Chapter Twenty-One
MICHAEL
Running a large office was a bit boring at first, but little by little I started to get the hang of it and even started to enjoy the work there.
I even considered the possibility of going back to college to finish it and, who knows, maybe I would even be excited about taking some postgraduate courses.
I was already a millionaire heir and had already assumed the highest position in that company, but I began to think that it could be beneficial to specialize more in my area.
My mother would love to know that.
Unlike my two brothers, I had never been a good student. I’ve never even came close to it. My grades were always terrible, and my parents were always called to school to talk to the teachers.
In high school, I would skip classes to play basketball or video games, go to the movies, or hang out with girls.
In college, I would ditch to go to bars, parties, nightclubs, or to date women.
But suddenly the idea of learning more about my family business suddenly seemed appealing.
However, my work pace was slower that day because I couldn't help but remember the day before.
I had only spent two hours with my daughter, because her grandmother had soon returned saying that she needed to eat and sleep.
I wished I could take care of those things myself, but the Harrises obviously didn't allow me to be any closer than I already was.
The fact is that, even with those short visits, Alice already seemed to understand that I was her father.
She was already babbling some sounds, and sometimes I would be like a fool, repeating the word “daddy” over and over, anxious for her to learn it.
It hadn’t happened yet, but even so, every second of that visit was worth it.
In a few weeks she would turn one, and I hoped it would be her first and last birthday in which she wouldn't spend living with me.
Every visit to Alice was special to me, but that one was even more so.
I couldn't explain why, but Camila's company made everything even better.
Every moment with her felt special. From the moment I picked her up at home and had fun seeing her with her hair all messed up and wearing a Garfield baby doll.
How could she look so sexy dressed like that?
Back at the Harris house, there was the way she grabbed my arm, as if she was marking her territory and making it very clear to those two sons of bitches that we were indeed engaged.
We weren't. Not really, anyway. But at that moment, I think even I came to believe it.
And, incredibly, the idea didn't sound so bad to me for the first time.
After Alice arrived, Camila kept a bit more of a distance, but she also came closer and interacted with my daughter a few times.
As we were leaving, she told me she did that because she didn’t want to intrude on what she felt was a moment meant just for me and Alice, but she commented several times on how beautiful and smiley my daughter was.
And I heard all of that feeling my chest almost explode with pride.
After a day like that, I couldn't help but thank Camila for everything. I thought flowers might be a good idea.
I hoped I hadn't overdone it.
I was thinking about this when a beep alerted me that the elevator had stopped on my floor. At first, that put me on alert, since I hadn't authorized anyone to come up. However, when the door opened, I realized it was the same woman who had been the focus of my thoughts.
But how did she have my password, anyway?
Well, that didn't matter at the moment. I was curious about her reasons for coming over, and I confess that some pretty dirty possibilities crossed my mind.
Suddenly, the idea of getting sexually involved with an employee wasn't so bad anymore.
Damn it, I shouldn’t be having that kind of thought. Our agreement didn’t involve any intimate contact — we made that very clear right from the start.
“Hi,” she greeted me when she finally stopped in front of my table.
I stood up, but I stood there like a fool without reacting. Until, finally, I answered, “Hi. Is everything okay? I mean... for you coming all the way here. Not that I'm complaining, I just thought it was unusual, and...”
Shut up, idiot!
What the hell, since when did I get that stupid in front of a woman?
She smiled before declaring, “I just came to thank you for the flowers. I thought it was kind of you. And, well, if the idea was to convince everyone that we are really engaged, it seems to have worked. The people downstairs are talking about nothing else now.”
That was very good, although that was not the initial idea.
“Don’t mention it. It really was just to thank you. Your company yesterday meant a lot.”
“It’s part of our deal.”
“Since you’re here, why don’t you sit down for a bit?
” I pointed to the armchair across from my desk as I took my own seat again.
She did the same. “Speaking of our deal, since the amount we agreed on was a bit high, the bank came up with a few bureaucratic hurdles to process the transfer, but the money should be in your account later today.”
She smiled, looking happy with the news, and that, at first, made me a little discouraged. The idea of having her by my side just because of a cash payment suddenly seemed completely frustrating.
However, hadn't that been the agreement from the beginning?
She, however, did not pursue the subject of payment further. She seemed to have something else important to talk about.
“There's something I want to talk to you about, Mr. Turner.”
“Michael,” I corrected her. Faster than I would have liked. “Even though we’re alone, I prefer you to just call me Michael.”
“Right... Michael... I was thinking about the conversation you had with Alice's grandparents yesterday. About them sneaking someone into the party.”
I had even pushed that suspicion aside. But Camila bringing up the subject, reignited that doubt in me.
“Any idea who the infiltrator was? Did you notice anyone suspicious there?”
“I think you don’t even know the rules set for your own parties. You had to prove you were employed by Turner Architecture to get in. Even the interns weren’t allowed to attend.”
“Are you saying that the person who filmed us was someone from the company itself?”
“Or some hotel employee. Which would also make a lot of sense, since images were obtained from security cameras. In any case, it was necessary to have someone from inside involved.”
I thought about it for a while, remembering another fact that had gone unexplained. I decided to tell her about it. “Someone made the room reservation two hours before we went up. When I left, they informed me that everything had already been paid for in advance.”
“Two hours in advance? I think I would remember if we had done that.”
“Yeah, me too. I need to find out who did it. Maybe it's someone on the inside, and if it is, we still have a spy working for the Harrises.”
She looked away, thoughtful, looking worried, and I completely agreed with her. The thought that someone inside could be spying on us was a bit scary.
If that was the case, we needed to find out who it was. Although I had no idea how I would do that.
“What if we go to the hotel?” she asked suddenly, looking back at me.
I didn't want to misinterpret that; God was my witness. But I had to admit that my first mental image was of the two of us finishing what we had left pending that night.
“Michael, are you listening to me?”
Only then did I realize that I had gotten distracted in my thoughts. However, just a second of thinking properly about the question made me finally understand her intention with that.
“Do you think I can find out something by going there? I could go tomorrow.”
“I don't know, but maybe we can ask some questions to employees who were working that day. It would also be interesting to try to find out who made the reservations and how the Harris lawyers got the security footage.”
“That makes sense. But you don't have to go with me. At least that's not part of our deal.”
“It's not because of the agreement. I also had my images leaked.”
“Yes. And it would be horrible if your grandmother saw that,” my comment had an ironic tone, but she didn't seem to notice.
“Oh, don't even tell me, it really would be.”
I laughed and she blinked, not understanding.
“No, it wouldn’t. Your grandmother loves you very much. It would take a lot more than a video of you dancing in an elevator to make her disappointed in you.”
Camila grimaced.
“So the leaked footage includes the elevator dance, huh? I hate that I remember that part.”
“It wasn't that bad.”
“No. What came next was certainly much more embarrassing.”
She was right. Entering the room with all that fire consuming us and, once inside, simply falling asleep was an unprecedented occurrence in my life.
But... Did Camila’s remark mean that she actually wanted to go through with it?
Or that she wished she’d never gone in there with me at all?
It was a question that, for the sake of our friendly coexistence, was better left unasked. Just mentioning the elevator dance part had already made her face turn completely red.
Clearly wanting to end the matter, she stood up, reiterated her thanks for the flowers and turned around, heading towards the elevator.
Before she got there, however, I called out to her, “Hey!” She stopped, turning her neck back to look at me. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now: how do you have the password to my elevator?”
“I saw you typing that day you brought Smith and me here.”
“Wow... you have a good memory for numbers, then.”
“Not so much. But in this case, it was easy. 0529. Oh-five, twenty-nine. It happens to be my birthday, May 29 th .”
I could hardly believe it. It was such a coincidence.
“It's Alice's birthday.”
She also turned her body, now facing me completely.
“Really?”
“Yes. In fact, the Harrises are having a party, and even though they obviously don’t like the idea, the lawyers must have advised them to invite me. It would be important if you went with me.”
“Important?”
The question seemed to serve to wake me up. I needed to stay focused.
“Yes. You know, we're engaged, it's good to see us together.”
I noticed the smile on her face tremble. Damn it, had I said something wrong?
“Oh... sure... of course I will.”
“Is everything really okay with you? I mean, it's your birthday, and you must have plans for that day.”
“I would definitely stay home, my grandmother would order a cake, and we would eat it while watching some shows, with Waffle. I think they would both understand if we leave these incredible plans for the next night.”
“Deal, then.”
“Deal.”
“And, if you want... you could accompany me to the hotel tomorrow, so we can try to investigate what happened that night.”
"I’d like that," she said, walking backward toward the elevator door, where she pressed the button to call it. "But tomorrow's a workday, I hope my absence won't be deducted."
"Never. You're the boss's fiancée."
"I'm starting to get a bad reputation, I think I'll get an even worse one after this."
"Is that a problem for you?"
She smiled and shrugged, answering as she stepped into the elevator. "It used to be. Now it's not anymore."
I stood there, watching her until the door closed completely.
When she was gone, the large room felt emptier than usual.
I guess I was already starting to like having that woman around too much.