It would have been a lie to say that the slap hadn’t hurt, that unruly girl had a heavy little hand, but the tears running down her cheeks caused a greater impact on him. They were tears of sincere and silent rage, the kind that overflowed and destroyed what was in front of it, and he knew it perfectly well because his was exactly the same.

Valeria did not say another word. She left that office crying, leaving him with the horrible feeling that he had made a big mistake, that he had done something wrong, very wrong.

He took some time to cool off. He had to calm down because in the last week he had completely lost control. What the hell was happening to him? He wasn't like that! And she wasn't the first easy woman to cross his path.

So what was exactly bothering him so much about her?

He paced around the office, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, and saw the folder Valeria had brought him with the designs lying in the corner. He hadn't even seen them properly the first time, but he still didn't open it. He pressed the intercom button and Oli came in seconds later.

“Yes, sir.”

“Please, give Miss Williams her folder,” he asked.

Oli took the folder with hesitation.

“Umm... sure, sir. I'll give it to her.”

“Is something wrong?” asked Nick with a frown.

“Well... Valeria already left,” the girl answered, and Nick looked at his watch.

“It's only two o'clock in the afternoon,” he said as if it were a question.

“She was pretty distraught,” Oli muttered, looking at the floor. “She left crying. She said she just wanted to leave.”

Nick didn't know why he got that knot in his stomach when he heard that.

“Well, stubborn as she is, she'll be back on Monday,” he grunted, though he didn't know if he meant it for Oli or if he was trying to convince himself.

“I hope so,” he heard the girl whisper, “because I don't know a better person for the job... or who needs it more.”

He turned to ask her what she meant by that, but Oli had already left.

For the second time in less than two weeks, Nick's weekend sucked. He was so restless he felt he couldn't be inside his apartment. He went for a run, went to the movies, met up with friends, revised some work, went to a bar, and minus the drinking, everything else was left half-finished.

On Monday he finally walked into his office as calmly as possible and asked Oli for his morning coffee. He noticed that Valeria hadn't arrived yet, but it wasn't even eight o'clock. She would be here soon.

But Valeria didn't arrive at eight, or nine, or ten in the morning…

“Oli!” he called over the intercom and stared at the window, listening as the door opened. “Has Miss Williams notified why she didn't come to work?”

“I'm not Oli.”

Nick turned at the sound of his mother's voice. The woman closed the door and walked over to sit in a comfortable chair in front of the desk.

“I heard about the stupid thing you did on Friday,” Layla said in a cold tone, without saying hello.

“I didn't do anything,” Nick grunted in response. “She's got the screws loose.”

“Valeria's screws went loose because you humiliated her in front of everyone,” Layla retorted. “And if she were a quarter of how spiteful I can be, what you'd have in front of you right now would be a lawsuit for workplace harassment, verbal assault, and psychological abuse.”

“You are overreacting!”

“Listen to me, Nicholas Bennet!” Layla stood up with determination. “I don't know what you have with or against this girl, but it doesn't change what you did. You called her out in front of everyone, called her mediocre, offended her and her work, and then brought her into your office and talked to her like she was a slut?!” Her tone was so violent that Nick had to look away to refrain from speaking. “I know my approval means nothing to you, but you should think about whether that was the kind of man your father raised!”

Nick turned around with the retort on the tip of his tongue, but Layla already had her back to him, thus ending the conversation. And whether he liked it or not, there were things... damn it, when she put it that way, yes, he'd done all that... exactly that way!

“Shit!” he exclaimed, throwing half of what was on the table on the floor.

He took a deep breath and from one of his drawers he pulled out Valeria's hiring file. He wrote down her address and left the office without explaining himself to anyone.

He drove for almost half an hour until he reached that part of the city where he should preferably have gone by cab... or not at all. He prayed that he would still have tires when he returned and looked up the address he had written down. The building was incredibly ugly, with graffitied walls and grimy stair railings. It was clear that Valeria would be thrilled with a job that would eventually allow her to live somewhere else.

He reached the third floor and knocked on the first door on the right, number thirty-six. Someone was walking inside as if in a hurry and Valeria opened the door while she finished putting on a T-shirt.

“Mr. Bennet...?! she asked, confused, as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

“You didn't go to work,” Nick reproached her without even saying hello.

“And do you go to pick up your all your workers from home when— Look, you know what? I don't have time for this!”

Nick was about to retort but her voice was anguished as she walked around the couch.

“Come on, sweetheart, let's go”. He saw her carry the child, and grab a backpack that she threw on her back. “There, there. It's all right!”

The girl had her eyes closed and was whimpering. She was sweaty and flushed as if she had run a lot.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Bennet, but you can yell at me later,” Valeria muttered, closing the door. “Now, I have to go to the hospital.”

“Is the girl sick?” Nick said, worried.

“Yes, she has a fever. Excuse me,” answered Valeria trying to go around him.

“Wait, I'll take you... I'll help you.” He made a gesture to take the girl because three flights of stairs were dangerous, but the girl pulled back.

“Don't touch her.”

“Hey, I just want to help...” Nick said, upset.

“She doesn't like to be touched,” Valeria explained. “Alice is a child who needs special care. She doesn't like to be touched by anyone but me.”

“Oh... OK, then... give me take the backpack. I'll go down first. Be careful,” he said, going down some steps ahead of her in case she needed support.

Valeria didn't even hesitate when he opened the car door for her. She climbed in with Alice in the back seat and cradled her nervously.

“Which hospital?” Nick asked determinedly, getting behind the wheel.

“There's one ten minutes away,” Valeria said, pulling out her cell phone. “The Emergency General, do you know where it is?”

“Yes, we'll get there fast,” assured Nick, getting into traffic right away. He might be a pain in the ass, but he had a special ability to recognize an emergency and deal with it.

Valeria was texting at an impressive speed, with tears brimming from her eyes and her teeth clenched. Luckily, there were few cars on the road and it didn't take them long to get to the hospital. He didn't even get to open the car door for her. Valeria had already opened it and gotten out, hurrying towards the hospital door with the girl in her arms, and he followed her holding her backpack.

This was not the best hospital in the county, but apparently they already knew her.

“Sara! Sara...!” The girl came in, looking around, and an older nurse came running up to her.

“Here I am, baby, take it easy.”

“She has a fever again...” said Valeria in an anguished voice.

“I know, calm down. You know how this works.” She gave Alice an injection in her thigh and the girl barely complained. A few minutes later, she was completely asleep. It was the only way the doctors could check her. “Come, put her on the stretcher. I'll take her to the children's ward. You fill out the admission form and I'll send the doctor right away, okay?”

Valeria nodded, letting go of Alice's hand with difficulty as Sara carried her away. Valeria covered her mouth with one hand to stifle a sob. She didn't even remember Nick, who was watching the scene, shocked, as he held her backpack. He saw her running her hands through her hair and wiping away tears with trembling fingers. It was obvious she was very frightened. Then, she picked up the chart that contained the admission form from the front desk.

Suddenly, she touched her shoulder where her backpack should have been, and only then, she turned around, looking for Nick.

“Thank you...” she murmured, approaching him and taking the backpack from his hands.

“What's wrong with her?” he asked with sincere concern.

“Her fever got so high...” she mumbled. “I usually control it in time, but my friend Emma was taking care of her... and Alice doesn't like to be touched, she didn't let her take her temperature.”

“And if the girl gets like that, why did you leave her with someone else?” Nick growled angrily. He had a lot of experience with mothers who left their children in the care of others. He was the living example, and apparently, he had not been wrong about her.

“I had to leave,” Valeria said, defensively.

“Right, sure. A woman like you can't stay home taking care of her. And besides, it's clear that you're not fit to take care of her. What could be more important than the girl?”

“I was looking for a job! Ok?” Valeria replied and Nick took a step back. “You see, my boss doesn't like me, and he's doing everything he can to fire me. And as you can see, a woman in my situation can't afford to lose her livelihood from one day to the next. Do you or don't you think it's important?”