Page 9 of Distrustful

Chapter 5

"Don't you think it's a bit strange that she suddenly appears and proposes something this good?" Maria asks, sitting across from Ursula in her office while they wait for their meeting with Trinidad Aleman.

The lawyer remains suspicious, the businesswoman's distrustful attitude offended her so much that now she's the one who doesn't trust her.

"Why should I find it strange? She has money and a project she wants to execute, one that aligns closely with something I'm used to doing, so I don't see why joining forces with her for this could be bad, Maria," Ursula responds while observing her best friend's grimace of displeasure. "Besides, she's right about one thing, there are many women living in extreme risk situations, women who the justice system fails and have nowhere to hide, they're not even safe in our houses, but if we get them out of the country with a new identity, their chances of starting over and having a normal life increase considerably."

"I agree with that, but this woman, I don't know, she's weird," she argues thoughtfully, "there's something about her that doesn't add up."

The first thing Maria did after Ursula explained what she'd discussed with Trinidad was to search the businesswoman's name to confirm she actually had sufficient financial means to carry out what she proposed and ensure she wasn't just selling smoke. However, despite having verified that the woman owns a company that generates much more revenue than Maria would have imagined, she still doesn't trust her. Something in her instinct tells her there's more than meets the eye.

"What bothers you is that she didn't want to speak in front of you," Ursula mocks, with a teasing smile that Maria would like to slap off her face.

"I thought she was very stupid, what did she think with all that secrecy? That you wouldn't tell me?" she asks, offended like a child, crossing her arms.

"Why does that matter, Maria?"

"It matters a lot to me," she responds, standing up to pace around the office. "I can't stand these women who think that because they're hot and have lots of money, they can come in giving orders for everything to be done their way."

Ursula arches an eyebrow, amused by her friend's reaction.

"So she's hot."

"Are you blind or what's wrong with you?" Maria blinks confused, stopping to look at her boss.

Ursula sketches half a smile and leans forward, resting her elbows on the desk.

"I see perfectly well. She should be here soon. Go down and receive her."

"Well, this is the limit, am I her servant now? Should we roll out a red carpet too?" the lawyer becomes indignant, nearly steaming from her ears.

"Maria, go," Ursula orders firmly, "and if possible, don't sleep with this one," she adds as Maria turns, causing her to stop dead in her tracks by the door.

"Are you crazy? I'd never sleep with such an egotistical woman no matter how attractive I find her," she responds with disdain.

Maria leaves the office so angry that she takes the stairs instead of the elevator. When she crosses the building's door, Trinidad hasn't arrived yet and she regrets forgetting her pack of cigarettes, so she asks the security guard for one with a gesture that reveals her irritation.

"Tough day?" the man asks while offering her a light.

"You have no idea," she responds dryly, stepping down from the entrance to position herself to the side and wait.

She's enjoying her third drag, entertained watching the smoke dissipate in the air, when a black Mercedes with tinted windows enters the premises. Maria doesn't need to see who's in the back seat to know Trinidad is there, because she recognizes the driver as the man who stuck to her when she approached Ursula.

The driver's door opens, and Maria is surprised when the right rear door opens at the same time. She expectedsomeone with Trinidad's ego to wait for her chauffeur to open it, but the man doesn't have time to approach when Maria sees a leg and an elegant high heel and immediately, Trinidad emerging from the vehicle wearing a white suit that fits her so perfectly that Maria nearly chokes on the smoke.

Trinidad closes the door with a fluid movement and gathers part of her long, wavy light brown hair that reminds Maria of the color of hazelnuts under sunlight.

"Good morning," Trinidad greets approaching Maria. Everything about her is so perfect that Maria wants to hit her.

Ursula's personal assistant returns the greeting while crushing her cigarette in the ashtray and blowing her last drag's smoke to the side, trying to keep it from reaching Trinidad, though deep down, she'd like to blow it in her face.

"If you'd be so kind as to follow me," she says with her best smile when pointing to the door, though inside she feels an inexplicable irritation.

Maria opens it and is surprised when Trinidad's chauffeur also enters behind her. The man moves with the precision and stealth of a trained bodyguard, in Maria's eyes, and this only increases her curiosity and wariness. She makes no comment about it while they walk, not even when they enter the elevator and he, very quiet and discreet, positions himself in the back while Maria glances at him sideways.

Then she shifts her gaze to Trinidad, who remains stiff as a reed in front of the door as if she's in a hurry to conduct the meeting and leave the building as soon as possible. The elevator's confined space makes Maria more aware of the businesswoman's presence, her perfume, the tension emanating from her posture. Maria can't stand silences, but she can't think of anything to say and Trinidad doesn't seem interested in talking to her either, which makes her increasingly furious.

The doors open and Maria exits making her heels resound forcefully through the hallway until they reach Ursula's office door, where she stops and turns around with a sharp movement.