THE LIE: DECEPTION TO THE CEO

-Heh, heh, heh! My friend, be careful with Piero. It seems to me that he is very kind, attentive and he is not so old, he is in his full maturity – affirmed Maddie, happy with what her friend is experiencing.

-But I’m already mature and past my prime,” Sabrina confessed. “To be putting on such a show, we leave that to our children, who are young, passionate and love each other very much,” she confirmed, with a smile, being demanding with herself.

-For God’s sake, Sabrina! There is no age for love. When it comes to you, you accept it, you enjoy it and you live it, if you like the person, otherwise you simply reject it,” she said.

-I’m feeling worse, Maddie,” added Sabrina, “Let’s go to sleep! -she replied smiling and putting her hand to her mouth to hide her smile, a little nervous even though she was talking to her on her cell phone.

-See you tomorrow! Have a good rest,” answered the other one.

The next morning

In the kitchen of the mansion, Sabrina entered and found Piero preparing a tray of food, in the center of which he placed a thin and long vase with a huge red rose inside adorning it.

She did not make any noise as she watched him prepare it with delicacy and enthusiasm. He took the tray and went in search of someone, when he turned around and saw her; smiling with her, he approached her and handed her the tray, wishing her “bon appetite”.

-Is this for me? Are you sure?” she asked skeptically.

-Of course, it’s for you! -he assured her with determination.

-Why?” she questioned.

-Because I want to show you how much I missed you! How much you missed me. It seems untrue and contradictory, but we value things more when we lose them and people too. And it’s not that I missed you, but you were away for a long time,” he declared.

-I honestly don’t understand you! -Sabrina declared, placing the tray on the kitchen counter, where so many times she ate quietly with him, without any prejudice. However, she began to eat what he had prepared for her.

-What don’t you understand?” he asked, turning his face towards her, who looked very beautiful, rejuvenated and fresh. This image of her awakened in him feelings and emotions that had been stored in his heart and body for years.

-Everything!” commented Sabrina, devouring the rich pancakes that he had prepared for her with chocolate syrup and liquid caramel, which fascinated her. Piero.

-I love to see how you taste them! -he smiled, looking at her excitedly. If there was something that caught Sabrina’s attention, it was her humble and simple attitude.

-Why are you looking at me like that? -she asked, somewhat confused.

-Because I like you! -he answered honestly, leaving her perplexed.

Sabrina, swallowing thick and dry, almost choked, when she heard the words pronounced by Piero, who never took his eyes off her.

-Cof, cof, cof, cof! -she choked, so he brought her the natural juice he had prepared for her. Apparently, he was enjoying every gesture, every look and every reaction she made to his words.

-I don’t like you looking at me like that,” she begged, confused.

-I’m going to court you, Sabrina,” he announced, “I don’t like to do things behind your back or on the sly, I go straight ahead, to what I want.

-But I haven’t given you a reason for this,” she exclaimed, astonished, but also admiring. Because in the short time she has known him, he has seemed sincere, honest and humble.

-Because it was your heart that won me over,” he clarified, with a wide and beautiful smile, which she has loved so far, without thinking of anything else.

-I’m not here for this, Piero, I’m flattered! However, this can’t be, I’m not old enough to be putting on schoolgirl shows anymore,” she said, a little more relaxed and still savoring and enjoying the delicious pancakes.

-Sabrina, you are a very young woman, full of life, now is the time to give and make anyone happy,” he said, sitting in front of her, watching her tasting her pancakes.

-I’m a grandmother!” she replied, excusing herself.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

-Ha ha ha ha! That’s the most banal excuse I’ve ever heard, Sabrina. How old are you,” he asked curiously.

-Didn’t they tell you, you don’t ask that to a woman -she answered smiling and then adding -forty-eight.

-I’m only five years older than you, so you’re exactly as God recommended,” he commented, with a smile reflected even in his eyes.

-These are ages when we should be looking out for our grandchildren,” she assured him.

-I don’t have any! No children either. I devoted myself to my passion, cooking, and neglected everything else, that’s why at this age I’m alone and taking refuge in a great friend, who understood me and gave me this opportunity so I wouldn’t continue traveling aimlessly,” he confessed.

-Christopher?” she asked, amazed and admired.

-Yes, I’ve known him for about twelve years, on one of his trips abroad, someone told him about me and he hired me to accompany him on a trip he had to make on business.

“The salary was extraordinary and I went with him to travel, then I was at his parents’ house and from there, I came here.

“That’s how we started this friendship. I respect him and he respects me. Christopher appreciates me a lot, so I don’t think that’s an obstacle.

He is a man of integrity, respectful and considerate of others,” he said gratefully and with much affection.

-I’ll be damned if I know! Since Amber took him for the first time to the small and modest apartment where we lived, I felt that same feeling you mention,” she added with a wide smile.

-Christopher, he loves himself! Just like that, quickly, as in a finger ringing,” he assured her, ringing his fingers.

-Despite some setbacks, traps and obstacles, which we have experienced with him, without being his responsibility, my daughter and I love him very much.

For me, he represents the son I longed for so much, but unfortunately could not have, because I was widowed too young,” she affirmed.

-Yes, I know, you were only married for two years when you were widowed,” he confirmed, showing that he was interested in everything about her.

-Yes, I was,” she answered, astonished and nostalgic.

-Do you still love your husband? -he asked, restless and curious.

-I will never forget him, he was my only boyfriend, husband and as if that wasn’t enough, the father of my only daughter. I will never forget him! -she affirmed, getting up from her chair, looking for a napkin, which he handed her.

-You have never thought of rebuilding your life. I repeat, you are a woman, young, beautiful, full of life, with a whole world still ahead of you and much to offer,” he assured her, looking at her deeply, with the firmest conviction of overthrowing any obstacle.

-No! I have never reflected on that, since I was young my only objective was to bring my daughter forward and provide for her happiness. Thanks to Christopher, I achieved it,” she declared excitedly, recognizing that she had reached the goal of her life.

-You have said it, you have already achieved your life objective with respect to your daughter, but what life objective do you have for yourself? -he asked anxiously.

-Honestly, I didn’t believe in it. Suddenly, now that they are my grandchildren, baby Christopher makes me immensely happy,” she said, with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

“Amber is again in sweet anticipation, so she will need me more. My greatest happiness will be this, to live together, to share, to help raise my grandchildren,” she assured, convinced that this was her happiness.

-I didn’t know that Amber was expecting another baby, it must be extraordinary, to be in that sweet expectation of a child or a grandchild, right? -he asked, diverting the initial conversation a little bit, so as not to force her to give an immediate answer.

-Yes! You can’t imagine. I feel reborn, when my daughter confesses to me that she is expecting a child, it is, as she would say, the best! -she declared, smiling.

-I congratulate you, Sabrina! And yes, it must be extraordinary,” she added.

Saying this, Piero got up from his chair and walked to the fryer in search of water, to roll the knot that had formed in his throat…