Chapter 11
“They say that when you miss someone, they probably feel the same, but I don’t think it’s possible to miss me the same way I miss you.”
—Edna St. Vincent Millay
William
Four days had passed since I’d been with Devon and I was going crazy because she hadn’t called me.
She had assured me she would, but she hadn’t kept her word.
I checked my phone a thousand times a day for messages, made sure I had coverage and didn’t run out of battery, such was my desperation.
But the reality was that she hadn’t contacted me.
I had promised not to call her and I hadn’t, but it had taken a tremendous effort because I was desperate.
I was in my office thinking about what to do to see her when the door opened. It was Xavier.
“Please tell me you’re meeting with sweet Devon today because I can’t stand your bad mood anymore.”
I had told Xavier what had happened with Devon to make sure he wouldn’t ask her out. He hadn’t been very happy because he was determined to invite her, but if he knew I was involved with her, he would never ask her on a date.
“Then don’t come to my office,” I said, looking at him seriously.
“I see you haven’t seen her and you’re not going to,” he stated. “Can you tell me why the hell you don’t call her yourself?”
“Because we agreed that she would call me.”
“And what does that have to do with anything? If you really want to see her then…”
“I don’t want to see her, I just want to fuck her,” I stated, because I never met with women because I “wanted to see them,” that never happened to me!
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” I exclaimed, losing my patience.
“No need to get so worked up,” he said, with a hint of irony.
I didn’t know why I was getting so agitated.
I supposed it was because I liked Devon a lot and wanted to sleep with her again.
She was gorgeous. Her delicate, angelic face; her deep, intelligent gray eyes; her mouth…
that mouth that could make you lose your mind; her sensual and perfect body, my God!
That body was a dream. Devon inspired wild feelings in me, but also other types of feelings that I couldn’t decipher and they were driving me crazy.
I huffed and looked at my friend who was watching me carefully with a smug smile.
“If you’re not going to call her, can I? Devon Dulcet really caught my attention.”
“Don’t bust my balls. If you go near her, consider yourself dead.”
Xavier let out one of his typical laughs and stood up.
“That girl has you wrapped around her finger,” he stated, which made me even more furious.
“Don’t be an ass, you know that’s not true. I would never allow a woman to disrupt my world again, especially now that Aurora is part of it.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that your world is already somewhat disrupted. One only needs to look at you and talk to you for two minutes to sense your chaos,” he stated.
I was about to reply when my phone rang with an incoming call.
I looked at it hoping it was her, but it was Leonor, my ex-wife Cristina’s sister.
Although she wasn’t someone I particularly liked, I occasionally met with her to update her on Aurora’s growth, though I was clear that she met with me with the sole objective of seducing me and achieving, like her sister, a wealthy husband with a powerful surname.
She never worried about my daughter, that is, her niece, had seen her only a few times and had only given her the necessary attention to not appear as a fraud in my eyes.
Despite this, when she called me, I tried to meet with her, though I always stopped her seduction advances.
Why did I meet with her? Because she was still my daughter’s aunt, and if something ever happened to me, she was Aurora’s only relative, even if it pained me.
Under Xavier’s watchful eye, I answered the phone.
“Leonor,” I said, and Xavier looked at me raising his eyebrows.
“Hello, Willi. How are you?” she asked, with her always sugary tone of voice and calling me by that name I hated.
“Very busy with work.”
“And my beautiful little niece?” she asked, trying to show that she cared about Aurora.
“Better than ever,” I responded curtly.
“When can we meet so you can tell me a bit about her? Can you do today?”
The first thing that came to my mind was that Devon might call me to meet up and, if she did, I wouldn’t hesitate to meet her, but the reality was that I hadn’t heard from Devon and didn’t think I would that day.
Perhaps it was best to meet with Leonor as soon as possible and get that matter over with.
“Let’s meet today because I have complicated days ahead.”
“Can you pick me up?” she asked, with that syrupy voice I so detested.
“Impossible, tell me where and when and I’ll be there.”
“Aaah, you’re such a difficult man, Willi. Well, it doesn’t matter, how about dinner at the Ar?me Exquis restaurant? I’ll wait for you there at nine-thirty and, since there’s a nightclub upstairs, afterward we could go up and…
“Leonor, I don’t meet with you to have fun, I meet with you to talk about Aurora. If what you want is to have a date, you’d better call someone else because it’s never going to happen with me,” I stated coldly, I already had enough to put up with her for Aurora’s sake.
“You don’t need to be so harsh with me,” she said, playing the victim.
“I’m being honest. If you’re interested in your niece, that’s fine; if your interest is something else, you’d better not call anymore.”
“You know I adore my niece, she’s all I have left of my sister,” she almost sobbed, and faced with such hypocrisy, I had to make a great effort not to hang up.
“And why don’t you try to see her?” I questioned, though I had no interest in her seeing Aurora, simply to hear what she would say.
“You know it’s very hard for me, she reminds me so much of her and it breaks my heart,” she said, and I was certain this woman could be an actress and would win several Oscar awards.
“Very well, see you later.”
I ended the call, put the phone on the desk and ran my hands through my hair. I was furious and frustrated.
“Your sister-in-law?” asked Xavier, who was still in my office.
“The very same.”
“I don’t know why you keep meeting with that woman when you know the last thing she has is interest in Aurora, the woman wants to catch you. Tell her to go to hell once and for all and you’ll have one less problem.”
“I do it for my daughter. She’s her only relative, if something were to happen to me, Aurora would be under her guardianship, it’s better to keep her happy.”
“And treating her like that helps you keep her happy?” he asked sarcastically.
“I meet with her occasionally, talk to her a bit about Aurora and that’s it, I do it so she doesn’t bust my balls, otherwise she’d be calling me every day for a week.”
“The women in your life don’t give you a break! Well, except for one who apparently decided to disappear from your life.”
I raised my head and glared at him. I didn’t need to be reminded that Devon wasn’t interested in seeing me. Thinking about that made me feel a strange discomfort in my chest.
“Can you stop mentioning her?!”
“Who? I didn’t mention anyone,” he said, playing innocent.
“Xavier, I’m not in the mood for your nonsense. I’m leaving,” I said, grabbing my briefcase. “See you tomorrow.”
“Good luck with your sister-in-law.”
I didn’t respond, that bastard had already exhausted my patience.
I stood up and left the office so I could get home and spend some time with Aurora before heading out to the restaurant where I was meeting Leonor.
What a day I’d had! And to top it off, I had no hope it would improve because a dinner with my exasperating ex-sister-in-law awaited me.
At nine-thirty in the evening I was entering the restaurant where I had arranged to meet Leonor.
I already knew it and was aware it was a good place with exquisite food, which was the only thing that cheered me up a bit.
As soon as I entered, I spotted her waiting for me.
Leonor was 35 years old and a pretty woman, but she tried so hard to attract men’s attention by showing off her assets that, in my eyes, she ended up looking vulgar, and truthfully, I was completely immune to her presence.
I approached and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, and she immediately clung to my arm.
“Williii, how have you been? You look very good, more handsome every day. You’re like wine, you improve with age,” she joked with a silly smile, but I didn’t find it the least bit funny.
“How are you, Leonor? Do we already have a table assigned?”
“Yes, it’s on the terrace because it’s a wonderful night, I’d say even romantic. Let’s go,” she said, tugging at me, and I prayed to all the saints for a little patience to endure the entire dinner with her.
The restaurant was packed and the only free table was the one reserved for us.
We sat down and she immediately began talking about her modeling career, because she was in the same profession as Cristina, and all the fashion shows she had done lately.
I had to make a great effort not to get up and run away.
“Do you want to know about Aurora?” I asked, to get her to be quiet and end this meeting as soon as possible.
“Yes, of course; but let me finish telling you about my latest fashion show,” she said, and continued with her story.