The chauffeur pulled over the car in front of a very tall building having a sign board with the word DIAS PREZ boldly written on it. Lola stepped out of the car and into the building.
The staffs waited patiently for her arrival.
As she walked past them, the staff members greeted her. She acknowledged their greetings with a nod, having her usual pokerface and went straight to her office.
A knock came on her door while she settled down on her seat .
"Yes, come in," she ordered, her gaze fixed on the documents on her table as she picked it up to read .
The door opened to reveal a handsome brown-skinned man with distinct features, dressed in a simple grey suit and trousers, black neatly polished shoes, and a well-knotted black necktie.
"Good morning, madam," he said confidently.
'Ah Marco,' She raised her head to look at him.
"My madam is looking stunning today." Marco smiled from ear to ear.
"Mr. Fernandez How many times do I have to remind you that I am not to be addressed as'my madam'?" She replied with a hardened look in her eyes.
His smile faded and he replied, "uh but your my madam and I was just complimenting you like I always do because madam is very beautiful."
Lola massaged her temples and pointed to the massive pile of documents on her table, saying, "You see this documents on my table?"
Marco glanced at the documents and nodded.
"I want you to take them and look through every single one of them for errors and correct them, and then bring them back to me by lunch,"
Marco's jaw dropped as he mentally screamed, 'Is she punishing me again? This time she is sure to kill me.'
"Do you have any issues with the work I assigned you?" Lola inquired, her eyes cold as she observed his facial expression.
He gulped, shook his head, and said, "No, madam, I will do exactly that."
"Good," Lola said.
He took the paperwork and left her office.
'He irritates me at times, but I can't fire him because he is my most competent and trusted employee,' Lola reflected as she leaned back in her chair.
Lunch time...
Marco returned with all of the documents and placed them on her desk.
"Madam, I'm done with everything, I checked through everything and I didn't find any errors," he said tiredly,
'now I know madam really wanted to kill me,' he sulked.
Lola scanned him briefly before looking at the documents and thinking, 'I'm not surprised he completed the task I assigned him.'
"That's okay, I want you to help me with another thing," Lola stated, despite the fact that He appears tired.
"What is it, madam?" Marco asked, tilting his head.
"I want you to find out more about this person named Livia Edgard," she said, looking at him.
Marco smiled and nodded, replying, "yes madam, I will look into that right away."
"You can take as much time as you want on this one," Lola added.
Marco looked at her with widened eyes, and replied with a nod, "yes madam," before leaving her office.
***
He stood in front of her office door and leaned against it, thinking seriously, 'Did madam say that because she was worried about me?'
"Madam, worried? It's not in her nature to be concerned about others "He laughed to himself and shook his head.
He lifted his head and spotted two of his male coworkers ahead of him.
"Hey Nolan, Xavier, let's get some coffee together," he said, smiling as he waved. They exchanged smiles with him and waved back.
"We were expecting you, Marco," Nolan said as Marco approached them.
"The other guys have already left," Xavier said.
"Oh, sh*t! Traitors," Marco muttered under his breath.
They both scanned him and asked, "Why do you look so tired?"
"Oh, let me guess, Madam assigned you extra work," Nolan laughed.
"What did you do this time?" Xavier inquired, folding his arm.
Marco smiled and scratched the back of his neck "I complimented her."
"Again? You should know that madam doesn't like that "Nolan chastised Marco and landed a punch on his arm .
Marco winced as he held his arm, moved away from Nolan and stood by Xavier.
"Who doesn't appreciate compliments? I don't believe Madam despises them, so I'll keep complimenting her." Marco replied.
As they walked out the building, Nolan and Xavier exchanged glances, then returned to Marco, and Nolan asked, "I've been meaning to ask, do you like madam?"
Marco raised his brows and responded, "No, it's not like that; I simply admire her. Did you know Madam founded this company on her own? She is the sole owner of this company. She's also the sole heiress of PREZ EMPIRE, the largest fashion design company in Mexico and possibly the world, but she refused that position and decided to start her own."
"Who doesn't know that?" said Nolan, rolling his eyes.
"Xavier wouldn't know because he's new," Marco said into Nolan's ear.
"Wow, she truly owns this company," Xavier exclaimed.
"Yeah, without help," Nolan replied.
"Now this company is the third largest, and she plans to expand her branches outside of Mexico," Marco added .
He then turned around to see Lola walking into her car with an unknown woman. When she turned around, he caught a glimpse of her and what she was wearing. She wore a simple brown long sleeve collared button down cotton belted shirtdress and her short brown hair packed into a neat bun with Her light-brown orbs that reflected the sun.
In his opinion, she was stunning.
'Who's that?' he wondered as he stared at her until she got into the car and drove away.
Nolan tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to face them. Nolan then asked "What exactly were you looking at? I'd like to ask you a question."
"What were you saying again?" Marco inquired, his brow furrowed.
"Should we go to the new or old cafe?" Nolan inquired.
"Hmm, let's try the new one," Marco said, nodding . They agreed and headed to the new cafe.
***
Lola's gaze was fixed on the window of the car as Maria drove. Lola could only be vaguely aware of the passing scenery around them because she was lost in her thoughts and her expression seemed frozen on her face. The streets and buildings in front of her eyes gradually blurred. There was no feeling inside, only a kind of numbness, an emptiness she didn't know how to fill. It was a familiar sensation to her.
Lola opened her mouth to speak when she was able to gather her thoughts, but immediately closed it.
She inhaled and exhaled before asking, "What brought you back to Mexico?"
And Maria responded, "Jeez! Is it always necessary for me to have a reason for doing what I do?"
"Yes, " Lola replied.
"Fine, I'm on a break for seven weeks and I decided to see my 'friend,' " Maria grumbled.
Lola gave her a suspicious glance, and Maria responded, "Don't look at me like that. Doctors can take vacations, and I decided to offer health care services to a few hospitals around here."
Lola nodded and looked away.
"You should also take a break every now and then, I mean, cosmetics isn't that difficult," Maria said, to which Lola replied, "taking a break isn't an option."
"I always wonder, you deal with cosmetics but I never see you wearing makeup, and even if you do, it's always light," Maria said.
Lola rolled her eyes and replied, "so just because I make cosmetics, I should wear a lot of makeup?"
Maria nodded and replied, "yeah "
"Are you listening to yourself?" Lola asked with an obvious annoyed tone and Maria cackled.
"Anyway, how's Santiago, the last time I saw him was on your wedding day," Maria replied, pursed lips. Lola remained silent, not responding to Maria's question.
Maria looked at her and said, "You seem glum."
"What do you mean? I'm always glum, I just don't want to talk about it until I'm sure," Lola replied, crossed her arm over her chest and leaned her head on the headrest of her chair.
"Sure about what?" Maria inquired.
"That he is cheating on me with a woman he brought to our house," Lola said, solemnly.
Maria's eyes widened as she asked, "with whom is Santiago cheating?"
"I said I'm not certain, don't exaggerate," Lola said, her tone slightly irritated as she waved her right hand back and forth.
"You have to tell me everything," Maria said sternly.
Lola rolled her eyes and responded reluctantly, "fine."
They went to a simple restaurant and ordered their meals. Lola told Maria everything that had happened during her and Santiago's five-year marriage.
"Three miscarriages? Jesus, Lola , You never told me about this" Maria half yelled and covered her mouth almost immediately.
"Keep your voice down," Lola mumbled, and Maria blinked twice before saying, "I'm sorry, I was just shocked, first of all, he didn't tell you and his parents about his decision to bring in a surrogate? That's terrible; who does that? Even if you're not in love with each other, he should have told you because you're his wife."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was cheating on me with that woman, I was never a wife material," Lola said.
"The only problem you have is your aloofness, fix that and you would definitely be a perfect wife material," Maria replied.
"Are you making fun of me? Is this funny to you?" Lola's brows twitched as she glared daggers at Maria.
Maria shrugged and averted her gaze before responding, "No, do you see me laughing?"
Lola arched her brows and rose from her seat, Maria's eyes widened and she grabbed Lola's arm, "oh! Come on, I was only joking, don't go,"
"Don't change your aloof attitude, I actually like it, it makes you who you are, and if Santiago doesn't like that, that's his loss," Maria continued.
Lola caught a glimpse of Maria's bright smile. She quickly averted her gaze and sat down once more.
"I wasn't going to change anything," Lola said, folding her arms.
"Have you ever tried to figure out why and what caused all those miscarriages?" Maria inquired, her brow furrowed.
"Yes, the doctor said I had some kind of chromosomal abnormalities," Lola nodded.
"Hmm alright," Maria replied , nodding her head slowly. 'Chromosomal abnormalities? that's odd'
Their lunches arrived, and they immediately began to eat.
***
*At The Mansion*
Livia noticed the mansion was deserted, no one was around, and the maids were preoccupied, so she decided to take a walk around. She walked past Lola's room before coming to a halt and standing in front of the room door. She gripped the handle and yanked it down. The door creaked open and made a click sound.
'I'm glad she didn't lock it,' she whispered as she walked in and closed the door quietly.
'Even though Santi and Lola are married, they stay in separate rooms. '
She marvelled at how spacious the room was "Whoa! This room is much larger and better than mine, and the bed is fantastic "she mumbled, as she sagged on the soft king-sized bed .
Her gaze was drawn to a framed photo of Santiago and Lola on the wall, so she rose to her feet and approached it.
She ran her fingers across Santiago's photo as she stared at it with a subtle smile on her face, then she looked at Lola, her smile had faded and hatred filled her eyes as her brows knitted, "This photo would have been much more pleasing to the eye if I had been the one in that wedding gown standing close to Santi,"
"I'll make sure to get rid of this fake," she mumbled .
Just when she grabbed the frame and was about to remove it from where it was hanged with the intention of smashing it to pieces, the door to Lola's room crept open.