Chapter 63 Miami!
By Alejandro
I went to the office and ordered breakfast there, just like before I met her.
I started having breakfast in the apartment, just to enjoy her company a bit more alone.
Mid-morning, Susana sent me a new secretary, totally eye-catching, who made advances at me 200 times in the first hour.
I didn't look at her and her attitude annoyed me.
None will be like Valeria.
In the afternoon, I asked Susana to replace her.
This went on every day for a few days.
I couldn't stand seeing someone else sitting in Valeria's place.
"I don't want any secretary."
"You need one."
"I need Valeria."
I noticed some hesitation in Susana and immediately went down to her office.
I entered without knocking or announcing myself.
"Susana, please, tell me where she is."
"I'm not going to tell you. If you figure out where she is, I'll help you."
"This is not a game!" I shouted.
"Calm down."
"I want my woman."
"She's not yours. I remember more than once she told you that you don't own people and you're not her owner either."
"I want to be her owner. She's already my owner."
"I like that better."
"Tell me where she is."
"Ale, you pushed her away with your attitude. In a few months, both María and I cared for her as if she were our own daughter, and you made her suffer a lot."
"I regret it deeply, but I swear I wouldn't do it again."
"I'm very sorry you didn't realize you had the woman of your life right in front of you. You didn't see it, and when you did, you didn't care."
"Tell me where she is!" I shouted desperately.
"You're going to have to work hard to find out where she is, and that doesn't guarantee she wants to be with you."
"Damn it!"
I left without even closing the door.
All the employees were silent; my shouts must have been heard on several floors.
I went up to Omar's office.
"Were you able to find out where Valeria is?"
"No, Emi hasn't been able to reach her on her cell."
"Susana won't tell me, and she knows, just like my aunt."
"Could she be at one of our hotels? Because it was a last-minute thing."
"Ask your secretary. I don't want anyone on my floor, so I don't have a secretary. Since Valeria left, I've changed two dozen and can't stand them for even 2 hours."
He checked all our hotels, and no one was registered under her name.
A few days have passed, and I'm desperate. I dream of her every night, I long for her all day, I haven't gone back to the restaurant where we used to go, and I think Omar hasn't either. He truly seems like a boyfriend completely in love with Emi. If only I had been a bit smarter.
I have a terrible emptiness inside me.
She fills that emptiness, only she.
Kevin calls me on the phone, asking what happened with Valeria.
"Did you talk to her?" I ask anxiously.
"Yes, and she told me she no longer works for your company, she's looking for a job."
"Did she tell you where she is?"
"Don't you know?"
"It's just... "
"I'm not sure if I should tell you."
"If you don't tell me, we'll break off all business commitments right now."
"Do you love her?"
I'm about to insult him; I wish I could jump through the phone and strangle him.
She answers his calls.
Valeria... Where are you?
I swallow hard.
"Yes, I was going to propose to her."
"But you kept being with any woman who crossed your path. If she gave me 10% of the love she has for you, I'd give her my life."
I didn't like knowing this idiot loves her.
My jealousy is overwhelming, and my pain too. She answers his calls.
"I gave her my life, just too late..."
"If you don't know where she is, it's because you didn't pay enough attention, you don't even know who she cares about."
"This is not a game."
What the hell is wrong with people?
Everyone is loyal to Valeria, except me...
He hung up.
I search my mind. The closest person is Emi, and they're no longer friends.
"Her sister!"
I run downstairs and enter Susana's office again.
"Is she in Miami?"
Susana smiles.
I have hope.
"Give me her sister's address."
"I don't have it."
"Damn it, do you think I'm fooling around?"
Again, my shouts.
I left her office and went to the building where Emi is.
She had a secretary of her same age, who looked at me as if to stop me.
I opened her office door, the girl followed behind me, apologizing.
"It's okay, he's Mr. Alejandro Zalco."
"Give me her sister's address."
"Is she there? She hasn't returned any of my calls."
"Don't call her, just give me the address."
When she gave me the address and phone number of her sister, I could breathe easier.
I left without thanking him, I was in a hurry.
I called Juan to wait for me in the car and to prepare my plane for a trip to the United States.
I hope she's really there.
I can't live without her for another day.
The pace of my life has always been frantic, work, travel, and lots of sex.
I don't even work anymore, I have piles of documents to review and sign.
Not knowing where she is has driven me crazy.
There's nothing more difficult in my life than being without her, I simply can't do it.
I don't know what happened to the man who lived as a natural charmer. As soon as I got on the plane, the flight attendant flirted with me and complimented me.
I looked at her coldly.
I haven't had sex since the morning Vale left.
I don't want to do it with another woman who isn't her.
She burns me and she puts out the fire.
It's a simple equation.
The trip felt eternal.
"Book me into a hotel and let me know where, make it immediate, have my suitcase brought there, and make sure it's not far. I want a suite, the best one."
"Should I wait for you in the suite?" the flight attendant asked.
I looked at her, not understanding why she said that. She's an idiot, but thank goodness she asked. If I walked into the room with Vale and this woman was there, I could never convince her again.
"I'm here to find my future wife. Don't even think about setting foot in my room."
"Sorry."
"Confirm the hotel and the room."
I already had a car with a driver waiting for me.
On the way, I called her sister, told her who I was, that I loved Valeria, that I would give my life for her.
I sent her the video of when I approached Diego and confronted him.
I asked her to talk to Valeria and let her know I would be at her house in half an hour.
The day after Valeria left me, I bought a ring. I always had it with me, just in case I saw her, I wouldn't wait a second to ask her to be my wife.
After a 45-minute drive, we arrived.
I rang the bell at a house with a front yard, not too big but quite nice.
My hands were trembling, I had no control over myself.
A girl who looked quite like Valeria answered, holding a small baby in her arms.
"Hello," she said in Spanish.
"I'm Gabriela, Valeria's sister."
"Hi, I'm Alejandro. Where's Valeria?" I asked, almost rudely.
"She's not here. Do you want to come in?"
"Did she come here?"
"Yes, come in."
"Sorry, I'm being rude. Congratulations on your baby."
She smiled sincerely.
She reminded me of those smiles from Valeria that usually aren't for me.
"His name is Agustín, and we're all head over heels in love."
"I'm very happy for you all."
I just wanted her to tell me where Valeria was.
She offered me a cold soda; it was quite hot.
"I need to know your version of... my sister's life with you."
I briefly told her how things had unfolded.
"I need to see her when I open my eyes. I know I messed up a lot, but I realized that I love her. The last thing I did is what made Vale run away, and I know I was an idiot. When I didn't see her in my office, I could hardly breathe. That's it, exactly, I need her by my side to be able to breathe."
"I don't know why, but you seem sincere to me. Valeria never told me you confronted Diego and that he was armed. However, the kiss with that girl in Spain..."
"I swear it was staged. She didn't interest me. Yes, I had slept with her a few days before and a few years earlier in... a threesome, but these are women who come and go. That girl was furious with me and Valeria because... during sex, I called her Vale. Also, your cousin, and that's recorded."
"Recorded?"
I quickly told her what happened.
My version.
"I swear I adore her. I had no idea I loved her... actually, yes, but I didn't want to depend on Vale and I was fooling myself."
"I swear if you make her cry, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"I know. At home, they adore her. My aunt loves her more than me, the head of HR at the company, who's like another aunt, too, and even my father adores her. He also hopes I marry Valeria."
I noticed she was getting enthusiastic.
Finally, she told me where she was.
"She's at the beach. Walk two blocks straight. When you cross the avenue and enter the beach, Vale usually sunbathes near a hot dog stand."
"You've picked up some American habits."
We laughed.
"I swear I'll do everything possible to make her happy because without her by my side, I don't live."
"I hope so."
I told the driver to wait for me, even if it took hours.
I walked quickly.
My heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.