They reached the end of the bar, on its left side.Max sat down and ordered a whiskey, while B.J. stood close behind him, fully alert.The girl turned to leave, giving a furtive glance at the mass of bodyguards, before disappearing completely.Max almost burst out laughing under his breath. B.J. looked like a dry, emotionless rock, yet he was a guy, and the CEO understood perfectly that underneath all those clothes and professional attitudes, there existed the powerful thoughts of a man. He believed that those powers should always be guarded against.The music was not too loud and Max was grateful for that. He took advantage of that outing so he wouldn't have to think too much about the loneliness of his home or everything that had happened in his office. He was looking for a couple of drinks there to shake off his problems a bit.A slight movement to his right made him turn his head.B.J. greeted a man with a bushy beard, fluffy brown hair, tall, rather handsome, wearing a blue jean,
Carla was now facing a truth that she didn't want to be tied to, but in her fierce determination to defend herself and not accept it, she doubted everything, from the people around her, from herself.Born in the land of her late father and knowing the power that surrounded him, at least in part, she sensed that those laws would be like a thick and heavy blanket, impossible to remove, toxic, suffocating, and shocking. Her foreboding had a whispering voice telling her right in the ear: "Get ready, because you have no way out".«Exit», she thought, fighting that voice during the travel home.Carla imagined what she would do when arrived, the steps to take, the drawers would open and perhaps leave half-closed in the rush her head was lucubrating to have under an escape plan.She got off the bus at the usual stop, near the popular market used to frequent, the same one she went to not so long ago, a while ago, to buy kitchen utensils, and various ingredients from that gentleman who was her
Carla felt something in her chest, a great pressure that seemed to cover her stomach and explode right there, disconcerting."Carla!" He ran and covered her with the umbrella. "What are you doing?""No. What are you doing here?!" With that question, she ran ahead of him towards her house.He gritted his teeth, but couldn't stand to argue in the rain, which, despite the umbrella, was partially wetting him. He ran after her and they met on the roofed porch as she shook off the excess water to locate the front door, keys inside her handbag."Gimme, I'll help you...""No," she cut him off, emphasizing the movement of her hands on the purse he pretended to grab. "That's it," she announced when the door listened to her after using the key.They went into the house.She turned on the light and in front of Max's eyes, an entire wooden house unfolded. It smelled of flowers, flour, and something like sugar. Suddenly cookies bring back memories of times in his life that he had not recalled."Wh
Walk through the house, despair. All-hazards calls, unanswered calls. Carla wrote an email to her Aunt Lin, her mother's sister, to help her locate an attorney to advise her and serve as a companion in the midst of all the madness.Her distress prompted to urgently settle down in front of her computer. She needed to get in touch with her aunt as soon as possible.She was in a lot of trouble. For Carla, the choking inside her confirmed her theory: things would get worse if she didn't do something about it.Wearing her home clothes, her straight, black, long hair tied up in a high bun, this being a December night, barely illuminated by the dim light from the kitchen, she turned on her laptop, opened the email application and started typing, trying to placate the strong feeling of injustice that was sweeping over her at that hour.To: lingreat100@email.cityFrom: carladavis1986@email.city"Auntie Lin, I need urgent help! And I hope you read this email in time. I need a lawyer, maybe you
Christmas Eve arrived. It was a few hours before the beginning of the celebration.The most disconcerting thing for Carla, in all her life, was not having recognized an evildoer, an obstacle of her boss Maximiliano Bastidas, some months ago. Or collaborating with the city's justice system, or with the authorities, to have one of the most wanted men in the whole country imprisoned. Much less that those events that happened not so long ago made her and Max interact better, get to know each other a little more, just a little, and come to feel something, a kind of attraction that could be summed up physically.Nor was it finding out that her father had thought of her at a certain point in her life and left her an inheritance she did not want, much less signing a non-disclosure agreement and a prenuptial document, something she had never thought of doing, at least not under those circumstances and much less without a lawyer to back her up. What was truly disconcerting was receiving at home
"Can you explain to me how you're getting married? Have you gone crazy?!" Seda Bastidas arrived at Maximiliano's house as if she were the devil in the mood to argue that morning."Good morning, Mother," the son greeted, still eating his breakfast at the main table, while glancing at the newspaper, wearing blue pajama overalls and a white cotton flannel.His hair was wet because of the shower after exercising early in the morning."Please join me." He pointed to one of the chairs that were usually empty."Answer me, Maximiliano!"He raised his eyebrows and looked at her."Who told you?""Lenis Evans."Maximiliano sighed."I completely forgot that you two are friends.""Of course, we are friends, very close indeed. And as a good friend of mine, she asked me if I bought the dress for your wedding."Without remedy, Seda, a very well-preserved elderly woman, with long and abundant red hair, wearing long pants and armhole sleeves with bronze and white stripes, low and cork shoes, plus a pai
The task was done for Maximiliano. The prenuptial contract was in front of him, George had sent it to him.The plans of the English property too there, on the other side, he had been looking at them since the morning, after the discussion with Carla in the living room of his house. Never forget the reason that business strategy exists and is worth it.He leaned his body against his chair and sighed, felt pissed off with himself. Never treated a woman the way he had treated Carla that morning. Her face seething, desperate to carve out trenches where could protect herself, where she could sit and understand that could demand her rights, demonstrating, with her annoyance, that don't and wouldn't agree with any of the decisions he made and would make from now on. The situation, the subtle mistrust, the future wedding, having her at home, the December pressure, getting married, and even Carla's very existence were hitting his judgment. Also, he was aware that he liked her. If she hadn't s
Maximiliano stopped the Mercedes at the entrance of a building full of journalists and onlookers, stepping onto a red carpet that seemed unnecessary to the CEO himself.They were celebrating Christmas, not an anniversary or the most spectacular investment, even so, he was very happy that his press team and the organization of the Protocol department were doing well their job."Maximiliano!" shouted the cameramen. "Here, Max! Here!"With an arrogant smile, he looked at one camera and another and greeted some people who were also arriving, workers of the consortium, and businessmen, all of them joining the Christmas cheer.Lenis smiled, standing on the other side of the double doors."George is the luckiest man in the world. You look beautiful, as always, but today more," he complimented the woman, who was dressed in gold from head to toe."Here." She handed him a Christmas hat."You're kidding."She smiled more openly and denied it."Not at all."Max smiled back, flashing his sexy smil