A Baby for the Billionaire

63

JULIET

"Good morning, darling. Can you talk?" Mr. Masseras says over the phone.

"Good morning, Mr. Massera. In a few minutes I'll finish with an online class and I will be available."

"Sure, finish your class. Few people have ever dared to make me wait."

"I'm sorry, you're right."

"Don't worry, it's fine. I'll call you in five minutes."

"I'll try to be free by then, thank you very much."

For heaven's sake, what's wrong with this man? I understand that his time is much more valuable than mine, it translates into a lot of money. In fact, the job opportunity with him is much greater than the fifteen dollars an hour that this class that I am teaching right now will give me, but to the point of him imposing on me what time I should get out of work to talk to him?

As much as it weighs on me, I feel that the best thing is this, to pay attention to him if it is what he requires to support his job proposal in Milan.

Ufff. Milan.

That would imply separating from Kerem, considering that this last time has been crucial to improve our relationship, and that this parting can finally happen, is too much. But I shouldn't get my hopes up, after all, because sooner or later he's going to have to go.

Just today he left for some online meetings, although he has not gone to New York, I know that he is sorry to give an online conference from my house. The state of my house is not up to par for the activities of great importance that he imparts.

I go back to my class to finish it as soon as possible.

KEREM

"Neville, this information isn't just anything. We must press and move forward to have some answers."

He is on the other side of the screen from one of the offices where we go to arrange our meetings in New York or Washington. We have just finished an important conversation regarding the sales model proposed by the digital platform coordinated by Antonio, one of Massera's darlings (darlings for his own benefit) and I have not been able to concentrate, to tell the truth.

Neville has noticed this and after the meeting, he created a separate web room to talk about it, coming to the conclusion that something in my personal world has to do with what has kept me restless, and a little unfocused.

But it's not Juliet this time that worries me. Her nightmare this morning was just a way of expressing the problems that are haunting us and that we have to deal with soon.

"The lawyers are taking care of it, sir. You know how difficult it is to identify bodies in situations like this."

"It's been over a month now."

"And there are still findings."

"Like a blank message from my wife's cell phone. A phone that should have been completely destroyed after having exploded in a plane that crashed in the rocky mountains that border Canada, for God's sake."

"What if it was a glitch in the system?" I'll send someone to investigate."

"I have someone who can investigate these matters, but I don't know to what extent it is convenient to involve more people."

"Why?"

"What if Zara is trying to say something?"

"Sir..."

"Neville, just think about it with me, okay?"

"Okay."

I don't like when he sighs like that in front of me when I try to bring up something that is so important in my life.

"In the first place, Zara is going to Canada "for work". Then the plane falls, there are no survivors, but it takes more than a month to identify bodies. They discard the option of survivors. Weeks later, some crash survivors appear in a community that is not part of traditional civilizations. They are rescued and cared for. Zara is not among them, but she sends me a text message...empty?"

"What's the point of an empty text message?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm asking you to help me think about. For my part, I only interpret it as a sign that she may be alive."

"The first thing we have to do is rule it out. Sir, what about Juliet? I'm so sorry to have to ask, but I like what that girl has been able to do with you, just as you can do a lot for her, too, and I fervently believe that."

"I tell you about my missing wife and you start talking about my son's babysitter?"

He blinks, terrified.

As if a murderer had appeared after me, ready to give me an ax or something, but I try to ignore that option.

"Juliet is the girl you went out in a helicopter to look for when you found out she might be in danger just last night," he says.

"It was a human act. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"And who did you spend the night with?"

"How do you know that?"

"Of course I know, sir."

"How dare you pry into my private life, Neville?"

"I've known you since I was a child, sir. Beyond my job duties, it's my duty to point out what's good for you, especially if I've seen you very affected lately. Going back to Mrs. Zara could backfire.

"So it's better to bury her alive?"

"Alive, no."

"Wow, Neville. Why don't you take a vacation instead?

"What are you trying to tell me, sir?"

"Take a vacation, I'll take care of my wife alone."

"For how long?"

"Indefinitely. I will take care of my wife and my son. If you don't want to take care of it, I'll take care of my own family."