“I’m not leaving my coffee maker behind.” I look at my beautiful coffee maker, and he follows the same path.
“I could get another one for you.”
“Thank you, but no. This one has a unique value.”
“Why is that?”
“I had to save a lot of tips to buy it. I dreamed about it for months.”
“Alright, take it.”
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t asking for your permission to take it. It was just a heads-up.” I can see from his astonished look that he’s not used to being confronted, but I won’t let anyone control my life, no matter how rich or powerful they are.
“Are you a rebel?”
“Not usually, but just because I’m accepting your offer doesn’t mean I’m selling my soul. I’ll continue to decide what I should or shouldn’t do.”
He falls silent for a while, confusing me even more. “I feel responsible for bringing you to work for me, so I intend to look after your wellbeing.”
“Why?” I ask again.
“Can’t you simply accept being taken care of?”
“No. I want to be in charge of my own life.”
“That’s commendable, but keep in mind that I’m offering a helping hand. Will you let me be your friend, Olívia?”
What the hell is happening to me? I’m usually not so standoffish about friendships. So why does an internal alarm warn me to be cautious?
I’m not sure, but I think maybe it’s because of the physical attraction he stirs in me. Guillermo is a lot like those sexy romance novel heroes I love so much, and I don’t want to make the mistake of falling for him.
“I accept your offer of friendship, although I don’t think it’s appropriate since you’ll be my boss. I’m sorry if I seem suspicious, but I learned a lesson when I left the cafeteria.”
Guillermo gets up, and I think he’s about to leave. Strangely, I don’t want him to go yet, and I find myself saying, “I didn’t even offer you water or coffee.”
He looks at me in silence, and just when I think it was foolish to say that, he sits back down. “A coffee would be great. Then you’ll pack your things and we’ll leave.”
“I thought . . . I was going to take the bus.”
“No. As I said before, I’m taking you away from the world you know, so it seems fair to help you in the beginning.”
Nervous to the last hair, I decide I need to keep my hands busy and get up to prepare the coffee.
Chapter 11
We’re inside my car, heading to the hotel apartment I’ll be letting her stay in.
Olívia settled her accounts with her landlord and, as she expected, only needed a suitcase and a few bags to gather all her things.
Oh, and the precious coffee maker.
She looked like a little girl holding it. I don’t usually hang around with people who value simple things like a household appliance, except for my mother. The women I’ve dated were interested in jewelry, shoes, handbags, but Olívia wrapped the coffee maker as if she had something sacred in her hands.
She takes pride in having acquired it through her own work. The girl is happy with little, even with all the adversity in her life. Once again, I find myself thinking about the injustice she was subjected to, and I am outraged by everything she had to go through.
“Tell me about yourself,” I say.Her chatter disappeared when I arrived at her house. What I thought was irritating me on the first day is now something I miss.
“What do you want to know?”
