Valeria smirked. Her mother had taken it upon herself to make her a strong woman, even if sometimes, like at that instant, she did not measure her words.

“Let me get this straight, Mrs. Bennet. This is what exactly for you? A wager against your son... or against me?” she asked.

“No, my dear, this is a desperate attempt to see joy and sexiness walk down these halls again!” Layla assured her. “But you can call it whatever you want. The point is that if in three months you turn out to be just another one of those submissive designers then—”

“Then I'm no good to you,” Valeria finished. “Ok, I accept the deal.”

She stood up and extended her hand with determination.

“Really? Are you sure?” Layla seemed afraid to get too excited.

“On one condition: If I am going to confront your son, I must at least have your support. Otherwise, he can fire me whenever he wants.”

“Don't worry,” Layla smiled. “I have a special contract waiting for someone like you. Take everything to Human Resources. I'll let them know you're my “special case”. I want you to start working as soon as possible.”

Valeria left that office with a smile while Oli gave her a questioning look.

“¿So?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I got the job!” Valeria exclaimed softly, coming closer, and Oli clapped her hands with joy.

“I'm so glad! I'm so happy you're going to work here!”

“Well, now I have to go to Human Resources. Can you tell me where it is?”

“Mmmm,” Oli frowned, as if remembering something. “Damn! Lazlo's going on vacation today!” she muttered to herself.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Lazlo, the HR guy who handles hiring, is going on vacation today... and this usually takes time,” Oli told her. “If he doesn't finish your paperwork today, you'll have to wait two weeks until he returns”.

Valeria's face broke down. She couldn't wait another two weeks to start working!

“Oli, please help me!” she begged the girl, taking her hands. “I have to start work on Monday!”

The girl smiled mischievously at her and lowered her eyes, blushing a little.

“Lazlo is a very nice boy...” she murmured. “He likes cold mocha coffee, with lots of cream and colored sprinkles. Grab one for him one and ask him nicely to help you, and I'm sure he'll stay a few more hours for you.”

Valeria narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

“Oli, do you like Lazlo?” she asked.

“Nooooo...” the girl answered nervously.

“Well, if I get him to help me, I will bring you all the papers as soon as possible.”

Valeria ran off to the cafeteria and bought a coffee just as Oli had described to her. Then she headed for the Human Resources department, where she met the most cheerful, sweetest boy anyone could imagine. He looked so young he almost seemed to be underage, and he was like a male version of Oli.

“Hi, are you Lazlo?” asked Valeria.

“Yes, it's me. How can I help you?”

“My name is Valeria. Oli sent me…” For some reason Valeria suspected that this name would have more impact than Mrs. Bennet's.

“Oli?” The boy blushed in a second. “Wh-what does she need?”

“She asked me to deliver this to you,” she said, handing him the coffee. “It's a cold mocha with lots of cream and sprinkles.”

Lazlo almost began to stutter. “It's... it's... just the way I like it,” the boy murmured, smiling.

“Yeah. Hey, we need your help. I just got hired and Oli told me you're going on vacation. Can you help me process everything before you go?”

“Oli knows I'm going on vacation?”

Is that really what stuck with him? thought Valeria before nodding.

“You like Oli a lot, don't you?”

The boy shook his head, looking at the floor.

“I bet you even know how she likes her coffee,” Valeria encouraged him. “How about when we're done, we go get a coffee Oli likes and I'll bring it to her for you?”

Lazlo smiled sheepishly and nodded. He immediately set about putting together her file and drawing her contract. He had already received the memo from Mrs. Bennet about the type of contract she wanted, and the afternoon moved quickly as they got everything organized.

“That's it, we're done,” sighed Lazlo at almost six o'clock in the evening, putting all the documents in her hands. “The only thing left to do is to have your photo taken for your company ID card. It's in the Security office. I'll be glad to take you there. Besides, the cafeteria is on the way”.

Valeria smiled enthusiastically and clung to Lazlo's arm as they walked to the cafeteria.

“You know, if you want, I could help you with Oli…”

The boy was delighted. They were chatting so animatedly that Valeria didn't even have time to avoid bumping into the man coming from the opposite direction and who was totally absorbed in his cell phone to the point of throwing all the coffee he was carrying on her.

Valeria managed to save the documents by getting them out of the way in time, but her blouse and jacket were something completely different.

She raised her eyes angrily—she was literally soaked in coffee and still had to have her ID card photo taken—and her gaze met with none other than that of an absolutely stunning man. He must have been about six feet two, with a strong build and hard, handsome features. He had very dark eyes, and short, sophisticated hair. He looked like a damned demigod. He was good enough to eat and lick the fingers, and the worst of all was that he looked at her as if she was an inconvenient stone in his shoe.

“You’d better watch your step next time,” was what came out of his mouth, and Valeria felt the rage boil inside her.

“You were the one who bumped into me!” Valeria replied, trying not to speak loudly.

“If you hadn't been so caught up with your... whoever,” he said mockingly, looking her up and down and then at Lazlo, “you would have dodged me perfectly well.”

“If you would only bother to look ahead, no one would have to dodge you! Look how you've left me!”

“Yes... well, that's your problem, not mine...”

Valeria's face reddened, as she hit Lazlo's chest with the folder and he held it. She looked around and, as soon as she found the door to the women's bathroom, she dragged that man there. Maybe it was because she took him by surprise, but the truth was that he barely resisted.

Valeria pushed him into the staff restroom and went in as well, closing the door behind her.

“Did you go crazy or w—?”

The speech of that demigod was interrupted the minute Valeria took off her jacket and blouse. She was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt about it, but she had to be crazy to undress in front of a man with such impudence.

“What? Haven’t you ever seen a woman in a bathing suit?” she laughed. “Give me your shirt,” she demanded and watched him back away.

“Of course not!” he refused.

“I have to get my photo taken and I can't do it naked or with a blouse you stained! Give me your shirt.”

“Well, it doesn't seem that walking around naked bothers you very much...”

“Look, I advise you not to provoke me because I've just had a very hard day,” Valeria threatened him.

“I told you I wouldn't give you anything! But what kind of woman are you?!”

Valeria's knee shot violently against the man's crotch and she heard him scream in pain. She took the opportunity to remove his jacket while his face showed only surprise and discomfort.

“I am the kind of woman who is tired of being pushed around, belittled, and degraded!” she exclaimed as she took off his shirt. “You're the one who wasn’t looking, so it's your problem!”

She saw him straighten up a little, looking at her with wide eyes. Valeria was wearing one of her own designs, a half-corset bra, fuchsia in color with black lace, and she could almost swear she had heard the man's breath catch in his throat, unable to take his eyes off her chest.

She smiled internally. That was the reaction she wanted: to feel strong, to feel powerful. However, she could not deny that he was absurdly attractive. She would never have guessed there was a perfectly chiseled chest and those heart-stopping abs under the suit. She watched him clench his fists helplessly as she put on his shirt over her bra.

“For the record, if it wasn't because I have to be photographed... and because you're a clueless, believe me I wouldn't do this... Although I feel like you enjoyed the view more than I'm enjoying leaving you shirtless!”

And giving him a wink, she left him there, alone and stunned by that hurricane of a woman that had just passed over him.

Valeria came running up to Lazlo, who had already bought the coffee for Oli. She took her folder of documents and the coffee and kissed the boy on the cheek.

“Thank you for everything! I promise I'll bring you coffee every day when you come back!” she said hurriedly.

“Valeria... what did you do?” asked Lazlo in a panic as he saw her putting on her jacket over a shirt too big for her. “Do you have any idea what you did? Do you know who that was?”

“Lazlo, it could be the president of the United States, the king of Spain, or His Holiness the Pope; he still looked at me like an ordinary man. I'm going to get my photo taken because on Monday, I start working for this company rain or shine!”

She ran off towards the building's security office, Lazlo shaking his head behind her.

“Oh Val, he's not His Holiness the Pope, but he's definitely not an ordinary man!”