After 20 minutes of waiting, the passengers from the plane finally disembarked. It felt strange for her to be holding a sign in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other, waiting for Ethan's fiancée. However, since it was her job, she couldn’t refuse. Among many people, one stood out. A tall, slim woman with short blonde hair. She seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd. Thinking that this was Eva Thompson, Rafaela Souza approached with the sign."Eva Thompson?" Rafaela Souza asked."Yes. Who are you?" the woman asked with some suspicion."My name is Rafaela Souza. I’m Mr. Ethan Smith’s secretary. I’ve been assigned to pick you up and take you home.""So, he didn’t come in person?" she asked, showing some disappointment."Unfortunately, he had a very important meeting and couldn’t reschedule, but he asked me to give you this." She handed the flowers to Eva."It’s so typical of Ethan to come up with excuses not to pick me up." She took the envelope from the bouquet, opened it
“Director General's Office, Rafaela speaking.”“Did you do what I asked?” Ethan's voice asked from the other end of the line.“Yes, sir, I just arrived.” She looked at the walls and ceiling, trying to find a camera because whenever she reached a certain point in the corridor, Ethan knew she was there.“What did she say?” he asked.“She questioned why you didn't go personally to pick her up, but when I gave her the flowers, she seemed more resigned.”“How did she react when she read the note in the envelope I sent?”“She smiled. She seemed to like what she read,” Rafaela replied, rolling her eyes, feeling almost nauseous for having to answer that.“You didn't happen to read what I wrote in the envelope, did you?” he questioned.“Of course not!” she replied quickly.“Very well. Have you eaten yet?” he asked.“I had a sandwich. Since Miss Thompson's flight was delayed, I didn't get to take my lunch break.”“Then let's eat together.”“What?” she asked, not getting any response, as Ethan ha
It was wrong to say that since she didn't like the idea of seeing Tácio again because she was afraid her feelings might return, especially now that she was pregnant by another man. But Ethan's indirect provocations made her nervous; it seemed like he always wanted to come out on top of the situation as if he were the big shot. Not that he wasn’t, but she had no feelings for him, so she should let him know that."So, your trip wasn't in vain?" he asked, adjusting himself in the chair."Of course not," she replied, laughing. "I really enjoyed going there; I even feel like it's a matter of fate.""Fate?" He laughed. "What nonsense.""Don’t you believe in it?" she questioned."I think it's a big waste of time, all that stuff," he replied."I don’t think so. Sometimes, I believe there are people who are destined for each other and end up meeting at the right time," her eyes sparkled as she said that, remembering Aurora and Oliver, who seemed destined for each other."Are you saying it was f
"What was it?""I found out that Ethan has a girlfriend, and he’s going to propose to her soon.""Ah! Was that what you were going to tell me?" she asked, uninterested."I thought you'd be more surprised.""I was surprised when I first found out, but there wasn't much to say, especially since I had to meet her in person today.""What do you mean?" Kate stopped in the middle of the street, looking surprised."I went to pick her up at the airport today.""Why did he send you? Is that jerk trying to do something to you?""Of course not! He sent me because I’m simply his secretary.""Even so, you guys slept together; you shouldn't have gone to pick her up.""You too, Kate?" she said, impatiently."What do you mean? What did I do?""Friend, stop reminding me that we slept together; it's enough that he does that all the time.""Does he still talk about that night to you?""Yes, he always makes a point of rubbing it in my face that we hooked up, even though I keep telling him it’s embarrassin
All her expectations were shattered when she saw Ethan's name on the screen.But what did he want at that hour? Wasn't he supposed to be with his fiancée?"Hello," she answered, suspiciously. But she found the silence on the other end of the line strange. "Mr. Smith, is everything alright?""Come pick me up," Ethan finally said. His voice sounded a bit slurred."Are you drunk?" she asked, confused."Does it seem that way?" he asked."I believe so, since you’re calling me.""Stop talking and come quickly, Rafaela," he repeated."Do you realize what time it is?" she asked."Of course, do you think I only use my phone for calls?" he responded. "I’m drunk and can't drive, so come quickly.""Why don't you call your driver?""It’s his day off.""Then take a taxi.""If you’re not at Paradise club in less than twenty minutes, don’t bother coming to work tomorrow." With that, he hung up the phone."What was that?" she wondered, still staring at her phone screen.She tried calling him back, but
"I told you to do this."Without questioning, she got out of the car and then opened the passenger door, helping him out. She was nervous about the situation but realized that saying anything at that moment would be a waste of time. She would keep everything bottled up for the next day.Helping him into the elevator, she felt uncomfortable with how close they were. Ethan was so big, so strong, and so handsome that it left her feeling completely flustered.If he just stayed quiet and didn’t say a word, he would be someone very easy to fall in love with."You really are a good employee," he said, whispering in her ear. "I wasn’t wrong when I hired you.""You wanted to fire me on the first day; please, don’t be a hypocrite," she replied. "And you didn’t give me much of a choice to come or not," she added, catching the scent of his cologne.The two were practically embracing, due to him being so drunk that he couldn’t stand on his own."I’ll make it up to you.""Not doing this again would
Still uneasy from receiving an unexpected kiss from Ethan, she felt cornered when she saw his fiancée looking at her with a suspicious gaze."I came to bring him home since Mr. Smith was too drunk to drive.""Are you his secretary or his driver, by any chance?" Eva asked, with an unfriendly expression."Leave her alone, Eva," Ethan replied, inserting himself into the conversation, noticing that his fiancée's tone was escalating. "Don’t take your stress out on someone who’s not at fault.""Do you really think I’m stressed because of her?" She directed herself to Ethan. "How dare you leave me waiting at your parents' house? Have you forgotten who I am?""Let’s discuss this inside; Rafaela doesn’t need to witness your hysterical behavior."Rafaela watched the two arguing and didn’t say a single word. It was incredible how Ethan had composed himself immediately, not even seeming drunk anymore."Fine," Eva responded, composing herself and changing her facial expression. "Now that he’s home,
“What do you mean by that?”“He kissed me.”“No way!” Kate's eyes nearly popped out.“And his fiancée almost caught us in the act.”“Rafa? How did you let that happen?”“How should I know? Things happened so fast that before I realized it, all of this had already happened.”“Why did he kiss you? What did you two talk about that made him do that?”“I don’t know, friend, but I was very confused by what I saw and heard,” Rafa revealed.“What do you mean?”“Ethan sent his fiancée straight to her parents' house, even though he lives alone.”“Maybe he didn’t want her to be alone.”“I don’t know, I thought he was very indifferent to her. The two had planned to meet at night, and even so, he went out drinking and then called me to take him home. If she hadn’t gone after him, he wouldn’t have gone to her.”“What are you trying to say? Do you think Ethan and his girlfriend don’t get along?”“I can’t say that just yet. After all, he did make a point of sending flowers when she arrived.”“That doe
"I was foolish, wasn’t I?" she asked. "Hey, don’t think that way, I’m not judging you; I just want to understand." "We were talking in the kitchen, and suddenly he got close. It was so fast I couldn’t react." "I can imagine the tension you felt. That man is terribly irresistible. I bet you remembered you were already wet and weren’t afraid of getting caught in the rain again." "I don’t even know what I thought… I think I was in a trance and only woke up when you showed up in the room." "Sorry for interrupting." "It’s no problem; it was the right thing to do." "I’m not trying to meddle in your life or anything, Rafa; you know I’ve always been open with you about everything. But if you want to work with him and keep this pregnancy hidden, you need to stay away." "I know. It won’t happen again." "Your belly isn’t showing yet; it’s hard for him to suspect, but in a while, things won’t be that easy." "You’re right." She fell silent. Kate noticed her friend was quieter
It was Saturday morning, already past nine. Kate got out of the taxi after saying goodbye to Robert, with a taste of wanting more. They had planned to spend the day together, but unfortunately, a last-minute call made him change his plans.Robert was a cardiologist personally overseeing a patient who needed a heart transplant. This morning, he received a call saying that there was a compatible donor for his patient, so he needed to be there immediately.As much as she wanted to be with the man she liked, she was feeling happy, on the other hand, because she could keep Rafaela company, who had spent the night alone at home. Even though she didn’t say much, she was very worried about her friend, but she knew she couldn’t interfere in the decisions she made; she just had to support her in whatever she needed.She even agreed with the idea of not telling Ethan about the child; after all, he wouldn’t accept that child in any way. But what bothered her was knowing that Rafa would leave the b
"Hope you change your mind someday.""What would my change of idea affect in your life, Rafaela?" he asked. "Bringing a child into this world to suffer is worse than wishing they didn’t exist.""It depends on how you take care of them.""Enough!" he raised his voice. "You can ask me anything, but not about this."It was clear that Ethan didn't like to talk about this; something seemed to deeply trouble him."Sorry," she apologized."I'm the one who should apologize," he said. "I just don't like discussing it.""I promise I’ll never bring it up again," she swallowed hard."Don't think I’m a bad person, Rafaela. You just need to know that I’d never be fit to be anyone's father."That revelation gave her chills, filling her with questions. Why did Ethan think that way?"I believe you have your reasons, and I’ll respect that," was all she could manage to say.He looked at her and realized how awkward he had made her feel. Then he stood up and came closer to her."There are things that can’
It was the last thing she could imagine, of all the ways she thought her Friday night might end, having her boss sitting on her living room sofa was the very last scenario she would have envisioned.Her apartment's doorbell rang, and she immediately went to answer. It was the delivery guy with the pizza she had ordered."Thank you very much," she thanked the man, giving him a tip.Closing the door, she took everything to the kitchen and started setting the plates. While waiting for her order, she had prepared some juice.She was setting the table when Ethan walked into the kitchen."Your kitchen isn’t hard to find," he said, reminding her of his apartment's kitchen."Good thing you didn’t have to open any wrong doors," she joked."I wouldn’t mind if I opened a door and saw the same view you had at my place."Her face flushed in seconds. How did he have the nerve to say that?"Grab a slice of pizza, it’s still hot," she turned her back to him so he wouldn’t see her embarrassed expressio
"I don't think that's the right question to ask now," he said, touching his eye and noticing blood on his fingertip. "Come with me," she said, worried about her boss. Ethan followed her to her apartment. Once they entered her home, she asked him to sit on the sofa, saying she’d get the first-aid kit. While looking for the kit in the bathroom, she tried to calm herself, considering what had just happened. Finding the first-aid kit box, she took a deep breath and returned to the living room, finding Ethan standing in front of the shelf where the framed photo of her and Tácio was placed. "Come here, let me see how the cut is," she requested. He turned and walked over to her, sitting on the sofa. "Your boyfriend seems violent," he said. "He's not my boyfriend," she revealed. "No?" He looked surprised. "What are you doing here?" she changed the subject. "I was just passing by when I saw him grabbing your arm." She remained silent as she started cleaning the small wound
Seeing once again that Tácio was getting carried away, she stepped away."I’m going inside; I think you should go back to your place," said Rafaela, turning to leave."Rafa, why are you acting like I’m a stranger to you?" he asked."And why are you acting like you can control or have an opinion about my life? Do you realize what you just said?""I only want the best for you. I don’t see good intentions in that man’s eyes, and I feel like if you stay there, you’ll end up getting hurt.""It’s none of your business what happens to me; you can’t just show up here and talk about someone you don’t even know.""Why are you defending him again?" he asked nervously."But I’m not. It’s you who’s making your own assumptions.""Do you think I’d say anything if I didn’t notice what was going on?""Then tell me, Tácio, what’s going on?" she got closer to him. She knew that Tácio was a well of inconvenience sometimes, and saying whatever was on his mind was quite common."I think you could get hurt b
"I am enjoying it. And you should too, when a guy like that shows up for you. Don’t waste your time overthinking. Girl, we live in downtown Manhattan, we have good jobs, we didn’t buy apartments here to marry just anyone.""Wow, I didn’t know you had such a gold-digging side.""It’s not gold-digging; it’s investment," she joked. "Look, I’m going to get ready because I’m going out with Robert, so don’t expect me to sleep here.""No problem, I’ll embrace my solitude and turn it into serenity."Kate left the living room, and a few hours later, she emerged from her room with her red hair brushed and makeup perfectly done for the night."Robert is waiting for me outside. See you later, girl. Take care." Kate left, leaving her alone.Rafa liked what was happening with her friend, but at the same time, she felt that this time of year was terrible for staying home alone. Christmas was almost here, and the city was beginning to get busier. Rafa spent every New Year on Fifth Avenue, close to her
It was already night when Rafa was sitting on the sofa in her apartment's living room. With the remote in her hand, she was flipping through channels, searching for something interesting to distract herself. Her mind was racing, thinking only about what Tácio Duarte had asked her.How dare he ask that question? Even though they had already been very close these years, it didn’t justify asking something like that. What kind of person did he think she had become? This was just another confirmation that he also couldn’t find out about her pregnancy. If he knew the child she was carrying was Ethan’s, he would definitely give her a moral lecture, as if he were the voice of reason. That was his flaw, thinking he could weigh in on everyone’s life just because he thought he had the right to do so. The apartment door opened, and in came Kate, as always, looking cheerful. Unlike Rafa's situation, Kate’s love life seemed like a bed of roses. "Why do I feel like you're a bit restless?" K
"I even tried to answer no, but you ended up showing up at the right moment. Really, I think they got the impression we were choosing rings for ourselves." "Can I be honest with you, Rafa?" he asked seriously. "You know you can." "I did it on purpose, wanting them both to think that." He revealed. "I think his fiancée is jealous of you. Thinking you’re dating someone else might make that feeling go away." "I don’t think Eva feels that way," she replied, laughing. Eva was beautiful; she looked like the model Gisele Bündchen in her younger years. Why would she feel jealous of someone like her, someone with such an ordinary appearance? "Trust me, Rafa, some people are just like that," he insisted. "And as for your boss, the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off you while we were choosing rings made me a bit uneasy." "I think you’re just catching wind." "How long have you been working for him, Rafa?" he asked, intrigued. "It’s almost a month, why?" "Has he ever disre