A True Gentleman.
Vivian
The alarm clock rings, and I turn it off. I throw the sheets aside and lazily get out of bed. I head straight to the bathroom and undress. I take a shower and, once finished, I stand in front of the vanity. As I see my reflection in the mirror, I am grateful for my skincare routine, as it has helped me wake up today without bags under my eyes.
When I leave the bathroom, I hear a knock on my bedroom door.
"Come in," I say while searching for my underwear. I know it's Carmen.
"Good morning, miss. What would you like for breakfast?" I am surprised to hear her call me miss, and I look at her with intrigue.
"Two fried eggs with toast and coffee, please," I tell her. She smiles, and since I have some extra time, I decide to change after breakfast.
Why did she call me miss? I wonder. The answer comes to me quickly; it's obvious that she overheard everything Tomas said last night. And since he slept in another room, she must know that there is no marital relationship between us.
An hour later, I am ready. I look at myself in the mirror and smile with satisfaction. Today, my outfit consists of a figure-hugging dress. The top part is cream-colored with black floral prints, a cinched waist, and a black belt. The bottom part is black and falls just below the knee. I wear black stiletto heels, a matching black handbag, and my accessories are gold. This time, I have my hair pulled back in a low bun, with a few strands framing my face. Once again, my makeup is subtle yet formal.
"You look great, miss." Carmen compliments me and smiles.
"Thank you, Carmen." I say. "I'm leaving now."
I exit the room with her trailing behind me. As we finish descending the stairs, we sense the presence of Tomas.
"Good morning, sir." Carmen greets him, but he remains silent and walks past us, ignoring us. She glares at him in annoyance, and I can't help but smile.
"Are you coming to have lunch today, miss?" she asks me, now smiling kindly.
"I'm not sure, I'll let you know." I say, and she nods.
"Have a nice day." she bids farewell.
"Likewise." I say and smile.
I leave the house and stand on the sidewalk. I glance at my cellphone and sigh. The taxi was supposed to be waiting for me. How irritating. I hear the garage door open, and a few seconds later, Tomas's Audi RS5 emerges. It takes a right turn and speeds past me. The tinted windows prevent me from seeing inside, but I can still feel his hostile gaze.
I sigh sadly, a true husband would take the trouble to drive his wife to work, but obviously that's not something Tomas considers. I feel that familiar pain in my chest once again, my tears threatening to fall, but I inhale deeply to hold them back. The taxi arrives a minute later and I push all my sad thoughts to the back of my mind.
The elevator doors open and I smile at Pamela, who is sorting the magazines that always rest on the waiting area table.
"Good morning, Pamela. How are you today?" I ask, heading towards reception where our workstations are located.
"I'm good, and you?" she asks, smiling.
"Very well."
"Great, I hope today is a good day. You did really well yesterday, if you keep it up, you'll get that permanent contract." she encourages me, and I smile back.
Pamela is a very kind and friendly girl. She is 25 years old, although she is not married, she currently lives with her partner and they have a 5-year-old son. She has been working for three years in the company, and her partner has been with us for two years. He used to work as an operator, but recently joined the internship program as he was studying Industrial Engineering and now only needs to complete his internship to graduate.
"I hope so." I comment, she finishes organizing the magazines and walks towards me. At that moment, I decide to ask her something that I didn't dare to yesterday due to shyness. "Hey, what is Mr. Salvatierra like? Yesterday, he was very nice to me, but well, the girl who was here before left in a hurry."
She smiles. - The boss is a good man. In general, he is calm, but he really dislikes incompetence. He likes things to be done well, or not done at all. That's his motto. Some people will tell you that he's a control freak and that he wants everything to be perfect. But, you don't build an empire like Salvatierra Industries by being mediocre, right? - she questions, and I completely agree with her.
The elevator doors open, and the aforementioned enters with his imposing presence.
"He is very handsome, isn't he?" Pamela whispers next to me.
I don't respond, but I must agree. The man is a monument of beauty! Starting with his fascinating height, he measures approximately 1.85 meters, with a muscular and broad-shouldered build. His complexion is fair, with straight black hair, thick eyebrows, and long eyelashes. His eyes are strikingly dark blue, his nose perfectly complements his face, and his lips are a rosy color, neither thick nor thin. He sports a well-groomed beard that suits him perfectly. Today, he is wearing a dark blue suit that fits him like a glove.
"Good morning, beautiful ladies. How are you this morning?" he asks, approaching our side.
"Well, sir, thank you. And you?" Pamela responds, smiling.
"Very well." he replies, looking at me.
"Fine, thank you." I say and smile back.
"You beat me to it, Miss Smith. So far, Pamela was the only one who surpassed me in punctuality." he comments, and I can only smile, feeling a bit nervous.
"Very well, come to my office in five minutes." he says, walking past us.
"I think he likes you." Pamela comments when he has already entered his office.
"You think so?" I ask incredulously.
"Yes."
That brings me a bit of excitement.
I check the time on my watch and sigh with tiredness as I realize it's 9:00 in the evening. I'm still in the office. Today had been a quiet day, but at 5:00 in the afternoon, an issue arose with the production of some canned goods. Mr. Salvatierra likes to oversee these kinds of problems or errors closely, and be aware of the solutions and even resolve them himself if necessary. Pamela had told me about this, and I could confirm it.
"Very well, Miss Smith, that's it for today." he says after a few minutes. "I apologize for making you stay overtime, but don't worry, you will be compensated." he comments, and I smile at him.
"It is not a problem at all." I respond, he nods.
"Well, let's go to your house." he says and I nod.
"Excuse me, sir, have a good night." I say goodbye.
"Thank you, same to you."
I leave the office and head to my workplace where my bag is, I grab it and put my cell phone and tablet inside, I turn off the computer and make sure to leave everything in order.
I walk towards the elevator and press the button to call it, it takes a few seconds to arrive and when it finally opens its doors, I enter and press the 1st floor. Just as the doors are about to close, Mr. Salvatierra comes out of the office.
"Please stop it." he says, preventing the doors from closing and hurries to catch up.
"Thank you very much." he says as he enters and presses the parking button.
"You're welcome." I reply.
We remain silent for several seconds until the elevator stops on the 1st floor.
"Goodnight, sir." I say and I exit the place. He looks at me curiously and stops the elevator doors with his hands.
"Do you not have a car?" he asks.
"No."
"Are you going to take a taxi?"
"Yes, I plan to request one through the app." I say, pointing to my cell phone, he furrows his brow.
"Miss Smith, allow me to take you home." he says and I look at him in surprise.
"No... it's not necessary, sir, I can..."
"There's no way I can let you take a taxi at this hour, it could be dangerous, I've heard that those apps don't provide much security." he comments and I have to agree with him.
"Alright." I accept his offer and enter the elevator again. "Thank you very much, sir."
"It's nothing."
Upon arriving at Mr. Salvatierra's car, which is a black 2021 Mercedes Benz S-Class, he opens the passenger door for me and I smile.
"Thank you," I say as I get into the car. He closes the door and then goes around to take the driver's seat.
"Please fasten your seatbelt, Miss Smith. I don't want anyone to get hurt," he says, and I'm not sure why, but it makes me feel both embarrassed and grateful at the same time.
"May I ask you something?" he interrupts the silence that we've maintained since he started the car.
"Of course."
"Why did you decide to get married so young?" His question catches me off guard because I don't know how to answer without telling him the whole truth.
"To be honest, I don't even know myself," I reply. "It was something that... It's complicated to explain," I respond, and he nods.
"I understand. It was an impertinent question on my part."
I wish I could tell him that it's not like that, that I think it's normal for him to be curious, after all, very few people get married at my age nowadays. But if I say that, I'll have to tell him everything, and the truth is something I don't feel like telling him or anyone else.
"Do you have any siblings?" he asks now.
"No, I'm an only child," I answer. "Well, or at least I think so. I honestly don't know if my father has other children," I say, and he looks at me for a moment, confused. "My father left with another woman when I was 6," I explain, and he nods.
"Do you have siblings?" I ask now.
"Yes, two of them. An older brother and a younger sister," he replies. "The older one is a heart surgeon, and the younger one is a lawyer."
"It must be nice growing up with siblings," I comment with a hint of sadness.
"It is, although there are always fights," he comments, and he genuinely smiles.
Oh my goodness! If I thought there was no way this man could look more handsome, I was wrong.
My cheeks feel warm at that thought, and I look away.
"Am I going the right way?" he asks.
"Yes, yes, three blocks down, take a right," I say, and he nods.
"Is your husband the same age as you?" he asks again.
"No, he's two years older than me," I reply. "Why do you ask?" I inquire curiously.
"No reason," he replies, but I know he wasn't being honest, yet I decide to leave it at that. We remain silent until the car reaches the street where the house is located.
"That's the one over there," I say, pointing to the place. He nods, and seconds later, he stops the car right in front of it. He unbuckles his seatbelt, and I go to open the door, but he stops me.
"Don't do it," he says. I look at him, concerned. He simply smiles, unbuckles his seatbelt, opens his door, exits the car, goes around it, and then opens my door.
"Thank you," I say as I step out of the car.
"You're welcome, Miss Smith," he comments.
I smile at him and nod.
"Have a good night," he says.
"Likewise," I reply, waiting for him to get back in the car and drive away. But he remains still, and I look at him curiously.
"I need to make sure you get inside your house safe and sound, Miss Smith," he says, and then I understand.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I apologize and walk towards the entrance. I insert the key into the lock, and as the door opens and I enter, I see through the window that he gets back in the car and drives away.
I smile.
He is definitely not only handsome but also a true gentleman.
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