7

Andrea didn't know why he was breathing heavily, because his heart was contracting and because a huge lump was settling in his throat. He was driving without knowing where he was going, his heart was racing and if it weren't for the urgent call on his cell phone he would surely have been stopped in an unknown place.

"Yes," he replied hurriedly when he saw the sender.

The brake of his car was felt in his tracks, when he heard the words of his nana on the other side; His hands began to sweat at that moment.

When he arrived at the clinic he was scared, it was like reliving the exact scene of the day Astrid died, the desperation of not being able to see her for the last time, for not finding her body overwhelmed him, and now that he could lose the only thing he had of her and what he loved most in his life made him feel miserable.

"Where is he?" He asked quickly.

"My boy, I'm so sorry," Ramona said as she cried.

"Tell me what's okay, nanna," she asked, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Luckily my son is fine, he will only have to be under observation today, and tomorrow he will be discharged," Ramona exclaimed. Andrea sighed, feeling a great weight fall off his shoulders at that moment.

"I want to see him," she said at once. He hated having to leave it every day to work, but being one of Demetrio Laureti's sons came with a great responsibility, and he couldn't let his father down, he felt responsible for everything going perfectly.

"Follow me," said the girl, her eyes downcast. He felt guilty.

Andrea walked into the room and could see his baby sleeping peacefully. She walked up to him taking his hand to kiss him when she saw him open his eyes.

"Where is he?" The little boy asked in a sweet voice.

"Who loves?" André frowned, thinking that little Dante was confused.

"The angel who saved me, Dad, had red hair and a perfect face," the baby said in a whisper.

"Red hair and a perfect face," thought Andrea hesitantly.

"Amber doesn't fly," he whispered, unaware that he was referring to Amber as if she were an angel.

"Please, the baby should rest so he can be discharged tomorrow," said a nurse entering the room.

Dante yawned as soon as the nurse put the sedative into the solution, and at that moment Andrea took the opportunity to find out what had happened.

"What happened?" She asked, as soon as she came out, "How did my son end up drowning, Nana?" He gritted his teeth.

"I left him for a moment to give the documents to the secretary, my son, it was really seconds, I don't know how he stopped in the pool, then when I came down, I found the lady giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Ramona explained trembling.

Andrea frowned. The lullaby's words struck like daggers at that moment.

"What miss?" He asked knowing the answer, but damn, he wanted to be sure.

"Miss Amber, your secretary, she saved the child," Ramona's words echoed in his head, they could be heard far away and like lightning came to his mind a wet Amber in the parking lot, and with that the words to her.

"Useless, a useless one who saved your son's life, damn! He exclaimed.

"Is there something wrong with you, my boy?" His nanny asked, noticing Andrea trembling.

"I'll be back in a moment," he explained as he left the clinic.

...

Amber felt those words pierce her body. But she didn't want to cry, she didn't want to complain, she was tired of being weak, if it wasn't that job it would be another one, besides, she didn't intend to be a secretary all her life, she wanted to study, she knew she could be clumsy at some things, but at designing she was the best, and that was what she wanted.

She drove the car home with a bitter taste in her mouth at the time, but realizing what she saw made her feel even worse than she was.

"Embargo" were the large letters with yellow tape on the door of his house.

He got out of the car in a hurry, thinking it must all be a mix-up.

"Sir, wait, why are they repossessing my house?" It is misery that is due, that must be a confusion.

"I'm so sorry, miss, the debt has piled up, the bank can't wait any longer, it's twelve months late, and the bank has been very patient with you.

Amber furrowed her brows. Twelve months? Surely, they were confused, she had given her sister money to pay the debts, at least that Angelica...

"Angelica! She shouted angrily entering the house, but there was no one there, even the furniture of the house had been taken away and the living room was empty.

He saw the mortgage paper and they gave him three days to pay. What would he do? He didn't have a job, and the only thing he had saved was for his studies.

He went upstairs to his room to look for the money, it wasn't much compared to the debt, but at least he would pay for about three months while he had time to find a loan and pay off the rest, but, to his surprise, the money wasn't there.

Amber felt a bucket of cold water fall on her face. She grabbed her red hair, frustrated, and an immense urge to cry invaded her. She couldn't take it anymore and threw herself into bed to cry. He had been left without a job, without a home, and without his dream of studying himself.

After venting that pain, he went to the shower, he had to be strong, he had to keep fighting and not let himself be defeated.

She dressed in floral pajamas and went down to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. To her bad luck, her sister hadn't left anything in the pantry, but, luckily, she had some money, so she called a pizza delivery (if she owed her soul to eat a pizza she wasn't going to pay).

It had started to rain and while he was waiting for the delivery man, he started putting buckets in the room because there were some holes in the ceiling that allowed the water to fall into it. I was engrossed when the doorbell rang.

"It must be the delivery man," she went out with the money to pay him, but she froze, speechless, when she saw a wet Andrea Laureti with the pizza box and his head down in the doorway.

I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether to tell him to come in, or to leave him standing there.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Laureti?" He asked in a thick voice. He had his words in his mind.

"Can I come in?" He asked back as drops of water covered his face.

Amber nodded and let her boss in. He looked sexy with damp clothes clinging to his body, his pectorals stood out because of the sky-blue shirt he was wearing, and his wet dress pants marked more his attributes of manhood.

"I met the delivery man at the door," he said, handing him the pizza.

Amber bit her lip, it was a knack she had when she was nervous, anxious, or thoughtful, and in those moments, she felt all those things for the sole reason that her boss was there.

"Thank you, have it," he held out the money.

"No, I'm on my own," Andrea said nervously. He felt like a teenager, and not only because he felt like the worst man in the world for treating her so badly a few hours before, but also because he couldn't stop seeing Amber. She looked sexy, disheveled, in very short pajamas that showed off her body and her clean, smooth face.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Laureti, but I don't want to owe you anything," he explained.

"I'm the one who owes you everything, Amber," he tweeted at her, and Amber wanted to be swallowed up by the earth, because her name could be heard so well on her lips that her legs began to tremble.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, lowering his gaze so he wouldn't notice the twinkle in his eyes.

"I knew you saved my son," Amber peeled her eyes in amazement.

"Son? Which child? She didn't know her boss had a child."

"I'd do it for anybody, sir," he replied.

"But you did it to him, and I couldn't be more grateful, Amber, please excuse me, I didn't know you were late, that's why," she took his hand and Amber felt a tingle in her belly.

Amber was a sweet woman, and she didn't hold grudges in her heart. He didn't hate his parents and sister and he wouldn't hate his boss, even though what he had said to her had hurt him.

"Let me think about it." He put his hand in thought.

Andrea looked at her like a sad dog. He didn't understand why he felt so bad about what had happened, but he wished she would forgive him.

"Please, Amber, go back to the company, let me reward you for saving Dante," Amber bit her lower lip. He couldn't lose his job, in fact, he needed it more than ever.

"It's okay, actually, I need it very much," he sighed. Andrea looked at him strangely as he had begun to shiver from the chill of being wet.

"I should find you something to change into, wait here, I'll go upstairs get a towel and—"

It was the last thing he said before his bare feet slipped from a puddle of water. Andrea moved quickly, sparing her from falling.

"Ahhh!! Amber shouted.

"I think I saved you this time," Andrea whispered as he looked at her.

Amber felt his breath close, so much so that she could smell his breath and perceive his blue eyes more intensely.

"We're close at hand," she muttered, but she couldn't complete the word because her lips were silenced by Andrea's lips.

Amber felt a current rise up her belly. Andrea held her hips as he played with her lips, asking for access to her tongue. It tasted sweet, intoxicating, and delicious.

He let go of his lips to look at her.

"I'll wait for you tomorrow at the company," he said, getting up and leaving the house.

Amber smiled as she watched him leave. I wanted to scream, to jump with excitement about what had happened. He ran upstairs to his room while Andrea stared out the window with a smile on his face. He frowned at the sight of the yellow tape on the door and climbed into his car with a strange tingle in his belly.

"You can't fall in love, Andrea, not again, least of all with your awkward, sexy secretary.