Black Hamilton POV“Shit!”I bring a hand to my mouth that drips blood. The taste of iron invades my whole mouth and I spit on the floor in the living room of my house.The thugs have climbed me to the floor and thrown me like I'm a sack of potatoes, those fucking sons of bitches.I turn around, trying to crawl back on my own elbows as I look for something to help me defend myself.One of them, the one who seems to command the others, crouches in front of me and holds my hair, pulling my head back.“On Monday your time's up, you piece of shit.”I look him in the eye with a hatred as great as I've ever looked at anyone before. And I spit in his face.One of them approaches to give me a blow, however the commander raises a hand and moves away from me. He tells him to stop and pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket with which he cleans his face.And he surprises me by kicking me in the stomach that quickly leaves me breathless."Too bad you didn't let me finish, Hamilton," he says, after
“Mom, you can't tell anyone I'll be out all day. I'll be back early Monday and go to work.”She doesn't understand anything. She is taking her medication like every morning, before breakfast. My little sister rests taking advantage of Sunday.“But why the backpack? How long will you leave? Are you sure you're coming back on Monday?”"Yes, Mom," I tell her, as I pour her a glass of mineral water so that she can pass the pills, "I promise I will come and see you before I go to the office.”“I have to go to hospital on Monday. You know it's not easy for me…”“I promise you that next time I will accompany you and I will be there with you. Yes? I can't ask for the day, I already did it in your previous studies. Nora will accompany you, I have already arranged with her.”Nora is a neighbor whom I trust as well as my mother to support her in her visits to the hospital.She directs me a look in gesture of "you're sleeping with your boss, Don't tell me you can't ask him for the day", however s
One more chance.It's all I give Black to choose to go down this path with him. Otherwise, I'll come back without joking. He sends me the contact of a car at my disposal that will bring me back at the time I want it if I see something that I do not like again.In return, I should not ask questions but he will give me details of his life as he sees fit. It does not seem entirely fair to me, I want to know who is the person I have next to me, but I understand that the agreement is useful only for this day, since confessing something that can have continuity beyond it could leave him at a disadvantage. And Black is not a person willing to take all the losses, but at least I can make sure that this does not put me at a disadvantage either.And to kill the silence that puts distance between us, he offers to put on some music."Sure." I say, adding something else while he connects the bluetooth of his mobile. “Black, there's something else I'd like to agree with you.”He gives a snort. I ig
The rest of the day is excellent. It takes me by surprise to start doing activities under a false name. Anyway, no one asks, but it is the way we address each other to call each other or interact.The people of Cuenca are very friendly. We start by going to a viewpoint called "Ventano del Diablo" that belongs to the town. It is a huge sickle-shaped rock formation with similarities to those of a huge cave with other small distributions. The panoramic view of the Jucar river leaves me frizzy, as it closes in a gorge along the landscape. The wind impacting on my face, on my hair makes me feel small before the immensity of nature. I;m overwhelmed observing the terrain that extends gracefully in front of the two.Black closes his arms around my waist, surprising me from behind and leaving me surprised by his gesture. The cold and unbearable Mr. Hamilton surprised his private secretary with a gesture as beautiful as this.“Do you like it?” He asks me."It's wonderful," I admit, without bei
I look at the screen and I look at Black several times. Sure that Mikael will not like the idea of knowing that I told my boss about his message, and also sure that my mother's medical history has been a threat gesture to maintain discretion. I can not do it no matter how much doubts make me uneasy or that happiness must be at times, brief, almost like a warning that everything can overflow at any time.If one thing I'm sure of is that there could have been no mistake or thing of fate in the fact that I decided to contact her. The last thing I need is to bring him one more worry or disgust, I can't expose it.I answer a simple OK before I get to Black and try to compose the face, pretending that everything is fine. And accumulating one more secret to our list.“How was that?” He asks me pointing at my cell phone.“I just wanted to ask my mom if she was okay. What Have you got there? It smells delicious.” I quickly change the subject as we look for a space to sit for lunch looking at t
“Who the fuck are you?”Black walks away from me like I've seen a dead man talking or pulled out a gun that I may have been pointing at his head. However, my gesture of amazement at seeing him react in this way he interprets it as if it were something theatrical."Black.” I insist, without twisting my arm and facing him also standing, “I asked you a question.”“Don't come near me or tell me what you want. Or what the fuck you were looking for by approaching me.”His hands tremble. He seems to be in doubt whether to go out looking for a poker to blow my mind or whether to stay and listen, I try to do my best because I choose the second option.“That's the same thing I wonder. Who is Black Hamilton? Why has he been hiding that kind of information from me beyond the inside of the office where I'm just his secretary?”“You could start by telling me who sent you to ask me for the job and where you've been leaking information.”“I remember you hired me. No one sends me, for God's sake. Only
Black Hamilton POVLearning to cook next to Mina is quite fun. After things calm down and I have my knuckles bandaged, we make available all the necessary things with elements to learn how to make beef fillet with salads and mashed potatoes. A very homemade meal for my taste; my diet is based on dietary meats at the order of my trainer, junk or gourmet when it comes to outings or rank conferences."Don't do that," she tells me, pausing when I try to remove the skin from the potatoes.“Don't what?”"You just wash them well and then boil them with the skin." She points out.“Why?”“Because that'll make it easier.”“Yes, Madam.” I entrust myself to her orders, glad that we have passed the previous subject that was torturing us. I do not want to know about complicated situations that do not allow me to continue enjoying being in her company, it is something that I enjoy, but it checks every one of my thoughts. If there's anything I need for a moment, it's peace of mind.The same one I fee
Mina Western POVLeaving the shower after a first course of sex and an exquisite dinner, I stop in front of the bathroom mirror on the top floor of the House. I observe my reflection without managing to avoid thinking about many situations that have passed during this last time, resulting in many secrets have been revealed to me, more than I estimated, a world spread out in front of me that I was not able to see and now take shape in front of an opaque, dense, dark background.On the one hand, I encounter the reality that Black is in a world of mafias that he is trying to get out of, which I do not think is without paying a high price in the attempt. Then there is his secret family, the wife he says he left behind without her having untied herself from him and the daughter he hides to protect her, a secret he now shares with me. Finally, Mikael Sydow's mobster has contacted me and threatened me not to tell Black, a matter that causes me terror since he has managed to have access to me
Days laterMina Western POV“Are you sure that this will be your chosen place to complete the pre-professional practices?”“Completely.”I don't want dirty business, I don't want big companies, I don't want lying millionaires or putting aside my dreams or putting my family at risk.The career director along with the chair of the Ethics Committee of my university reviewed the petition and papers. The report card and my enrollment up to date."Miss Western," she tells me, standing on her desk with her weight on her elbows, " allow me to advise you that, considering your excellent report card, your work history and the opinions of other teachers, we believe that you have all the capabilities to perform business administration tasks in a context that expands your job opportunities.”“I believe.” I reply firmly, “that I have made the right decision. I have always dreamed of working in the world of books, they are to whom I owe absolutely everything I have been able to achieve in my life. I
Sometimes time sneaks between your fingers. And you realize too late, once you have nothing left, to think about what does you good, the moments you should have taken better advantage of or the hugs that should have been infinite.Rarely have I felt in my life that feeling that everything is lost, that there is a void in front of you in which you are about to fall.The first time was when I found out my father was dead. It seemed like a horrible lie, knowing that I would never see him again, that I would never be able to ask him for advice again, that he would not accompany me back to school. I felt powerless, I felt like looking for an alternative of stealing a minute, just a minute from Fate and preventing dad from going through where he had to go back then so that the next time I saw him was in a coffin. Or at least, to have a minute to be able to hug him stronger, to tell him that I want him, to tell him that it is not necessary for him to waste his whole life working for coins, t
“My chair wasn't like that before I left.”Vania looks at me and I shrug as I sip my own cup of cappuccino.I never thought I would end up doing this, but I feel angry, disappointed, desperate, betrayed, I never thought she could play me like this, I never did anything to her at all. What kind of connection is she supposed to have with Black's ex-wife? I swear I'll get to the last consequences of whatever's going on."I hope you don't mind," I say, pointing to my cup, "I pulled an envelope of powdered cappuccino out of your pen. You got more food than pens in there.”She looks at me, offended. Blame this...person, I now have a stain on my college record and it may put absolutely everything in my professional life at risk.And what bothers me the most is that the disagreement is made.“Are you looking for me, Mina Western?” Question, provocateur.But if she's a bitch, I can be even more so. This time I stand up and warn her.“You looked for me first.”However, Black's office door opens
“Black, please, you have to do something.”My voice is filled with anguish as I show him the papers. He reads with hatred opening his eyes more and more as he progresses and ends up closing the note in a fist.“Shit.” He sputtered.“You can help me, right? Can you do it? You promised me.”“Yeah, there's something I can do. I'll take care of it. But don't go today, Mina. I need you at the office, it's an important day.”“But, Black, they say to introduce me urgently because I have lacked the truthfulness of my professional performance. I can lose my scholarship to finish my studies.”“I can pay what's left of your career, you don't have to worry about it.”“But it's not all money, you understand! I can't graduate with a sanction from the Ethics Committee nor can I start my internship again, I would have to wait until the next semester and go where they want to receive a person with a dishonesty act. You think it's very simple?”“I have contacts that could take you. Just let me take car
Mina Western POVLeaving the shower after a first course of sex and an exquisite dinner, I stop in front of the bathroom mirror on the top floor of the House. I observe my reflection without managing to avoid thinking about many situations that have passed during this last time, resulting in many secrets have been revealed to me, more than I estimated, a world spread out in front of me that I was not able to see and now take shape in front of an opaque, dense, dark background.On the one hand, I encounter the reality that Black is in a world of mafias that he is trying to get out of, which I do not think is without paying a high price in the attempt. Then there is his secret family, the wife he says he left behind without her having untied herself from him and the daughter he hides to protect her, a secret he now shares with me. Finally, Mikael Sydow's mobster has contacted me and threatened me not to tell Black, a matter that causes me terror since he has managed to have access to me
Black Hamilton POVLearning to cook next to Mina is quite fun. After things calm down and I have my knuckles bandaged, we make available all the necessary things with elements to learn how to make beef fillet with salads and mashed potatoes. A very homemade meal for my taste; my diet is based on dietary meats at the order of my trainer, junk or gourmet when it comes to outings or rank conferences."Don't do that," she tells me, pausing when I try to remove the skin from the potatoes.“Don't what?”"You just wash them well and then boil them with the skin." She points out.“Why?”“Because that'll make it easier.”“Yes, Madam.” I entrust myself to her orders, glad that we have passed the previous subject that was torturing us. I do not want to know about complicated situations that do not allow me to continue enjoying being in her company, it is something that I enjoy, but it checks every one of my thoughts. If there's anything I need for a moment, it's peace of mind.The same one I fee
“Who the fuck are you?”Black walks away from me like I've seen a dead man talking or pulled out a gun that I may have been pointing at his head. However, my gesture of amazement at seeing him react in this way he interprets it as if it were something theatrical."Black.” I insist, without twisting my arm and facing him also standing, “I asked you a question.”“Don't come near me or tell me what you want. Or what the fuck you were looking for by approaching me.”His hands tremble. He seems to be in doubt whether to go out looking for a poker to blow my mind or whether to stay and listen, I try to do my best because I choose the second option.“That's the same thing I wonder. Who is Black Hamilton? Why has he been hiding that kind of information from me beyond the inside of the office where I'm just his secretary?”“You could start by telling me who sent you to ask me for the job and where you've been leaking information.”“I remember you hired me. No one sends me, for God's sake. Only
I look at the screen and I look at Black several times. Sure that Mikael will not like the idea of knowing that I told my boss about his message, and also sure that my mother's medical history has been a threat gesture to maintain discretion. I can not do it no matter how much doubts make me uneasy or that happiness must be at times, brief, almost like a warning that everything can overflow at any time.If one thing I'm sure of is that there could have been no mistake or thing of fate in the fact that I decided to contact her. The last thing I need is to bring him one more worry or disgust, I can't expose it.I answer a simple OK before I get to Black and try to compose the face, pretending that everything is fine. And accumulating one more secret to our list.“How was that?” He asks me pointing at my cell phone.“I just wanted to ask my mom if she was okay. What Have you got there? It smells delicious.” I quickly change the subject as we look for a space to sit for lunch looking at t
The rest of the day is excellent. It takes me by surprise to start doing activities under a false name. Anyway, no one asks, but it is the way we address each other to call each other or interact.The people of Cuenca are very friendly. We start by going to a viewpoint called "Ventano del Diablo" that belongs to the town. It is a huge sickle-shaped rock formation with similarities to those of a huge cave with other small distributions. The panoramic view of the Jucar river leaves me frizzy, as it closes in a gorge along the landscape. The wind impacting on my face, on my hair makes me feel small before the immensity of nature. I;m overwhelmed observing the terrain that extends gracefully in front of the two.Black closes his arms around my waist, surprising me from behind and leaving me surprised by his gesture. The cold and unbearable Mr. Hamilton surprised his private secretary with a gesture as beautiful as this.“Do you like it?” He asks me."It's wonderful," I admit, without bei