Vítor
The hot waterwas hitting all the right spots on my sore back, helping me to finally relax.
I hadn't been able to sleep last night and had ended up giving the house a last-minute clean at three in the morning, even though it wasn't necessary because my cleaner had kindly agreed to come in every few weeks to air the house and keep the dust out.
I knew my lack of sleep and restlessness had been caused by the mixed feelings today's move brought. My head had refused to settle and let me have the rest I'd needed to drive down to Lisbon and unpack before my first day.
As it was, I'd managed to do it all, and even with the heavy traffic on the approach to my new city, I'd managed to arrive at the apartment at a decent time. I was grateful the agency had thought to courier the keys with the lease paperwork. I suspected Bernardo's faithful secretary had had much to do with it. The petite white-haired lady had been nothing short of superhuman each time we'd discussed the arrangements for both my move and the transfer to the new partnership.
Interestingly enough, I'd thought it would have been harder to terminate my connection to my old partnership. As I'd suspected for a while, the partners had been hoping I'd move on after Dri died and had been grooming one of the senior architects to take over. It wasn't so much a surprise for the partners when I announced I was moving on, but a surprise for me when on the same day they announced my replacement.
I couldn't deny my disappointment. Both Dri and I had given most of our careers to that partnership, we'd delivered plenty of successful projects, and Dri in particular had given them the media exposure they'd needed to be one of the most sought-after architect partnerships in Porto.
A little self-doubt had crept up. Maybe Dri had been the talented one, the one who could charm the right people to bring in the projects we'd needed. What if I couldn't do it without him? I couldn't deny that in the last three years I'd basically completed only our outstanding projects and had taken very little new on.
I'd convinced myself that, despite Dri not being around, I could give our clients what they needed to complete their projects. What if I couldn't do it on my own?
Dri's voice in my head was telling me to stop those insecure thoughts and trust myself.
"You are a talented architect, baby. I can go out there and be a showman because I have you beside me, not behind me." He'd told me those words so many times they'd stuck, but without him to repeat them, in my head I was letting an older, darker voice come through. The voice that told me I wasn't man enough, smart enough, or strong enough to amount to anything in life. My father's voice.
I turned the water off and grabbed my towel before I stood in front of the mirror to stare at my reflection.
"Get a grip, Vítor. You are forty-nine years old for goodness sake."
What I needed was some food and a coffee to line my stomach before I read through some information Bernardo had sent me ahead of my first day.
I would have to buy Bernardo's assistant some flowers to thank her for making sure I was comfortable in the apartment because somehow, the agency had even stocked the fridge with some basic foods and there was fresh bread, too.
Wrapping the towel around my hips, I walked out of the bedroom and down the corridor leading to the living room and kitchen.
My intention was to get the coffee going while I got dressed. The apartment had a stunning view of the river, and I hoped it wasn't too chilly outside for me to enjoy my snack on the balcony. I hadn't explored the two-bedroom apartment properly in my haste to unpack and shower after my trip, but one thing was unmissable, the stunning view. I could already see myself enjoying many evenings out there on the balcony with a beer in my hand.
I heard the noise of a key at the door as I was turning the corner from the corridor and stopped in my tracks in the middle of the living room when the door opened.
Big brown eyes stared at me from behind dark-rimmed glasses. We were locked in position for minutes or hours, I wasn't sure.
As those deep eyes left mine and started drifting down my body, I remembered I was only wearing a towel and blood had started rushing south. No wonder I'd lost the ability to think, let alone question why I was facing the beautiful young man I'd kissed at the bar just over a week ago.
"What areyoudoing here?"
There was a hint of anger in his voice. What the hell?
"Do you work for the agency?" I asked.
"What?"
He reached for the phone in his pocket.
"Who are you calling?" I asked.
"My friend, the owner of this apartment. Who do you think I'm calling?"
He looked like he was about to lose it, and I was only wearing a towel.
The ding coming from the elevator made us both jump and realize the front door was still open behind him.
He turned to close the door but didn't shut it all the way, as though it would be a bad thing to have us both together within the four walls of the apartment.
