Chapter 8

Si tú no estás aquí... (If you are not here...)

Monica's lips opened willingly to welcome Andrew's and the rush of emotions that followed. She had missed the passion with which he could kiss her and for the moment, she wanted nothing but to abandon herself to him. Yet, she reacted quickly and remembered what was going on with her assignment and with Andrew. She tried to break the kiss pushing him away but he was much more stronger. "Please, Andrew, no…" she said against his lips.

"You want this as much as I do, Monica," he replied placing a hand at the back of her neck, pulling her back to his eager mouth. "I can feel you, baby, I can feel you are yearning for this…"

He was kissing her cheeks and her neck, his hands still stopping her from fighting. "No, Andrew, stop," she was begging before he aimed again for her mouth. But this time she knew she had to stop him and she refused to open her lips as hard as he was trying to force her. "Stop it, Andrew!" When he didn't stop and started to use his strength to force her, she felt now openly uncomfortable. "NO!" she shouted and slapped him.

The sound of her hand on his cheek sounded like the one of crystal breaking in a thousand of pieces. Monica's breath caught in her throat when she realized what she had done and when she saw the hurting look in Andrew's eyes who, unable to believe it, had a hand on his cheek.

"I'm sorry…" Monica managed to murmur but he said nothing.

He knew she had been right but just looked at her and walked away.

"What do you want to drink? A Scotch?" Kathleen asked Jamal once they were settled on the man's studio.

"Yeah, a Scotch's fine…" he said sitting heavily on his armchair and resting his legs on the coffee table. He opened the folder he had brought from the office and between the pages he found the light blue envelope Monica had been reading.

Just the mere lines of the penmanship brought memories to his mind. Memories of a past when he was such a different man, when he didn't spend the night with his assistant but with the woman that meant the world for him. He opened the envelope and was taking out the paper when Kathleen came back.

"What is it?" the demon asked offering him his beverage.

"Nothing" he quickly put the letter away. "We need to get that budget ready or we'll lost the sell. We can't afford that, Kathleen".

"If Monica hadn't taken so long in finding them…" the female demon murmured opening her own copy of the budget.

"Give her a break, Kathleen," Jamal murmured. "She has had the hell of a week…"

Kathleen looked at him not believing what he was saying. "Are you giving her a special treatment, Jamal! I thought we had agreed no employee would get benefits if she or he didn't do her or his work properly, which is obvious Monica hasn't done!"

"She's been doing what she can…" the man defended her. "Besides it's mine to decide whether I grant benefits to one employee or not."

"But if you do it with one, you will have to do it with all, and we agreed that if you showed yourself as a weak man, your workers would take advantage!"

"I'm not being weak, Kathleen!" Jamal argued. "Monica is not that kind of person! She wouldn't take advantage of me…"

"How do you know!" the demon was getting frantic. She couldn't believe the angel had won so much of the man's heart in so few days.

"I thought you would know, you've worked with her before, haven't you?" he challenged his assistant.

"That's why I'm telling you! If you care about what you've gotten so far, you better take care! The Master wouldn't like this at all…"

Jamal shivered lightly at the mention of the being he had promised his soul after his death. He saw the day of his passing as something very distant, something not to worry about, yet he didn't like to think about it. "Come on, Kathleen! Monica has nothing to do with this! End of the discussion! Will we start to work or should I start to mark my employee's places with you?"

The demon took a sharp breath and opened her eyes widely at Jamal's words but said nothing. She buried her face in her papers, mentally cursing the day the little angel had gotten in her way with Jamal.

They spent the next two hours in a tense silence, just sharing comments about what they were finding in the budget. Still Kathleen noticed how Jamal's forehead was starting to shine with tiny drops of sweat. Catching her looking at him when he dried his forehead, Jamal commented, "It's pretty hot, isn't it?"

Kathleen shook her head lightly as if she had misunderstood. "Hot? Jamal we're in February! I'm about to put my jacket on!"

He untied his tie, his breath getting somewhat uneven. "I… I'm feeling hot, but at the same time I agree, it's chilly…"

"Maybe we should call it a night," the demon said closing her papers and heading to the door. "You are not ok. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jamal saw her leaving and put aside his folder too. When he moved to get comfortable on the armchair, he felt something cracking: the pale-blue envelope. He observed it for a long moment until he decided to take out the pages and read them.

The pale light of a lamp on a side table was the only source of light hours later, when Jamal was sitting on the lonely studio. The letter was hanging from his hand, the words fixed on his mind. "I deserve better than you… You may find someone else… Forget about me…"

"How?" he asked in a little more than a whisper, his hand clutching at the paper tightly. "How could I?" He then covered his face with one hand and lowered his face. His breath became ragged and quick, as if he couldn't get enough air. Gulping with difficulty, he forced himself to take a deep breath, but air didn't fill his lungs as a sharp pain hit him in the middle of his chest. He felt a sudden wave of panic thinking of what would come when he died… Drowning a scream, pain written all over his face, Jamal let his head fall backwards, concentrating only in be still so he would feel strong enough to walk to his bedroom…

Unseen to the man, by one of the opposite corners of the studio, Sam appeared and looked at him, at the drops that shinned over the dark skin of his forehead. The angel looked upwards and nodded his understanding, then turned to look at the other corner and at the two female beings that had appeared there.

"You better hurry. We're running out of time here…" one, with red hair, said.

"I thought he was your job, not mine…" the other, a blond one, argued.

"But your chances will be smaller if you don't take the opportunity while 'my job' is still alive!" the first added.

The second one sighed. "I'm having a hard time with him, you know? He's too loyal and confident…"

"Then use your endearing traits!" the red haired one told the other. "You can't lose him! You have to act and soon! The ending is coming and I want them both!"

"All right, Kathleen," Deborah said. "I'll see what I can do…"

"Kiss him…" the ex angel remembered her partner before she disappeared.

Sam then met Kathleen's brown eyes in a silent challenge where the prize were two souls… one human and one angelic.

Andrew smiled faintly early the next morning when he saw his blond friend coming to his table with a coffee pot and a menu on her hands. He knew he would ask for a coffee for mere courtesy and then would just stare at the cup for hours, thinking about one little angel and wishing she would come eventually.

"G'morning!" Deborah greeted him with a wide smile. "You're early today!"

"Yeah…" Andrew replied. "I… I have a day off and I didn't know where to go…"

"Hey, I can ask for the day free too and we could go somewhere else!" she said excitedly. "There's a movie I'm looking forward to watch and we could go have lunch somewhere nice! Or we could just pack for a picnic by the beach! There's one outside the city that is very beautiful!"

"Hum… Deborah…" the blond angel tried to interrupt her. "I-I'm not sure…"

"Why not? You look like you really need to have some fun! I don't know what happen with that girlfriend of yours but it's obvious you need a time off!"

Andrew gulped and sighed at the mere thought of Monica, knowing that after what he had done the previous day, things were now much more complicated between them. "I don't know, Deborah. I don't think I'm a good company right now…"

"Oh, come on, Andrew!" the demon said taking a seat by his side and reaching to take his hand. "Please, let's go!"·

He was feeling somehow uncomfortable with her insistence, specially because he didn't want to hurt her. "Why are you doing this, Deborah?" he asked looking at her hand on his.

Her blue eyes met his with a sincerity that touched the angel's heart. "Because I care about you…"

"Why?" he asked in a whisper, not sure of what to say or do.

Deborah lowered her face and stroke his hand tenderly. When she raised her head again, she saw how surprised he was. "Because I think I'm falling in love with you, Andrew…" Looking at him again, she leaned over slowly, until their lips were so close…

Andrew had been taken off guard. His heart was beating faster and he couldn't move. He saw her coming closer, her eyes closing, her lips opening to him, inviting him. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes too, her breathing warm in its closeness… until it was another different breath, another perfume, and he could feel other lips almost brushing his. Those lips he wanted so much… Those of the Irish angel that had stopped by the window when she had recognized them and that was praying with all her being for him not to do it…