Chapter 51
THE JOB OF MY DREAMS
VICTORIA
It’s eleven in the morning, and I have five minutes left before I get to the newsroom.
Leaving the car parked and enjoying a walk was the best decision I could have made over breakfast because the walk has been just what I needed to sort out everything that’s been on my mind for days.
I know exactly what I want, but first I need to talk to Pepa and Alfredo and rule out the idea of becoming the newspaper’s deputy editor, even though it’s my dream job.
Before reaching the door, I stop in my tracks and look at my reflection in the glass of the windows to my left.
I no longer want to be the woman who spent most of her life in these offices, and no matter what happens, nothing will change my decision to leave this whole world behind and move forward with my professional and personal life elsewhere.
Besides, last night I got a call from a colleague who works at Europa Press magazine, and my eyes were immediately opened.
I’m going to find myself immersed in a lot of changes, and I’m ready to embrace them.
“Are you planning to stay there long?” Joana, holding a coffee, stands beside me and looks at me through the reflection. “Pepa and Alfredo are already upstairs; I told them you wouldn’t be long.”
“Thanks for letting them know.” After our breakup, the tension between us is palpable, and I can’t feel comfortable around her. “I don’t want this to drag on too long.”
“May I ask what all the mystery is about?”
“Alfredo and Pepa have chosen me to be the deputy editor of the newspaper, but I’m not going to accept it.
” When I mention it, Joana places a hand on my arm and pulls me closer to look me straight in the eyes.
“My relationship with Elena and this world are incompatible; I want to make up for the time we’ve lost together because I’ve been married to this job. ”
“Are you crazy!? This is your dream!” she exclaims in surprise. “You can’t do this just because you have a guilty conscience!”
“Remorse?” I ask, letting out a dry laugh. “You have no idea what Elena and I went through because of my ambitions, Joana. So you’d better shut up,” I suggest, so I can leave her behind and walk confidently toward the door.
“Wait! Victoria!” she shouts, stopping me with one hand. “Think it through. Are you sure you’ll be happy in Ibiza? That you won’t regret everything?”
“Right now, the only thing I regret is being such an idiot as to divorce Elena,” I reply, looking her in the eyes. “In Ibiza, I’ve been the happiest woman in the world, so the answer is yes, I know I will be, and I won’t regret it.”
“If Elena loved you, she would have forbidden you from quitting your job just to be with her.”
“She did,” I say. “I wanted to leave it all behind. Forget about the newspaper, write columns, publish a book…” I explain, tucking a couple of strands of hair behind my ear.
“But she asked me not to, and here I am.” Unable to find another reason to hold me back, she snorts and shakes her head a couple of times.
We’re much more than a divorced couple; before all that, there was a friendship.
She knows me much better than you do, and better than anyone else in the world, and she knows full well that working at this newspaper was my dream.
But now I have other aspirations, and I want to fulfill them.
“And what are they? To become a fisherwoman?” she says sarcastically.
“No. To get married again and start a family,” I declare.
“If you’re so sure, go ahead. Let Pepa and Alfredo be the ones to convince you of this because it’s complete madness, and I know you’ll regret it completely.”
“Good luck, Joana.”
Determined to move forward with my plans, I walk into the building.
I know her reaction won’t be the only one I’ll have to face, that my bosses will throw their hands up in horror and call me an idiot, that they’ll force me to think it over, and that Alfredo will try to manipulate me just like he did in the past. With a nagging headache, I step into the elevator and frantically search for my phone.
I need to talk to Elena, tell her what’s going on and what’s happened since I got here; I want her to know that I’ve broken up with Joana.
I miss her, I’d love for her to be here so I could lean on her, but I know that when I get back and we hug, it’ll all be over.