CHAPTER 23 - Luna Rivera

***The loss of grandmother.

Years later.*

It had been some time since our graduation. Romolo and I are living together and it's been wonderful, as always he is a gentleman in everything. It's been a while since I met Kim in person, we only spoke via phone call and when Kéke and Jully showed up we missed each other.

I sigh looking at my post-it that makes some appointments, my phone rings.

“Lu, Mr. Jhones wants you in his office now!”

“Now?”

“Yes, he's waiting for you.”

“I don't know why he wants to talk to me; I don't remember doing anything wrong.”

“We know that for him there is no such thing, and even though we are right, for him, we will always be wrong.”

“That's true; I'm already going.” I hang up the call and get up, leaving my cubicle. I can't even call it a room because it's a tiny place, and I walk at a snail's pace to her room. But first, I stop at Rebeka's desk, his secretary.”

“Today he looks like a dog sucking a mango!” she says as soon as I stop and sit next to her in the empty chair.

“Is it that bad?”

“Oh, borogodó,” she says, and I smile. I don't know where she gets those catchphrases from.

“Let him know that I'm here and whatever God wants.” I get up, fixing my suit, and she presses the button on the phone, and he answers it. “Rebeka, tell him that I'm waiting to go in,” and Mr. Jhones says that I'm late to be in his office. She hangs up with a not good face. “Wish me luck!” I say, walking towards the huge mahogany doors, but I stop looking at her.

“You'll need a lot more than that, Fighting!” she says, giving a fist bump, which means in South Korea, 'You can do it! Good luck!,' as Rebeka is Korean. I take a deep breath; I go to the door and knock on it. I open it, putting just my head inside.”

“Mr. Jones.”

“In between!” he says without even looking at me.

I look once again at Rebeka, who closes her eyes, clasping her hands together as if saying a quick prayer. I know I should be doing the same.

I walk towards his desk. As soon as the sound of my heels starts to echo in the room, he stops signing the papers, placing his chin on his hands and looks at me, with his glasses on the tip of his nose. He's a 60-year-old man, and he's actually quite handsome in appearance, because his bad mood makes any prettiness disappear as soon as he opens his mouth.

“Miss Rivera, remember I asked you to work on some plans?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How do you execute tactics and strategies so that the company’s purposes are achieved? I also asked to find some solutions to increase profits and expand operations.”

“Yes, sir, and it will be on your desk on Friday, as you requested.”

“Okay, but I'll need it as soon as possible! The shareholder meeting has been moved to Wednesday,” he says and waits for me to have a meltdown?

On the outside I'm still staring at him, but inside I'm like a hurricane, and in my mind, I'm tearing up those contracts or whatever he's signing while he looks at me. I'm behaving like a crazy person and loving the look he's making.

“Is everything okay, Miss Rivera?”

“Oh yes, of course!”

“Is there anything funny about what I said?”

“As?”

“You're looking at me and smiling. Actually, I don't like it at all.”

“Forgive me, sir. And about what you asked me for, I just need to take one last look, but it's all ready. I believe I'll be bringing it to you by Tuesday at the latest,” I say and observe the shadow of a smile, but I think it was deceived.

“I'll be waiting, Miss Rivera; you can leave.”

“Excuse me, sir,” I say and head towards the door with a smile on my lips. Does he still test me after all this time working here? It's already becoming routine.

“I started doing an internship at this company after 1 year at college, and I don't even know how I was accepted so quickly. Since then, I've been working here, and I know Mr. Jhones very well. We've never had any problems during these almost 5 years.”

“And there?” Rebeka asks as soon as I leave the office.

“Nothing much. He just asked me to deliver the plans to him before the deadline.”

“Ufa! But let's get back to work because he's going to leave at any moment for the meeting, and if he sees us here chatting...” she says and makes the gesture by rubbing her thumb on her neck.

“You're hopeless, Beka,” I say, going to my room, and as soon as I enter, I hear my cell phone ring.

I run to him, picking him up, seeing that it's my mother, and I answer him.

“Hey! Mom…” I stop talking when I hear her crying. “What happened, mother?”

“Hija… La abuela está muerta.” (Daughter... your grandmother is dead.) she says, and I collapse in my chair. “Wh…what? As?” She starts to speak desperately, and I can't understand. “Calm down, mom, speak more slowly, please.”

“No, sé qué pasó, empezó a sentirse mal y llamamos a la ambulancia. Pero no pudo resistir, mi niña…(I don't know what happened, she started to feel bad, and we called the ambulance. But she couldn't resist, my girl),” she says, and I'm no different from her; tears bathe my face.

“I'm going to Nicaragua, mom; I'll be there in a few hours,” I say, and she hangs up.

I grab my bag, my coat, and run out of the room. I meet Mr. Jhones in front of the elevator. As soon as he notices my condition, his angry expression changes to worried.

“What happened, Luna?”

“I'm sorry, sir, but my grandmother passed away, and I need to go to Nicaragua,” I say, trying to contain my tears.

“Don't worry; it will be faster for you. I will leave my private jet at your disposal.”

“No need; I’ll go on a commercial flight.”

“Don't disobey me.”

“Ok,” I say, and the elevator arrives. We get in, and he presses the button for the garage.

“I'm sorry, my condolences.”

“Thank you, sir,” I say, thanking him and trying my best not to break down here.

As soon as the elevator opens its doors, I get out in a hurry, take the key from my bag, open my car, then get in, lean back on the seat, and close my eyes, trying to swallow the cry stuck in my throat. I get a shock when I hear a knock on the car window. I look and see Mr. Jhones standing there with a welcoming smile. I roll down the glass, and he says:

“You are in no condition to drive; Gadriel will take you, and the jet will be waiting for you.”

“I'll just get a suitcase from home and let my fiancé know; I won't take long. Thank you, Mr. Jhones,” he waves, and I get out of the car, getting into the passenger side. His driver enters the side I was on, and we leave; my apartment isn't that far from the company. We arrive in 15 minutes, Gabriel leaves me in the parking lot, and leaves.

“I go towards the elevator, called it, and as soon as I enter, my world collapses. I enter my apartment and hear the sound of the TV in the room turning on; Romolo must have arrived from duty. I stand there for a few minutes, leaning against the door; my heart feels like it's breaking. I walk to the room, and as soon as I enter, I see Romolo lying down watching TV. When he sees my condition, he quickly gets up and comes towards me.”

“Baby, what happened?” he says and hugs me tightly, stroking my hair.

After calming down, I tell him what happened, and he says he will ask for a few days off at the hospital and that he will go with me. I send a message to Mr. Jhones telling him that my fiancé will go with me and that we are going by helicopter, but he is adamant, and I end up giving in.

I take a shower while he packs our bags. As soon as I leave the bathroom tidy, my cell phone rings. I pick it up and see the message from Mr. Jhones telling me to send him the plans by email, take a week off, and that the jet will be at my disposal so I can return to Boston. I thank him, putting my cell phone in my bag, and we leave for the airport. On the way, the best and worst memories of her invade my mind, and I try to leave only the ones that I was happy with... I will keep them deep in my heart.