A couple?

Murilo

My thoughts were interrupted by my secretary, who called to tell me about the board meeting, or rather remind me, as I had forgotten about it.

It was not a good day to face Bruna and, most likely, Ethan Constantino, and I paced the room, feeling trapped.

The truth was that it was hardly ever a good day to face that couple of assholes, even more so when I felt so uncertain about my future.

If this had happened before I met Virginia, and especially before I knew that she was expecting my child, I would have been armored to face them.

Anger was an excellent shield of protection, and I had too much of it before the night of the auction. But today, all I felt was disgust.

I contacted her again and asked my secretary to go to Aquiles' office in person because he surely didn't remember about this meeting today either.

I used the time left before the meeting started and looked over all the information that Arlete had provided at my request and found out all the data, as well as the need for the holder of thirty percent of our shares to have a representative in all our board meetings and I could already imagine very well who it would be.

I was convinced that not only the representative would be present, but also the holder of the parcel of shares, and I had to learn to deal with that fact realized, unless I could get Bruna to sell me her parcel of shares, something quite unlikely to happen, given all the factors involved, but still, a man was free to dream.

When Arlete came in to tell me that everyone was already waiting for me in the main meeting room, which was on the same floor as the presidency, where I was installed, I took my notebook and cell phone, as well as my briefcase and went with her to the room in question, for the moment of truth had arrived.

Upon entering the room, the first person I noticed was Bruna, who looked beautiful in a classic red blazer and trouser set, with a white blouse underneath.

She was wearing her usual red lipstick, something she never gave up even in sober moments that called for a more discreet color, and I felt a pang in my chest as several flashes of our moments together flashed through my mind in a matter of seconds.

But soon the memory of the discovery of his betrayal and all the moments when I had been a laughingstock in the corporate world was also present and that ridiculous nostalgia was quickly forgotten, giving way to the anger that had been with me for months.

With this feeling in my chest, I walked to the chair at the end of the table and announced the beginning of our monthly directors' meeting and the items that would be discussed that month.

Virgínia

I looked at my cell phone's display when I realized that new messages had arrived and checked the notification bar to see who it was from, finding that they were from Murilo, as had been happening for a few days.

As in the other days, I didn't mind answering either because I wasn't feeling well at all and wasn't in any condition to pay attention or even to wear myself out with the expectations that Murilo seemed to have about us.

But, even thinking rationally like that, the sender of those messages never left my mind and I thought about him at all times of the day and night. Before going to sleep was always the worst moment because I took a long time to fall asleep, analyzing all the possibilities and coming to the same conclusion.

The truth is that the differences between us were blatant and that was not good, even more so in the current circumstances, so I opted to throw myself into work to occupy my mind and not think about the father of my son.

" How is my godson today? " Mariana asked, as she saw me enter the store that afternoon and seemed to be quite excited.

" Making mommy very nauseous, " I told her, trying to smile.

" I can tell you're in a bad way, my friend, " Mariana agreed when I arrived at her side.

We looked at each other with legitimate sorrow but ended up laughing a lot at my state because I was convinced that I was disheveled and pale.

I could not keep anything inside my stomach that day, due to the strong nausea I was feeling. When I woke up that morning and had to rush from my bed to the bathroom, I didn't imagine it would get any worse, but it did, and I couldn't make it to the store in the morning so I asked Mariana to change my schedule, to which she readily agreed.

It was now a little after 3:00 PM, and I was feeling a little better, but to say that I was fine would be a gross exaggeration, and I quickly took care of going to our small room in the back of the store.

Mariana would be leaving in an hour and I thought about trying to recover from the effort I had made to get there because I felt really weak, but I didn't want to say that to my friend, so as not to worry her.

But when Mariana came into our little office to tell me that she was leaving, she looked doubtful, and I tried to give the impression that I was feeling better than I rea.

" Are you sure you feel well enough to stay in the store today? " I can handle it on my own, while you adjust better to being pregnant.

I confess that I was happy to see that my friend was trying to help me in every way she could, but at the same time, I felt bad that I was making everyone worried because my mother didn't leave my side the whole time I stayed at home and didn't want to let me leave the house either.