Helen settled into her usual spot and began organizing the day. Her boss had several meetings and finally, a dinner with a woman he turned to when he felt lonely. Reading that name in the schedule, Helen's heart clenched. It was naïve of her to think that, after one night together, Renato would change his ways.
By mid-morning, she was arranging some documents and remembered she needed to retract her resignation from human resources. Therefore, she called her boss to inform him that she would leave her post for a few minutes.
"Sir, I'm going to human resources to finalize my situation."
"Alright, but don't be long, I want to have lunch with you."
"With me?" she asked, hopeful, thinking that he finally recognized her, and she sighed.
"Yes, I want us to settle the matter of the trip."
"Okay, it'll just take five minutes."
She hung up the call and headed to see Sandra, the person in charge of personnel selection.
"Hi Sandra, I've come for my letter of resignation."
"Helen, have you changed your mind?"
"Yes, that's correct." She confessed, resigned. "I can't afford the compensation if I leave the beast."
"What compensation?"
"The clause I invented myself to get the job. The one saying if I leave before five years, I’ll owe a whole year of my salary."
"Let me check." Sandra frowned. "I'm the one who drafts the contracts, and I never included such a clause."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll find the contract and we'll read it."
Sandra looked in the filing cabinet for the young woman's contract and to Helen's surprise, there was nothing in writing obliging her to pay that money. Her heart thrilled with joy; now nothing was tying her to this company, and she could leave whenever she wanted. The three years she dedicated to her boss only brought her sadness and a broken heart for falling for someone incapable of love.
"Helen. Do you need anything else?"
"No, Sandra, you've helped me a lot. Thank you, so much."
"You're welcome." Sandra watched the young woman leave and didn't understand the reason for her happiness.
Renato was at the girl's desk looking through the agenda and was surprised to see the name Samantha crossed out in red on several pages, followed by the names Camila, Noelia, Stefy; all the appointments from the past days were marked with either broken hearts or arrows in the margins. It didn't look like an adult woman's way of tracking her day, and he smiled. Helen, seeing what he was holding, approached cautiously.
"Boss, do you need anything?"
"Yes, cancel tonight's dinner with Samantha." He didn't know why he did that but enjoyed seeing the change in the girl's face. "Tonight, you'll be my companion."
"What do you mean? I'm not your escort. You invite that woman, and then..."
"You think the worst, I'm just inviting you to dinner because we can't do lunch." Actually, he was only playing with her. "Cancel everything this afternoon; I'm going out."
"Excuse me."
"And Helen, try to make your agenda more professional, you can't doodle unless it means something."
"They mean nothing."
"Are you in love?" He asked, seating himself at the desk; Helen blushed nervously as the scent of his perfume took her straight back to that night, he continued speaking. "If so, I hope it won't be a problem for our trip, I don't want a man on your mind preventing you from focusing on the project."
"Don't worry, there's no one left."
"Good." He said, smiling, as she was lost in his lips. "I want you fully at my service."
Renato stood up and headed towards the elevator. Lately, he enjoyed seeing his employee's reactions; he was testing her to see if she could really handle living with him.
All day, Helen wondered what clothes she should wear for dinner. Initially, she considered a tight dress or a form-fitting jumpsuit but dismissed the idea. Her whole wardrobe was very sexy, and she didn't want to give her boss the wrong impression—after all, it was only a business dinner. So, she eventually chose a pair of high-waisted black trousers and a plunging black silk blouse, meaning she couldn't wear a bra. It was very sensual, but that’s how she dressed outside the office, and she loved it. With her hair loose in waves cascading down her waist, she grabbed her coat, purse, and hailed a taxi. Just thirty minutes remained; she was cutting it close and knew her boss disliked waiting. Suddenly, her phone began to ring.
"Hello," she answered, surprised to see the caller.
"Tell me where you live," Renato barked. "I'm not in the mood for games or I'll call Sandra for your address."
"There's no need, I’ve already called a taxi; we'll meet at the restaurant."
"Call and cancel that damn taxi and the restaurant."
"Fine, I live at..." She gave the address and he hung up; then, she contacted the taxi service to cancel. "Something isn't right," she thought out loud.
Helen sat at her table, watching the minutes pass by on her wristwatch, nervous, trying to remember what had happened during the day that put him in such a foul mood. Everything had been fine, her day peaceful without the 'beast' in the office, until she had to go to his apartment to get some documents signed. She pulled out her agenda from her purse to look for a pen, left it on the table, he signed the papers, and she left.
"The agenda!" She stood up, searched her purse, and it wasn't there. She had forgotten the agenda that held not only her boss's day-to-day but her life as well.
Renato stepped out of his car with the agenda in hand, furious, ready to confront the pretender. He rang the doorbell like a madman, waiting for Helen to open the door.
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