas on how to branch into new areas of the IT industry and create more niche marketing that would eventually expand their presence. Gus, who managed all the buildings and physical assets of ATI and managed to keep everyone’s stress levels down by revealing the ridiculous in many situations, stepped up and explained that there were several buildings that would put Michael closer to his target clients if he wanted to go that route.
Carlo, a financial wizard, who was in charge of investments and growth for ATI, offered up some ideas he’d wanted everyone to toss around about moving into the retail industry. Sal was very interested but wanted Carlo to get more information on the idea.
All six men debated the various issues. Antonia was always fascinated by this dynamic group of men. She didn’t examine her feelings but found that she was proud when Brett contributed to the various conversations and all of her brothers listened carefully to his opinion.
At the end of the meal, everyone picked up their plates and carried the dishes into the kitchen. Antonia thought it was interesting how a group of chauvinistic men could step up unquestionably to clear the table and put the dishes into the dishwasher without hesitation, but wouldn’t let their baby sister become involved in the company business. She wiped the counters, dried pots and pans, put them in their appropriate places, then looked around to see if anything else needed to be done. She was alone now, but that had only been for the last five minutes. The men had helped out with most of the cleanup and she didn’t mind doing the last bit herself.
She knew she needed to get home. Calling a cab company took only a moment, but she stood there for a long time, knowing that it would cause problems, taking a cab home. She debated telling anyone, knowing that someone would step in and offer to drive her home.
She waited in the hallway for her cab to come and pick her up. She wished the house wasn’t so far away from everything. It was out in a forested area of Falls Church that wasn’t convenient to anything but D.C. She imagined that was why her parents chose the location, but it didn’t make catching a cab very easy.
Finally, she heard it moving down the driveway. Sticking her head into the living room, she waved goodbye. “I’m heading home. I’ll see you next Sunday.” She didn’t even look at Brett as she quickly ducked out of the room.
She thought she’d made a clean break, but inside, five pairs of
Antonia tried not to jump when Brett put his hand on her thigh, but apparently something on her face indicated a change. Because Carlo looked at her strangely and said, “Are you feeling ok? You look a little flushed.”
Sal looked over at her, then at Brett, then looked away and passed the potatoes to Michael, ignoring his baby sister’s welfare for the first time in his life.
“I’m fine,” she said to Carlo. Antonia didn’t know what to do. She tried removing his hand as inconspicuously as possible, but he just put it back again. Finally, in an attempt to not draw attention to the two of them, she just left it there. Although, by the middle of dinner, her leg was sore from keeping it in the same position. She was too afraid that if she moved, even slightly, his hand would “accidentally” slip higher along her thigh.
All through dinner, the men chatted about what was happening in the company and what might become a priority on someone’s schedule. Thomas, who was the strong, silent type and probably the most serious of all her brothers, was in charge of auditing the various offices around the world and had an idea to change his auditing tactics. He also needed a new staff member as one of his team had resigned after getting married. Thomas traveled nine months out of the year and it would be too hard on a new marriage to be gone that much.
Michael had some ideas on how to branch into new areas of the IT industry and create more niche marketing that would eventually expand their presence. Gus, who managed all the buildings and physical assets of ATI and managed to keep everyone’s stress levels down by revealing the ridiculous in many situations, stepped up and explained that there were several buildings that would put Michael closer to his target clients if he wanted to go that route.
Carlo, a financial wizard, who was in charge of investments and growth for ATI, offered up some ideas he’d wanted everyone to toss around about moving into the retail industry. Sal was very interested but wanted Carlo to get more information on the idea.
All six men debated the various issues. Antonia was always fascinated by this dynamic group of men. She didn’t examine her feelings but found that she was proud when Brett contributed to the various conversations and all of her brothers listened carefully to his opinion.
At the end of the meal, everyone picked up their plates and carried the dishes into the kitchen. Antonia thought it was interesting how a group of chauvinistic men could step up unquestionably to clear the table and put the dishes into the dishwasher without hesitation, but wouldn’t let their baby sister become involved in the company business. She wiped the counters, dried pots and pans, put them in their appropriate places, then looked around to see if anything else needed to be done. She was alone now, but that had only been for the last five minutes. The men had helped out with most of the cleanup and she didn’t mind doing the last bit herself.
She knew she needed to get home. Calling a cab company took only a moment, but she stood there for a long time, knowing that it would cause problems, taking a cab home. She debated telling anyone, knowing that someone would step in and offer to drive her home.
She waited in the hallway for her cab to come and pick her up. She wished the house wasn’t so far away from everything. It was out in a forested area of Falls Church that wasn’t convenient to anything but D.C. She imagined that was why her parents chose the location, but it didn’t make catching a cab very easy.
Finally, she heard it moving down the driveway. Sticking her head into the living room, she waved goodbye. “I’m heading home. I’ll see you next Sunday.” She didn’t even look at Brett as she quickly ducked out of the room.
She thought she’d made a clean break, but inside, five pairs of
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