Looking at the flowers, I smile to myself. The gesture is really sweet; and I think it's cute that Mateo got the flowers from the ones I smelled last night. I decide to put the flowers on my nightstand, so I have something to smile at every morning and every night. As I walk into the bedroom with the flowers, Catalina looks up from putting her shoes on and smiles softly.
"Ooo, are those flowers from Mr. Hernández?"
"They are; I smelled these flowers last night at the gala and I guess he thought it'd be nice to gift me some," I say, clearing off a spot on my nightstand. Once I'm done, I grab my purse from my bed and head out, with Catalina asking a million questions about the gala. I decide to keep everything vague and simple, since I don't want to expose Mateo. Not only is not my place to talk about, I would hate for the wrong person to overhear our conversation and start talking about it.
Once we get to the office, Catalina and I do our thing -- she goes to her desk and I go into the café. Once I get my latte, I realize that Mateo did not walk into the café as I walked out. I wonder where he is, I think to myself as I take the elevator to my floor. Once I get to my office, I pour myself into work -- getting completely lost in it.
The rest of the day was rather boring; I answered emails, had two conference calls, and met Catalina for our usual lunch. Today's top was about Mateo's secretary, Gina, and one of the business marketers, Luis. Similar to Gina, Luis is an older man. Although I don't really know him (and have never worked with him), I've seen him in the café. Anyways, apparently Gina is having a relationship with Luis -- which is shocking. In all my years of knowing Gina, I've never known her to have a relationship. I guess there is a time for everything. After work, Catalina and I go home to have dinner and watch tv till we get too tired and head to bed. It was a usual day for me.
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The next day was also the same: got ready for work, went to work and did my thing, then went home. When I was walking out of the café, I didn't see Mateo today either -- which is the second day in a row. I almost texted him to see how he was, but I figured that would be crossing the line a little bit. We aren't in a relationship, nor do I know if we are really even friends. So I don't think that texting him to ask where he is would be a good thing. After work, Catalina and I prep the apartment for our usual wine night with our friends. Since it's Friday, we always have Christina and our other friend, Santiago for some wine and gossip night. Catalina and I met Santiago our freshman year of high school -- and he has been our friend ever since. We started this tradition our Junior year of high school, but instead of wine we'd usual have coffee. Once we met Christina in college, she has joined us. It's a good way for us to stay in contact and keep each other up to date.
Christina and Santiago both get here around 8:00pm, both baring a bottle of wine. I giggle to myself as I open the door; we always tell them they don't have to bring anything yet every week they both bring something -- whether it's wine or snacks.
"Hellooo my beauties; we're here and we are ready," Christina says as she comes inside, giving me a hug. Santiago follows, giving me a small kiss on the cheek and waving towards Catalina.
"And, a special little bird told me that Ms. Ella had a date with the infamous Mateo!!" Santiago says, pointing towards Christina to let us know that she's the one that told him. Santiago doesn't work at the company, and he has never met Mateo personally, but since we always talk about him -- it's almost as if he does know him. Santiago is a fashion designer, and he works for Burberry as one of there biggest designers. He always hooks us up with the nicest stuff when he can. Once they get inside and say their hellos, we pour glasses of wine, set our charcuterie board on the coffee table and dive right in. I start by telling the about the date -- leaving out the most important thing, obviously. Everyone gives there undivided attention, shocked that I was even able to land this. Once I finish, Santiago smiles as he takes a sip of his wine.
"Girl, the fact that he sent you flowers the other morning should say that he's into you. And honestly, you're lucky because from the pictures I've seen online, I'd totally hit it. He is hot!" He says as he plucks cheese from the platter. Catalina laughs, as she stands up to pour herself another glass. Christina smiles softly, looking at me while she sips her wine.
"Mhm, but too bad he hasn't been here the past few days. The man is always traveling," She says, looking at Santiago and Catalina as she rolls her eyes. I look at her, curious for more information. Since she's Jorge's secretary, she works closely with Mateo -- so we get most of our information from her. I look at her, with a puzzling look.
"Yeah, I noticed that. Where is he?"
"Italy, some family business he said. I'm not too sure," She says as she keeps eating cheese and crackers. I nod my head and take a sip of my wine, knowing that is not the truth. I assume that he is going to Italy for Mafia business, but I decide not to say anything. I wonder if Christina knows since she works closely with him.
Once our Mateo conversation is over, Catalina decides to fill us in on her life. Although her situationship hasn't changed in the past five months, she says that she feels confident he'll ask her out soon. After, Santiago fills us in on his relationship with Lorenzo. They've been dating for about two years, and Lorenzo is a great guy. He's a teacher at a high school here in the city, and he always treats Santiago so well. Finally, Christina fills us in on how she's planning on moving out of her parent's house and getting an apartment in Queens. Although it'll be a hike for her to the office everyday, she's one of the few city people that have a car so it shouldn't be too bad. After we fill each other in on everything, we decide to have a dance party. Then, around 2:00am, Santiago was passed out asleep on the couch, Christina was sleeping on the loveseat, and Catalina was in her bed. Our wine and gossip nights always end up like this. Although I don't usually get too drunk, the others do (someone always pulls out vodka and we end up doing shots). The next morning, we usually go out for a "hangover breakfast", and plan out our days together.
I decide to stay up and clean, since I've got too much on my mind. The information that Mateo told me is still on my mind -- and since I've been thinking about it for the past few days, I have more questions. I'm also curious as to why he needed to go to Italy. He didn't mention it at the gala, so I assume that it was a last minute thing. As I'm cleaning up and lost in my thoughts, there is a knock on the door. I look at my watch as it read, "2:22am", and think to myself, who is at my door this late?
I go to answer the door, and I'm shocked by who is there.
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Author's note:
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for 52 reads; we're growing so fast! I appreciate each and every one of you!
Alright so let's talk about this chapter. We got to meet another friend, Santiago, and got to learn a little bit more about Christina. How do we like the friends? Do we want to see more of them? And the information that Christina gave, why do you think that Mateo went to Italy? Also, who do we think is at the door? Let me know what you think!
Thank you guys so much for the continuous support -- it means the world to me!
xoxo,
Ashley
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Power & Pleasure
RomanceAntonella García • Bubbly • Confident • Funny Antonella is a bubbly, confident 28 year old. She's loved a beautiful, successful life; worked her way up the ranks. She lives with her best friend in an apartment in New York City, works a great job, an...
