Narrator-
Less than 12 hours later Lili was back in the states. As much as she wanted to stay in Rome and ask Mr. Cavalier why the sudden change in schedule, Liliana felt that it was not her place. Plus, she was glad that she wasn't going to be stuck in Rome for any extra days.
When Liliana landed, she was surprised to see Carlos there to pick her up. She couldn't help the smile that warmed her face as she descended the stairs, and Carlos greeted her with his signature charming smile, and a flirty tip of his hat.
"Good afternoon Ms. Chavez, I hope your trip was comfortable enough." Carlos greeted as he grabbed Liliana's bag and opened the door.
"Good afternoon kind sir, and it was, thank you." Liliana greeted in reply with a similar light and friendly tone.
"How was your trip?" Carlos asked, as he began driving away from the airport.
"It was okay, I mean besides spending countless hours staring at my ceiling." Liliana pointed, trying to not sound too sarcastic.
"So you really did nothing?" Carlos questioned, bewildered.
"Well I did get to attend a get together last night." Liliana explained carefully, as she made sure that she did not give too much detail on her outing with Mr. Cavalier.
"What was the nature of this get together?" Carlos asked, casually, the mood in the car laid back and stress free.
"Hey, what happens in Rome, stays in Rome." Liliana sidestepped, hoping her comic relief was a subtle enough hint that she was not in the mood to share.
"Alright, I mean you're entitled to your secrets." Carlos raised his shoulders in sign that he did not plan on continuing.
"So how come you're back to work so quickly? I thought it would take longer for you to get back?" Liliana asked, as she noted the band around Carlos's left wrist.
"I made a deal with the doctor. If I worked harder in therapy, I could come back to work. It seems Ms. Chavez, you're not the only one who hates staring at the ceiling." Carlos pointed, and Liliana chuckled as she said, "au contraire my friend, had I been home, I would've taken the chance to binge watch some of my favorite shows right now."
"I don't really like watching tv, you know? I like keeping busy and active." Carlos explained, and Liliana nodded to show interest as she asked, "so what activities do you do to keep you busy?"
"Well, as much as I'd love to answer that, we have arrived at your destination. It seems you might just have to keep those questions for tomorrow. I mean, we're still on right?" Carlos questioned carefully, and Liliana smiled widely as she said, "yeah, we're definitely on."
"Great, I'll see you tomorrow." Carlos stated, with a smile, then after handing her the small suitcase, he left with a soft smile.
Liliana smiled and sighed as she entered her home. The moment she plopped down on the couch, she dialed her mother's number.
"Liliana Meredith Chavez!" Her mother greeted, and Lili flinched when she heard the middle name, and she knew she was in for an earful.
"Hey mom, how are you?" Liliana replied, trying the soft approach.
"Don't 'hey mom' me. I mean seriously, what does it take for a simple phone call to let me know what's going on?" Her mother snapped, and Liliana sighed as she apologized, "I'm sorry. The reason I didn't call yesterday was because Mr. Cavalier initially stated that we'd be staying for two extra days, and I planned to call you this morning, but then this morning he sent me back to the states because he changed his mind overnight and decided on staying in Rome for a whole week." Liliana tried to explain in one breath, and for a moment the phone was quiet.
"Are you there?" Liliana asked, carefully.
"Of course I'm here. So, you flew back today?" Her mother asked, as if suppressing herself from belting out a serious scolding.
"Yes, I just walked through the door." Liliana stated, hoping her mother would be appeased.
"Fair enough. So how was Rome with the handsome boss?" Her mother question, her tone thirsty for a gossip.
"Uneventful," Lili brushed, trying to keep the ball under wraps, then she quickly changed the topic, "by the way, I will be heading out on a date tomorrow evening."
"Oh? And who's the lucky man?" Her mom asked, genuinely interested.
"His name is Carlos. He's one of the drivers in the company." Liliana explained, then she added "he's really nice from what I can tell, and this is nothing but a casual date, so don't start planning a wedding or anything."
"I wasn't going to, I'm just happy you're socializing and such. So does that mean you're no longer crushing on your boss?" Her mom questioned, and Liliana absentmindedly gulped as she remembered the evening they spent together, "uh yeah, yeah, I mean, I honestly think it was just a phase." Lili tried to convince herself rather than her mother.
"Right, well darling I'm glad to hear from you. Get some rest, and call me tomorrow after your date, I want all the juicy details." Her mom dictated, and Lili rolled her eyes and laughed as she said, "of course mom. Have a good night."
"Good night pumpkin." Her mom bid, then they ended the phone call.
Once the call was over, Liliana stood up and stretched as far as she could, then she headed to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat.
A while after, as she nibbled on a freshly prepared meal, Lili dialed Chamille's number just to check in with her.
"Heyo!" A chirpy Chamille answered on the other end of the line.
"Heyo!" Liliana matched her energy.
"Oh girl I am loving the energy!" Chamille cheered, then she asked, "so how are you doing?"
"I'm doing pretty good thank you. How are you?" Liliana asked, the concern evident in her voice.
"I'm okay, getting better day by day. Hoping to be cleared to go back to work by the end of the week." Chamille explained, then she sighed.
"I mean hey, you gotta take it easy, there's no need to rush back to work, your health comes first." Liliana said, her tone nurturing and kind.
"I know. I mean even after I'm cleared I'll only be able to complete national trips. I won't be able to go international for at least three months." Chamille clarified.
"Three months?!" Liliana boomed out of shock before she could control herself.
"Hey there's no need to freak out. Three months is not so bad. I mean you're back from your solo shift with Mr. Cavalier, and there's no report of him being murdered, so I think you did just fine." Chamille tried to appease Lili who was already getting anxious.
"Or maybe I did a good enough job to dump his body in a part of the ocean that is unreachable, where they wouldn't even think to look for him." Liliana played along, needing to keep herself from overthinking about the many trips she would have with Mr. Cavalier over the next three months.
"Hey, if you're gonna do it yourself, might as well do it right, am I right?" Chamille pepped, and then both ladies broke into fits of laughter.
After a light conversation with Chamille, Liliana bid her good night, then she got ready for bed. After showering and getting dressed in her most comfortable pajamas, Liliana laid in bed, waiting for sleep to come. Except, instead of sleep, the only thing on her mind was Mr. Cavalier.
Liliana had been bothered by the possible reason why he decided to remain in Rome. She remembered just how disgruntled Mr. Cavalier appeared when it came to Christina, and after their interaction, Frantz had shut down completely.
Lili feared what the history could be between the tall blonde and the foreign handsome beau, but she tried to stop herself from obsessing about it. Liliana knew that did not belong in Mr. Cavalier's world, and if anything she didn't want to get caught in a scandal that could leave her scarred for life.
Liliana was continuously reminding herself that she was nothing to Mr. Cavalier than his employee and his next conquest. The only reason Frantz was trying so hard was because Liliana was not an easy lay, and Lili believed that if she ever slipped and gave in to Frantz, the second he got what he wanted, he would discard her like trash, and she'd be left with nothing but a broken heart and being the star of the afternoon gossip.
Lili even thought about the speech Frantz made at the ball about wanting to be with her and winning her heart. Liliana could only imagine just how long it took Mr. Cavalier to come up with that one. As Lili felt her thoughts begin to bring her mood down, she shrugged them off, she said, a quick prayer, then she fell asleep.
The next day Lili woke up with a stomach full of butterflies ahead of her evening date with Carlos. Liliana had decided to keep her date a secret from Chamille, so that just in case it didn't work out, she wouldn't have to share too many details.
Throughout the day, Lili barely did anything. She cleaned around her quaint home, then decided to simply relax and mentally prepare for her date. Lili had been on a few dates before, but they all usually ended the same way. The guy would escort her home and expect to be invited inside, but when Liliana refuses, they always come up with a lame excuse as to why they couldn't see her again. Frankly, Liliana was over every man she met, given that they were all after the same thing. But she did hope that Carlos wasn't the same way. So far he seemed like a gentleman, she just hoped it wasn't a façade.