Page 43 of Please, Forgive Me

I sat at the table, skimming through contracts and documents we needed to review before our meeting with the investors. Maria Gabriela was beside me, focused on the notes she was taking on her tablet—but my attention was nowhere near the work.

No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on the numbers and technical details, my eyes kept drifting toward her. It wasn’t deliberate. It just… happened.

The way the jet’s soft light brushed across her face, outlining the delicate curve of her cheekbones, the focused look in her eyes…

Maria Gabriela was different. There was a quiet kind of elegance about her, a beauty that wasn’t loud or deliberate. She didn’t try to be beautiful—she simply was.

And that got to me in a way I didn’t like to admit, especially because I’d always kept my personal and professional lives firmly apart. But with her… that line was starting to blur.

I tried to turn my focus back to the spreadsheets, but when I glanced at her again, the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

The sentence left my mouth unfiltered.

Maria Gabriela froze, her fingers hovering over the screen before she slowly looked up at me, clearly surprised. There was a mix of disbelief and curiosity in her eyes, like she was trying to figure out where that had come from.

But the truth was, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. No matter how hard she tried to stay professional, that effortless beauty of hers had a pull I wasn’t used to.

She raised an eyebrow, that teasing tone of hers already curling at the corners of her lips.

“Is that part of your management strategy? Complimenting your secretary to keep morale high?” she asked, a playful smile tugging at her mouth—but I could see the faint tension behind the joke.

“Maybe,” I said, leaning a little closer. “Or maybe I’m just being honest.”

There was something about our dynamic—familiar yet charged. We’d always pushed each other’s buttons, but lately, the tension between us had started to carry something more.

“That was unexpected, Diego,” she said, trying to mask the faint blush creeping up her cheeks. “But don’t worry, I’ll stay focused on work.”

“Speaking of work…” I began, forcing my tone back to business. “We need to make sure the investors are fully on boardwith the new 5G expansion project. I want everything perfectly aligned for the presentation.”

She nodded, jotting something down on her tablet, though I could tell her mind wasn’t entirely on it—just like mine wasn’t.

My gaze wandered back to her again, tracing every subtle detail. For a brief moment, I let my thoughts drift.

There was something real about Maria Gabriela. Something unlike any other woman I’d ever been with.

With her, there were no games, no hidden motives. She was genuine—refreshingly so—and that made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, it was time to let my guard down.

After everything I’d been through—the betrayals, the relationships that crumbled because of my work or my need for control—could Maria Gabriela be the exception?

“You okay?” she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Her eyes studied me, curious, as if she could sense the unease behind my silence.

“Yeah,” I replied with a faint smile that revealed nothing of what was going on inside. “Just thinking about the meeting—and how much we still have to review.”

She nodded, though I could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced.

Maria Gabriela was good at reading people—especially me. She knew when something was off, but she never pushed.

And maybe that’s what I liked most about her. She always knew when to step back, when to let me sort things out in my own time.

We went back to work, but that tension lingered in the air.

And no matter how hard we tried to pretend everything was the same, something between us had shifted.

Deep down, I knew that sooner or later… we’d have to face it.