Page 77 of Tell Me What You Want

25

Monday

I listlessly make my way to the shower. I’m exhausted. I haven’t been able to sleep, thinking about Eric. As I’m getting dressed, my eyes fix on the little lamp. I sit down on the bed and touch the outline of his lips and his name on the shade. For a good while, I stay like that, just contemplating it while thinking about him.

I finally get moving. When I arrive at the office, I put my bag on my desk and sense someone coming up behind me. It’s Miguel.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

“Good morning.”

When he notices my lack of interest, he steps up to me and takes a closer look.

“What’s going on?” he whispers. “Did the Iceman overwork you? You look horrible.”

His comment animates me.

“Yes,” I say, “he’s a real slave driver. Otherwise, I’m fine.”

That’s when Miguel notices the bandage on my arm.

“What happened?”

“I burned myself with the iron,” I say, not offering more of an explanation.

Miguel nods. “When did you get back from the trip?”

“Thursday night. The rest of the meetings have been canceled for the time being because something came up and Mr.Zimmerman had to go back to Germany.”

Miguel nods. “C’mon,” he says, taking me by the arm. “Breakfast is on me, and you can tell me what’s going on with you.”

Over coffee and toast, I justify the bags under my eyes by telling him about Curro. It’s a good way to distract him from what’s really making me so sad. Twenty minutes later, our breakfasts finished, we go back to our workstations.

My supervisor greets me when she comes in, and asks me into her office. She wants me to tell her everything that went down on the business trip, and apparently, what I say pleases her. After that, she loads me down with more work. This is her way of telling me she’s mad the big boss took me instead of her. When I leave the office that afternoon, I feel like I’ve been beaten to a pulp, but I decide to go to the gym anyway. I need to lift this fog, and I can do that there.

26

Tuesday

I send Eric an email ... No answer.

My supervisor is killing me with work. Any day now, I’ll tell her to go to hell and shoot myself.

Fernando calls. When I talk to him, he insists I move up my trip to Jerez.

27

Wednesday

I send Eric another email ... He doesn’t respond, again.

Today I save my supervisor’s ass.

Gerardo, the chief of staff, pays us an unexpected visit, and I have to be pretty quick on my feet to keep him from catching my horny boss and Miguel in a not-quite-professional entanglement in her office.

28

Thursday

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