New York Series: Office Affair

Chapter 2

Manuel POV

I stroked my brown, slicked-back hair, feeling stressed.
I normally had light waves, which I tried to get as straight as possible with gel and hairspray. It gave me a somewhat boyish appearance, but my natural waves paired with the dimples on my face made me look even younger. Well, how old should my face actually look at 22? I wasn't really what bothered me my age or my appearance. I knew my looks were going down well with the women, but I wasn't in the right mood today.

Giselle had only broken up with me a few days ago and I hadn't quite got over the fact that she ended our romance after six months, saying that I wasn't paying enough attention to her. Ow! The blow to my ego was deep. I adored women, as a Latino it was practically a must thing to do.
However, I was currently so busy with my studies that I had neglected her too much. I had tried to explain to her that it was currently a very stressful phase in my life and that things would improve soon, but Giselle wasn't the kind of woman who took long to get over you. So, while I was trying to juggle my studies and exams, she had slammed the door in my face and told me that we were over. It couldn't be changed and I was aware that there were enough women in the world, especially here in New York.
Normally I wouldn't be so stressed if it wasn't for the fact that my boys were annoying the hell out of me today and I had to listen to their stupid comments while we waited in the queue for the opening of the new club "El Gallo".
I wasn't in the mood to celebrate at all and I didn't know how to react to the opening motto with the masks. Everyone had to put on a black mask at the entrance that covered half their face and only left out their eyes and mouth. It was supposed to look sexy and wicked not to be able to look the person opposite to you directly in the face. My brother Miguel had explained it to me this morning and asked me to go with a few friends to support Rico's opening, as he was on duty as a policeman tonight.
I wasn't quite sure how my brother knew Rico and what exactly was going on between the two of them. Every time I asked him about it, he made excuses. Rico was a good acquaintance he knew from the past. What Miguel meant by past was a mystery to me, because I knew all his friends from the past. They had always hung out together in our old family home.
My brother had moved to New York a few years ago after getting a place at the Police Academy and I had followed him after finishing high school to study marketing here. Miguel was kind enough to let me stay in his guest room during my collage time so that I didn't have to pay for my own flat. In return, however, he demanded that I keep my visits of women at home to a minimum and get good grades at university. I had assured him that I would do better in my studies after having to repeat a semester and as far as visiting women was concerned, I tried to fit it into Miguel's working schedule or chill at the women's house.

Anyway, I had noticed that Rico seemed to be spending more and more time in our flat when my brother had a day off. I had caught the two of them cooking at home just last week. Not that I thought that two men shouldn't cook together, but when I came home from the evening lecture a little earlier than usual because I wasn't going to Giselle's, the two of them jumped apart in the kitchen and behaved strangely, as if they'd been caught. I had to keep an eye on things between them.

I actually wanted to tell my brother earlier that I would like to miss the opening, but I owed him or rather Rico. Due to all the stress with Giselle and the university, I had forgotten to look for a practice partner in time and Rico had inevitably overheard the discussion with my brother when he was there. I was about to drop out of the penultimate semester when Rico suggested that I should apply to the event agency that planned the openings for him. He knew a few people there and had put in a good word for me, so I kind of owed him something for not dropping out of university and being able to start there on Monday. I wouldn't have been able to finish my degree without a practice partner in the penultimate semester. The penultimate semester consisted of 80% work at the company and 20% homework, after which the next semester was basically just my Bachelor's thesis.