Chapter 25 Studying at Work
By Alejandro
A bit later, Valeria tells me that her friend Emi is coming to pick her up and will come up to our floor.
Since Omar liked Valeria's friend quite a bit, I let him know she was coming.
Of course, the last time they saw each other was when he was having sex with several girls at once.
As soon as Emi arrived, Omar was already coming up to my floor.
"Hello, beautiful," he says.
"Good morning, sir."
"Emi, call me Omar, please. Since we're here, we could go out to dinner, the four of us."
"I'm sorry, we can't today."
I notice she said this after a signal from Valeria.
Damn, Valeria is still upset or angry.
Both of them reject us. Emi has turned down Omar several times now.
"I promise I'll treat you like a queen."
"Really, we have a final tomorrow and need to go to the university today."
Is that true? Why the signal from Valeria?
"Well, I'll grant you that, but I'd still like to have dinner with you."
"Another time, thanks."
When Omar enters my office, we hear Emi asking Valeria what's wrong.
Valeria says nothing.
Does she know her so well that just by looking at her she knows something happened?
What if she tells her and convinces her to quit?
Suddenly, I feel anxious.
I love being with Valeria.
That's when it occurred to me.
"We have to investigate Emi; she could be our front."
Omar looks at me like I just told him we won the lottery's first prize.
"You're really a genius."
I thought of it to have Emi on our side. She's 20 years old; it should be easy to pressure her if something goes wrong, and she wouldn't fill Valeria's head with ideas.
I'm sure if Emi finds out how I kissed and touched Valeria today in my office, she'll tell her to quit.
"We'll give her the corresponding percentage and 1 or 2% to Valeria for being her contact, and with that, I've got her."
"You're obsessed with Valeria."
"I just have to sleep with her, that's all."
"And I can make a move on Emi."
"Tomorrow we'll investigate her."
And so we did.
We thoroughly investigated her. Emi didn't even have a passport.
Her parents both worked. They were middle class, just like Valeria's parents.
The detective informed us that they sat together throughout all their years in elementary and high school. He even got photos of Valeria and Emi during their school years.
We accessed both their bank accounts and even their parents'.
I also got information on Diego, Valeria's ex-boyfriend.
Emi was clean, and so was Valeria, though we had already investigated Valeria, which is why she entered my house with her fingerprint and also my office.
Now we had to plan how to propose it to her.
By Valeria
Exam Day
He tried to force me to have sex.
He bulldozes through life and thinks he owns me.
I had experienced something similar with Diego, but Diego did it while he was my boyfriend, and his behavior was also wrong. After much thought, I realized that Diego sometimes also forced me to have sex with him. Many times, during our last reconciliations, I agreed out of fear, and that, even without violence, was also rape.
It was because he forced me.
Alejandro used quite a bit of violence, and I'm not calling a slap violence, but he twisted my arm.
Tomorrow I'll probably have to wear a long-sleeved shirt because I'll have purple bruises on my arm from him squeezing it so hard.
I didn't return his kisses at any moment, like I did on some other occasions. Today, he sought to hurt me; I could feel it in the way he kissed me.
I realized that many times when he kissed me, there was a certain tenderness, besides that passion he must feel with all women.
I try to at least think he kisses me with tenderness to differentiate myself from all the other women.
Today didn't scare me.
I can handle a situation like this; I've handled it many times with Diego.
He wants to dominate me, and he won't achieve it that way.
If he knew how I feel, he'd be surprised.
On the other hand, I think I came into this world to suffer from love.
Not trying to play the victim.
Maybe it's me who, after getting used to, as Emi says, Diego's personality, sought to fall in love with someone complex, to put a name to his personality.
She got scared when I told her I was quitting.
I know she got used to me.
I'm not problematic, despite having fallen in love with two men who are.
I try to focus on my work, even though sometimes it becomes unbearable.
Tomorrow, taking advantage of the situation, I'm going to ask for the afternoon off. I want to prepare well for the exam, it's a final, one of the last ones.
Emi noticed right away that something had happened to me. When I told her, on our way to the university, the first thing she said was to quit.
I know the relationship I'm having with Alejandro isn't healthy, but despite suffering every time I pull a woman out of his bed or send a gift to one, which by the way hasn't happened in a while, going to his apartment every day, preparing his clothes, having breakfast with him, I don't know, I think those are our unique moments.
Traveling with him and going over the day's agenda, having him close and having his trust, makes me feel part of the nobility.
I know I'm not part of his reality, I know he desires me and that desire would end as soon as he possesses me. On one hand, he is so far from me, like that rock or pop star you fall in love with when you're a teenager, imagining the songs are inspired by you, yet thousands of fans think the same.
That's it, he is that star I will never reach, and yet I feel very close to him.
He doesn't realize everything he stirs in me, and I don't want him to know.
I entered his house like every day and, of course, pulled a spectacular blonde out of his bed, who thankfully left right away. She must have thought I was the girlfriend or maybe the wife.
I think that's why, even though it hurts to know he was with those women, I go to his apartment every morning. I like making them believe we are a couple and that he is mine.
I know I'm delusional.
During the trip, he was calm and we went over the day's agenda.
"Alejandro..."
I say before he goes to lunch.
"I wanted to ask for the afternoon off, I have a final today."
"I need you here."
He says without caring what I'm saying.
"It's unfair, I never ask for days off for exams."
"When you took the executive secretary job, you knew you might not be able to take some exams."
This time I had to hold back my tears.
I left his office without saying anything.
I called Emi, to tell her to review the last points of the exam alone, that we would text each other.
She didn't hold back insults toward Alejandro.
When he went to lunch, I took the opportunity to study.
He arrived with Omar and they locked themselves in his office. For the first time since working there, I turned down the volume on the phones, leaving only the intercom with Alejandro's office on.
I dedicated myself to studying.
I had never done something like that.
At one point, I put my phone on speaker, talking to Emi, and on the computer, I had some formulas displayed while I took notes on paper.
I didn't realize Omar was standing in front of me, listening to what I was saying to Emi.
"I'll see you at the university."
I ended the call with my friend.
I was going to have problems with Alejandro, again.
He was capable of keeping me from taking the exam, just to show he had the power to do so.
Yes, he was capricious, arrogant, and despotic.
"An exam?"
He asks with a smile.
I couldn't lie, he had already figured it out.
"Yes, sorry."
I closed the folder.
"Relax. When is it?"
"Today."
"Why didn't you take the day off?"
I look at him terrified.
He must have realized it was Alejandro who didn't allow it.
He shook his head and left.
At least he didn't go gossiping that he found me studying.
I wanted to review two more points and then I'd feel calm.
Just in case, I turned up the volume on the phones.
Alejandro called, asking me to connect him with one of our representatives in France.
I know he takes about half an hour on the phone because that's always the time he spends talking to Jean Claude.
I reviewed one more point.
I had one last point to go and then I could make it to the university on time.