Start

Alicia looked at her watch and walked to the bus stop. After waiting a while for the bus to arrive, she got on, went straight to her mother-in-law's house and, when she arrived, knocked on the door. Her mother-in-law opened it smiling at her when she saw it was her.

—Daughter! Come in.

—Mom, how are you?

Alicia hugged Celeste effusively.

—Okay, daughter, but you don't look well, you look a little pale. Aren't you sleeping well? Are you eating, right, daughter?

—Yes, mom, I'm sleeping and I'm eating, don't worry.

At that moment, tears sprang from her eyes, she couldn't hold them back, she hated to continue crying, but she couldn't stop. The pain always overwhelmed her will.

—Daughter, don't cry, you break my heart. That son of mine will see that she comes now. How is it possible that I make those beautiful eyes cry? I can't allow it. I'm going to talk to him; he's going to have to explain to me what's going on.

—No, mom, don't worry, don't tell him anything, he made his decision. I'm no one to him anymore and that's okay, I understand, I just can't stop crying yet.

—It's normal, you love him... Daughter, I want you to know that, whatever happens, you'll always be like a daughter to me, you'll always count on me; I just want to see you happy. I promised your parents that I would take care of you while they weren't here and that was 8 years ago.

—I know, mom, I appreciate it, you don't know how much.

Alicia's parents had died 8 years ago in an accident. Alicia's mother loved her madly and when she went on a trip she asked Celeste to take care of her beloved daughter until her return, but that never happened. Celeste kept that promise; she also began to love that girl, since she saw her noble soul.

Alicia wiped away her tears.

—Mom, what about April?

—She's taking a nap.

—OK. Mom, can I come see Dad?

—Yes, of course, honey, let's go.

They entered the room where a nurse was sitting next to the bed where that man was resting. The nurse got up from her seat and left with Celeste, leaving Alicia alone. Alicia took that man's hand, put it on her cheek and closed her eyes.

—Dad, I love you.

Alicia loved Carlos as if he were her father, since, like Celeste, he always treated her like a daughter.

—What are you doing here?

They asked coldly.

—Gabriel? He's coming to see Dad and bring clothes for April, who will stay with Mom until Sunday.

—Ah, okay, how good that I see you to tell April about the divorce now.

—But you said tomorrow.

—Yes, I didn't want to see you until tomorrow, but since you're here, it's better to do it now; I want to finish this.

—Okay.

Alicia answered, about to cry, but she wouldn't give her the pleasure.

—April woke up, daughter.

Celeste came in, saying.

—Mom, tell her to go into the living room; Alicia and I will talk to her.

Gabriel said. Alicia just sighed, shook her head before the tears came; she had to be strong for her daughter.

April came into the living room.

—Daughter, we have to talk to you about a somewhat delicate subject, but important for you to know.

—About what, daddy?

April asked, surprised.

—Your mom and I will no longer be together, we will stop being a couple; sometimes couples stop feeling love. You do understand, right, daughter?

—Mmm, yes, daddy.

She answered a little sadly; Alicia hadn't said a single word until that moment, she was struggling not to cry.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

Alicia took a deep breath.

"Yes, daughter, don't worry, my love, despite this we will always be together. Your dad will always be by your side and so will I; that will never change."

"It's okay, daddies, I understand."

April hugged them both, and Alicia's heart couldn't take it anymore.

"Mommy, can I go watch videos in the room?"

"Yes, my love."

Alicia was surprised by how April had taken it; it gave her peace of mind that her daughter wasn't suffering like she was.

"Well, she didn't take it so badly, I feel calmer."

Alicia said to Gabriel.

"Well, that's it, the matter is over."

Gabriel said, turning around to leave.

"Wait."

Alicia said, bringing her hand closer to his, but she moved it away in fear before touching him; Gabriel turned around.

—Alicia, I already told you no. Why don't you understand? Why do you keep insisting?

—Son, don't be rude to Alicia.

Celeste reprimanded Gabriel.

—Don't worry, mom, it's nothing, that's not what I want to talk about, it's already clear to me, what happens is that I found a job and I start tomorrow and, well...

—Will you start working? You? You don't know how to do anything.

He started laughing.

—Ok, yes, just tell me your schedule and we'll settle down with the girl. Goodbye.

Gabriel kissed his mother and left the house. Alicia stood there unable to finish speaking.

—Oh! You'll start working, daughter, how nice, that will help you clear your mind and distract yourself. Don't worry about the girl, you know we'll get along.

—Yes, mom, thank you.

—And tell me, my daughter. Where will you work?

—It's a company called "Caballeros Tours."

—That's it! Yes, I know it, run by Rodrigo Caballero; your father made agreements with them a few years ago, but I haven't heard anything about that company for a long time. Dad is sick and I'm exclusively in charge of that.

—Yes, the old boss passed away and his son took the position.

—Yes, I remember that he had two children, who of them was left in charge?

— Axel Caballero.

—Ah, well, I hope he treats my beloved daughter well.

Alicia thought that if only she knew that her first meeting wasn't so good and that she didn't have a good impression of him.

—Yes, mom, I hope so.

Alicia said goodbye to Abril, giving her lots of kisses, and went home, took a shower, and went to sleep...

It was 6:00 in the morning; when she got up again, she had a cup of coffee, took a shower, and changed. This time, she chose a white dress that reached her knees and silver shoes, also with a little heel. She didn't wear high heels, took her keys, and went to the office. When she arrived, she found the secretary from the day before.

— Hello, good morning, I'm Alicia Torres.

— Nice to meet you, my name is Esmeralda Smith. I'm the secretary of the human resources area. This will be your desk; here is your phone where the gentleman will speak to you. Gentleman, if you need anything, let me know; see you later.

Esmeralda said goodbye to Alicia.

Alicia was just sitting down at her desk when the phone rang.

—Miss, can you come into my office?

Said that manly voice.

—Yes, sir.

Alice answered; she was very embarrassed about what happened the day before, so she was going to apologize.

Alicia entered the office and there was that man again, this time sitting writing on some documents. He really was very attractive, it was hard not to notice.

—Sir, good morning.

She greeted Alice politely, but that man did not respond. Alice was standing and, after a while, she heard that voice again.

—Sit down.

Alice approached the seat in front of that desk.

—What, were you not taught to respond?

Alice whispered as she sat down.

Axel looked up.

—What did you say? I didn't hear you.

He had actually heard her, but he knew that, if he said that to her, she would not have the courage to say what she had said again.

—Weren't you taught to respond to a greeting? That's rude.

Axel had been wrong, she did keep her word, he just smiled.

—Good morning... Miss Torres, right?

—That's right, Torres.

—Well, Miss Torres, let me explain. This company is one of the largest in terms of travel, whether for business or pleasure. With Latin origins, my parents founded it with great pride. Now I'm looking to expand it further and I need someone who meets my demands. So what you'll do in this job, you'll practically keep my agenda, make appointments with some partners and organize my trips. You'll take notes in my work meetings and whatever comes up. Is that clear, miss?

—Yes, sir.

Alicia answered with a smile.

Axel sighed. He was curious how long it would take her to bother him, since the longest it had taken her to try to want something with him had been only 2 days.

It had been two weeks with that situation; Before that, he kept the secretary that his father had left, but unfortunately for him, he had to retire and that's when his litany began.

—Well, miss, you can go back to your desk. I need you to make some calls and pass them to my phone. The numbers are on your desk, that's all.

Alicia stood up.

—Yes, sir, I'll get on with it now, don't worry.

Alicia turned around; Axel went back to his documents. When he heard a voice calling him.

—Sir?

Alicia said without even turning around.

Axel looked up. She turned around with a smile and her cheeks were red; she looked pretty. Of all the women he had met, she was different, Lucia, adorable with those blushing cheeks.

—Tell me.

—I want to apologize for yesterday, it wasn't my day.

—Okay, don't worry, but don't talk to me like that again or I'll fire you.

—Thank you.

She turned around and left the office.

Axel stared at the door; indeed, she was the strangest secretary he had ever had, she was very particular, she was not like the others. She dressed simply, she was not flashy, she was short; even the others had enviable curves, but not her, but the others lacked character, personality, they were just average. Besides, he had never seen that smile, it was never very warm and pretty, and Axel stopped thinking about it.

"Why do I give so much importance to my simple secretary?"

Axel thought.

All morning, Axel answered calls; he was already somewhat tired, it was 11:00 and it was time for lunch.

—Miss Torres, can you go to lunch?

—Yes, sir, thank you.

Alicia got up from her desk grabbing her bag. When she was going down, Luis was going up.

—Luis?

—Alicia, I'm coming for my coffee that you owe me from yesterday.

—Okay, let's go.

He began to laugh.

Luis saw the most beautiful smile he had ever seen; it was the same one he remembered from those times when they were students and she was the prettiest girl his eyes had seen since he saw her. He saw in her that light and that shyness.

—Is something wrong, Luis?

Alicia asked.

—No, nothing, let's go here, there's a café in front. We can go to lunch there; almost everyone in the company They have breakfast.

—Ok, let's go.

Alicia and Luis sat near a window and ordered juice and eggs to order.

After finishing lunch, they returned to the office, said goodbye on the first floor and she went up the stairs. When she got to her desk, she saw that the mail had arrived; they were some documents that needed the boss's signature. Alicia took the documents, knocked on the office door and was let in.

—Sir, I have some documents that you must sign; they are for today.

—Let me see them.

Axel took them and began to read; Alicia turned around to leave.

—I waited, I haven't told you to leave, have I?

—No, sir, excuse me.

Alicia thought that her boss was a little irritable. Axel signed the papers and handed them back to Alicia.

—By the way, miss, we haven't talked about the schedules of this company. Check-in is at 8:00 in the morning, check-out at 6:00 in the afternoon, lunch time at 11:00 in the morning, lunch time at 2:00 in the afternoon. You must let me know if you are going to have lunch and dinner; on Saturdays check-out is at 4:00 and Sunday is a day off.

—Ok, sir. Um...

Alice hesitated a little.

—Is there a problem?

Axel asked.

—Sir, I wanted to ask you for consideration. Could I come 10 minutes after check-in time? Only on some days and I promise to make up for it with the check-out time.

—What, don't you have a watch to wake up early to come to work? And why only on some days?

—Yes, I have a watch, yes, I can get up early to work.

Alice answered a little annoyed.

— The thing is that my daughter's school start time is from 7:30 to 8:00.

— So, do you have a daughter?

— Yes, sir.

— Well, why only a few days? Doesn't your daughter go to school every day?

— Yes, she goes to school every day, but my expo... I mean, my ex-husband will have her for a few days and me for a few days.

— Okay. But he already said that he will make up for it by leaving.

— Yes, sir, thank you very much.

Alicia left the office. The afternoon passed very quietly. At 6:00 in the evening, Alicia knocked on her boss's office; he gave her the pass.

— Sir, I'm leaving, do you need anything else?

— No, miss, you can go, thank you.

— Have a good night, sir, see you tomorrow.

Axel sighed. He thought he could finally work without having a woman trying to be with him; so far everything looked good.

Alicia left the office, grabbed her bag and went down the stairs, said goodbye to Luis with a smile, left, got home, took a shower, picked up the phone and talked a little with her mother-in-law and her daughter, who was very happy to be with her mother Celeste. Alicia told her daughter that she loved her, that she should behave, and they said goodbye with an “I love you.” She lay down on the bed, heard the cell phone ring again, realizing that it was Gabriel. She was too tired to bear it, let the phone ring and just fell asleep. She was finally able to sleep that night after days of being alone in her room.