Chapter 4 Not What I Expected

Jordano Mackenzie

I look her straight in the eye, hoping she'll answer what I just asked, but Ariadna seems more nervous than ever. She swallows hard and babbles a few words.

"Mr. Mackenzie, you must understand that I am not just anyone, but I need the money. If you're willing to sign this contract with me, that's my fee. You told me to come if I agreed." Her tone is firm, though I can see the fear in her eyes. "And well, here I am in front of you."

She holds my gaze, firm, but sensitive, and that shudders in a strange, almost disturbing way. It awakens in me a curiosity that I cannot ignore.

"I never insinuated that you are just any woman, Miss Thompson," I approach, letting the faint scent of fear that emanates envelop me. A drop of sweat forms on his forehead, and her eyelid trembles as if she were on the verge of losing control. She's nervous! I make her nervous, I like that.

"I don't want to waste any more time, Mr. Mackenzie. Tell me, is there a deal or not? " She asks impatiently, her voice more tense, almost desperate. Do you really need a thousand dollars so urgently? "

"Before that, I want you to be honest with me," I say, in a colder tone than I was speaking. Why did you ask for that amount? It is a considerable figure. What makes you think you're worth them? I throw the question at him like a dagger, cruel and direct, as I usually do. Women seem to react to that, as if the harshness draws them more to me."

Ariadna looks at me with her lips pursued, tightening her small purse against her chest. She takes a deep breath and holds my gaze without hesitation, determined not to give in so easily.

"I'm worth that and much more, Mr. Mackenzie, but I think I was wrong to come with you, you're not the one, I have nothing more to say."

"Ariadna," I called her one last time and she stopped immediately. I move slowly towards her and again I approach to absorb her aroma a second time. It smells delicious, obviously it's a cheap perfume, but I'm not talking about that aroma. I talk about the smell of his white skin, which is driving me crazy, and I swear I can't control the erection that's rising under the fabric of my pants.

"Tell me Mr. Mackenzie," she replies, and her voice is now trembling

"I'm going to give you 1500. But I need you to tell me why are you worth them? Why the initial figure? "

Ariadna hesitates again, squeezing her wallet so tightly, as if she was afraid of losing it at that moment. Her nerves are evident, almost tangible, and I don't want to make her feel worse, but something inside me longs for more, I want to know what her true intentions are, and why this eagerness to get the money.

She lowered his gaze and began to speak.

"Maybe my body and my sex aren't worth all that money, but my niece's surgery is. She has kidney failure and needs urgent surgery, immediate attention," her voice breaks as a tear slides silently down her cheek.

I step away, leaning back on the edge of the desk. The lustful and manipulative thoughts that had invaded me before vanishing suddenly. Maybe that night at the bar attracted me because I was drunk, but now... I wasn't sure I wanted to sleep with her anymore. Her story is too cruel to excite me.

The silence that settles between the two is dense, almost terrifying. Her fingers keep moving nervously, as if looking for something to hold on to. I, with all the possibilities at my disposal, can only articulate an answer.

"Perfect. There is a contract!"

Ariadna frowns, visibly confused, not understanding what I mean. To be honest, I don't know exactly what I meant, but one thing was clear: it wasn't about sex.

"From really? " She asks nervously, and I just nod like a complete imbecile.

"And" What exactly do I need to do? " She approaches slowly, sliding her hand through her hair, in a gesture that seems unconscious but somehow attracts me. Is it seducing me?

"Work with me, here in my company. What do you know how to do?" I let go as I cross my hands and crack a stupid smile.

She looks at me with an expression of total disbelief. Sure, my initial proposal was just for sex, but after what she confessed to me, I couldn't sleep with her. Besides, looking at her, she wasn't so beautiful as to lose her mind. Not enough for her neck, her curves, or that soft skin to obsess me. Hum... No, not as if to grab her hair and have her in front of me, on all fours, showing me that beautiful, round but that, in another context, I would have wanted. Of course not!

"Mr. Mackenzie, are you all, right?" Her voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, of course." I looked, Ariadna, the proposal I made to her at the time was different, but now I value what she just told me. I guess if he's here it's because he needs the money and doesn't have a job, right? I can offer you a job. Tell me about your work experience.

"Sir... I'm not understanding anything," she replies, puzzled. "But... I worked as an administrator at the restaurant Le Franzual, she was... administrator," she whispers the latter, as if it were hurting her to say it.

"Really? I frequently go to eat there, it's a good place! What happened? "

It seems that each of my words is like a model on Ariadna's head and her face becomes more and more distorted. Poor girl is so confused.

"It's a long story... my sister..." Ariadna takes a deep breath before continuing. "Sir, I need a job, and I need it urgently, but I can't wait for a payment. So, if the proposal for a night with you is still standing, I accept... even if we don't sign any contract. Even... If you decide to be rude to me."

I am paralyzed. Her words, so raw and desperate, baffle me. That imminent need for money, that desperation, intrigues and overwhelms me at the same time.

"I can offer you a position as an assistant," I say, trying to compose myself. "I'll pay you a thousand a month, and if you need it, I can give you an advance."

Ariadna looks at me completely confused. Her eyes shine, so much so, that her gaze almost pierced me, as if she wanted to murder me at that precise moment. Maybe she thought that by offering me her body he would get the money fast, and it was partly my fault. I had made that initial offer, but now... I couldn't. Not after all I had heard.

"I don't think I have any other options... What should I do?" Her voice sounds broken, fragile, disappointed that she didn't get what she was looking for. Something very serious must have been happening for her to behave in that way.

"I'll refer you to human resources," I say, trying to be indifferent. "I'm sorry for what you're going through, really. I hope you can solve everything soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Mackenzie, for the opportunity," she replies as she once again squeezes her wallet tightly before finally leaving the office. This time, she is leaving. It leaves me alone, facing this damn new uncertainty.

I sigh, my fleeting thoughts return to Alexandra, the woman who recently left. And, unfortunately, the tension in my body does not go away. My erection is still there, as if it were an awkward reminder of how close I had come to falling.

I sat down at my desk and sent the information about a position that was already occupied and by two people, but I promised Ariadna a job, and I have my word. Besides, the poor thing was bad and what really baffled me was the real situation of Miss Ariadna Thompson.

However, I'm not willing to run out of information about her, so it only took one call. With her name, in less than thirty minutes I had all her information on the table. I need to know who she was, to understand her life and, above all, those pains that had pushed her to my door, desperately looking for money.

She did not lie. She was a receptionist at the restaurant where she told me she worked. But what baffles me the most is that the owner of that place was her fiancé. The word "was" resonating in my mind. Isn't it anymore?

Other than that, she's an ordinary girl. I graduated from a mediocre university in the north, and, unsurprisingly, typically poor. With a sister who had a very young son, and a chaotic life that she carried on her shoulders. What a story!

I pick up the speaker from the phone and dial.

"Grajales, pay the hospital bill, Miss Thompson's... Yes, that of his niece... It doesn't matter if it's 1500 or 5000, pay it anyway! damn! ..."

My company was used to this kind of gesture and benevolence. In the end, it was only one baby who needed that surgery. But I felt a slight disappointment. Ariadna was not here out of desire or interest in me, but out of pure, cold necessity.