Chapter 13

Dominic moves away from Nina and goes behind her desk, he opens the drawer and takes out a small bottle and at that moment Nina gets down from the desk and says:

— Mr Dominic, I didn't steal Samuel's watch. He must be crazy... — she tries to defend herself, but at the same time tries to hide the fact that she and Samuel had a past.

Dominic returns, stands in front of her, lifts her up again, placing her on top of her desk and in silence, ignoring her explanations, takes her scarred arm again. Then Nina notices something cold touching her arm. She looks and realizes that he was applying some kind of ointment, which had a minty smell.

It was some kind of refreshing substance, relieving the discomfort he felt where it was purple on his arm. Nina watches, confused, and then says:

— Thank you for your concern, Mr. Dominic, but my mother is a nurse and something has already happened to me…

— Be quiet…

He says, interrupting her. He seemed focused on what he was doing. Nina lets him continue to pass. Suddenly, by surprise, the door opens and a strange man enters. He opens his eyes wide and then says:

— Oh my God! I ended up disturbing you both. I'm leaving, please continue.

The man takes a step back and Nina immediately crosses her legs, realizing that Dominic was practically between her legs. She blushes and is very embarrassed.

Dominic moves away from Nina and says:

— Nothing's happening, Jared! Don't make things up.

After saying, Dominic walks and sits in his armchair. Nina jumps off the table and stands up and then says:

— Mr. Dominic was just helping me to… — she didn't even know how to formulate a sentence, because the situation as they were

Jared approaches Nina and extends his hand, shaking her.

— So you're the famous Nina? — he says, while holding your hand and greeting you with a kiss on the back.

— I'm Jared, Dominic's best friend. Nice to meet you, Nina. — Jared smiles, looking at her with familiarity, Nina pulls his hand, it was confusing that he seemed to look at her as if he already knew her.

Dominic, interrupting the awkward situation, since she knew Jared and knew that he liked to have fun with situations like that, asks Nina to stay at the reception, saying that he needs to talk to Jared alone. Nina turns to Dominic, not immediately complying with her request.

— Are you going to hire me? — Nina asks, expectantly.

Dominic takes a deep breath, looks away for a moment and then looks back at her, responding:

— Yesterday I said you would be my secretary, so…

Nina returns an infectious smile. She even feels like hugging Dominic at that moment, but realizes that they have already been through many embarrassing situations and decides not to do so. He thought that at another time he could find a way to thank him, as that job could be a chance to improve his financial condition.

She heads to reception, where she meets the receptionist. Upon meeting him, Nina doesn't hesitate and runs and holds his hand. The receptionist no longer feels embarrassed about this gesture, after Nina had done it many times the day before.

— Now I'll be your new co-worker, I'm very happy! — says Nina, excitedly — Thank you so much for helping me yesterday. You are a good person!

She really was very grateful for his help, and her happiness was contagious.

The receptionist smiles back and replies:

— Oh, I'm also very happy that you made it. You're a little crazy, but I think it will be fun to have you here as a colleague. The work here is usually monotonous and with you now, I think I will always have a new story to tell.

Nina smiles sympathetically and then pulls out the metal plaque located in the pocket of her shirt, where his name was written and says:

— So that's your name, Richard!

Richard smiles back, nodding and Nina continues:

— Nice to meet you, Richard. As you already know, I'm Nina.

Richard responds immediately:

—It's also a great pleasure to meet you, Nina! The crazy girl who broke into the billionaire's elevator. If I told someone, I'm sure no one would believe it. What you did was really baffling and you still managed to get hired. I've already become a fan.

They both smile at each other and start talking about different topics, just getting to know each other and getting familiar with each other.

Meanwhile, in Dominic's office, Jared sits down and smirks as he looks at his friend. Then he asks:

—What was going on here? Did you decide to skip the contract part and go straight to the attack? This Nina really messes with your head!

  However, Jared's smile was not reciprocated by Dominic, who maintained a serious expression, staring intently at Jared.

— Jared, I was curious about something, I would like to know how Nina found out about this secretary position, as I didn't publish it anywhere and she told me that she didn't send any resume to Bright Corporation.

Jared, with a mischievous smile on his lips, responds in a relaxed tone:

— Dominic, secrets are my specialty. Let's say I have my own methods of advertising jobs and recruiting pretty girls for interviews. After all, it's not so fun when everything is done conventionally, don't you think?

Dominic frowns, not satisfied with Jared's evasive response.

— I'm not kidding, Jared. This is serious. How did she find out about the vacancy? What are you up to? — Jared shrugs, still with a playful smile.

— Who knows, maybe she has telepathic powers and read my thoughts? Or maybe she has a secret spy network. You know, Dominic, life is full of mysteries. Maybe those eyes hide mystical secrets. Maybe that's why even though it was inappropriate, it messed with your head, my friend.

Dominic sighs, realizing that Jared doesn't intend to reveal the truth and would continue to say evasive nonsense. So he decides to divert the focus of the conversation a little.

— Does this all have something to do with Samuel? Are you pushing this girl on me because she has something to do with Samuel?

Jared loses some of the smile on his face, but it is only for a few seconds. He expresses relaxation again and responds.

— Ah, my dear Dominic, you know how I am. Sometimes I like to surprise and do things in an unusual way. Nina is an interesting girl and, coincidentally, is the same girl you saved back in the park. The same one that made you flee civilization just to try to forget it. I think it will be good to live with her. Maybe she will start to see relationships in a different way.

Jared winks and Dominic shakes her head, resigned and frustrated at the same time. Jared was an excellent lawyer. Trying to get information out of him that he didn't want to share was practically a waste of time.

After talking about private matters, Dominic invites Jared to lunch at the restaurant across the street, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to continue catching up on matters.

They leave the office and Jared approaches Nina, saying:

— Miss Nina, I will draw up your employment contract. Don't worry, I'll make Dom pay you today! — he winks at her and Nina, shyly, returns a slight positive wave. — We're going to the restaurant across the street, one of these days Dom will take you there, too.

— Come on, Jared! — Dominic says, pulling him. After looking at Nina, he hesitates a little to look away, but ends up leaving.

Richard approaches Nina, who is focused on watching Dominic leave, and interrupts her.

— Nina, how about we go to the employee restaurant for lunch? Let's take advantage of the break to get to know each other better.

Nina hesitates for a moment and responds:

— Oh, Richard, I would adore to, but I didn't bring money for lunch today. I think it's better to stay here. When I leave, I'll have something to eat. — she had only taken money for transportation, and as she left in a hurry, she forgot to take something to eat.

Richard smiles kindly and offers help:

— Don't worry, Nina. I can buy you lunch. Consider it a welcome gesture for the team. Come on, it will be a nice time.

Nina tries to deny it, but Richard is already pulling her into the elevator, forcing her to accept the invitation.