Episode 18

During Benicio's journey, he remained thoughtful inside the car. For him, it became clear that the girl was interested in Adrian, but his curiosity was about whether Adrian shared the same interest. The exchange of kindnesses bothered him, leaving Benicio quite restless.

Back at the company, Adrian also reflected on the girl's actions. He realized that she seemed to have become interested in him. At that moment, he was thinking about how to get out of that confusion without revealing to her that he was gay because he didn't want anyone to know.

While pondering the situation and getting ready to go for lunch, Gabriela went to his office to talk to him, apparently worried and agitated, which intrigued him.

"Are you okay, Gabriela? You seem nervous."

"Adrian, I think I discovered the reason why people look at you strangely. First of all, tell me, did you get involved in an accident with Mr. Benicio?" She wanted to understand first.

"Actually, yes. On the day I was coming for an interview, I ended up being hit by him. I didn't know who he was, nor that he was the president of this company. I thought I had missed the opportunity to have the interview, but on the same day, I received the information that it had been postponed. Only after passing and going for the final interview did I discover who he was."

Adrian explained how everything had happened, and Gabriela started pondering what she heard. She realized that there had been a misunderstanding or that someone had spread the news in a biased way.

"Adrian, does anyone here in the company know about this story?"

"I didn't tell anyone about this, just you now. But what's happening? What does this accident have to do with these looks?" Adrian was confused.

"Let me sit down and I'll explain," Gabriela sighed as she sat down. "From what I've heard, they're saying that you got this position due to blackmail, that you faked the accident and blackmailed Mr. Benicio. That's why people are looking at you and commenting like that."

"What? But that's absurd!"

Adrian couldn't believe the absurd story he was hearing. How could someone go around spreading that about him? However, after hearing that, many things started to make sense.

"I didn't blackmail anyone; everything happened by coincidence. I would never use such means to get a job. Who started saying these things?" He was indignant.

"I don't know who started spreading this, but they're talking about this matter. I said I would try to find out what was going on. I overheard two women talking about this subject, but in my opinion, I think you should tell Mr. Benicio. He could clarify these things himself."

Adrian thought for a moment about it. He was afraid of bringing up another issue to his boss. He had hardly started and already had problems with his boss's fiancee and that employee. He imagined that Benicio could think he was the problem there and end up firing him.

"Better not. I prefer to solve this situation myself. I don't want to bother him with things like gossip. I'll find a way to put an end to it myself."

"It's up to you, Adrian, but if things continue, I think it's better to talk to him. Otherwise, you'll end up being harmed by this." Gabriela looked at the clock after speaking. "Shall we go for lunch? There's a great restaurant nearby, and the prices are affordable. We can go there today, what do you say?"

Adrian agreed, picked up his things, and turned off his computer. After that incident and knowing how that situation was, he thought it would be better not to make things easier.

After the two left the office, they soon ran into Helena again. She was as cheerful as always and assumed they were leaving.

"Are you guys going for lunch?"

"Yes, I just invited Adrian to go to that restaurant." Gabriela replied to her colleague.

"Can I join you guys?" She offered to go with them.

The two agreed, but Adrian had to disguise his discomfort a little. He hoped he was thinking too much about the fact that she was interested in him or did not know how to get out of that situation. He didn't like to reject people, because he knew how much that could hurt someone. He had experience in that part.

In the restaurant, Benicio talked to his clients, but there seemed to be something missing there, which he knew was his assistant. However, he couldn't concentrate on that meeting, especially after finding out that they were in the restaurant, eating together.

Benicio made an excuse to talk to his secretary, who said that she was already having lunch with Adrian and Helena. He even asked if the mentioned girl was the one who gave cookies to his assistant. He asked these questions through messages, that's how he found out about it.

After she confirmed, he was even more displeased. He thought that if he had brought Adrian to that meeting, at that moment they wouldn't be having lunch together.

"Gentlemen, excuse me, I'm going to the restroom and I'll be right back."

Benicio went to the bathroom, not because he needed to relieve himself, but because he wanted to cool his head a little. He couldn't concentrate on that meeting. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he scolded himself.

"Compose yourself. How can you be like this because of that man? Destroy any small feeling, Benicio, or this can go too far." He wanted to try to wake up to reality, because he knew that Adrian had managed to mess with him more than he wanted to admit.

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