Blessed Housekeeper

Paulina looked stunned at Carlos Ramos's lawyer's office. Not for the elegance of the place, but for being about to sign a contract to work for the person she most abhorred in the world. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but there was only a thin line for that to happen. She imagined that under the same roof, that line would be crossed in a matter of minutes, as soon as Salvatore mocked her "bland" life.

She had bad memories of the time they lived in the mansion and the times she visited her father. She practically felt like she was walking on eggshells, fearing to bump into him in the corridors, see his cynical smile, and hear an unpleasant comment.

Paulina was not a person who picked fights. She had never even raised her voice to anyone, so every time Simon made a stupid comment about the life she led or about her boyfriend, Nathaniel Muller, she just took a deep breath, lowered her head - more out of shame than anger - and limited herself to listening in silence. But one thing was enduring Salvatore's teasing from time to time, and another was tolerating it every day.

"You just have to read and sign in these places on both copies," Carlos instructed, pointing to the dotted lines.

Paulina took the paper and scanned the words, sometimes having to go back to the beginning. Her anxiety was so great that she couldn't process anything written.

Mirela became worried about her hesitation and asked:

"Lina, are you okay? You're trembling."

"Yes... It's just that..." She swallowed hard. "Are you sure Simon will accept me as a housekeeper?"

"Of course he will, my dear," she assured her confidently. "He agreed right away when I said I knew the perfect person for the job. That person is you."

"He agreed?!"

"Yes. He would never hire anyone without asking if he would accept."

On the other side of the table, Carlos avoided letting a smile of understanding adorn his lips.

When Salvatore asked him to draft that contract over the phone, he had imagined that there was a hidden intention behind it. First, because he knew of the antipathy between Simon and Paulina. Second, Mirela never took a step without imagining how she would profit from it.

Watching the young woman sign the papers, he let the smile break free. It was just a matter of time to find out if Matriarch Salvatore's plan was what he suspected.

~*~

With his cell phone against his ear, Simon felt he would have a new headache. He had spent the last four hours calling his mother's cell phone number with no answer.

"Mr. Simon, there's a call on line three..."

"From my mother?"

Cherry looked tense. She knew about Simon's nervous state for not being able to reach Mirela.

"It's from Mr. Nathaniel Muller from the Muller company," she answered slowly, taking a step back to make a quick escape if the boss had an anger fit. "He requests to speak directly with you."

"About what?"

"He didn't say..."

"Why did you transfer a call without knowing what they want to talk to me about?"

"I asked, but..."

"Forget it, you can go out. I'll take care of this damn call."

"Yes, sir!" Cherry practically ran out.

Simon turned his attention to the phone on the desk, watching the number three flashing. After the cheap seduction session, forgetting that his mother never had innocent ideas, and not being able to find out the name of Mirela's new spy, he would be forced to listen to the unbearable voice of the seducer of other people's maids

He grabbed the phone and pressed the number three button with force.

"Simon Salvatore, who am I speaking with?"

"Hi Simon, it's me, Nathaniel. How long has it been since we last spoke?"

"Not long enough," he replied in his thoughts.

"Since Christmas," he said, sinking into the armchair. Ironically, despite avoiding being in the same room as Muller, his brother will marry Nathaniel's cousin's widow, uniting the families. At every event where his mother wanted the family gathered – including extras - he was obliged to endure the odious presence of his ex-friend. "You didn't call about that, did you?" "If it were Paulina, she could consider herself a widow before marrying. If she intended to marry that human-shaped mule."

"No!" Muller replied, his voice brimming with joy, which only increased Salvatore's irritation. "Muller's company plans to launch a new line of perfumes and makeup, so I thought..." "Does a mule think?" Simon wondered with a cynical smile as he listened to him without any interest. "...about hiring SaaTore's services."

"Hmm, our schedule is full for this month, I don't know if we can accommodate." It was partly true, the company's schedule was full, but he refused simply because he didn't like the idea of working for that idiot.

"It will be launched in two or three months, by then..."

"I have to talk to my partner," he interrupted. He would not accept it, period. "Can I talk to Gabriel and…"

"Don't worry, I'll personally evaluate the possibility, no need to bother Gabriel," he lied to avoid Nathaniel talking to his partner, who would surely accept.

"Great," Simon found it impressive how easy it was to deceive Muller. "We'll be like old times, three friends working together..."

"We never worked together, we just studied," Simon remembered wanting to add that they were not friends.

"Those were great times, remember?"

No, he didn't remember.

"It was thanks to you that I met Lina, my little angel." Nathaniel laughed happily, while Simon felt a huge urge to ask when the idiot would stop saying nonsense and end the call. "You know, now that I've stabilized in my company, I plan to propose to her and I would like you to be my best man..."

"I'm busy at the moment, we'll talk about it another time."

"Yes, of course. And when can we talk about the contract?"

"I'll call you as soon as I sort it out with Gabriel," he replied, ending the call himself. He bet Nathaniel would hang on the line for hours if he let him. "Only virtuous Paulina can put up with that donkey," he said disdainfully after turning his chair to fix his black eyes on some point in the view that his office window provided. "They deserve each other."

"Who deserves what?"

He turned his chair back to its place and watched his partner approach.

"No one in particular."

"I just spoke to Cherry, who told me Nathaniel called. What did he want?"

"To reminisce about old times," he replied, wishing the secretary would keep her big tongue inside her mouth. "Did you come here just to find out?"

"No," Gabriel wanted to ask more about the call, but knowing the strange hatred Salvatore had acquired for Muller, he decided to address the matter that brought him there. "Tamara invited us to a party at one of her friends' place. It's at a nearby nightclub." He handed over the invitation.

"Frankly, I won't be in the mood for parties until I find out who my mother hired," he said, taking the invitation out of politeness and putting it in his jacket pocket.

"Have you not been able to get the information yet?"

"When Mirela doesn't want to talk, nobody can reach her," he grumbled, glancing sideways at his cellphone on the desk. "I'm going straight home from here to wait for my mother to show up with the darned housekeeper."