Page 145

I want to jump for joy, but I contain myself.
“And when is it that your contract is up for renewal?”
“In January.”
“Go on, but be careful,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “If I were to find out you’ve done something like your friend, in the archive room or anywhere in the company, you’ll be out on your butt.”
My face must be indescribable. Eric smiles maliciously.
“Anything else?”
“No ... well, yes.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“You’re very handsome when you smile.”
He laughs, and I turn and leave. I sit at my desk, and five minutes later, Miguel’s phone rings. It’s personnel. They’re renewing his contract, and he’s being transferred to another department.
55
Come Monday, Eric has to fly to Germany. He asks me to go with him, but I refuse. At first, he gets mad, but I make him understand that no matter how much we may want to be together twenty-four hours a day, his nephew won’t be amused by having to share him with me.
That same Monday night, he calls me, and we talk for more than three hours. He tells me how much he misses me, and I tell him how bored I am without him.
Monday after work, I decide to go to the gym. Since Eric’s been around, I hardly ever get to go. A good run on the track and a spinning class help relax me. When I’m done, I’m drenched in sweat. When I get to the locker room, I strip off my clothes and hit the showers. Refreshed, I glance over at the Jacuzzi. Seeing no one around, I decide to take a dip for a few minutes.
“Judith?” I hear a voice behind me.
A woman approaches me.
“Hi, don’t you remember me?”
Her face looks familiar, but I can’t place it.
“Marisa, Marisa de la Rosa,” she says. “We met last summer in Zahara de Atunes, at a Roaring Twenties party. Frida introduced us.”
“Oh yes ... I remember. You’re from Huelva, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” she says, smiling and holding the towel to her body. “How are you?”
“Exhausted,” I tell her. “I just tortured myself with a spinning class.”
“I can’t deal with spinning,” a still-smiling Marisa says. “It wipes me out. Are you headed for the Jacuzzi?”
“That was my plan.”
“Great, I’ll join you.”
For a while, we chat as the water bubbles and pops all around us. After the Jacuzzi, we both shower and exchange phone numbers.
At precisely noon the next day, I receive a bouquet of red roses at the office. When I open the note, I get teary:I’m dying to kiss you, little girl.
At four, when I get back from lunch, I’m surprised to see Eric talking with several supervisors. I’m so thrilled, I want to jump up and shout. He sees me and, for a few seconds, keeps an eye on me; then he turns and keeps talking.
Ten minutes later, I get a text:I’ll wait for you at my hotel. Look good. I love you.
Happy as a clam, I shoot out of the office at six. I get home, shower, and change. I wear a new burgundy dress I’m sure he’ll love. I arrive at Villa Magna at eight and go straight to the elevator. The elevator operator is expecting me and takes me directly to Eric’s floor.