(Renata Pellegrini)
“What?” He asks with raised eyebrows. “This is no time to joke, Renata.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Why not? You won’t find a better job than this.”
“I don’t mind if I have to work as a cleaner in some market, but I don’t want to work for you anymore.”
“Why the fuck not?” Filippo speaks up, rising from his chair and clasping both hands on the table.
“Firing is the punishment for those who cause scandals in your company.” I say, crossing my arms.
“Who told you this?”
“Nobody had to tell me, you did! You fired two employees without even giving them a chance to explain themselves, you don’t know why they fought, you just acted like a scumbag boss!” I say angrily, not expecting to see this side of him.
“Do you want to resign, because you punished two employees who have worked here for years and know the rules well? Do you realize how ridiculous you are being?”
“I realize that I made a much bigger scandal and you never punished me, you only fired Verônica.”
“You did that trying to expose what she was doing with her subordinates!”
“Caio hit that boy to defend me!” I shout back.
“It doesn’t matter, he doesn’t have to defend anyone in here, if he didn’t like what he heard about you, he would come to me and denounce them.”
“Did you know?”
“Nothing happens in my company without my knowledge, ragazza.” He replies, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against the table.
“Do you know the things that are being said about me?” I ask in distress.
“Yes, I know.” He answers coldly.
“And you haven’t done anything? You let them talk about me like that, accuse me of things I didn’t do, and you just don’t do anything?”
“What did you want me to do?” He asks with a raised eyebrow. “I told you that I don’t care what others think, I know why I act the way I do, and that’s enough.”
“You say that because you’re not the one who gets the bad press in this story. Anyway, I’m going to sign my resignation and then come by your place to pick up my things… I don’t know if we will work out, we come from very different worlds.” I speak with an aching heart.
I love him too much, I was able to take a bullet for him, but I want a family, he doesn’t, I don’t like to be bad-mouthed, he doesn’t care if my image in the company is being tarnished or not. He has money even to wipe his ass, if he wants, I’ll count my coins.
“Let’s talk it over, don’t make any hasty decisions.” He says trying to approach me, but I back off.
“I want to resign.” I say without facing him.
“Okay, come by the RH, at night, when I get home, we’ll talk, okay?”
“Okay.” I turn and leave his office.
I enter the elevator and rest my head on the cold metal wall, I can’t control the tears that fall from my eyes. I don’t want my relationship with Filippo to come to an end, he makes me feel things I have never felt with another man, I feel safe when I am in his arms, he has the best kiss in the world, the warmest body I have ever touched and desired, but I don’t know if this is enough for us to be together.
“Oh miss, I’m sorry.” An elderly man brings me out of my reverie, I blink my eyes several times in order to focus my tear-fogged eyes.
“Hello?” I speak confused, not understanding what he is apologizing for.
“Your clothes, I didn’t mean to get them wet with this dirty water.”
I look down at my pencil skirt and notice that the front is completely wet and smells like disinfectant. Good, I sigh, feeling tired.
“I’m sorry, I’m the new janitor and I don’t…”
“It’s okay, sir, no problem, it’s just water, soon it will dry.” I say smiling.
This gentleman should be retired by now, he has such a tired face, but as they say, there is always someone worse off than us.
“Can I ask you a question?” You ask.
“Yes, of course.”
“You are fine, you have such a sad face, and you are so young.”
“Some problems.” I answer by giving him room to get into the elevator, he clicks the first floor button.
“Speak help.”
“I don’t want to upset you, you must already have your own problems.”
“Maybe I have some advice.” You’re so old you’ve lost almost all your teeth.
“I just resigned.” I say with a yellow smile. “And I will probably lose my boyfriend too.”
“Because of the job?”
“We are from different social worlds.”
“If you only care about social status, you can never be happy, child. Do you love him?”
“As I’ve never loved anyone.”
“So fight, don’t lower your head because of status, do your job and don’t let the first difficulty get you down. No couple can make it if they don’t fight, the world we live in likes to see us suffer, finding someone to love us is very difficult. You are young and beautiful, don’t make unwise decisions.”
Before I could answer, the elevator door opens and you leave, thinking about your words, I leave the company without going through HR, tomorrow I review it.
Slowly I walk to the bus stop, thinking about all that I have experienced with Filippo, I can’t help but smile a little, in a short time we have been through so many things, and I want to know more about him, I want to meet his family, even though I am afraid that they will reject me when they find out that I don’t come from a rich family, but I will follow the advice of that gentleman, I will work and save my money, I bought myself a car, I will share the bills with Filippo and no one from his family will be able to say that I am with him out of interest.
To my surprise, when I arrive at the bus stop I find Caio sitting in the waiting booth at the bus stop.
“Renata?” He speaks with frowning eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”
“I quit my job.” I answer and sit down next to him.
“Why did you do this?”
“I had a fight too, and I wasn’t punished, so it wasn’t fair to you.”
“Thank you for caring about me, but I was going to resign anyway.”
“Why?”
“I graduated in logistics and got a job at another company, starting tomorrow.”
“Congratulations!” I hugged him happily. “I am very happy for you!”
“Thank you, you have to go back there and say you regret it.”
“I didn’t go to HR, the new janitor, poured water on me and advised me to keep working, but I haven’t decided yet if I will stay in this company.”
“I understand, I want to ask you a question.”
“Which one?”
“Your boyfriend, is he Mr. Filippo?”
“Yes.” I answered sincerely, I should have told him.
“I understand. So you quit because your boyfriend fired a “stranger”, but you didn’t fire your own girlfriend?”
“In the company, I am just another employee, I can’t have privileges.”
“What a jerk, I wish I could get a rich CEO who was in love with me.” We laugh together. “Leaving that aside, don’t quit, and don’t listen to the gossip, it’s just jealousy.”
“Okay.”
My bus arrives and I say goodbye to Caio, feeling my heart lighter, I feared that he would be unable to pay his bills and send money to his parents who depend on his financial help.
The house I live in with Filippo, the bus stop is very far away, I am only halfway there and my feet are hurting. I take off the loose ones and walk unsteadily, it takes me more than thirty minutes to get there.
I unlock the garage door and as I get closer to the entrance, I hear the sound of the television on. I turn the knob and find a woman younger than me, she looks eighteen years old, she is lying on the sofa eating popcorn, dirtying everything. Is this Mrs. Luisa?
I slam the door behind me, drawing the girl’s attention.
“Filippo!” She calls out excitedly and smiling, but her smile dies when she sees me. “Oh, just the little bitch of the moment.”
She says, going back to eating her popcorn as if my presence was nothing.
Puttana! – I curse mentally and clench my hands into fists. Feeling my eyes burning with rage, I go to the brat and pull her by the hair, knocking her into the dog along with the popcorn.
“You crazy bitch, let go of me!” She screams as she tries to get loose, but I just pull her by the hair towards the door.
“Letitia, I told you not to use the boss’s things… Sir!” An old woman appears holding a tea towel. “Mrs. Pellegrini, why are you beating my niece?”
“She disrespected me inside my house and got popcorn and sand all over the sofa from her dirty feet.”
“This is not your house!” The girl shouts. “It’s Filippo’s, you’re just the odd girl out! I’m going to be his wife and I’m going to give his child to….”
I shush her with a slap across the face. She comes at me, but is stopped by Filippo grabbing her arm and pushing her away from me.