"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
Leaving home to start another work week, Rafaela Souza was surprised when her manager called her into the office to talk."Transfer?" she asked, still not understanding."That's right. The new director will need a secretary, and since you have many years of experience on your resume, we thought you would be the most suitable person for the job."Rafaela couldn't believe the news she had just received from her superior. Working for the CEO's son, who had just been appointed director of the company, was not in her plans. Even though she didn't know the famous Ethan Smith, she had already heard many strange things about him, in addition to people saying that he was not an easy person to deal with."I'm sure you'll do well, especially knowing that your salary will increase.""Really?" she asked excitedly, as she was interested as soon as she heard about money."That's right. Now go, your new boss is waiting for you. Tomorrow, there will be a reception to introduce him to all the employees,
It was past eight when Rafa left work. She was exhausted and furious with her new boss. In just one day, she had managed to stress herself out for the entire week.When she got to her apartment, she found her friend Kate all dressed up."Is this the time to come home?" Kate asked."You have no idea what happened. They transferred me to another department and made me the new secretary for the new director.""The hunk?" Kate asked excitedly."The devil, that’s what. On my first day, he already made me work until this time.""It’s normal, friend. Tomorrow there will be a small reception for him at the company. I’m dying to see him in person. Some people have said he’s quite a looker. Tell me, is that true?"Kate also worked at the same company as Rafa but in a different department."I don’t know, I didn’t see his face," Rafa revealed."What do you mean?""Can you believe that during the whole day I was there, he gave me orders while sitting with his back turned, in that huge chair?""No w
Rafaela couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man with whom she'd had a wonderful night was none other than her new boss, Ethan Smith."What are you saying, Rafa?" Kate asked, not understanding anything. But Rafaela couldn't respond, as her eyes were fixed on Ethan, who was on stage at that moment, picking up the microphone to begin speaking."Thank you all for taking the time to welcome me. I count on your help and cooperation to continue making this real estate agency the best in the country."After delivering his thank-you speech, the department manager approached with a bouquet of flowers to present to the new director as a welcome gesture. Ethan was momentarily taken aback, and suddenly, his eyes searched for Rafaela in the auditorium. When he spotted her, he gave her an enigmatic look."He's allergic to flowers," she whispered."What?" Kate asked.Without answering, Rafaela immediately stood up and ran to the stage to take the flowers from the manager's hands. Her action caug
After the conversation she had with Ethan, the two did not touch on that subject again, and everything seemed to be just flowing. It had been two weeks since she had been working as his secretary, and in that time, she only had to see him three times, getting irritated each time.The phone on her desk started ringing, and she answered politely."Hi, Rafa, it's me, Kate. I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow morning you'll have some tests for the contract change.""All right, but why did you decide to tell me now when we could see each other after work?""I won't be going home tonight; that handsome doctor I went out with the other day said he's coming to pick me up for dinner, so don't wait up for me.""I'm so jealous, my friend…" she said with a melancholic voice. "All I want is for someone to call me and take me out to dinner.""Don't be so pessimistic, you'll find the love of your life soon enough.""I've concluded that I'm not lucky in that department.""Don't give up," Kate sa
Sitting at the desk where she worked, Rafaela took a deep breath, trying to process what she had just heard."I was the one tasked with receiving the results of your tests, so I came here to tell you this," Kate said."Do you have any idea what you're telling me, Kate? This is terrible.""I know, friend, because we both know who the father of the child is.""Speak softly," she asked, as she didn’t know if Ethan was still in his office."What are you going to do?""I'm going to take another test, of course," she replied. "This kind of mistake happens all the time. We were careful. What bad luck it would be if I got pregnant by someone like him.""Then we’ll buy some pharmacy tests."When they got home, Rafaela ran to the bathroom to take the first test, which came back positive."These pharmacy things are not reliable," she said, opening the second one, which also came back positive."Friend, shall we accept that you are pregnant and move on to the next step?" Kate asked when she saw th
In her apartment, Rafaela cried on her friend's shoulder, recounting what she almost did earlier."Don't worry, I'm here with you, we'll figure this out together," Kate said, trying to console her."I really didn't want my child to be Ethan's, but I also don't want to have an abortion.""Then you don't need to tell him about the pregnancy," Kate replied."You're right, I thought about that on my way home," Rafaela said, wiping away her tears."Really? And what do you plan to do?""Didn't he say that he always protects himself? So, he won't think we had a child together; in fact, he won't even know about the pregnancy.""But you two are in contact daily, he'll see your belly growing.""When the belly starts to grow, I'll wear looser clothes; some bellies don't grow that much," she explained."Do you think this will work?""Of course," Rafa answered confidently. "I don't need to share my personal life with him, and besides, if we calculate the date, this baby will be born when I'm on vac
Rafaela knew that if she didn't leave immediately, she would end up vomiting in front of all those people."Excuse me," she said to Ethan, standing up and leaving immediately.Ethan stared at her seriously, not understanding her sudden change of mood as she hurriedly left, as if she were running away from something. Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn't, because she was already far out of sight.Entering the nearest restroom, she immediately started vomiting in the sink, emptying everything in her stomach. Of all the moments to start feeling the symptoms of pregnancy, this was the worst. How would she return to the table if just thinking about the dish served made her stomach turn again?"This can't be happening, please, baby, don't do this to me," she said, touching her belly, hoping maybe her baby would understand her distress."Hello, is someone there?" a female voice asked from outside. "Are you feeling alright?"Breathing a little and splashing water on her face, she ope
"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