Chapter 3

• Human beings are capable of doing anything not to lose what they want.
• In life we always have to make decisions. Sometimes they are small, even insignificant. Others are huge and can change everything forever.
• “Mr. Ankarali, Miss White...” announces Mr. Lerman, observing me shrewdly, which immediately catches Angelo's attention.
• The mention of my last name brings me out of my musings, so I blink several times.
• “Why should I sell my company to the Ankarali emporium?”
• This question is not about money, I think quickly. In a way I can understand it, I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like I'm in their shoes.
• “Mr. Lerman, our company will make the projection that you once... designed,” I say in a firm tone. “No employees will be fired, only modifications will be made and if you agree, we will take all the advice in the most respectful way possible.”
• I want to tell you many more things, I want to promise you others as well, if it were in my hands I would work for the company and I would give it back to you, although it is crazy, I know, even so, I would do it.
• “Believe me Sir, your effort will not be in vain,” I send him a smile of pure sincerity.
• He nods and speaks into his son's ear; I don't know what he said, but Lerman's son stands up and addresses the entire table.
• He looks at me but mentions “Angelo. Mr. Ankarali, we will come to your office during the rest of the week, thank you very much.”
• “Perfect.” Angelo replies although I don't see him pleased.
• Why?
• We leave the Hotel at a hurried pace, I was very excited, I was sure Anne would jump with joy as soon as I tell her.....
• “What was that all about, Samantha?” Angelo asks in a stern tone eliminating my reverie.
• I stop in pure shock and turn in his direction.
• “What are you talking about?” I ask in confusion.
• “Let's go to the car,” he follows the path to the parking lot. He's upset about something, I know, but I can't think what could be going on.
• We get in the car, but I see Angelo just take off his jacket and throw it in the back of his car, he has no intention of starting it, so I turn to him from my seat.
• “Are you going to tell me what's wrong?” I ask and he undoes his tie a little.
• “Did you know Colin Lerman?” he drops the question cautiously, narrowing his eyes.
• “Mr. Lerman's son?”
• “Of course his son! I'm not telling you about someone else!” I'm a little overwhelmed by the tone he's using to talk to me, so I sulk.
• “It's the first time I've seen him and I don't know why you're talking to me like this! Can you please explain to me what this is all about?” I know I'm exaggerating a bit, but Angelo doesn't behave like this, not with me.
• His face changes diminishing anger, he places his hands on the steering wheel along with his face.
• “I'm stressed, Sam,” he replies, releasing air from his mouth. “I've got a goddamn headache, plus I haven't been focused on that meeting shit enough, I saw how that idiot was almost eating you with his eyes, that's disrespecting me! And everyone at the meeting, everyone noticed! Everyone!”
• “Angelo, I didn't...” I hesitate because the truth impresses me, I didn't notice any of that, I was in another world, thinking and remembering other things.
• “Forget it, Sam, I don't have to take it out on you,” he says. “I hate that guy, Lerman is another matter, but that guy makes me nauseous just looking at him.”
• I don't know what will happen in that matter, the only thing I've heard about Colin Lerman is that he squandered a large part of his Father's fortune. By the way, there is a matter I have wanted to ask Angelo about since I came to the meeting so....
• “I wanted to ask you, what's going on, you were absent at the meeting, you were quite focused on your cell phone, I know it's not my problem, but is everything okay?”
• The man turned his face in my direction again and I saw him hesitating.
• “Are you hungry?” He says changing the subject completely, apparently he doesn't want to talk, right.
• “Yes, of course,” I answer neutrally; it makes me a little angry that he wants to get every last thought out of me, and I don't mind talking to him, I consider him my friend; what I don't like is that when I meddle a little in his things then he shuts the door in my face.
• “There's a pasta restaurant I discovered,” he smiles at me. What a change of mood! “You'll like it, I know.” and with that he starts the car.
• “No, I'm sorry,” I say immediately and he frowns, giving me a quick look. “I'm meeting Anne.”
• “Samantha, I'll tell you, but not now, don't be childish.”
• “I told you I will meet Anne, I don't have to make things up, and about that, forget it, you don't have to tell me everything,” I smiled sarcastically.
• His face became serious and without saying anything he affirmed driving, and getting into the highway.
• ***
• “Thank God I stayed with you, because seriously Angelo sometimes is unbearable.” I said in my friend's direction while I drank as much ice water as possible.
• “Sam, you say that all the time, I don't know how you guys work, but that's what you live by,” Anne emphasizes, rolling her eyes upwards. “Besides, you're fucking stuck on Angelo, if it were possible you'd breathe for him.”
• The thing is that everyone sees it that way, saying that I am Angelo's shadow, and the truth is that as his family I feel a beautiful love for him, so from my side he will always have my full support, even though people think other things.
• “You're confusing things, Anne,” I say at last. “It's not that kind of love, I owe him....”
• “Yes, I've heard that many times before, Sam, but you don't owe anyone anything,” Anne objects in an upset way and I draw a breath of air from deep inside. “You've earned everything you have, you've worked day in and day out, you've given so much of yourself, if it's a question of debt I think you paid it off a long time ago,” she goes on growling as if her life depended on it. “So stop thinking you owe everyone everything.”
• When she talks to me like that, I want to hug her with all my might, I don't know what I'll do the day she falls in love and gets married, and I hope, to the best man in the world, because Anne is a treasure to me.
• “What shall we do today?” I ask, changing the subject quickly, before I make a show in the middle of the cafeteria.
• “We're going to a new bar they're opening, Max invited us,” a mischievous laugh appears on her face and I return the gesture.
• That will be good for me, I want to relax, I want to rest this weekend; it has been a long few weeks of work and I want to clear my mind; Angelo sent me a text in the afternoon asking me to accompany him to dinner with his family, but I decided to answer that I could not, he had other plans, and after that I did not hear from him.
• Maybe Anne and the rest of the world are right, I don't want to be Angelo's shadow, sometimes I feel that we are together for too long and that is not good for me.
• When I started working at Ankarali Enterprises, a week after I left their office, they called me to report as soon as possible; I was ecstatic, I didn't know what I was going to do, but I didn't care. Anne lent me some clothes to get started and when I arrived, I was surprised to find out that I would be Angelo's personal assistant and that drove me crazy.
• Thanks to him and his intervention that day I was able to make my proposal and maybe he, more than Adriel, put his hand in for me to get that scholarship.
• One of the instructions received by my dear boss, was a week after I stayed as his assistant, where he directly demanded me not to make personal contact with anyone in his emporium and exclusively with Adriel, his younger brother. I imagine it was because of the event of that day at the office; I needed the job so badly, I didn't think about abiding by the direction, and when Adriel arrived at Angelo's office floor, I was as formal as I could be.
• It's been hard to deal with college and at the same time work for Angelo, my schedule is all in the morning, and since I'm a senior, I can fit it in however I want.
• Monday through Thursday I am at the university every morning until noon, that way I rush off to the company to start my work and finish by six in the evening. On Fridays I get up a little late, arrive work at 9:00 a.m., and the workday is extended again until 6:00 p.m. like the rest of the days.
• I usually have the weekends free, although in the last two years they have been dedicated to one or two extra jobs that Angelo has to recharge me.
• I can't complain, because apart from the scholarship I also get some extra money for which I am very grateful.
• After paying the bill we go to our apartment, and after talking for another hour, she gets agitated knowing that we have little time to fix dinner and get ready to leave.
• “I'll use the bathroom first!” She's like that, extroverted to a million percent, so I take the opportunity to send an essay to the logic teacher and check the mail.
• At half past eight in the evening, we are walking out to the parking lot waiting for Max to pick us up, I decide on a short salmon colored dress that adds to my skin, but is not gross, my hair is straight, but with waves at the ends wearing it loose, which I don't do at work. I also carry a jacket in my hand because I know the early mornings are freezing.
• “You look fucking beautiful,” says my friend, straightening her hair and pulling her bangs back. “You make me look kind of silly next to you.”
• “What a thing to say, you're a beauty!” I answer because it's the truth, Anne has a white complexion and curves, her eyes are green, her hair is brown and long, she's beautiful, for me she is, and for anyone who has three legs in front.
• “Don't play dumb, you always do, you think you're normal, that you're just one more, but you're not.” she replies angrily. “You stand out as a normal type of woman and you know that's the way it is, where you arrive there's no one who won't look at you. That's why Angelo is so possessive of you.”
• And with that, she lets out sternly about me, while I try to ignore the shiver that runs down my back when she brings Angelo into the matter.
• “Stop it, it's silly to talk about it, you know I don't care much about it,” I said without sounding rude.
• “I know, but it's important for you to know that you're special,” she said without further ado, “Here comes Max, we're going to have a great time!” she squeals and claps her hands in excitement.
• I think she's got a thing for Max, I've been seeing her interest in him for a while now. Max graduated a year ago, he is working in a small textile company with his older brother, and they seem to be doing very well, we have always maintained a genuine friendship between the three of us.
• We arrive at the new Bar/Café, it's quite nice and was full of people, several friends were waiting for us at a table, so we approach them.
• I sit next to Anne and Max, but for obvious reasons I let them sit together, I put myself in a corner and start chatting with the rest of the people at the table.
• There is Tomas, Alie his girlfriend; Sara who is more Anne's friend than mine and John. The music gets louder and louder and everyone starts to drink in a disorderly manner, a song plays that makes everyone jump on the dance floor, and I feel how they pull me out of my chair.
• “Get your ass up!” Anne shouts, dragging me to the center where everyone is.
• We dance as a group and I take advantage of the moment to release all the accumulated stress, I don't want to think about anything, I don't want to remember anything, so I dance to the music and move my body letting myself go.
• After a while when the music becomes softer, an arm links my waist and a rather crude shudder of discomfort takes over me, I remain static, but I turn in the direction to find out who is touching me.
• I see a rather over-drunk Max looking at me strangely.
• Shit.
• “Oh, Sam, why are you so beautiful?” I freeze from the panic I feel, I look around and Anne is sitting at the table with some people, but her gaze is on us.
• No! No, no...
• “Max,” I say taking my hands away and push him gently, “Let's go to the table.”
• “Dance with me Sam, let me do it at least today,” he says in a rushed way, showing his lack of tact and his tangled tongue.
• “I'm tired Max, I want a drink.” I try to lure him to the table as much as I can. I feel bad, I can swear Anne is upset.
• I pull Max to the table, and he pulls himself together quickly, I know he is embarrassed, in a matter of seconds he sits down next to Anne and she pretends not to have seen us as if to make her unnoticed, what just happened.
• Once again I feel out of place, I regret a little not having accepted Angelo's invitation, at least I would not spend this awkward moment.
• A long time passes and most of them are already quite drunk, their faces give evidence of it. They talk nonsense and talk too much, I hate drinking, it makes me incredibly disgusted, but what I hate the most is the reaction it causes in people, because it brings out the worst in them.
• “Anne, it's time to go,” I tell her for the third time, it's two thirty in the morning and I feel like a truck has passed over me.
• I watch as she grabs an almost sedated Max by the arm, and puts her arm around his shoulders.
• “Help me, Sam!”
• I roll my eyes upward. Carrying a drunk is not what I asked for tonight.
• I lean a part of Max against my side and boy he is heavy, we say goodbye to everyone, put Max in the back seat of his own car as we pull into the parking lot. And just like that I start the car and head home.
• When we arrived at the apartment with Max, we put him on a couch in the living room, Anne put a blanket over him and took off his boots.
• “Samantha, Sam, I love you...” Max pronounces in a little understandable way, and I freeze in my seat, but I don't dare to look at Anne, I am not able to move, I want to disappear, that's what I want, and also to put a sock in that man's fucking mouth, so he doesn't go around saying bullshit.
• I don't look at Anne, I just lower my head and walk quickly to my room, I am capable of not saying a word to Max in my life, as long as I don't put pressure on her.
• I don't want to hurt her, I don't want her to feel bad about me, she knows perfectly well that I see Max as a brother, nothing more.
• I sink into my bed with all my clothes on, take my sandals off my feet and take the sheet to fall asleep in a matter of seconds...