The next morning Adán Rouco hurried to the office to take care of his business, he had lost a lot of time because he had gone to Ciudad del Rey to see her, especially now that he had problems with his eyesight, it was even harder for him to take care of his work.
Adán Rouco accompanied Estrella Berrocal and Paulita to the office after a quick breakfast and Paulita said with a bit of a frown, “Estrella, daddy is very busy, I wanted him to take me to the zoo this weekend!”
Estrella Berrocal smiled and peeled eggs for the little girl, “Dad may not be available to go with you lately, why don’t I take you this weekend?”
“Sure.” Paulita’s big eyes curved and there were stars in them, very pretty.
Estrella Berrocal brought the peeled eggs to the little girl’s mouth, “Eat, then I’ll take you to the nursery”.
Paulita grunted, “I don’t want to eat the yolk.”
Estrella Berrocal peeled the yolks and left the whites for her, “Why are you as picky as your father”.
Like her, she eats everything but green peppers, which she is allergic to, and is exceptionally well fed.
Paulita bit into the white of the egg and said, “The yolk is no good, it gets stuck in my throat and I can’t swallow it.”
“Okay, if you don’t eat it, don’t eat it and drink more milk.”
When Paulita finished breakfast, Estrella Berrocal carried her school bag in one hand and with the other she led the little girl to the car.
After carrying Paulita to the entrance of the nursery, Estrella Berrocal put Paulita’s backpack on her back and knelt down to caress her little head.
“I’ll be back for you in the afternoon.”
Paulita nodded her little head, “Estrella, I want to eat the strawberry cake you made, will you make it for me tonight?”.
“Okay, go.”
Paulita was about to enter the nursery when suddenly a female voice came in.
“Estrella Berrocal?”
Estrella Berrocal turned her head to look and froze, only to think that the other person looked familiar, but for a moment she couldn’t say his name.
This person from … appeared to be her friend from high school.
“Don’t you know me? I’m Claudio Belles, we were roommates senior year!”
Claudio Belles …
Estrella Berrocal thought for a few seconds and finally remembered.
“Ah, I remember, you … are you also here to take the children to school?”.
Estrella Berrocal saw Claudio Belles with a child in his arms, and naturally Claudio Belles saw Paulita standing next to Estrella Berrocal’s legs.
Claudio Belles said in surprise, “I thought I was the only one in the class who married early, this is your son, isn’t it? He’s also quite old.”
Estrella Berrocal stroked Paulita’s little head, “Yes, Paulita, call her aunt”.
Paulita’s grandmother shouted, “Hola tía.”
“How nice.”
Angelo Herrán, the son of Claudio Belles, said: “Mom, I went to school with Paula Rouco, Paula Rouco is in my group”.
Claudio Belles smiled and said, “What a coincidence, so you can take Paulita first.”
When the two children entered the nursery, Angelo Herrán frowned and said, “Paula Rouco, why does your mother have a scar on her face? It’s very ugly.”
Paulita snarled and glared at him, “My mom is not ugly, my mom is prettier than your mom!”.
“My mom is prettier than your mom, okay?”.
“No! My mom is the prettiest!”
Paulita ignored him with her small backpack and ran off.
Angelo Herrán pursued her: “Paula Rouco, I think you’re the prettiest! Don’t get angry! Your mother is the prettiest!”
…
Estrella Berrocal let the driver pass first and chatted with Claudio Belles in a nearby cafeteria.
“I haven’t seen you in years and I don’t have your details, but we have a class reunion recently, why don’t you come along?”.
Over the years, Estrella Berrocal had been in contact with very few classmates and had few friends, especially since she had left for Paris without a word after Stefano Berrocal’s suicide by jumping off a building and had cut off contact with everyone.
Claudio Belles opens his phone and clicks on WhatsApp: “Let’s become friends, so we can get in touch later”.
“Okay.”
After adding it, Claudio Belles drags it to a group of colleagues.
“Since I have children, I don’t have many friends around me, my life revolves around my husband and children.”
Estrella Berrocal took a sip of water and said, “Me too.”
“Then let’s go shopping together more often.”
“Sure.”
…
Rouco Group building, president’s office.
Santino Yepes reported on his work and Adán Rouco listened attentively.
“Has that tourist promotion of the Marina Hotel gone ahead?”.
“He’s off to a good start.”
Adán Rouco nodded slightly and Santino Yepes looked him in the eye and said, “Boss, the ophthalmologist has made an appointment, do you want to come this afternoon?”.
“Yes, go ahead, get out.”
Santino Yepes had just left when he ran into Estrella Berrocal.
“Ma’am? What are you doing here?”
Estrella Berrocal kept quiet and lowered her voice: “I was passing by and brought something to eat”.
“Ah, not yet, I was just about to order for him, come in, ma’am.”
Estrella Berrocal nodded and tiptoed into the president’s office.
Adán Rouco was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and his ears covered, although his eyes were blind.
“Santino Yepes?”
“…”
Estrella Berrocal said nothing, but after gently depositing the food in her hands on the table, she came up behind Adán Rouco, covered his eyes with her small hands and asked him in a deliberately husky voice against his ear, “Guess who I am, there’s a reward for guessing right.”
Adán Rouco froze, without waiting for Estrella Berrocal to come, and, amused by her childish behavior, he pushed her hand away and said: “Why are you covering my eyes, I can’t see you?
“Santino told me you hadn’t had lunch yet and I happened to bring something.”
Adán Rouco raised an eyebrow: “A love lunch?”.
Estrella Berrocal said as she opened the packed box. “It was packed by the restaurant, but you can pretend I did it.”
Adán Rouco shook her little hand and asked, “Did you eat out?”
“Well, I dropped Paulita off at school in the morning and ended up meeting my friend from high school and went back to lunch with her after talking to her.”
“A boy?” Adam Rouco’s voice was square, as if he had no intention of doing so.
Estrella Berrocal smiled wryly, “Would you be mad if it was a guy?”.
“You try.”
Estrella Berrocal shuddered, “Forget it, you’re going to skin me.”
“Mrs. Rouco, it is better to be self-aware.”
Estrella Berrocal handed him the food and the fork: “Eat the food, it won’t be good if it gets cold”.
Adán Rouco grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a sitting position in his arms, “I can’t see, feed me.”
“As you command, Mr. President.”
Said Estrella Berrocal as she fed him, “Adán Rouco, you must have saved the galaxy in your last life to have a wife as beautiful and thoughtful as me.”
Adán Rouco nodded and said, “Showing off?”.
“… can’t even cover your poisonous tongue during dinner.”
The two were in the middle of a scuffle when the office door burst open.
Estrella Berrocal was so frightened that she got up from Adán Rouco’s arms.
The attendant who came in also froze: “Uh … BOSS, that one …”.
Before she could finish her sentence, Adán Rouco interrupted her with a cold voice: “You are no longer allowed to enter my office during the lunch break, get out”.
The assistant made an aggrieved face: “… yes”.
When the assistant left, Estrella Berrocal took a red bell pepper out of the lunch box and held it up to Adán Rouco’s mouth.
Unprepared, Adam Rouco opened his mouth and ate it, and as soon as he entered, his frown deepened into a Sichuan frown.
“What, that spicy?”
“Spicy, it seems to me that your female assistant is spicier.”
What’s the point of having a female assistant with such a beautiful, hot body!
Adán Rouco: “…”