Gravity

Inevitable

18 months later

Bing

Juliana looked up with a smile as the silver doors slid open in front of her. She stepped confidently out of the elevator and onto the bustling fifth floor of the building.

Her converse shoes barely made a sound on the speckled polished concrete beneath her feet. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders and sucked in a breath. Her eyes roamed around the brightly lit space, taking it all in. The sounds of phones ringing, keyboards clacking and people chatting were indicative of a busy workspace.

It had taken some time, but Juliana finally associated her memories of this building with happy ones. The pain and trauma of her time with Alacran and his men as they brought her here under the guise of finding El Chino were dealt with, albeit with some long hours of therapy and the support of Valentina by her side.

Once Valentina graduated and graciously agreed to take on the dreams of her father, there were many conversations about relocating the offices. In typical Valentina style, she wanted to avoid any surfacing anxieties for Juliana. She fought to sell the building and open up her branch of the Carvajal Media empire to another space, an office not so fraught with such distressing memories. But Juliana, already foreseeing her girlfriends actions, worked behind the scenes with Guille and Leon to move forward with the renovations, even helping to design the space. Her part in the design process, watching the building come to life under her watchful eye, was somewhat of a healing process. All thoughts of Alacran began to fade into the background as she watched the space transform into something she hoped Valentina loved.

The look on Valentina's face at the grand opening was a memory Juliana wouldn't likely forget for the rest of her life.

She raised her eyebrows in greeting at Kass, the blonde receptionist sitting behind the large marble desk opposite the elevators, the gold Carvajal name shining in cursive against the white stone.

Juliana pointed to the right and continued on her way once Kass waved her through with a smile. She nodded in greeting to various employees, waving and saying hello to the now familiar faces working at their desks as she made her way to the far corner of the office.

"Hey, Alicia."

The brunette lifted her head from her computer when she heard Juliana speak, removing her headset and replying with a kind smile.

"Juliana, hi. How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks. It's a beautiful day out."

Alicia swiveled around in her desk chair to look out the window behind her. Blue sky stretched out beyond the buildings surrounding them, the sun shining high above. There was something about a cloudless day that made Juliana feel like floating. Or perhaps it was the relaxing weekend ahead that made her feel giddy, her smile a permanent fixture on her face since she woke up that morning.

"Is Valentina around?"

Just as she finished the question, she was almost knocked off her feet. Long arms wrapped around her from the side, holding her close, a warm body hugging tightly against her. A soft kiss was smacked on her cheek. A light, amused giggle sounded in her ear.

"Jesus, Val. You scared me."

Juliana turned in the embrace, resting her hands on Valentina's waist as slender arms encircled her shoulders.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Vivid blue eyes shone at her beyond dark eyelashes, her smirk sending Juliana's heart into overdrive. Her wavy hair was parted in the middle, long tresses hanging freely around her shoulders. Juliana breathed her in, the familiar natural scent of the taller woman making Juliana's knees weak.