Chapter 3

• GABRIEL
• Last night's hangover is killing me. I can't stand the light in any way, so I ask that my room always have thick, dark curtains, which must be closed. My mother doesn't think my behavior is appropriate, but that's the least of it for me.
• It is so peaceful for me to sleep that I feel in glory, until I hear footsteps near the entrance to my room. The door begins to creak as it is opened.
• —Gabriel!
• The voice of my sister, Estefania, makes me think my mother sent her to wake me up. I don't plan to get up from my sanctuary, so I pretend to be asleep to get her to go away and let me rest, although that will be impossible to achieve, as she won't leave until I get up.
• —For God's sake, Gabriel, wake up already!
• I feel like my head will explode at any moment, even my eyes burn when my sister turns on the light.
• She starts yelling for me to get up.
• —Get up, it will be later for your meeting with the partners from England!
• —Lower your voice, my head hurts. —I hide under the covers. Your voice is very squeaky.
• —So my voice is squeaky? —He uses his sarcastic tone. Listen to me, Gabriel, if you don't get up, mom will be more angry with you for coming in the early morning.
• I uncover my head to see her; she is with her arms crossed and with her right foot she is tapping the floor without stopping. She waits for me to get up. I rub my eyes and reluctantly sit up. If Mom waited for me until I arrived in the wee hours of the morning, she's sure to give me her good morning sermon, and I don't want to hear it.
• —Ya. Happy? —Bubble.
• —Now I am. —He smiles a smile of triumph.
• Annoyed, I ask him to leave, but not before informing him that in ten minutes I'll be downstairs ready to have some breakfast. I stretch my body, stand up straight and walk to the bathroom. The hot water runs over my body as memories of last night invade my mind, I even remember when I ran into Mia Fermonsel. I don't know why whenever we meet anywhere we always argue. Maybe it's because her family outdoes us in everything, always leaving us in second place.
• I stop thinking about it.
• I leave the bathroom to get dressed and go down to the dining room.
• I get ready to close the door, but I hear something cracking inside my room. When I walk in, I notice that the window is broken and that there is a stone with a note on it on the rug next to my bed.
• Come on, I know you had a great time with me, why are you refusing? If you don't accept it, I'll tell everyone.
• I bite my lower lip as I read it.
• I take the stone and throw it outside. I don't know how I made that mistake.
• —I want this report ready and without any details," I order my secretary angrily.
• —Yes, Mr. Hoffman.
• As much as I try to concentrate my mind on work matters, it is in vain, as I can't stop thinking about the note.
• I don't know how I could make a mistake like that, since I'm not that stupid.
• I could be very drunk, but I would never do that.
• —Gabriel —calls my brother, Alex, as he enters my office—, stop thinking so much about it, it's not that big of a deal —he expresses without importance, something that bothers me even more.
• —You don't know how desperate this is, Alex, can you imagine the media finding out about this? Can you imagine?!
• —Yes, yes, but calm down, it won't happen if we fix it first.
• —Oh, yeah?! Let's see, how?
• I fold my arms and look at him.
• —Uhm, how about if you take mom's proposal into account?
• —Which one? —I raise an eyebrow.
• —The marriage thing.
• —No.
• —Come on, brother, that's good for you. Besides, at thirty you should have at least two children by now, don't you think?
• —No! I don't want to get married," I said, annoyed.
• —Well, but it's not for you to get so angry, it was just an idea. If that's not what you want, that's up to you. I came to invite you to a friend's party so you can forget about this for now.
• —A party?
• —My friend Alejandro is having a party at one of his houses by the beach. You can imagine the beauties that will be there in bathing suits.
• It is indeed a tempting invitation and even more so if there will be be beauties in swimsuits, since most of the latest fashion swimsuits are more revealing.
• I sigh and try to control my upset nerves.
• I'm not feeling very well to say the least and maybe this invitation will suit me.
• —Okay. Pick me up at seven.
• —Perfect. Now I really have to go, I have to get the merchandise reports for Estef's products. I'm too late to pick them up. I'll see you later.
• Alex being here for even half an hour helps me forget about the note. However, when he leaves, my mind is still on it. I get restless just remembering it. I give myself a little massage on the back of my neck. The stress and headache from last night's raw is killing me, but tonight it will go away as I have a good time at the party.
• —Ready? —asks my brother as I walk back into my office.
• —Of course I am. Come on, I want to get out of here. I need a distraction.
• —I really do," he gurgles and details how desperate I am.
• I'm not in the mood to drive, so I leave my vehicle in the basement parking lot to take Alex's car. On the drive, he tells me about how well our sister is doing with her makeup line. That's the only thing I'm happy about for now.
• As we arrive at his old friend's house, I notice that the party is spectacular. From outside you can hear the good atmosphere. I smile with satisfaction because it won't be boring after all.
• —Wait for me here, I'll get Alejandro.
• He drops me off near the house pool.
• I look around; there are many beauties everywhere my eyes look. I can feel the gaze of some women on me. My eyes are drawn to a girl with a cinnamon complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes. She comes out of the pool wearing a very revealing swimsuit.
• I gulp.
• When she turns around, great is my surprise to see that it is Mia. I never imagined she was so beautiful. She always dresses in classic formal wear; tube skirt well tailored to her body, although her blouses are always very sexy. She usually looks good, I don't deny it, but I've never seen her like this in such a provocative outfit. Her medium—length, wet hair falls down her back. She has long legs. To my luck, she still doesn't realize I've been watching her for a while.
• I imagine her under me on a bed while, between gasps, she pronounces my name.
• I never imagined her like that.
• For the second time, I stop seeing her as a rival.
• Hearing my brother's insistent voice calling me repeatedly, I stop watching her for a moment to tell her I'll be right there.
• When I go back to look for her with my eyes, she is already gone.