Chapter 37
Two Days Later
“Lunch at two?” I ask as soon as she answers the phone.
“I can’t. I promised Julien I’d oversee the preparation of the brigadeiros for tonight’s reception.”
“Alright, Miss Freitas, but your shift ends at five. I’ll meet you in the lobby at exactly five o’clock.”
“I shouldn’t spend another night at your place.”
“Five o’clock. Don’t be late.”
I hang up before she can protest further.
She avoids being alone with me at work, even though I’ve convinced her to stay over at my place since we spent the night in the hotel.
I know this distance during the day is necessary, and I should be glad that one of us can think clearly, but that’s not what’s happening.
I feel like a stalker trying to steal every opportunity we have to be together.
The irony is that what’s hindering us is something Layla complained about the most in me: that I worked too much.
Olívia takes her duties as seriously as I do.
She’s smart and learns quickly. My girlfriend has been spending a lot of time in the kitchen with Julien. At his request, she put together a menu of gourmet brigadeiros, and he insisted on listing them as her creation.
Of course, I’ll want to taste them all. On her body, preferably.
Slowly, I’ve been bringing up topics from the past. Both about Layla and Olívia herself, but every time she seems uninterested. It’s as if she unconsciously avoids revelations.
Now, however, it’s urgent for me to come clean. I want her to know everything because I feel like neither of us can be fully committed in the relationship until this obstacle is overcome.
Yesterday, I took some time to carefully read through everything my late wife had about Olívia.
At the time of her death, I glanced through the documentation, and some details escaped me, but now I have no doubt that Layla knew Olívia was living in precarious circumstances.
She even knew that Olívia’s adoptive mother was sick, and not even that could touch her cold heart.
An hour before I’m supposed to meet her, Melissa informs me that Joaquín has arrived.
Before Olívia came into my life, I used to leave the office a little later, not as late as I used to before Nina was born, but still rarely before six. Lately, however, I’ve been organizing everything so that I can be with her as soon as possible.
Because of Valentina, I’ve had to moderate the amount of work I do, and I increasingly value the moments dedicated to her and Olívia.
“Wipe that silly grin off your face.”
I stand up to talk to my two-years-younger brother, who could very well be an old man if we consider his grumpiness.
He’s dropped in unannounced, but it doesn’t surprise me that he’s here. Joaquín is like a hunter who, once he starts on a trail, doesn’t stop until he unravels everything, and right now he’s obsessed with the circumstances of Olívia’s fall.
Although he was initially skeptical about her, to say the least, after I took her to lunch at my parents’ house, he stopped pestering me.
My brother couldn’t stand Layla from the moment he saw her, but he truly despised her when he found out about the agreement involving our divorce and, consequently, Valentina’s custody.
Like me, he’s very protective of the family, and even more so when it comes to Nina, so any woman who came into my life would be the target of his paranoia.
“What haven’t you told me about Olívia?”
“Have you considered that if I haven’t told you, it’s because it’s none of your business?”
“Alright,” he says as if conceding something.
Not for the first time, I think the woman who falls for him will need to be canonized, but despite always having the power to annoy me, today I’m in a good mood.
“Did you find out anything?” I know that’s the only reason he would come here.
Joaquín never wanted to get involved in the family business.
Like all the siblings, he’s a major shareholder, but he leaves everything in my hands.
“The footage really disappeared, didn’t it? ”
“Yes. From the entire floor.” Before becoming a prosecutor, he worked for a few years as a police detective.
When he decided on a career in law, my parents thought he would become a lawyer, although it wasn’t a total surprise that he chose to work helping to fight criminals. “Do you know what that means?”
“That there’s more than one person involved.”
“That weird woman you kept by your side for years might have taken the floor sign on purpose to hurt Olívia, but for all the footage to disappear, she would need accomplices.”
“What do you suggest? I’d rather have some proof in my hands, just in case we’re making a mistake.”
“Alright. You’re not wrong . . .”
“But?”
“But physically hurting someone is an extreme act, Guillermo. It’s not just the action of a jealous woman but of someone capable of hurting an innocent girl to get her away from you.”
“She’s already been transferred.”
“Alright. I have some people inside trying to find evidence that it was her. However, I advise you to give her paid leave.”
“I can arrange that. Kathleen had some overdue vacation days when I reassigned her. The head of the HR department said she would lose the days if she didn’t take them.”
“Do that. Give her two weeks off. By then, I’m sure I’ll have an answer.”
“I’ll arrange that tomorrow.”
“How’s Nina?”
“Fine. Her teeth finally came out.”
He smiles, which should be painted and framed as it’s so rare. “I have to go.”
“A date?”
“None of your business.”
“It’s not fun when the gun is pointed at us, is it?”
Despite his unfriendly demeanor, he comes over to where I am and hugs me. “Take care.”
“Always.”
I look at the clock, thinking it’s time to meet Olívia, but I barely make it to my desk before Melissa enters the room with a face as white as a sheet.
Immediately, I know something’s wrong. She would never enter without knocking.
“What’s going on?”
“Olívia.”
Before she finishes, I’m heading for the elevator. “What happened?”
“A hotel security guard stopped her downstairs. Actually, he arrested her, accusing her of theft.”
I step into the elevator and call Joaquín. Whatever is happening, I’ll need him. “Where are you?”
“Leaving the elevator, why?”
“Come back. I just got word that Olívia’s been arrested.”
“What? I’m on my way up. Where should I go?”
“One moment.” I turn to my secretary, who looks like she’s about to faint. “Where did they take her, Melissa?”
“Ivy said they grabbed her in the hotel lobby and Olívia was crying. Now they’ve taken her to the security center.” She herself seems on the verge of tears.
“Joaquín?”
“I heard. I’ll meet you there in a moment.”
She only waits for me to hang up before she starts babbling. “There must have been a mistake, Mr. Guillermo. She wouldn’t do this.”
As crazy as I feel right now, I need to find out what’s going on, and to do that, I must calm her down. “Tell me what happened.”
“She was leaving when one of the staff accused her of stealing her wallet.”
“What do you mean?”
“One of the junior’s wallets ended up in Olívia’s bag.
Charlotte, the girl whose wallet was stolen, said she saw Olívia taking it but didn’t say anything so they could catch her red-handed.
I really don’t know exactly what happened, but within minutes, a crowd had gathered in the lobby.
The security guard arrested her in front of everyone. That’s not protocol.”
“Damn it!”
She flinches at my outburst.
“Go to the filming room. Don’t let anyone touch anything, understood? No one should touch the recordings, not even those in the control room.”
“Yes, sir.”
We step out of the elevator, and as I walk towards where I think Olívia might be, Melissa continues on her way to carry out my orders.
I still can’t see Olívia, but there’s a crowd of employees on the third floor, some pointing their phones and filming.
I’m overcome with anger. There’s no doubt they set her up, and I have a good idea of who did it.
As I approach, I hear Joaquín’s voice.
“Did she resist?”
“Mr. Joaquín, what are you doing here?”
I can sense the tremor in the man’s voice, even from a distance.
“Let’s turn the tables. Answer my question first: did she resist when you said you’d check her bag? And after that, maybe you can explain to me why the hell you laid hands on my sister-in-law inside my family’s hotel.”
As I get closer, I notice he’s already pulled Olívia into his arms. She doesn’t hug him back, but her face is buried in his chest.
After my brother’s statement, a deathly silence settles in, and upon my arrival, the crowd parts like a corridor.
“Olívia.”
She lifts her head to look at me, and I don’t see anyone else.
I extend my hand in invitation, and she doesn’t hesitate.
When I have her close to me, I wrap my arms around her and speak only to Joaquín.
“I’ll go up with her, but no staff should leave the hotel until everything is clarified. Whoever was involved in this will pay.”