BE WITH ME: with love or hatred

Elegant women and men already sat down on their chairs, the circle table holding documents and bottles of water for each of the attendees. Everyone was prepared for the meeting Mr. Slimth was about to give and, as always, the same chair by his side was empty. It was unbelievable! The meeting must have started 85 seconds ago. But who was Damien Slimth to measure time as he would always do? Well, Damien Slimth was the kind of man who thought when his employees arrived to that company, asking for the opportunity to work for him what they meant to ask was the opportunity to serve and please with their lives on his whims. Even if we talk about the woman he had seen turn into a woman.

Suddenly, the big door of the sale opened. Everyone went into silence.

The host had arrived. Late, but she had arrived. 

“Once again late, why should I even say so?” Damien said, looking at the woman of the 

enormous glasses and the ponytail who had arrived.

Amber couldn’t do anything else but bow her head to the people who were already 

there. The prettiest ones couldn’t help but smile mockingly. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Slimth, I was asking for the compilation of the documents to work on 

now.”

With a signal, Damien let her know he didn’t want to listen anymore and made her take 

her seat. Everyone looked at her like she was the prisoner who had been sentenced to 

death. 

“Well, now that my favorite secretary is here, we can start,” Damien said. “Let’s get started!” Damien clapped a couple of times.

And again, everyone paid attention to the man who was starting to speak, having Amber by his side to support his ideas or even to retake the explanations for every time he decided to sip from his bottle of water.

She couldn't help but stare at the man, who was far more expressive of his gestures than his words. That was why she was there, to support and strengthen him.

Amber Villanueva, the same girl who had seen him turn into the unreachable man who was speaking in front of them, while the pettiest secretaries didn’t lose any opportunity to give him a mischievous smile or even a mischievous look.

How long until she could stop seeing him as a man when he surely saw her as his little sister? Even if it that day came, she had to know he was as she had always described him, no more than an unreachable man whose heart was colder than any other winter. Just a man who loved to play with the secretaries who were hired based on her physical before her intelligence. Maybe that was the reason why she always ended up doing all the tasks of the other people.

“This is the plan. We need to get this done before the other company lights up the foreign ones’ way,” Damien said, relying his hands on the table.

“Yes. Sir!” Everyone said.

Amber didn’t have time to answer since she was very busy writing down what he had said. Yes, Damien was the kind of man who kept busy finding ways to make her work even more. The reason? He didn’t know. 

“Miss. Villanueva?” He called her attention.

“Yes, yes, I’m here!” Amber raised her voice, making her coworkers laugh. Even Damien couldn’t help smiling.

“Miss. Villanueva, you’re coming with me to Paris. We have to collect information to know what path we’re stepping on before we make the deal. Our franchises are going to be on the top if we implement these new dishes we want. There will be no competition for us.”

Amber looked down. That last phrase, the sound of his voice, if she didn’t know her father had died with Damien’s parents, she would easily have believed her father was right there, just where she could hug him.

“There will be no competition for us.”

“There will be no competition for us.”

It was enough for her to close her eyes to remember that tragic day.

The soft wind caressing her cute face, the same soft wind moving her long hair tied up with a pink ribbon. In her green dress, we could see Amber as the little princess that got lost in the kingdom of the heart of the man who was kneeling down in front of her. His smile was something she would never be able to forget, no matter what.

“When are you coming, daddy?” Amber asked to the man in his fancy uniform of helmsman.

“I swear I’m not going to be late for the birthday of my princess.”

With that promise, Amber was able to smile. She believed she trusted her father because, after all, there was a promise he had broken.

“Would I get a huge before going?”

Amber smiled and then threw to his arms.

“Why?! Why do you have to go alone?! I want to go as well. You promised it!” Once again, that shrilly voice.

As soon as Amber heard Damien whining, as always, she separated from his father to look at the scene behind her. Once again, there was Damien pulling her mother’s luxury dress to get her attention. Didn’t he really know how ridiculous he looked every time he did that, when he was already a fifteen-year-old boy?

Amber just stared at them.

Mrs. Slimth was going on that trip with Mr. Slimth and, according to Amber’s father, none of the kids could go with them since they were not going to have fun but to make some deals and for that, they had to cross the sea. Maybe they were too young to understand what was happening there and why they couldn’t just flight to their destiny.

“I told you, you can’t come with us!” Mrs. Slimth raised her voice, sick of the behavior of her only son. “Why can’t you be more like Amber?” Mrs. Slimth pointed to the girl no more than 5 meters away from them.

“Mom, I want to!”

“What part of you can’t come with us didn’t you understand, Damien Slimth?” A third voice made its presence. “Are you ready, Bruno?” He asked to Amber’s heard.

“Of course, Mr. Slimth!” Bruno stood up.

“Well, I think we should get on board! Damien, I don’t want problems with you. We’re going to be here in three days, okay? You take care of Amber.”

“I don’t want to!” Damien crossed his arms over his chest and made not a friendly gesture.

“Damien!” Mr. Slimth called.

Bruno couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, Mr. Slimth, both of us know they will end up getting along!”

“I hope so! Let’s go!”

And then all Damien and Amber saw was the way Bruno walked ahead, being followed by Damien’s parents, who kissed after having said goodbye to the kids. The trip was about to begin.

“Are you listening to me, Miss. Villanueva?” Damien came close to her.

Finally, Amber was able to wake up from the most beautiful the dream being the last one she had of her father.

“Yes, yes, I’m listening to you, Mr. Slimth.”

“Good! Well, it’s all I wanted to talk to you. Please, go back to work.”

And then, everyone started to get up to leave the sale in the same way as Amber did, with the difference she could be the one showing off of having Damien’s eyes on her.

But of course, that was something she didn’t care.

“Miss. Villanueva?” Damien asked.

Amber looked at him. He was incredibly different from the man who arrived home every night. Of course, that bossy attitude was never going to be put aside.

“Yes, Mr. Slimth?”

“Your best dresses in your luggage or, do you want me to help you dress?” He smiled.

“Understood!” After having said that, she got out of the sale, leaving Damien laughing.

More years could go by and he wouldn’t stop enjoying making her angry or uncomfortable.

Deeply sighing, Damien took his PC, thinking about Amber. He needed to think of her as his little sister and not as the woman he couldn’t get.

“Looking forward to it, Amber,” he sighed and then got out of the sale.