OFFER.

Hayami arrived at the office very punctually, as she did every morning. Ariel looked at her with displeasure, but despite that, Hayami greeted her politely. After receiving a reluctant "good morning" from Ariel, she approached Angélica, who was already at her post.

"Good morning, Miss."

Angélica said as she fixed a strand of hair.

"Good morning, "Angie." Is there anything I need to do?

"No, Miss."

"Okay, then do me two favors: first, could you get me a latte from the cafeteria? And second, could you connect me with my accountant?"

"Yes, Miss. I'll get your coffee now, and as soon as I get back, I'll put you in touch with your accountant."

"Thank you, you're very nice."

Hayami smiled; Angélica did too, a little blushing. Her boss smiled at her every morning; She was very happy to work with her.

Hayami entered her office, looked out her window at the slightly cloudy sky, and thought that day wasn't the best she'd seen since arriving from Canada. Angélica asked permission to enter and, upon doing so, handed the latte to Hayami, who was still looking outside.

"Thank you, Angie."

"Yes, I'll make the call you asked for."

Hayami just nodded as she took a small sip of her warm drink. She turned on her computer to start working. Noah knocked on her office door and entered.

"Good morning, have you thought about it?"

He asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking like a soap opera heartthrob.

Hayami started to laugh.

"About you and me? There's nothing to think about. I told you everything yesterday."

He sighed.

"I'm just playing, I... I wanted to know about Isabel." I was worried yesterday about your parents, who didn't take the news very well.

Hayami remembered her sister's words about him, about him being a good man, and just smiled.

"Don't worry about that, I've already resolved it. Uh... She told me the baby's father is your friend, so I want to talk to him."

"With Hugo?"

"Yes, with him."

"He's out of town now; he'll be back in a week for work, but as soon as he gets back, I'll introduce you."

"Okay."

Noah scratched his neck a little in embarrassment.

"Do you want to go to breakfast with me?"

"What's that about?"

Hayami thought without taking her eyes off him.

"I wanted to get some of your opinions on some new clients."

"Oh, is it a work-related thing?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"Okay."

She replied, taking another sip of her coffee very calmly.

Hayami accepted, thinking that she had left home that morning without having had any breakfast.

"Then I'll see you in an hour."

"Perfect."

The ringing of the desk phone interrupted the conversation. Noah signaled to Hayami that he would return later; she just smiled.

"Attorney," she said. "I'll connect you to your accountant."

"Thanks, Angie."

Hayami took the call and, after a few minutes of conversation, hung up; she simply wanted to inform her accountant that the money she gave her father would be removed from her accounts.

Hours had passed. Hayami was standing, organizing some papers; her back was to her office door, which was open. When Noah appeared behind her, tapping her shoulder, making Hayami jump because she hadn't expected him.

"You scared me!"

"Like that? Am I that horrible?"

She asked flirtatiously.

She stared at him and leaned closer, placing her hands on his shoulders and leaning close to his ear. He felt a slight shiver when he felt Hayami's hot breath.

"Well, you're not ugly, 'brother-in-law.' Oh, sorry, 'ex-brother-in-law.'"

She whispered playfully.

"Why are you doing this?"

He whispered back, even though he was standing close to her, breathing in her sweet lotion, the same one that had soaked into his shirt that night when they were strangers.

She started to laugh as she moved away from him.

"It's really funny. Let's go have breakfast, I'm starving."

She picked up her bag, which was hanging on a coat rack in the office; he just smiled.

That woman definitely knew how to get attention; he thought there was a world of difference between her and Isabel. Isabel was very sweet and blushed at almost everything, but in all his time, he'd never seen Hayami even a hint of a natural blush on her cheeks.

"Are you going or not?"

She said, drawing him away from his thoughts.

The two arrived at a restaurant near the office. Hayami ordered an omelet. Noah had also ordered the same. While they waited, she clasped her hands and then leaned her head against them. Her honey-colored eyes stared directly into his green ones.

"What are you planning to do now that Isabel won't marry you? She said you needed to get married, she didn't mention why."

"I don't know. I don't have many options."

"Maybe so, maybe there's a girl out there who wants to be your 'wifey.'"

"Why don't you accept?"

He asked, imitating her position.

"I already told you, I don't sell myself to anyone."

"We can make an agreement, grow your capital further, I don't know, something that suits both of us."

"I don't need it. I have several shares in different things."

The two looked at each other without speaking; the silence was interrupted by the waiter bringing the food they had ordered. After being served, they began to eat breakfast and, just as Noah had said, they talked about work, forgetting the previous topic.

Upon returning to the company, Hayami thanked him for the breakfast. Noah entered his office and continued working. He thought about what he had proposed to Hayami, who had said it for no reason. It caught her attention. It was as if it were a challenge, since she was very rebellious, and it generated a lot of interest in her. He smiled like a fool as he remembered her warm breath. He looked through the glass, seeing her, like every day, focused on her computer, playing with a pen. He had noticed that she did this every time she was immersed in her work.