Chapter 22

*Tina's POV*

I stepped out of the car and the heat of the scorching sun immediately assaulted my face. Armando and Alejandro stepped out immediately after and Alejandro closed the door.

"Welcome to Mexico, my dear." Armando beamed at me.

"Thank you." I returned his smile as Alejandro walked to my side.

"Is it always like this?" I shielded my eyes from the scorching sun.

"At this time of the year, yes," Alejandro replied.

I gazed at the house in front of us. It was large but not to the level of the Gonzalez mansion. It was painted white and had large windows and a door. As we walked towards the door, it opened and a woman came out. She was a bit chubby and had red hair with brown eyes. She looked to be in between her late fifties to early sixties.

"Armando." She smiled as she hugged the Gonzalez patriarch. "It has been ages. You don't even bother to call your sister. If I hadn't called, you wouldn't remember me."

"It's not like that, sister," Armando laughed. "I have been quite busy."

"Even so, you must always make out time for family." She pulled back and examined him. You're looking so frail and tired. The work must have been weighing on you a lot. You even look like a bag of bones. Have you been getting a lot to eat?"

"Yes, sister." Armando's lighthearted chuckle was always refreshing.

"I doubt it." She shook her head. "This weekend we must make sure we stuff that body with lots of food, no? We must remedy that."

Alejandro and I chuckled at the older siblings. Our laughter caught the woman's attention and she turned to us.

"Dios mio!" she exclaimed as her eyes landed at Alejandro. "Is that my Alejandro?"

She moved towards him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"You have grown so big! Ah yes, this is a real man right here. Lovely. I'm sure you must be taking good care of the home, no? Ah, it's good to see my little boy all a grown up."

"It's good to see you again, auntie." Alejandro smiled at her.

"And who is this?" She switched her gaze to me.

"That is Miss Tina Campbell," Armando said from behind her. "She is one of the marketers in my company."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am." I smiled at her as I offered her my hand.

"Oh please, call me Marina." She accepted my hand.

Her eyes lingered on my face and then to Alejandro's. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. The woman smirked and walked over to Alejandro.

"Come, come." She made her way to the door. "You must all be weary. Please, make yourselves comfortable and freshen up. I will tell Javier to make something delicious for you. He is our new cook."

Lunch was absolutely delicious. Marina really went out of her way for us. I didn't know the delicacy but it was one put in my memory and made sure I would taste it again in the future. After lunch, Armando decided to handle some matters in town and Alejandro was pulled along much to his reluctance. I remembered the pained look he gave me as he followed his father out of the door. I stayed behind to help Marina with the dishes but she politely declined with that calm smile of hers.

I was in the living room when she joined me later with a pair of knitting pins and a wool.

"Once again, you're welcome to my home." She smiled at me as she sat down.

"Thank you ma'am," I began.

She gave me a stern gaze and I realized my error.

"Marina," I corrected.

She smiled at me. "That's better. So tell me about your relationship with my nephew."

I shifted a bit in my seat. "We work together. He's my boss."

"Tina." She shook her head. "You and I both know there is more to that."

I swallowed as her eyes bore in to mine.

"I've seen the way he looked at you when he first arrived and I noticed you do the same. Tell me as a woman to woman, is there anything romantic going on between the two of you?"

I thought. Even though we had kissed and had sex twice I was still yet to know what Alejandro was to me.

"I.." I sighed. "I don't really know to be honest. I like him and I think he is a good man and I think he likes me."

"Was that how you've always felt about him?" The smile vanished from her face and I knew what she meant.

"To be honest, no," I said. "When I first met him, he was an arrogant and obnoxious jerk. He made life frustrating enough for me in the office."

Marina stared at me for a moment and then laughed. "Your answer confirmed the truth." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Now I know this relationship is not based on a lie."

"I guess you're right." I chuckled nervously, wondering why she still referred to this as a relationship.

"Of course i am, dear." She smiled at me proudly. "So when did things change?"

When did things change? I thought about it. Was it after he came to my defense against Natalie at the charity event. Or could it be when he saved me from those thugs at the bar that other night.

"I don't know. It just happened," I said. "I guess I was ablest see beyond the tough exterior and find the good man inside."

Marina smiled at me and reached out to grasp my hand. "I may not have known you for a while but I can see you are a good woman. We don't see people like you nowadays. If anyone would have been interested in my nephew it would have been for his money. Im happy he met you."

I squeezed her hand. "Thank you so much. I appreciate it."

"But there's something you should know." She took a deep breath. "The Alejandro you saw within was he used to be as a child. I'm very sure before you got to know him better you must have seen him or at least suspect that he must have been with a lot of women and fooled around."

My lips pursed in a thin line and I nodded.

"But which billionaire isn't suspected of being promiscuous?" She laughed. "But to tell you the truth, Alejandro has always been a good boy. From a little age, he was bright and ambitious and very polite. Until it happened."

"What happened?" I asked.

"The divorce," she replied. "When Joan divorced my brother, her actions left Alejandro shattered and broke him. To make it worse, she took half of my brother's wealth; although it didn't make too much of a damage to it. Then she never battled for custody of Alejandro. The whole thing was too much for the poor boy and then he just...changed. I didn't recognize my little boy again. All I could see was paranoia, depression, and hatred. It was too much for such a little boy. I think he grew as he did and by the time he finished high school, he became a handful. Armando brought him to my home severally and he was such a brat to handle. But trust me, I used the power of this.."

She brandished her slippers to me and we both laughed. "To tame him a bit. But it just wasn't enough. Thankfully after he finished from the university, he became dedicated to the business and I can see he has thrived from what my brother had told me. I suspected that he would be involved with way too many woman and I knew he would not want to settle with one."

I grasped her words to heart. It all made sense now. Now I knew why Alejandro behaved the way he did. Everything all started with his mother.

"But I'm happy to know that he still has a heart," Marina said. "From what I've seen, you could be the one to revive the little boy the Gonzalez family used to know and love."

She squeezed my hands with a radiant and hopeful smile.

"Senorita Tina," she said, "for all the time you're involved with my boy, please make him happy"

I thought about her words and I smiled at her.

"I will do my best." I nodded.

"Excellent." She smiled and stood up. She stared at the time.

"Those men are taking too long." She scowled. "They must hurry and get back to eat."

"We just had lunch an hour ago," I deadpanned at her.

"Si," she replied. "But they must eat more. They don't have time to do so when they work so this is making up for it. They are staying here for two days. If they eat six times a day to get them strong and healthy, so be it."

She nodded and made her way to the kitchen yelling, "Javier, get the vegetables ready! We must cook another lunch immediately."

I giggled as I heard their voices in the kitchen. I think I was beginning to fall in love with Alejandro's family.

The question was could I channel that same emotion to right direction?