A strong competitor

Ethan

Mariana has no idea how much she can irritate me and even less that I am already at the limit of my patience, I thought, as I saw her get into the cab, just like that.

"Your girlfriend did not wish to leave with you. " Arthur still plays with the remainder of my goodwill.

I glare at him and reach for the cell phone in my jacket pocket, dialing Mariana's number, even though I know she won't answer.

"Are you going to call, Ethan?

Arthur tries to make fun of me, but I don't care. I needed to try.

Mariana doesn't answer, as expected, and after sending a text message, I turn my back on Arthur and walk towards my car. I don't want to do anything crazy, such is my stress level now that that crazy girl has left me looking like an idiot in front of the restaurant.

"I think you and I need to talk, my friend! "Arthur insists on robbing me of my remaining sanity.

I get in the car, not bothering to answer him, but he still comes to meet me, and I end up opening the car window, to hear what he is so insistent on telling me.

"What do you want? I am trying not to hit you in the face, but you are not cooperating with me!

I put my hands up, gesturing to my partner in a way that showed how fed up I was getting.

" How long have you known Mariana?" His question doesn't surprise me one bit.

"I think I'm the one who should ask this question, after all, she is my girlfriend and you are abusing all my common sense, man! Where is Gisele?

I can't stay in the car any longer and I get out again to the outside of the vehicle and find myself facing exactly what seems to be my opponent when it comes to Mariana.

"I met Mariana a few months ago, during a brief separation between Gisele and me... and I regretted that I was weak and didn't give both of us a chance," he says, "Now that I have found her again, I don't intend to let this opportunity that life is kindly offering me slip away again.

My first impulse was to punch that smug idiot in the face, who really believed that he had a chance with my Mariana, but at the same time my patience is rather short, my blood is cold and I always manage to be an extremely calculating person.

Beating Arthur would only give him points with Mariana, the girl defending the weakest, and I would never help my opponent gain points with the girl I desire, as that would be extremely foolish of me.

So, even though I felt extreme anger invade me, I just stared at him one more time with just my gaze, wanting to strangle him in a thousand different ways.

"I hope you find another woman to use in an attempt to forget Gisele because Mariana is mine and you don't stand a chance with her," I say, this time getting into my car and slamming the door with a bang and driving out of the restaurant parking lot singing tires, just to try to reduce the anger that was boiling inside me.

Once again I go home unsatisfied, ending the night alone, something quite different from what I had wanted to do.

****************//*****************

The next morning, all morning long, I couldn't stop thinking about Arthur's words and how he seemed quite willing to enter into a contest for Mariana's attention, something that was completely out of the question.

I had commissioned my secretary to find out some facts about the recent termination of my partner's marriage, and anxiety was consuming me, at the delay in learning something as basic as that.

So when Liz walked into my office, almost on her way out for lunch, I knew for sure that she had found out what I wanted to know.

"So, how did this sudden separation come about?" I ask, watching Liz sit down in the chair in front of me.

"According to Vivian, from marketing, it was Gisele who filed for divorce, because she is already with another man, an Argentinean businessman. "Arthur Rodrigues did not react well at all, he is still completely in love with her and everyone has commented that he is unable to accept the separation.

That Arthur is completely in love with his wife, that I already knew. But that doesn't explain why he schism that he wanted Mariana now that he is single, not willingly of course.

" I was with Arthur yesterday." I comment to Liz " He didn't strike me as a man madly in love with his ex-wife."

" Why do you say that, Ethan?"

Liz has been my secretary since she finished business school and I have always considered her more of a friend, than exactly an employee.

We were a duo and she used to be my assistant as well, something she always complained about, but never let me hire someone else for the job, contradicting herself by saying it was unnecessary.

"Because he already has his eye on another woman."

Liz faces me with a smile forming on her face and I know she already understands the whole situation.

" And this woman he is interested in...do you know her?"

As I already figured, she picked up the whole story from a simple loose sentence.

"Her name is Mariana, and he doesn't stand a chance with her.

"Why are you so sure of that? "She tries to provoke me.

" Because she is already mine, and I will not allow that to happen."