And once again, there was Ethan, wanting to remind her of what she wanted to forget. "I shouldn’t have called you," he began. "Indeed, I won't disagree with you on that," she said, showing her discontent with the previous night. "I recognize it was a mistake, alright? If I do it again, you don’t need to come to get me." "But what if you threaten me?" "Don’t take what I say when I’m drunk to heart; what matters are my words when I'm like this, talking sober, face to face with you." "Fine, I'll remember that. I hope you remember what you just said as well. I care a lot about my job, and I can’t afford to lose it for any reason." "Are you that afraid of being fired?" "Of course I am; things are complicated for an immigrant," she lied, never revealing the true reason. "Don't worry about that. As I said, please ignore what I say when I’m drunk. I’m a man of my word, Rafaela. If I say or promise something, you can be sure I’ll keep it," he looked at her intently. "I don’t
“Of course, nothing is happening; don’t be paranoid," he replied."I'm not paranoid. I just think you both seem pretty close.""She’s my secretary; it’s normal that we’re close.""But isn't it strange that you two came to work in the same car, don’t you think?""You know she kept my car last night.""Even so… First last night, and now this. Why did you two arrive at this time?""I had a last-minute teleconference, so I did it at home.""And she was there with you?""Yes, she came to pick me up and ended up waiting for me.""Were you alone in your apartment?""Are you going to start again?" he sighed impatiently."I don’t like the idea of seeing you alone with another woman, whether she’s an employee or anyone else.""All right, Eva, now you can go.""What do you mean? I waited for you for quite a while, and you’re dismissing me like this?""I told you since yesterday that I’m full of work; I can’t give you attention right now.""Don’t you care about how I feel? Don’t you think I feel l
It was Friday morning when Ethan arrived at the office with a serious expression. From the start, Rafa noticed that something wasn’t right, but she continued working as usual, knowing his problems were none of her business. As always, she went to the café next to the company and ordered the boss’s coffee. Knowing he didn’t have a housekeeper, she started buying something for Ethan to eat along with the coffee. Not that he’d asked for anything, but since she’d done it the first time and he seemed to like it, she kept it up. There was nothing wrong with earning points with the boss.Entering the office after knocking on the door, she served him coffee and was about to leave, but Ethan intercepted her."Rafaela," he said."Yes, sir?""What are my commitments for this afternoon?" he asked."This afternoon, there’s nothing major. You just need to sign two reports that have already been reviewed by the legal team.""Damn! There’s nothing important that needs to be done or expedited?" he aske
"I was glad to see you again. Could we meet this weekend? I need your help."When she read the last sentence, she became curious. Why did Tácio Duarte need her? Without thinking twice, she decided to reply, asking what he needed. It didn’t take even a minute, and he called her back. She promptly answered."Hi, Rafa, sorry to bother you. You must be busy, right?" Tácio asked on the other end of the line."No, no problem. Actually, I was just packing my things. I’m heading home.""Are you going home at this hour? Do you have lunch there?""No, I eat near the company, but I won’t be working this afternoon, so I’m going home early.""Did something happen?""No. My boss just let me off early.""It’s nice you have a good boss," he said. "Since you’re free this afternoon, would you like to have lunch with me now?"The invitation caught her by surprise; she never imagined he would call at that time, much less invite her to eat."I don’t think it’s a good idea," she said. All she wanted was to
In the car, Rafa felt strange, sitting next to Tácio. It had been so long since they’d last spoken that she couldn’t bring herself to say a word. "Sorry for taking so long," Tácio said, breaking the awkward silence lodged between them. "You didn’t take long," she replied. "How could I not? You barely left work, and there was already a guy hitting on you." His comment brought a faint smile to her lips. "He wasn’t hitting on me. That’s my boss." "Really?" He glanced at her for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the traffic. "I thought he was some jerk bothering you. I almost got out of the car to confront him." There was something in his tone. Even though years had passed, Tácio didn’t seem affected by the distance between them. He felt like the same person as always, with the same familiar closeness. "Good thing you didn’t do that. I wouldn’t like it if you offended my boss," she smiled, joking. "Don’t tell me you’d take his side, Rafa. I was your boss
"Are you sure that's all?" he asked, concerned."Of course, you don't need to worry about me," she replied quickly."Don't ask me that; you know I worry about everyone.""That's really your way," she confirmed."I was very worried when you decided to leave the office. And I blamed myself for knowing it was because of me.""It wasn't your fault," she replied. "I did it for myself. Living here has always been one of my dreams, and now I'm making it come true.""Are you happy here, Rafaela?""Yes, I am. I have a good job, a comfortable home, and a friend who's like a sister. Things couldn't be better.""Are you dating anyone?" he asked with a hint of expectation."Not yet… but I'm really enjoying my life."That answer wasn't entirely sincere, but she also couldn't tell him she felt like a failure in love because every time she met someone, she ended up comparing them to him.Only Ethan had exceeded her expectations; only Ethan would be a worthy candidate to make her forget him. But Ethan
The food they ordered was served, and she decided to ignore what Tácio had just said. There were things that couldn't happen, as she considered it to be too late."You said you needed my help. What do you want to tell me?" she asked, recalling the message he had sent her."All right," he smiled, noticing she didn’t want to touch on that subject. "My younger sister is getting married.""Really?"Tácio had a younger sister who lived with their parents. After college, she graduated in paediatrics and soon found a boyfriend."She invited me to be the best man at her wedding, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to accept," he said with some melancholy. "The offer I received here in the United States will prevent me from attending some of the events for the wedding party, so I’ll only be able to attend the wedding day as a guest.""What a shame. I mean, for her," she corrected. "Because I'm very happy for you, doing work with residents from another country. It means your work is getting more
"I came to the United States all or nothing," she replied. "As much as I love my apartment, if it were today, I would never buy one in such an expensive place.""Why? Are you perhaps regretting it?""That's not it."When she bought the apartment with Kate, she wasn't worried about what she would have to pay; after all, she was single and didn’t have unnecessary expenses. But now things were different; she had another life to take care of."If you're having any problems, you can talk to me, Rafa. Regardless of anything, I'll do everything I can to help you.""Thank you, but there's nothing to worry about."When they arrived in front of her building, she invited him inside. Tácio observed her apartment while Rafa took a shower and got ready. She knew that Tácio wouldn’t spare any expense on the gift for his younger sister, so she was aware that he would go to the most expensive stores in the city. After finishing her shower, she put on an elegant navy blue knee-length dress and threw on