Miguel

As soon as she was invited to follow him, Catherine noticed that his mind had gone to the moon for a few seconds, so she just nodded with a positive gesture and headed towards Miguel. Behind the glass doors, she was confronted with an environment totally different from the outside. The walls had a beige wallpaper contrasting with a sequence of doors in a long corridor, all standardized in wood with signs bearing the name and registration of the lawyer to whom the room corresponded. The floor, which had previously had a beautiful porcelain tile in the waiting room, was now covered with a soft grayish carpet. She could feel her feet sinking slightly and imagined how nice it would be to walk on that carpet barefoot. Looking further down the corridor, she could see a huge black glass door that she imagined must be the private meeting rooms that Victoria had mentioned. There was also a corridor leading to the right, indicating that the place was even bigger than her eyes could see at first glance. Her attention was focused on Miguel, who took a bunch of keys from his pants pocket and unlocked the fifth door to the right. He entered and headed straight to his chair, leaving the door open for her to do the same. The room was really small but very well designed. Behind Miguel's desk, there was a totally white wall along with a cabinet approximately one meter wide. On top of the cabinet, there were numerous books and below, a door that he quickly opened to toss his backpack. The desk was made of rustic wood and had a computer screen that was turned on without much ceremony. On the desk, there was a picture frame facing him and a wooden pencil holder with numerous pens, but all of them apparently black.

As soon as she was invited to join him, Catherine noticed that his mind had gone to the moon for a few seconds. She would simply nod her head in agreement and follow Miguel towards the glass doors. As she entered, she was met with an entirely different environment from the outside. The walls had a beige wallpaper that contrasted with a sequence of wooden doors in a long hallway. Each door had a nameplate with the lawyer's name and registration corresponding to the room. The floor that was once covered with beautiful porcelain tiles in the waiting room was now covered with a soft grayish carpet. She could feel her heart sink a little and imagined how nice it would be to walk on that carpet with bare feet. Looking towards the end of the hallway, she could see a huge black glass door that she imagined must be the private meeting rooms that Victoria had mentioned. There was also a corridor leading to the right, showing that the place was even bigger than what her eyes could see at first glance. Her attention was drawn to Miguel, who retrieved a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the fifth door to the right. He entered the room and headed towards his chair, leaving the door open for her to do the same. The room was small but well planned. Behind Miguel's desk was a completely white wall, along with a cabinet about a meter wide that had numerous books on top and a door at the bottom, which he quickly opened to toss in his backpack. The desk was made of rustic wood and had a computer screen that was turned on without much ceremony. On top of the desk was a picture frame facing him and a wooden pencil holder with several pens, all apparently black.

All of these details were observed from outside the room. Catherine stood at the door, watching Miguel settle into his environment. She preferred not to enter places without permission as a sign of respect, and when the young man noticed that she hadn't entered the room, he simply pointed to the chair in front of him. This was the invitation she had been waiting for, so she finally entered the room, closing the door behind her and sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Miguel then opened the first drawer of his desk, put away his sunglasses, and took out a notepad, handing it to Catherine and pointing to the pencil holder so she could choose a pen.

"If you want to write something down, I'm offering you paper and pen. I'll ask you not to interrupt while I speak now. What I'm going to say is part of the internal regulations that aren't written anywhere, so if you don't pay attention now, it won't be mentioned again in the future. I've read your resume and your college papers, so I already know everything I need to know about your professional background. I also want to make it clear that I'm your tormentor. I can ask for your dismissal at any time and ruin your career in this city. Is that clear?"

"You may begin." The thought of a lemon candy crossed her mind, but she wouldn't let him know that the conversation had intimidated her. She crossed her legs, settling into the chair and positioning the notepad on her right leg.

— Nothing that a few hours to prepare a good defense and some coffee won't solve in the early hours.

— Perfect, I think those are the first warnings I'll give you. I liked that you didn't interrupt me, didn't yell, didn't stand up wishing me a good afternoon and sending me to hell.

— Scary, creepy, authoritarian, and threatening, besides that, nothing out of the ordinary, although I thought there would be some phrases of immediate embarrassment.

— That can lead to a lawsuit, I avoid going to court unless it's to make money, and I have the great pleasure of never having gone to court to solve a personal problem, only clients'.

— I think it's good that the one who defends me hasn't been accused numerous times.

— Now, here comes the light topic, you can relax. I did that to see your reactions under pressure. You have excellent posture, congratulations. – Miguel smiled, causing Catherine to do the same – But nothing I said is a lie. – The smile on Catherine's face disappeared as Miguel dragged his chair to his closet, opening it and taking a black thermos bottle with what appeared to be water from the side of his backpack, opening it and taking a sip. – In this team, we have me, you, Diego, and Rogerio. I'll tell you a little bit about the guys so you can at least know their names. Rogerio is an expert in solving marital problems, he resolves divorces like no one else. Diego likes cases that involve the business side, and I'm the one who's always involved in complicated cases, usually with one or more bodies. I have to say that I appreciate a good story, and cases involving homicides generally have that touch that I like so much.

— I think I can understand you. I also like a story with a good mystery. In college, I found it very interesting to read the cases that Ladislau defended.

"He was my mentor as you already know, he was one of my great inspirations. I just took into consideration bringing his name up to the higher-ups because he strongly recommended you. He had never done that before," said Miguel as he began to stand up, causing Catherine to do the same promptly.

"He can be very persistent when he wants to. They say he has gotten worse with age, that he doesn't accept 'no' and goes after 'yes' with everything," she replied.

"I prefer to say that he has become even more determined with age. Even though I imagine Ladislau has become a stubborn old man, when I met him he already had the reputation of being determinedly stubborn," justified Miguel, walking out of the office followed by Catherine, who was adjusting her backpack on one shoulder.

As the pair walked down the long hallway, Miguel provided brief explanations about one thing or another. At the end of the hallway, as expected, there were three black glass rooms that Miguel indicated were private meeting rooms, where people turned to when they needed more space. He also explained that nobody could enter those rooms without prior scheduling or requesting the key from the library, which was located at the end of the hallway. The library had a huge glass window where they could perfectly see numerous books on shelves. He also explained that despite having computers at hand, the owner of the company liked to maintain a library with some books in case they needed them. She had already read about the company, the founder of Titan was 83 years old, a man from another era with innovative ideologies. She agreed that a good mentor can help a lot. Turning back down the hallway, they could see more rooms that were closed for future hires, as well as the bathrooms. At the end of the hallway, there was a small door with no identification. According to Miguel, that was the security room, where the camera system and security guards were. As it was shift change time, the guards were likely talking and the two of them would not be bothering anyone. Miguel had done his job as Victoria had asked. He showed her around, everything had identification, so it wouldn't be difficult to locate, but having someone give her this mini-tour was better than going out and looking for everything on her own.