The rich don't Cry

Chapter 10

The day was heavy for Alex. Since Maria's birthday party, he had been feeling down in the dumps for a few days. He didn't have an explanation, but what had happened was a triumph in his plans. In other circumstances, he would have already considered the next step. It was clear that Elisa still felt something for him. Letting time pass by without doing something was stressing him.

Things didn't seem to improve during the day. Jose received him in the elevator and warned him of the unexpected appointment that waited for him in his office. As they moved down the corridor and approached his office, the image cleared and he finally recognized Barbara's silhouette. He didn't know whether to interpret that lady's presence as good or bad, but it was no use getting obsessed. He would soon know the answer.

"Your secretary told me I could wait here," said Barbara, as Alex entered the office.

"Actually, madam, I'm his assistant," corrected Jose.

Barbara's lack of expression at Jose's words led him to leave the office quickly. It was clear that the lady was in a state of war, and as much as she appreciated his boss, it was better to take shelter against the storm that the woman seemed to carry in her eyes.

"Good morning," said Alex, sitting behind his desk. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"You know perfectly well why I'm here," she said, showing signs of bitterness. "In spite of the warnings from my girl's side, you dared to put your hands on her. How could you?"

"I see that Elisa has updated you. Believe me when I say that I admire how much you love and support Elisa. But she is an adult now, and I think she can fight her little battles on her own."

"Don't get smart with me, Mr. Alejandro Baeza. I do know where you come from and what kind of a scoundrel you are. You may have fooled the rest, but not me. If you already were a bad influence on that girl back then, I expected that nothing would have changed."

"If you came to insult me, honestly..."

"I came to warn you!" she shouted, drawing the attention of employees outside Alex's office.

"If you don't leave Elisa alone, I'll be the one to stop you!"

"Will you?" said Alex, with an ironic smile.

"When that woman's parents died, I devoted myself to taking care of her and defending her from any harm, and you, Alejandro Baeza, are the worst evil I've had to deal with."

"I have a meeting. Speed up the speech."

Barbara relaxed, seeing the passivity with which Alex reacted to her words. It was clear that she would have to use heavy weaponry to make him understand what he was risking.

"Do you think I don't know what's going on? I saw him at the party."

This change of subject caught Alex's attention, who again showed interest in Barbara and in what she had to tell him this time to drive him away.

"With Veronica," she continued, as she relaxed and leaned against the back of her seat. "Do you think I didn't watch him? At first, it wasn't clear, and as I said, you can deceive the rest, but not me. I hesitated, but by looking at them, my ideas cleared up."

"What are you talking about?"

"He wants Veronica. I would even dare to say that he really loves her. And from your look, I would also risk saying that you don't even know it. Or maybe yes, you may simply deny it to yourself for the obsession you have for Elisa."