Page 76 of Tell Me What You Want, Or Leave Me

I head to the kitchen. I’m thirsty.

Talking to my sister makes me sad, but knowing Juan Alberto has raised her self-esteem makes me feel better. Every cloud has a silver lining.

I open the fridge, grab a Coke, and lean on the counter to drink it when I hear Simona whispering in the mudroom off the kitchen.

“Why does she have to come here?”

Norbert responds. “Laila is coming to Germany because of work.”

“Doesn’t she realize she makes us uncomfortable?”

“Simona, listen,” Norbert says. “What happened is in the past. She’s my niece.”

“Your niece, precisely. A stupid girl who—”

“Simona...”

“When did she say she’s arriving? My God!”

“Simona, please!” Norbert says, scolding her.

And then I hear Simona’s even more angry response. “And, of course, since your niece is so well mannered, she calls Mr. Zimmerman instead of you and stays the night in this house instead of ours, right? Don’t you remember what almost happened if not for Björn?”

“I do remember. Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen again.”

I hear the back door open and see Simona through the kitchen window heading back to her house with Norbert trailing behind her. What’s going on?

I follow them with my gaze. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them disagree about anything, and it worries me. But I’m even more concerned about knowing who this Laila is, why she calls Eric instead of her uncle, and what happened the last time. I should talk to Simona as soon as I can.

That night, when Eric and I are finally in our room, I say to him, “I bet you can’t guess what ringtone I’ve assigned to you.”

He calls me on his phone and cracks up when he hears “Si Nos Dejan.”

We hug and kiss.

“Can I ask you something?” I say after he lets me go.

“Of course, my love. You can ask me anything.”

“Would you consider giving me a job?”

He grins and hugs me.

“I told you that you have a lifetime contract with me, sweetheart.”

I laugh, remembering he told me that the day he sent flowers to my office.

“I’m talking about working at Müller.”

“A real job? Why?”

“Because once Dexter and Graciela leave, I’m going to get bored. I’m used to working, and a life of leisure isn’t going to be good for me.”

“My love, I work for both of us.”

“But I want to do my part. I know you have a lot of money but—”

“We have, sweetheart,” he says, correcting me, “we have. And before you go on, there’s no need for you to work because I can support us both easily. I’m not willing to have my wife be subject to work hours that have nothing to do with mine and be without you because you have other responsibilities to deal with. Therefore, end of story.”

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