Chapter 7
"Why don't you ask Eliot?" Benjamin suggests, standing next to Trinidad at a restaurant's bar.
He's drinking sparkling water while Trinidad swirls the wine in her glass.
It's her third time at this particular place, a seemingly normal restaurant where most diners probably don't know what happens beyond the door at the back, the one leading to the third-floor restaurant, but Trinidad knows.
She's heard about this place and knows that at the back of the third-floor restaurant, there's another door leading to a room where those who enter have access to an immense space with dim lights, soft music, three small bars strategically placed, and corners with sofas or beds where people can have sex with strangers, swap partners, or participate in orgies.
Trinidad has never set foot in such a place, but she's always felt an overwhelming curiosity to enter, especially lately, when she feels needier than ever.
The businesswoman has many problems relating to people beyond her work, so in recent years, she can count on one hand the people she's slept with.
She remembers the first was a woman she met while vacationing in Turkey, also Spanish, and Trinidad felt comfortable because she knew whatever happened with her would stay in that country.
The second is a catalog escort whom the businesswoman hires when her toys aren't enough and she needs human contact or some conversation afterward.
Benjamin, with his fatherly role embedded to the bone, doesn't agree with this lifestyle. He always advises her to open up, not to fear people so much, and if she does fear them, that's what she has him for, but Trinidad finds it very difficult.
"Eliot?" she says with a laugh. "Come on, Benjamin, he'd have a fit if I asked him to come with me to a place like this. Besides, I don't want to sleep with him."
The other two times Trinidad has been to this curious and exclusive restaurant, she's never dared to cross to the other side.
She stays at the bar like now, having a drink with Benjamin because, although she's a decisive woman, she can't find the courage to enter alone, feeling vulnerable without her bodyguard's protection, which she believes would change if she found someone trustworthy who wouldn't mind entering such a place with her.
"So, you won't see him again?" Benjamin inquires curiously.
Trinidad observes the elegant venue from the bar, with its white tablecloths and antique candelabras creating a distinguished atmosphere. The walls are decorated with abstract paintings in dark tones, and soft jazz music floats in the air.
"No, I don't think it's appropriate to let him get his hopes up."
Benjamin makes a face, and Trinidad raises an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Well, I had my hopes up. That Eliot is a good guy, Trinidad, he'd treat you as you deserve, and I'm sure he'd know how to make you happy," he says with his characteristic rectitude.
Trinidad looks at him tenderly and smiles.
"Stop worrying about me, Benjamin, I'm fine like this."
"No offense, but I don't believe you," he dares to say and takes a sip of sparkling water while watching her with his characteristic paternal gesture. "I've known you for years, and I know deep down you yearn for something more."
Trinidad smiles again, this time wanting to hug him.
"Come on, Benjamin, you've been divorced three times, do you really still believe in true love?"
"I still believe in people, in people who can fall in love and share a path together for however long, it doesn't have to be for life. I don't regret any of my three marriages, and if I meet another woman who makes me feel good by her side, don't doubt you'll have to be my maid of honor."
Trinidad's sudden laughter is only interrupted when the entrance door opens and she sees Maria Molina walk in.
The businesswoman blinks in surprise several times with her gaze fixed on her to make sure she's not mistaking the person, but she's not, it's Maria, and after greeting someone at the entrance, she continues forward and doesn't seem to be there for dinner.
"What's wrong?" Benjamin turns in alert mode and breathes in relief when he sees it's the lawyer.
Maria hasn't been there for a long time.
Since she and Ursula stopped sleeping together and her husband asked for a divorce, she's dedicated herself to dating through apps or hooking up with company staff, but since her last argument with Ursula where she was forbidden to approach anyone from the work environment, she's decided that a good option is to return to this place like before, staying at one of the bars inside while having a drink and examining the merchandise.
The lawyer stops dead in her tracks when she sees Trinidad at the restaurant's bar, her heart races and suddenly she's thirsty.
She doesn't understand what she's doing there and wonders if she knows what happens on the other side of the door or if it's just a coincidence that she and her inseparable bodyguard are in the building.
Trinidad's eyes lock with hers, and for a moment, their gazes remain hooked.
Maria hesitates but finally resumes walking and greets them dryly before passing by, reaching the back door that so disturbs Trinidad, and crossing it without any qualms because she's done it dozens of times.
"Well," Trinidad says so surprised that her eyebrows arch and she almost lets the wine glass slip between her fingers.
Benjamin wants to hold back his laughter but can't, and his lips begin to curve upward.
"Seems like that woman isn't afraid of anything," the man comments.
"No, she's not," Trinidad confirms, not taking her eyes off the door.
Something has ignited inside her, something that begins to burn her insides and she knows won't be extinguished if she doesn't cross the door.
It's evident that Maria and she clash like two freight trains, but despite Trinidad's insecurities in many aspects of her life, in this case, she has none.
In her opinion, Maria has too much attitude, and someone needs to bring her down a notch.
"Will you wait for me here?" Trinidad asks Benjamin.
"Of course, Ms. Trinidad, and remember you have the watch, don't hesitate to press the button if you need me."
Trinidad looks at her left wrist where an elegant silver watch glints when the restaurant lights reflect off the crystal.
It appears completely normal, except for the fact that one of the wheels on the right is actually a panic button.
If Trinidad presses it, Benjamin receives an immediate alert notification on his phone, also indicating the businesswoman's exact location.
"I hope I won't have to," she says smiling before walking toward the door.
Maria has barely had time to order a drink when she sees Trinidad in the room, the businesswoman seems to be looking for someone, and Maria is tempted to raise a hand and ask her to come closer because, in reality, she feels as much animosity as attraction toward the engineer.
"Damn," she hisses when Trinidad notices her and begins walking in her direction.
Maria's whole body tenses, and for some reason, her panties also dampen.
"Hi," Trinidad greets and positions herself next to her, "mind if I stay?"
There's something very wild in the businesswoman's gaze that Maria hadn't seen until now, and although this sends a jolt between her legs, the lawyer wants to make it clear that she doesn't trust her and therefore doesn't want her near.
"You know what kind of place this is, right?" she asks and drags a stool, where she rests her bottom and raises one leg to the low bar with an elegance that Trinidad finds provocative.
"Yes, I know."
The businesswoman takes a quick look around, the same as when she entered, which has served to confirm that she doesn't feel uncomfortable at all surrounded by people openly having sex.
"Well, if you know, you can imagine I came here looking for something, and if you stay with me, it's likely no one will approach me because they'll assume I already have company."
Trinidad smiles but doesn't move. Moreover, there's a certain provocative expression in her gaze that Maria finds hard to resist.
"I understand, I'll only steal a few minutes of your time."
"For what?" asks Maria, who suddenly catches the scent of Trinidad's perfume and sighs deeply as if she needed it to keep living.
"For you to tell me what problem you have with me."
Maria hates that Trinidad is so direct because she likes people like that.
"You know why. You're hiding something and I don't like it. Maybe Ursula doesn't care that you show up with your air of superiority and refuse to explain yourself, but that excuse sounds cheap to me."
Trinidad listens without verbal interruption, but she makes a physical one when she unbuttons her shirt one button too many, revealing a suggestive neckline that breaks Maria's concentration. The lawyer clears her throat and takes a drink.
"She likes you for some reason I can't understand," she continues her attack, though her eyes remain fixed on the curves visible through Trinidad's neckline, "but you won't fool me. I don't care what agreement you have with her, I'm going to keep investigating you."
"That's fine, you have every right to do what you want," Trinidad replies, stepping closer and taking the glass from her hand to place it on the bar.
"That's fine?" Maria asks, caught between surprise and dizziness because the businesswoman stands so close that electricity runs through her body and an intense tingling of desire pulses between her legs, driving her completely wild.
"Yes, and I don't like repeating myself. Are you done with your lecture?"
Trinidad moves even closer, positioning herself between Maria's legs.
"It's not a lecture, it's an opinion that..."
"Shut up," Trinidad commands while her hands begin to unbutton Maria's pants, who remains frozen by something between rage and desire, "no one will approach until I'm done with you," the businesswoman finishes with such conviction that the lawyer's core throbs and her lungs empty.
Maria grips the edge of the bar with one hand and the stool with the other, lifting herself slightly when Trinidad tries to pull her pants down.
Inside, she wants to scream at her, tell her she’s arrogant, that she’s not there to fall for this spell, this magnetic pull that Trinidad so clearly exudes.
But Maria can’t say a word. She can’t even think of refusing anything because all she truly wants is for Trinidad to do everything she has in mind.
Trinidad holds her gaze as she enters her, and the surge of pleasure and heat that courses through Maria in that moment makes her legs feel weak, as if they’re made of jelly.
Trinidad slides her other hand behind Maria’s neck, grabbing her hair and forcing her head to stay upright.
At first, Maria stares back at her with a defiant look, even though she knows Trinidad is in control here.
But a minute later, as Trinidad moves inside her, driving her wild, Maria can do nothing but gasp for air, biting her tongue to keep from begging her to keep going or blurting out just how much she’s enjoying every second of it.
Trinidad loves what she’s doing. Maria is so wet that her arousal drips down Trinidad’s hand.
She wants to unbutton her own pants and beg Maria to touch her.
Her body throbs, desperate, and she can feel herself almost as soaked as the lawyer.
But she holds back. Tonight, she’s determined to make one thing clear: she’s the one in charge, and Maria needs to stop doubting her the way she did before Trinidad spread her legs.
Maria’s moans grow louder, more urgent, and in a brief moment of weakness, the lawyer tries to find Trinidad’s lips, needing to taste them.
But Trinidad doesn’t allow it. Instead, she pushes deeper inside her, making Maria’s back arch sharply as she reaches her climax, her walls clenching rhythmically around Trinidad’s fingers.
When Maria finishes, Trinidad stays there for a few seconds, her fingers still inside, savoring how tightly Maria holds her as the lawyer struggles to catch her breath.
Then, she slowly pulls her fingers out, studying them, warm and glistening.
Maria grabs her hand and pulls it to her mouth, sucking her fingers clean.
The two of them stay quiet for a moment, their hearts pounding, their minds hazy.
Maria wants to grab Trinidad by the collar of her shirt, pull her close again, and this time be the one to open her pants and take her.
She imagines turning Trinidad around, pressing her against the bar, and telling her to spread her legs.
Her mind races with images of all the ways she wants to take her, and the heat between her thighs begins to build again, so much so that she’s ready to beg for it.
But something in Trinidad’s unreadable expression stops her.
Maria realizes this is all she’s getting tonight.
This thought puts her on alert, and she takes a sip from her glass.
Maria doesn't want complications, first because Trinidad now has dealings with Ursula, and her boss won't like that she got involved in this way, and second because she's fine as she is - she doesn't want nonsense with anyone, least of all with someone as enigmatic as Trinidad.
Maria opens her mouth ready to make it clear that what happened won't repeat itself and to please not tell Ursula about it, but Trinidad beats her to it.
"I have to leave, I'll see you around, Maria," she says suddenly and, without giving Maria a chance to speak, Trinidad turns around and leaves.
Just as she aroused her beyond reason minutes ago, now she fills her with indescribable anger, not only because she left her mid-sentence, but because it seems Trinidad isn't like most women Maria sleeps with, those she has to shake off after using them.
Trinidad wanted to have her way with her and she did, and that's it - once satisfied, she left, just like Maria usually does, and it turns out she doesn't like getting a taste of her own medicine at all.