Chapter 6

THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "GIRO DEL DESTINO"

I woke up abruptly, I felt tired, my body hurt as if I had slept more than usual. When I looked at the clock on the coffee table, it was 7:30 a.m. Shit! I'm running late. The alarm didn't go off. I got up quickly and ran to the bathroom, quickly washed my mouth and took a quick bath, as fast as time allowed me. I know the museum doesn't open to the public until 10:00am, but I was told I had to be there at 8:00am. I quickly came out of the bathroom, went to the closet and grabbed the first clothes I could find, some worn jeans and a beige short sleeve shirt, put them on and quickly put on some black converse. I went to the mirror, quickly pulled my hair up in a ponytail and after taking the bag with the things, I left the room. I quickly passed by the refrigerator from where I took a yogurt that I opened as I walked to the garage and got in the car. By the time I got to the museum and parked the car it was already 8:20 am. I showed my ID at the entrance and they let me in. I took the hallway and took the elevator to the basement and as soon as the doors opened I headed for Mia and Ethan.

—Good morning. —I said a little agitated as I arrived and greeted them.

—Good morning Ana, — said Mia and Ethan to me as they looked at me worried.

—I get too late? — I asked Mia as she looked at her watch.

—Only 25 minutes, what happened to you. —she asked worried.

—The alarm didn't go off and I got up late, I tried to hurry as much as I could, and the supervisor arrived. — I asked as I looked nervously at his office.

—Yes, he asked for the new one as soon as we arrived, it's in his office. —Ethan said as I looked at him nervously.

—Did he get here before you?

—Yes, he's very strict about the schedule. —Mia replied.

—He's got the windows closed? —I asked nervously as I continued to look towards his office.

—He does it when he doesn't want to be disturbed. —Mia told me as I put my face in my hands.

—I'm in trouble. —I said scared.

—He asked you to come to his office as soon as you arrived. —Mia said to me.

—Shit! Damn alarm clock that didn't go off. I exclaimed frustrated.

—Don't worry, you explain to him what happened to you, he must understand that it wasn't your fault. — Mia told me trying to comfort me.

—Or you make up a story for him. —Ethan told me while Mia beat him in the ribs.

—Stop joking, it's serious. —Mia scolded him as he looked at me again.

—I won't be long, I'd better go and face the beast, the faster the better. —I said as I walked to the supervisor's office.

—Good luck. —I heard Ethan say when I came to the door.

I took a deep breath and touched. And immediately heard a loud voice from the inside.

—Enter. —that was all he said as I turned the doorknob and walked into the office.

Inside there was a huge bureau with a computer on top of it, just in front of an armchair, several pictures hanging on the back walls behind the bureau's chair. On the far right was a sofa that looked very comfortable under the window. The office was large, much larger than I imagined, the supervisor was standing with his back to me, facing the wall on the far left, looking at a painting I could not identify as having been painted. His posture was straight, with his arms folded behind his back. He was tall, his hair was black and a little long, falling on his neck, he was wearing a dark suit that fit perfectly into his body. The truth was, I hadn't seen her face but Mia's description had fallen short. For a moment I had been quiet, so I decided to announce myself and did it in the nicest possible way.

—Good morning, Mr. Grey. —I said trying to hide my nervousness.

—They're not very good, Miss Stelle, but sit down. — he said in a deep, firm voice. A voice that makes your blood run cold.

I did what he told me and sat in the chair in front of his desk. The leather cracked and sank under my weight and then he spoke again.

—You want to explain to me why you're late? —he said as he stood still in front of the painting and I turned my head towards him.

And I decided to tell the truth, I didn't want to start with a story on the first day of work.

—My alarm didn't go off, and I fell asleep. —I said looking down in grief.

—That's the answer I always hear, it's the easiest one to invent. —what did he say? Had I heard him right.

—You insult me, I didn't make it up, it's the truth. —I said looking up, but he was still on his back, maybe I should have made something up.

—I know people like you very well, Miss Stelle. —shit, this wasn't working out at all well.

—People like me? —I asked weirdly, this guy was weird. Were he knew me if I'd never seen him before in my life.

—Yes, people like you, who go from party to party and from bed to bed, I'm sure you arrived late because you didn't sleep in your bed last night, as usual and you were late because you were putting on makeup and choosing the clothes to wear to look as sexy as possible in front of me.

—What did you say? —I answered a little louder than I should have.

This guy was going too far, maybe he thought he knew everything about me, if he didn't know me at all.

—You think I don't know that you've already been told that I'm young and attractive, I know everything, Miss Stelle, I know everything that goes on in this basement, I'm never wrong. —that was it, I couldn't take it anymore.

—Well, you're wrong this time, Mr. Grey, I don't go from party to party or from bed to bed, you're nothing but a conceited and arrogant man, it seems you're adapted to dating that kind of person and you think we're all the same. Last night I slept in my bed, like every night, and I didn't take long to do my make-up because I don't do it much and I didn't choose my clothes either since I put on the first one I saw, I didn't even have breakfast so as not to waste time, I arrived late because the damn alarm clock didn't ring.

I yelled at him as I stood up, this guy was an asshole and one of the biggest. My breathing was agitated and I was breathing hard. Mia didn't describe it very well, he was a motherfucker. My patience had run out, I didn't know how I had endured his insults so much. As soon as I finished yelling at him, he started talking again.

—You see, Miss Stelle… —he said as he turned around and some gray eyes suddenly looked at me in awe.

And then I fell back on the sofa as I saw his face, marked by hard lines, a square jaw, black hair falling slightly on his face with the stripe on one side, lips closed in a firm line, and gray eyes with piercing gazes, watching me with surprise and curiosity.

Things happen for a reason, and everything has its explanation, but I still couldn't find an explanation for what was happening at the time. How many times I didn't want to meet him again. But destiny usually likes to play with me and now it puts it in front of me in this way. The truth was that he had changed a lot, although his face still had the same features as before, now he looked like a man, he was no longer the skinny boy I had once known. The suit fit him much better than I remembered it and the tie in a very light grey made his eyes stand out and he looked at me wide open at that moment. I had no idea what my face was at the time, but it must have been just like his.

—Anastasia! —he exclaimed perplexed.

—Christian! —I exclaimed without being able to believe it.

—What are you doing here? —he asked me in amazement as he ran one hand through his frustrated hair.

—I work here. —I answered as if it was the most obvious thing.

—I see, but... Why? How?

Christian was as confused as I was, he couldn't even coordinate the words in a sentence.

—I've always wanted to work here. —I answered him without taking my eyes off his.

—I'm sorry for what I said...I...I...

—No Christian, don't apologize, I don't want you to treat me any differently than you treat others simply because we met. — I said, interrupting him.

—But Anastasia, we've known each other since...

—No, you don't know me, and I don't know you, you knew Anastasia the 16-year-old girl with pigtails and braces, no me. And I hardly doubt you're the 18-year-old boy I once knew. —I replied as he looked at me with a frown at what I was saying.

—You're right, I'm not the guy you met, but I... —he was very serious and could barely finish a whole sentence.

—No, I don't want you to treat me differently, if that's how you treat everyone, I'm not going to be the exception. —I told him very seriously, sitting upright in my seat.

—Very well, if you wish. —he said as he walked and sat in front of me in the chair behind his desk.

After sitting down, he placed his forearms on the table, intertwining the fingers of his hands and placing his grey gaze on me. He was closer to me and I didn't know why, but at that moment a chill ran all the way down my body at the sight of him.

—Then, you get late because of the alarm clock. —he said very seriously staring at me.

—Yes. —-I answered firmly without taking my eyes off his for a moment. Though at some point they unconsciously moved toward his lips as he spoke and didn´t now why.

—And I guess it won't happen again. —he said leaning back in his chair uncrossing his hands leaving only one on the table.

—No. —I said as my eyes ran down his face again, this time stopping on his lips.

—I hope so, I like that the staff that works with me comply with the established schedules, rules and regulations, I am very strict with them. —he said with his eyes still fixed on mine.

—All right, it won't happen again. — I said, feeling my legs shaking slightly.

—I hope so, you can get back to work. —he said as he turned his scrutinizing gaze away from me and directed it toward the orderly.

—Thank you, excuse me. —I said as I got up from the sofa and headed for the door to leave the beast's lair.

Once outside I breathed several times and relaxed a bit, who would imagine that after six years I would meet Christian again. I walked over to Mia while my body felt completely shaken. Apparently my face hadn't changed much since I left the office because she looked at me worried.

—Ana, are you okay, what did he tell you?

—I think you fell short of your description. —I said with a blank look on my face.

—What? —she asked strangely.

—Nothing, he just asked me not to be late again. —I replied by looking at her.

—That's all, he didn't give you the speech. —she asked in amazement.

—No, but as far as I can see, he has a serious problem with rules and a problem of trust with the female sex. — I told her thinking about what happened at the office.

—Why you say that. —she asked curiously.

—No reason, my things, then changing the subject, we're we are working on. —I told her trying to change the subject and thus the direction of my thoughts.

—Come on, I'll show you what you'll be working on. —se said as he pulled on my hand.

Mia led me to where the works to be restored were and I chose nothing less than a self-portrait of Rembrandt from 1660 and began to work on it. The painting was quite well preserved, although it was almost completely cracked. I started by removing the previous layers of varnish and repaints and then proceeded to restore them using the technique of illusionist or imitative retouching. At 10:00 am Ethan and Mia picked me up, went to the kitchen and made us a hamburger with a soda in the fridge. The truth was that I was starving because I had only had a quick yogurt for breakfast. After we finish, we go back to work again. And then I noticed that the office curtains were now drawn and Christian was sitting behind his desk. He had taken his jacket off his suit and was wearing a white shirt with his sleeves tucked up at his elbows, his tie was still on, but his knot was a little loose. I don't know why, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Now that he had taken off her coat I could see much better how her body had changed over the years. His shirt was tight, making his muscles tighten above it. My eyes stayed on it as my mouth dried. He noticed that I was looking at him, I exchanged a quick glance that I quickly escaped by looking the other way. I continued walking to my work station, where I had a good time cleaning the canvas until Mia interrupted me.

—The beast is looking at you. —she said to me as I looked briefly at his office and Christian took his eyes off me at that moment and looked at his desk.

—And... —I said looking away from him and looking at Mia again.

—Nothing, it's just weird. —she said with a shrug of his shoulders.

—In what way? —I asked intrigued.

—He's never looked at anyone like that before, he looks at you like he knows you. —she said in surprise.

If she knew she was right, she knew me or at least thought she knew me.

—I don't know what's gotten into him. — I said unimportantly.

—And he's never taken off his blazer before either. —she said with a frown.

—He'll be hot. —I said with a shrug off my shoulders.

—Or you told him something that upset him. —she said staring at me.

He looked at me with eyes like I wanted to know what was going on in there, and I couldn't help but tell someone about it or I was going to explode.

—All right, I'll tell you, but promise you won't say anything. — I said, pointing a finger at him.

—Ok, I'm a grave. —He said as he closed his lips with two fingers.

—I know him. —or I used to do it, I said inside myself.

—To the supervisor? — she said in amazement.

—His name is Christian. — I told him looking sideways at Christian in his office doing something on the computer.

—I had always wondered what the C was about, — she replied thoughtfully.

—Well, I knew him a long time ago, but he's completely different from the one I knew. —I said as I returned my gaze to her, who looked at me with curiosity marked on her face.

—And how do you know him? —she asked me with too much curiosity.

—Let's just say we had an unfinished relationship. — I said without making a big deal out of it.

—I don't understand you. —she said with a frown.

—He left without breaking up with me. —I replied.

—Ah, I understand then, he is frustrated with you. — she said with a smile.

—Why do you say that? — I asked curiously.

—Because he's looking at us right now like he feels we're talking about him. —Mia told me that she was standing in front of her office while I was on my back.

—Then we'd better get back to our work, I don't want the beast to roar at me again. —I said as Mia laughed away from me.