"Aunt Lin, you're one of the strongest women I've ever met," Carla whispered, arranging the flowers and running her hands over the cross that already dried, built the day before by the workers at the site. "I know you and Mom will be fine. You will be now."Max clenched his jaw and lowered his face as he watched her kiss the lady's name on the headstone."I love you so much, Auntie. You know that, don't you?" She stood up after a couple of seconds, wiping away her tears, shed automatically and lightly, and turned to join the gentlemen waiting for her. "Let's go," she announced, looking at her husband's face, who nodded and let her lead the way to the vehicles.B.J. stood at attention, getting into the van. The drivers did their job as well. Peter would join the guards, but Carla stopped him."Will you come with us? Please? Unless you have something to do."Peter looked at Max, who subtly shrugged his shoulders. The agent nodded and joined them in the Bentley."Do you want to go somewh
The young man smiled with the certainty on his face of having understood what Carla wanted him to do: serve portions on each plate but accompanied by a sweet and sour asparagus sauce that was highly requested by the diners to highlight the not-so-high amount of food for everyone.As for the drinks, Maximiliano let Peter choose. Carla then realized at that moment that the agent had expertise in food pairing.Peter didn't look at the drinks menu, he just asked if they had Diplomático rum and a Chilean wine in their pantry. Carla raised her eyebrows at the choice. Peter was feisty, she thought; although that detail pleased her. They had just come from a wake and the blond didn't slow his thinking about using hard liquor for lunch on a dreary day.Max whispered, "You'll see." The food arrived along with everything else and after opening the bottle of wine and letting it air out a bit, Embert asked the waiter to please let the lady do the tasting.Carla stood by as she took her respective s
The Davison & Associates offices weren't longer the same. Maximiliano, knowing firsthand the magnitude and opulence of the offices, was quite surprised when the driver parked in a central area, but in front of a residential building.He got out of the vehicle and helped Carla to do the same, and they both walked towards a wide hallway, built with large bricks that, at that time of the morning, plus the cold, looked wet. Archway and entrance to a small open space, a beautiful garden with well-trimmed bushes and flowers everywhere, where the snow could still be seen on every corner, battling with extinguishing or strengthening the beauty of nature."Are these my father's offices?"Maximiliano looked this way, for the exact spot where to go. He could only see wooden walls and doors on the floor below and many windows on the floor above. He would detail everything better, but the cold wouldn't let him."Certainly, I'm not clear what we are doing here," he said, taking out his cell phone a
Maximiliano's seriousness rivaled Carla's astonishment when he heard the name of one of the two people who were on their way to the meeting.Mrs. Yul entered with a tray and two coffees, along with water for everyone, looking sideways at the woman who shared her last name and still not taking her eyes off the one who had just informed her about an ex-boyfriend of hers.Max decided not to be intimidated by the information. He hadn't seen the guy yet, it was too early to draw any conclusions, but he hated severely not knowing. A previous investigation was supposed to have been made, it was taken for granted the identity of the people who would be present, even their life stories, but since they set foot on that floor he didn't stop being surprised: the place of the offices was different, confusing him, since it was not the same one he knew a few years ago; the last name of the lady who brought him the steaming coffee, the same one who welcomed them and her position in the company, being
"Are you ok?" Maximiliano asked after the meeting was over. Carla did not answer.They walked in the cold. Outside, a sudden rain had fallen, not at all long-lasting, but it made the weather worse. To anyone, it would seem that their hurry had to do with the low temperatures. Maximiliano might have been in a hurry because of that, even if he had great endurance every time he'd go through winters, but Carla had other reasons to move fast: not to run into Brandon, not to give him the chance to talk, because she was still not over the shock of having found out that he worked there and she would practically be his boss now. Or worse, that her husband, by contrast, would be his boss. Deep down, in the conscious part of her brain, it all seemed surreal, absolutely crazy. In her visceral part, annoyance and discomfort danced together starring everything.They crossed the short, wide corridor of damp bricks after passing through the landscaped areas. They were reaching the vehicle, when Brand
The vehicle entered the private garage. They got out, greeted the bellman on duty, got into the elevator, and went up to one of the top floors of the tower.Carla led the way, exiting first and arriving in the same order at the door."I don't know why you're rushing if I have the key." Max pulled out the card and swiped it through the reader, opening the beautiful white wood of the main entrance."You should give me one of those," she said, stepping into the hallway of the rooms. "You've got me like a prisoner!"He exhaled a good puff of air, trying to release the tension in his shoulders. The smell of new, flowers and wood wafted over them. Carla walked straight to her room.Max sighed and closed the door, leaving his over everything: hat, scarf, and gloves on the coat rack to his right and on a small table against the wall. Right there, on that wall, a series of switches served as controls for the light, heating, and curtains. He flipped the last one, causing the large, heavy off-wh
"This is not fair, it can't be," said Carla as the vehicles belonging to Maximiliano Bastidas and his people entered the castle grounds and the museum that now belonged to him.She put on her gloves with discomfort and prepared her jacket to go out to face the mild weather. Maximilian watched her as long as he could without creating further discomfort between them. She seemed annoyed with him but at the same time with herself. In the only times he spoke to her, she ended up hitting herself with something, the card, the gloves... more than angry or nervous, she seemed anxious."What are you talking about?" he asked, ready to get out of the vehicle, which had stopped in front of an old building whose façade showed magnificence but, at the same time, ruin."I'm from here; I was born in this city. I lived half of my life in it, and it's taking me a while to get used to the climate, but you seem to have been in this city since before you were born."Max laughed lightly and put his hand on
"Brandon..." Max replied, shaking his hand. "Where's the rest of the staff?"Brandon sighed, putting his hands in his anorak pockets."They're part of the resignations, Mr. Bastidas." He looked uncomfortable about having to give such information.Carla smiled ungracefully and denied, not surprised by so many irregularities."OK," laughed Max. "Carla, I don't see any point in staying here, let's go...""Why have you been coming here?" she interrupted, the question directed to her ex.Max would not refute such an interruption, wanting to know the answer as well."Why don't we go inside?" the reporter proposed.Carla looked quickly at her husband, they both suspected that something very unusual was going on there. They were breathing a heavy atmosphere, they could feel it. Not only the newlyweds but also the chauffeur, who didn't leave the vehicles, and B.J., standing on the threshold of the entrance without taking his eyes off the outside but protecting his bosses at the same time. Max