The last dream I had was of her in Jorge’s office, in the same scenario as I’d caught them in the night before. She was wearing the same outfit and leaning across the desk in the same manner. Only this time, I caught them right as they kissed.
It would have been easy to just stay in bed all day, refusing to acknowledge that I was single once again. But as I stared at my antique alarm clock, with its intricate ticking hands, I knew that I’d have to get out of bed. I leaned over to turn off the alarm portion, and that’s when I saw it—the engagement ring.
It was breathtaking.
I leaned closer to get a better look at the diamond, and as I was squinting, I let out a massive sigh.
You need to move on with your life.
I ripped back the covers and forced myself out of bed. After waking up with some coffee, I ignored the growing depression within me and sat down at my desk. Jorge might be out of my life for good this time, but at least I still had my job down at the spa. The first thing on my agenda was to email Guadalupe, briefly explain the situation, and tell her that I’d be working from home that day.
All it took was my typing out the title of the email in order for the tears to start flowing. One hour and dozens of wadded-up tissues later, I finished composing a five-line email that basically said Jorge and I were over, and I wouldn’t be leaving the spa.
Before hitting send, I contemplated checking my phone just to see what Jorge’s excuse had been for last night. Right as I was about to turn the phone on, my doorbell rang.
I can’t believe he has the balls to show his face here!
“Go away, Jorge! You must have me mistaken for Ria! I never want to see or speak to you again!”
“It’s Yuslan. May I come inside?”
“Oh, sorry, Yuslan. Yes, one second.” I quickly composed myself in the mirror, doing my best to make my reddened face look as though I hadn’t been crying.
Screw it.
After saving the email to my drafts folder, I threw on a robe and let the man I considered to be my second father inside.
And right behind him walked Jorge.
“I thought I told you to leave, Jorge Stein!”
Yuslan held up his hands, and his calm disposition slowly lowered my blood pressure. “Ginger, you have every right to be upset with this man. But he has to tell you something.” Yuslan turned to Jorge and nodded his head.
I leaned against my living room wall with my arms folded across my chest.
This ought to be good.
“Ginger, if I were you, I’d be just as angry. But please listen to my explanation!”
“I don’t see what the point is, but go ahead, Jorge.”
He let out a sigh before speaking. “When Ria heard about the De Veers diamond strike, she thought it’d be an easy way for her to get her job back. She knows how complex and demanding her position is, and that it would be incredibly difficult to find someone else on such short notice.”
“If you think that I’m going to stay with you while that bitch is working for you again—”
Yuslan put his hand on my elbow and casually walked me over to my couch.
Jorge waited for me to sit down before proceeding. “Ria was also terrified of going to jail after getting paperwork from my lawyer. Obviously, I told her there wasn’t a chance in hell that she could ever work for me again. That’s when she promised to never make another sexual advance on me, hoping that would change my mind.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Yeah, Ria looked really professional while leaning across your desk with her breasts in your face!”
Yuslan held his hands up again. “Ginger, please let Jorge finish.”
All right, but only because you’re a good judge of character.
“That was nothing but bad timing,” Jorge said. “And I’d completely forgotten to have the locks changed before we went on vacation. Please, Ginger. You have to believe me!”
I started to relax a little bit, remembering that he’d also forgotten about the email from the De Veers Diamond Group. The same one that had he checked it before we went to Paris, we wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament in the first place.
