“Birds of a feather flock together” (I)

The fact that Jazmin descended from a distinguished and wealthy family had been the perfect excuse for her to never worry about doing anything useful in her life. She had graduated from college but had never exercised her profession, was not involved in the family business, and she didn't care either since her father would inherit it enough that it would never be necessary to work.

She was upset and irritated in her room, thinking about her last conversation with Carlos, wanting to be with him … especially, remembering his recent birthday. She was calling him, but he never answered her for what she stopped insisting on.

Deep down, she knew that he didn't care if she congratulated him or not, it was clear that there was no love between them, so she finally accepted the divorce process, assuming that always, in one way or another, she would be present in her ex's life … and of course, would also receive a juicy share in the distribution of assets upon divorce, since there was never a prenuptial agreement between them, except for the house of his parents and the Mon'tblank for being these an inheritance that Carlos received before the marriage.

Several days had passed and Jazmin was still intrigued by that woman: Who the hell was Sara?

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on her door.

“Hi Jaz, can I come in?”

“What do you want Brian!?”

“Quiet! Wow, but what a humor you have! Let me guess … Did you also quarrel with Carlos today?”

“Just say what you want and go, I'm not for your games,” she said pitifully.

“Come here … calm down, what happens? Why are you so upset?” He asked hugging her to comfort her.

“Have you been to Mon’tblank recently?”

“Come on Jaz, you know I love that place, pity that ‘your ex's embittered’ doesn't sell it … I would have bought it, centuries ago.”

“Enough nonsense, Brian! Have you seen Carlos with new conquest? Is he dating someone else?”

“As if it were that easy! You know he is like a damn vault, to spy you must have the password,” he replied annoyed. “But, what do you want to know?”

“Brian, the last time I was with him, he mentioned a woman's name and I need to know who she is.”

“He was drunk? I mean … mentioning another woman in front of you is like practicing ‘bungee jumping’ with the rope tied around your neck!” He laughed, imagining the situation.

“Can't you just put the jokes aside?!” She screamed angrily. “Sara! Carlos said, Sara!”

Brian's laughter stopped at hearing that name, but he struggled to hide his discontent.

“Let's see, it doesn't necessarily have to mean something, maybe he was just confused.” Neither was he convinced of his poor argument.

“Yeah right! He got confused … Jazmin and Sara, they are very similar! Carlos got confused just when he and I had sex? Got damn! How the hell can you confuse names like that?! It is obvious that this woman was on his mind while that bastard was with me.”

Brian listened attentively and in complete silence. Clearly, he did not expect something like this, he had many plans with Sara and he was not going to allow, for anything in the world, that Carlos meddled between them.

“You were suddenly very quiet. You know who that woman is, right?”

“Yes, I know who is … but the truth is, I don't think you should worry about her, I don't think he has anything with that girl.”

“Because, what you say? Why are you so sure?”

“For starters, she's dating me.”

“Oh, of course! And how she goes out with you … It's 1000% guaranteed that she doesn't date Carlos too!!”

“Jazmin, stop the hysteria! Sara is obviously not his type. He will never notice her”

“So horrible is that woman?”

“Jazmin isn't horrible!” Now it was Brian who left his relaxed and fun demeanor to start getting irritated. “She is a waitress at the Mon’tblank.”

“Waitress?!” She asked indignantly.

“I already told you, it is very likely that he has been confused, the girl is new so, as impatient as Carlos is, he must already have worn out the name of her employee.”

He said, trying to divert Jazmin's attention. He knew that she would not remain calm and chase Sara. That didn't suit him.

“How come you're dating a waitress?” She had known Brian many conquests, but none of them had been outside his social circle.

“Little sister, you with your torments and I with mine.”

“I need to meet that woman and you are going to help me.”

“No way! You are not going to spoil my moments with her.”

“Calm down, I have no intention of spoiling anything. On the contrary, it is convenient for me to keep that little woman away from Carlos,” said Jazmin while thinking of a way to get to know her. “I just want to know who she is. Invite her to the club tomorrow and we'll meet there since it's obvious that at the Mon'tblank it would be impossible.” Brian thought about it for a moment and liked the proposal.

“Not such a bad idea, but … after meeting Sara, two questions at most, and you're leaving! I want to share only with her. Done deal?”

“Perfect!” Jazmin replied, unable to hide her smirk.

**«»**

That night Brian went to the bar and discreetly requested to be attended by Sara.

“Good night, Mr. Smith.”

“Good night beautiful. How are you?”

“Very well,” she paused. “Although, I don't think it's a good idea, that I attend your table.”

“What is not a good idea is that you treat me again as ‘Mr. Smith’, and less after what it took you to call me by my first name, but I am willing to ignore it if you accept my invitation and come with me to the club tomorrow.”

“To the club?”

“I will tell you that I came exclusively to invite you, so I will not take no for an answer. Quiet, it will be early in the afternoon, you will not have schedule problems or anything like that, and I will bring you very punctual to your work.” She didn't know what to answer, she had never been to a club, she didn't even know for sure what that place was about. She wasn't sure if she accepted that invitation … but Brian didn't give her a choice.

“I will come to find you at your residence, tomorrow at noon so that we may have lunch together,” she remembered the lie she had told him, about where she lived, the same one that she should continue to maintain.

“It's okay. I will be ready.”

Brian finished his drink, said goodbye to her with a soft kiss on the lips, and left. Sara was thoughtful since she did not know … What was done in a club? What kind of clothes should I wear? Then, as always, she ran out to ask Jean Pierre for a consultation, he always had an answer for everything.

Carlos noticed Brian's visit, but he left the bar so quickly that he ignored him. He was very busy with more important things.

**«»**

The next day, Sara arranged herself as best she could and was punctual in the sentry box of the residential complex. She had to ask the security guard for permission to wait there, and since he had seen her before, he did not refuse. She didn't want to leave anything to chance, although she was already considering that she would talk to Brian and tell him the whole truth.

When the blond went to look for her, he was surprised to see her waiting for him at the sentry box, it seemed a very strange attitude since she could have waited for him in the comfort of her apartment, he did not say anything about it, he just greeted her as usual and they started the way to the club. While in the vehicle, Sara kept thinking about how much she liked Brian, because he was very resourceful, charismatic, not to mention elegant and handsome. From the beginning, although he was sometimes indiscreet, his treatment was cordial and respectful with her, deep down, she felt comfortable and happy for her friendship with him.

In the middle of her reasoning, she could not avoid Carlos being present, his personality was like the other side of the coin. In addition to being elegant and handsome, he was also athletic and had those beautiful blue eyes that constantly rendered her speechless, dealing with him had been quite unstable and turbulent, but although it sounded very contradictory, she couldn't deny that he was a man who inspired her confidence and security, even despite his short temper. Lately, she was discovering a new facet that debunked any bad time or misunderstanding in the past, Carlos was more passionate … more profound. The fact of losing his parents so young, made him mature, teaching him to fend for himself and defend himself, perhaps the only flaw for Sara, was knowing that he was her boss.

Of course, all these comparisons and intentions were hidden in that part of her memory that she classified as ‘the section of unrealizable fantasies’ since both Carlos and Brian were infinitely far from her reach. Sara was not stupid and she knew that these encounters with the blond were just an adventure, something interesting to tell her future grandchildren. These types of men were not looking for a ‘poor waitress’ to get married and even less to organize their life and start a family. It was only enough to see Jazmin, blonde, beautiful, tall, refined, and elegant, the ideal of any man … starting with Carlos and, unfortunately, she was all the opposite of this list. I don't even know why I think of so much nonsense, as soon as I confess the truth to Brian … he will push me out of his life himself.

She knew that day would come and just thinking about it made her feel unhappy and depressed, but what she hated most about confessing her past was feeling that she would also disappoint Carlos … they were both going to take her out of their lives. She discreetly shook her head to drive away the sad thoughts, as she watched the vehicle slow down and enter a large parking lot, so she deduced that they had already arrived, one more reason to put aside worries and try to smile. Once inside the club, Brian, as a good companion, set about giving Sara a quick tour to show her the place, finally, both settled at one of the restaurant tables that were located around the pool.

**«»**

At the same time of these events…

Jazmin had contacted Carlos, saying that she needed to see him urgently, for something related to the documentation of the assets that she received during the divorce process. Initially, he did not think about attending, since for those matters, he had hired a qualified lawyer, who ‘patiently’ took care of everything, but she insisted so much that he had no other option. No wonder that Jazmin continued to invent problems, she had done it for years, because of her the entire divorce process had been great torture that lasted much longer than expected, the positive was that everything was over and, from that marriage, there was only a distant memory … also, he knew that she continued to be upset and, although they were already separated, he was not so lout as not to apologize for humiliating her, unintentionally, mentioning another woman in a moment of intimacy. Basically, he went to that meeting to smooth things over and ‘finish the party in peace’.

Since the pool area was the focal point of the club, where everyone gathered to have fun and share, he barely made it to the club and as he surveyed the place, searching for Jazmin, he almost immediately noticed the presence of Brian and Sara who had lunch together. Definitely, the last thing he expected was to meet one of them there.

Damn! What are you doing here Sara? And accompanied by that idiot!

That vision got him so out of control that, without thinking twice, he began to walk in their direction. From the moment he met the story of Sara, he had proposed to take care of her, he was not going to allow anyone to hurt. She would not become Brian's new toy.

Over my corpse!

Shortly before reaching that table, Jazmin crossed his path, receiving him with a hug and a big kiss on the lips taking advantage, unknowingly, of the instant of deep anger and abstraction that Carlos was going through.

“But, look who's here.” Brian, who was attentive to the arrival of the guests, did not waste the opportunity to highlight the scene. It was inevitable for Sara to feel a lump in her throat and an unpleasant sensation in her stomach when she saw Carlos and that woman kissing.

That afternoon, both Carlos and Sara knew the bitter and repugnant taste of jealousy, the seed of discord had just been planted in both hearts, even so, they had no choice but to regain control of their emotions and continue as if nothing had happened … after all, there was only a simple boss-employee relationship between them, right?

“Why did you quote me, Jazmin?” He asked bluntly.

“Love, the truth is that I had several doubts about some documents and—”

“Did you have doubts!?” He replied annoyed.

“Well … yes. Excuse me, after we spoke the lawyer called me and the truth is that he explained to me, in detail, everything I needed and—”

“You always wasting my time, Jazmin!” He replied furiously as he pulled away from her. “From the beginning, I told you that you could solve that with the lawyer.”

“I'm sorry, really … but you're already here, why not take advantage of the occasion? Your birthday was recently and, although you insist on not celebrating it … I have called you several times.” To be honest, Carlos had no intention to withdraw from that place, leaving Sara with Brian's idiot so, to Jazmin's amazement, he decided to stay and continued walking until he reached the table where the couple had already finished having lunch.

“Good afternoon, ‘dear brother-in-law’. To what do we owe the honor of your unusual presence?” Brian came forward to greet him, seeing him approach with a hostile attitude, as always. The Mon'tblank didn't care at all about what the blond said, to tell the truth, he wasn't even listening to him, his mind and eyes were elsewhere … in Sara. And, although she wanted to remain neutral, her reaction to hearing the blond call him ‘brother-in-law’ it did not go unnoticed by any of those present.

“Why are you surprised? Didn’t you know that your boss and I, apart from ‘excellent friends’, are also brothers-in-law?”

Honestly, he could not believe that Carlos had not told Sara about his relationship with Jazmin … although, on the other hand, he felt some relief to think that the chestnut was not as involved with the ogre of her boss, as his sister suspected since if so, she would be aware even of their past lives. Come on, it wasn’t classified information either! A couple of questions were enough to know the whole story. If Sara didn't know, it was because she clearly wasn't interested. “Anyway, beautiful … she is Jazmin, my sister and Carlos's wife.” He said pointing to the one mentioned.