Work and Only Work

ALEJANDRO

I typed furiously at my keyboard. I had to focus on work and only work. It was a good thing my office was behind a door, and I’d sent Tina out of the office today. I didn’t want to be distracted with her. Really, I wanted nothing more than to go and put my arms around her. It was only the fact that people had surrounded us that had kept me from touching her.

I paused for a bit and leaned back in my seat. How much of a risk was I taking here? I’d prided myself on looking strong, and here I was, getting soft. I had liked being a playboy before this.

I saw the door handle twist and the door creak open. I hoped it was her, although I knew it wouldn’t be.

My father made his way into the office.

“Padre?” I stood up, feeling concerned. He hadn’t come here in almost four months. Did he think I wasn’t handling things well enough? Or had something happened?

“Alejandro,” he nodded as he made his way to the seat adjacent to my desk. I took in his slow footsteps. He seemed to be getting more tired nowadays, and I couldn’t fathom why. I was the one doing the brunt of the work.

“How is the cash flow situation?” He sat down.

“I’m making progress.” I told him about how Tina’s work with the marketing department was bringing in more money.

“Will it be enough to start paying Don Horacio back? If not, I got a call today that Mayor Watson wants to buy a majority share in this company.” My father cleared his throat. “We can’t let that happen.”

I sighed. “Yes. I spoke to the Mayor yesterday.” And I knew who’d put the Mayor up to it. The Mayor was one of Natalie’s playthings. She had texted me saying something about how she’d ruin me. If she couldn’t have me, I couldn’t have what I loved either.

“To think he called you first, and not me.” It was clear from his tone that he was upset. “What percentage does he propose?”

“Forty percent,” I replied.

“Outrageous.” He shook his head, and I nodded. The Mayor was a greedy, racist bastard and a tool. But I didn’t want to tell my father the part about Natalie putting him up to it. I needed my father to think I could handle my own business.

“So you told him no?” my father asked.

“I tried to dissuade him,” I replied. The truth was, we might still need him, but I was hoping Tina’s marketing initiatives would be enough.

My father relaxed a bit.

“Well, that is one of the reasons I came here,” he said. “Your aunt wants us to pay her a visit this weekend.”

“Really?” I said. “It has been too long.”

“Indeed, it has.”

I loved Aunt Marina. She was my father’s elder sister. She lived in Mexico with her husband. The last time I’d seen her was a decade ago, when I was finishing high school. I hoped she hadn’t changed at all. Her no-nonsense personality was a force to reckon with. Truly, she and my father were cut from the same cloth.

“I’ll leave you to your work now. I’ll be in touch about making arrangements.” My father stood up and made his way to the door. He paused.

“You can bring Miss Campbell along.”

“What?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Why?”

My father turned around. “Because I want her to see who my son is involved with.”

“Padre—”

“I’m your father, Alejandro,” he said. “You can’t hide from me. I’ve seen the way you treat her. The way you stood up for her last night—you’ve never done that for another woman.”

I focused on what my father was saying.

“You’re gradually becoming the man I hoped for,” he continued. “You’re taking responsibility for the people in your life, just as I told you. I can see she has changed you. And if that’s the case, I want my family to know about your evolution.”

I let his words sink in. Truly, I had defended Tina, but that was because Mother was going too far. But from the look in my father’s eyes, he was seeing something different.

“Thank you,” I said. “I know the situation isn’t what you would have wanted.”

“Your mother and I believe that it’s important for the family to look proper. That’s why we agreed she would come and meet your date.”

That explained what she’d been doing there. I was so pissed at him for inviting her, and at her for being there at all, never mind how she’d treated Tina. But I understood immediately what my father meant. They wanted our family to look good for Tina. They wanted us to look like a family.

I reflected on my mother’s attack on Tina, as if my mother hadn’t taken half of my father’s fortune in the divorce. And in retrospect, I wondered, was my mother trying to protect me somehow? It’s not like I’d given her much of a chance to interview my girlfriends before Tina.

~Wait, was I thinking of Tina as my girlfriend?~

“I’ll see you at home, son.” He made his way out.

I sighed and relaxed in my seat. I felt something new, and it felt good. Every son wanted his father’s blessing, and now I felt like I had it. The more I thought about it, he’d been indirectly responsible for my evolution, as he put it. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have met Tina. And now he seemed so pleased to see our relationship.

I hoped Tina wouldn’t let us down. Part of what I liked about her was that she wasn’t like the women who were happy to throw themselves at me. I didn’t know if Tina even really liked me all that much.