Chapter 50 You're marrying Valeria!
By Alejandro
When I left the room, she had headphones on and was… studying?
She had an open WhatsApp conversation with Emi, which I couldn’t even glance at because she quickly closed it when she saw me.
“Are you studying?” I asked with studied indifference.
“Yes, I’ve missed several days of college, I need to catch up.”
“Did you really take several courses in February?”
“Yes, they allowed up to three, but they got confused and enrolled me in four, and I passed them. With luck, I’ll graduate as an accountant next February.”
“And then you’ll rest.”
“No, I’ll take advantage of some common subjects with law, not many, but they help, and I’ll continue with law.”
“Why do you study so much?”
She hesitated whether to tell the truth or leave the question hanging.
I was talking to her about this because Vale was being completely distant with me, but she talked normally about college.
“It’s not that I’m crazy, but I don’t have much else to do, and between watching a movie or studying, studying is more profitable… when I was dating Diego, I had a bad time and didn’t want my parents to find out, I didn’t want to worry them, so I started studying, whatever it was, it’s like a tic, when I feel bad, I study.”
“Are you feeling bad now?”
She looked at me almost horrified, she said more than she wanted me to know.
She smiled at me, a different smile than the ones I knew.
I looked at her, studying her, trying to know what she was thinking.
“No… now it’s a habit.”
Okay, that smile is when she’s lying.
Because her eyes were bright, those accumulated tears that rarely came out.
She must be jealous, if I approached her differently, she’d be even more distant.
However, she’s always so… womanly, she’s distant but responds kindly, even if she’s hurt.
She loves me.
I can’t suppress my smile.
Now I have to figure out how to have her at my feet continuously, because I would have preferred to be in bed with her and not with that flight attendant that I didn’t really like.
If I had her at my feet, we wouldn’t have left the bed the entire trip.
I have a fixed idea, I want sex with Valeria.
Everything returned to normal, we started with a lot of work.
Valeria arrives at my apartment every morning and gets rid of the lady who might be in my bed.
I realize I have a bit less sexual activity, I must be tired, Omar is going through something similar.
It must be stress from the event and so many trips, once we rest a bit, we’ll get back to our old ways.
From some news sites, I received hundreds of photos from the event, they even wrote I don’t know how many times that I had two lovers, that what I did wasn’t serious.
There were photos of me with Valeria, not just from this event, but from when we were in the United States and China and especially the event in Spain, even when I kissed her in the square, in Italy, and also a photo of me kissing Daniela.
They said all sorts of things about me, some tabloids compared the two women and said I was crazy for ruining a relationship with Valeria for Daniela, because there were also photos of Daniela with other men.
I read everything without understanding how there can be such stupid people who invent romances all the time.
However, everyone highlights Valeria’s unparalleled beauty and the beautiful couple we make.
Others wrote that they hope Valeria forgives my infidelity.
I call her and she enters my office talking on the phone.
“No mom, I’m not dating my boss, it’s all made up.”
“... ... ... ... ..”
“The kiss… it was for a photo, you know, it’s publicity for the company, mom I’m working and they’ll scold me if I keep talking, I’ll call you later, love you.”
I hear her saying goodbye to her mother.
“Sorry Ale, something came up on some internet sites.”
“I was calling you about that. So the kiss was for publicity?”
“I didn’t know what to tell her and I don’t want her to worry.”
“Do you always think about your parents?”
“Yes, and my sister and my nephew, who’s about to be born, and Emi…”
“And me?”
She looks at me seriously, her lips trembling.
I’d kiss them until tomorrow.
“You’re my boss, it’s logical that I think about you.”
“Vale, you know what I mean.”
I don’t know why I push and make her uncomfortable.
“Did you talk to your dad? How embarrassing, because of the kiss.”
“However, you enjoyed it.”
“But it’s something intimate.”
“A kiss?”
“What are you going to tell him?”
She doesn’t answer my questions.
“Vale, we’re adults, you handle things very differently than I do and yet you live alone, so you’re not a child. My father will call me as soon as he finds out and he’ll talk nonsense, then everything will pass.”
“What if he wants to fire me? In the end, I did the same thing as Daniela.”
She says almost crying and very worried.
I stood up and walked around my desk.
“Vale, he’s not going to fire you, he likes you a lot and you always do an impeccable job.”
“But he fired Daniela and didn’t like her… sleeping with you.”
“He doesn’t like the orgies we have with my cousins, he doesn’t understand fun that way and Daniela is a disaster and on top of that she’s rude, don’t compare yourself to her, even the tabloids say so, didn’t you read it?”
She turns as red as a tomato.
“Yes, I did.”
“Apparently, you’re the innocent damsel, I’m a bastard, and Daniela is a whore who got into our relationship.”
“You need to clarify that we don’t have a relationship.”
“Yes, we do.”
“You’re my boss.”
“Vale, you’re much more than my secretary.”
I look at her and lose myself in her eyes.
I hug her, just to calm her.
She’s worried.
My hands run down her back, just to soothe her.
I succeeded halfway.
"Nothing will happen, and if my father says anything, which I doubt, you have my full support. I won't let anyone mess with you."
"Thank you."
She says, pressing herself against my chest.
She's not looking for anything, not making any advances, just seeking my shelter.
I felt moved discovering she feels safe in my arms.
I kiss the top of her head.
We hear the elevator, and Valeria quickly pulls away from my arms. It was Susana.
She walked straight into my office.
"I wanted to talk to you both."
Valeria was really nervous.
"Did you see the online news?"
"Yes."
"I..."
Valeria starts to say, lowering her head.
"Vale, calm down, we just talked about it."
I say, encouraging her.
I don't know what Susana will say, but I don't think it will be much.
She genuinely cares for Valeria.
"I came to warn you for when your father calls. Alejandro, you're going to have to talk to a few journalists."
"Don't worry, I'll do it after I talk to my father."
"What are you going to say?"
"I'm thinking about it."
I say with a smile.
I can take advantage of this situation.
"You have to say I'm just your secretary."
"Vale, no one will believe that."
Susana looks at her and then at me.
The HR manager sees me very calm.
"Between Omar and you, you're dragging the company down."
"No, they need to separate personal life from work."
"You're a very influential person and one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, they'll never separate it."
"We'll see, I'll talk to my father first."
"But you said..."
I don't let Valeria finish the sentence, my father will probably tell me to settle down, and I just had an idea.
"Don't worry."
Susana leaves, it wasn't such a big deal, no company will go bankrupt because the CEO is a womanizer.
I know I can have some fun for a while, taking advantage of this situation.
My father calls, directly to my cell.
I smile to myself as I answer.
"Hello, Alejandro, have you seen all the online news? Between you and Omar, you've filled all the gossip and tabloid pages."
What strange terms my father uses.
I had forgotten about Omar's mess.
I'll talk to him later.
"Yes, I saw them."
I'll let him talk.
"Always with the nonsense. Why did you kiss Daniela at the event? Don't you have any brains? We were going to fire her, she's a nobody, even the journalists say so, she has photos with tons of men, our company is serious."
"I know."
"If you know, you need to behave. What about Valeria? You make her look like a fool, ruin her reputation, people talk, thousands of comments go up, and you look like the worst womanizer. What the hell does Daniela give you?"
My father can't stand Daniela.
"It's just... I wanted to make Valeria jealous."
I confess.
"You're really an idiot, win her over, don't let that girl go, for God's sake, you surround yourself with floozies and want to hurt Valeria."
"You didn't complain about the kiss I gave Vale."
"How could I? That girl could carry the company on her shoulders and run it better than you. You need to settle down, you're young, but not a child, do it before someone like Daniela shows up and says you got her pregnant."
"Okay."
"Okay, what?"
"Give me a few days, then I'll call a friendly journalist and arrange to be seen having a romantic dinner with Valeria, and say she forgave me."
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"No."
I laugh, my father says such stupid things.
"But I can say she is, and meanwhile... pressure her to have her the way I want."
"Are you crazy? You're going to hurt Valeria for your whim."
"What do you want? Do you want me to settle down or not?"
"I want you to do it seriously, you should marry Valeria."
A smile spreads across my face.
"Fine, I'll tell her I'll marry her and then see what happens."
"If you tell her you'll marry her, you have to follow through. Do you love her?"
"What? No! But since she didn't accept a million dollars to spend a whole night with me, nor does she want to have a child with me, the marriage thing might work."
"If you marry, it's forever."
I didn't like that at all.
Then he asks.
"Did you offer her a million dollars? Are you crazy?"
"Relax, she said no, she's more swayed by a rose and some sweet words."
"If you were in front of me, I'd give you a few smacks. Stop offending Valeria and take her seriously. You could tell the journalists you're sorry and that your girlfriend forgave you."
"What the hell does she have to forgive me for?"
"For having an affair with Daniela."
"I'll tell you something, I like Valeria a lot, but I'm not sure I want to marry her, she's just my secretary, nothing more."
"Alejandro, you depend on Valeria even to hand you your food, next thing you'll ask her to feed you."
Mmm, she could dip her fingers in jam, and I could suck them while...
"Alejandro! I'm talking to you. You're going to marry Valeria, and only then will you have a child. It's a miracle she hasn't run away yet. Yes, definitely the best thing is for you to marry her, and not only that, you have to make her happy."
"Give me a few days."
I say, buying time.
I thought my father would tell me to marry Vale, but he almost demanded it.
Well, that way I'll have her in my bed, at least until I get bored.
And if she gets pregnant...
I don't know when that idea occurred to me, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get about Vale having a child with me.
Anyway, for now, I'll let the tabloids talk, after all, I've already calmed my father down.