Chapter 4 Heitor Casanova

• - You called me a “disqualified asshole”? Who do you think it is? – he came towards me, furious and I walked back, scared.
• When he got close, I put my arms in front of my face, fearing he was going to hit me.
• A long silence hung between us. I slowly withdrew my arms, feeling his eyes on me.
• - I... I won't hit you. – he said, bewildered.
• - I... I didn't think it was... - I lied.
• - Call security and have her removed from here immediately. And demand to be thrown out of the club. Certainly a paparazzi in disguise . - Said the woman.
• - Papa... Papa... - The word wouldn't come out. The drunkenness prevented me from thinking very well. - I'm just a regular of this shit... It was an accident... I got in the wrong place.
• - And who can guarantee that you won't spread to the four corners of the world what you saw here? – he said with cold eyes.
• He wore a white shirt, open a couple of buttons. There was lipstick marks on his collar and chest. I looked up, staring at him and he was sarcastic:
• - Does anything here interest you? He ran his hand over his chest.
• "Of course not… Des…" the voice died on my lips.
• - I think you would say “disqualified”. – answered for me.
• "So you understand…" I turned around, staggering.
• "You're not going to let her out like that, are you, Thor?"
• - Look at her... She must barely know her own name. It hurts... Or maybe he just wanted to see me...
• I immediately turned:
• - See you? Who do you think it is? Why would I want to see the pole dancing girl give you a blowjob? Do you think it's important? It was just a wrong door... And I walked into this fucking maze of corridors and...
• It was then that my eyes met his: “Bon Jovi”. Yeah, there was a picture of him on the wall, along with Richie Sambora , David Bryan and Tico Torres. They were sitting at a table full of drinks, in that nightclub, with... My God... That man who was in front of me next to them.
• My heart almost came out of my mouth. The peroxide blonde was still talking, but my eyes were so fixed on the image that I couldn't hear her.
• - John... - I pointed to the photo. - Richie ... David ... And ... - I looked at the man a few steps away from me. - You.
• He arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms curiously.
• - I... I love them. I heard myself confessing. – Have you… been with them… in person?
• - Years ago. He shrugged . - Shakira. – showed the photo of the singer with him, at the nightclub.
• I noticed that he was in all the pictures. I was in front of the fucking owner: Heitor Casanova. He looked different in magazines and interviews. Or maybe I never paid much attention to him. But he was still an idiot who was lucky enough to be born rich and snubbed everyone. A cocky asshole who thought he was better than everyone around him.
• - Outside! - Said the woman, standing face to face with me, with her finger raised, almost in my face.
• - I'll even go ... But I need help. I don't know how to get out of this fucking place.
• She took the cell phone from the man's pocket and called someone. The three of us stood there, staring at each other: him with his arms crossed, she with her arm around his shoulders, to prove to me that she was her date, and me trying to balance my body and not pee in front of them every now and then. looking at my beautiful idol stamping the wall.
• A dark-haired man with shaved hair arrived, wearing a black suit with a shirt of the same color under his coat. He had some sort of earpiece in his ear and no less than two meters tall.
• I looked up, staring into his dark, expressionless eyes.
• - Get her out of here immediately. - The man ordered him, with a firm voice.
• The bouncer took my arm, not too hard.
• - I need to go to the bathroom. I told him as he led me down the hall.
• - Hey, wait! – the man I imagined to be the owner of the nightclub said, making us turn towards him.
• It was then that he came towards us, his eyes fixed on mine, reaching out in my direction.
• I squeezed his hand, gripping his fingers, confused, and turned away.
• - The card, “Madam Bongiovi”. he said, his hand still outstretched, sarcastically .
• Handing over the card was signing my best friend's resignation. On impulse, I slipped the card, which until then had been kept under lock and key in my closed hand, and slipped it inside my bra, feeling the plastic against my hot skin.
• The three looked at me while I said emphatically:
• - If you want, you'll have to remove it from here.
• - Your... - the woman tried to advance on me, being stopped by Heitor Casanova and making the security guard take me a step back. - Bitch...
• - Do you want me to remove it, sir? asked the security guard.
• - Whoever touches me, I will accuse of sexual harassment. – I threatened.
• - Slut... - The blonde looked at me with disdain.
• - I'm sorry ... But I don't want to fuck up anyone's life.
• - Destroy her, Thor. - She looked at Hector, her voice soft and at the same time firm.
• - Throw her in the gutter? – the security asked.
• His eyes fixed on mine. I begged for mercy in my heart without even saying it. Knew the power he had. I was like a bug, ready to be stepped on or released, depending on his order.
• - On the street... Out of Babylon. – he said firmly. “Don't come back here… Or I won't be so merciful next time.
• - What did I do anyway? It was an accident... That's all.
• - I don't want to see her in front of me. Never again in life.
• - Thank you... For the mercy... My lord! I bowed mockingly in front of him.
• - Anon, take this crazy woman out of here immediately or I'm going to have an outbreak. - Said the woman who made me have to look up to face her, slamming her golden heels on the floor, arms crossed.
• I turned my back and let the man take me without question. Soon we turned into the hallway and went straight, without going down the stairs where I entered.
• - Hey, Anon... Could you please let me go to the bathroom? I'm going to pee my pants... Or rather, my dress. I had three beers and I urgently need to empty my bladder.
• He looked at me, from above, because he was a monster of a man. Without saying anything, she followed the path until we stopped in front of a door, written “employees' restroom”.
• - Thank you, Anon... You are very kind. - I mocked .
• I entered the bathroom quickly and ran to the toilet, emptying my bladder slowly and feeling my anxiety completely go away.
• Among the things that made me impatient, feeling like peeing was one of them. And I was a person who peed a lot. I even thought it was abnormal, but the doctor explained that it was good, because I drank a lot of water.
• So being "pissed off" wasn't about endometriosis.
• Ah, endometriosis... Why didn't I stay home thinking about you? what am I doing in this place that has nothing to do with me? I just got slapped in the face here... And my stay was short lived.
• I heard a knock on the door:
• - Are you still there, Mrs. Bongiove?
• I opened the door and burst out laughing in front of Anon. I hugged him, and my head was below his chest:
• - It's been a while since I heard something so cute!
• He pulled me away from him and stared at me, confused, arching his brow.
• - Well, my name is not Mrs. Bongiove... Because this is my idol's last name... In this case, real last name. Your boss, that underdog, used it ironically, you know?
• - No. – he said seriously.
• I washed my hands as he watched me. Then I hooked my arm through his:
• - Come on, Anon. Tell me, where does this name come from? I've never heard in my life... It's different.
• - I'm not paid to talk, Mrs. Bongiove.
• I laughed:
• - Okay ... But it doesn't hurt to explain. After all, you will never see me again in your entire life. And I was very curious.
• - It is of Thai origin. But my family is not from there.
• - Do you know what it means?
• - Happiness.
• - How different. Where did your mother get it from?
• - From a movie.
• - I thought it was of Viking origin. Or some kind of god... Something like that.
• He did not say anything. We went down a flight of stairs and he opened a fire door, where I had a view of the street outside the club.
• I sighed:
• - It was so hard to get in here... And so quick to get out. I'm an unlucky clumsy, that's the truth. I landed right where Heitor Casanova and his wife were.
• - Farewell, Mrs. Bongiove. – he said, closing the door.
• - It's Novaes... - I said to myself, since he wasn't there anymore.
• I sat on the curb on the sidewalk. I needed to get my thoughts in order. Salma was working and I didn't want to ruin Ben's fuck knowing he hadn't had sex in a while either.
• I grabbed my phone and texted the group we had in common:
• “Loves, I got a little drunk and I'm going to call an app driver and sleep at my grandma's house. Have a wonderful night.”
• I called the driver and went directly to the place, which was far away.
• After forty minutes, we reached the dirt road. And so we would go on for another twenty minutes.
• My grandmother's land area was surrounded by white wood, the horizontals resting on the verticals, leaving gaps, from where you could see absolutely everything. I opened the wooden gate and made the driver follow the path inside the property, until he arrived at the house.
• I pressed the bell. Using the key and going up to her room to ask for money to pay the fare would scare her.
• It didn't take long and she went downstairs. She was surprised to see me.
• - Good night, grandma... Sorry to arrive at this time ... But... Could you pay the driver and then I'll explain ?
• - Of course... - She went back inside the house and paid the man in cash.
• I walked in and she closed the door. The fireplace still had coals just finishing. Mandy wore a fluffy robe. He took a blanket from the sofa and placed it over me:
• - It's cold for you to be practically naked, girl.
• - I went out with Ben and Salma... And I got bored. I didn't want to disturb their night and thought I'd sleep here. Could it be?
• - Of course, Baby. Come...
• She put her arm around my shoulders and led me into the bedroom.
• - Want to talk?
• - I'm not tired. But I promise to spend the day here tomorrow.
• - I'm so glad you're here... Even arriving at my house at dawn and almost killing my heart. - laughed .
• She kissed me on the forehead and closed the door. I lay on my bed, shoes and all. There were still some posters of Bon Jovi and the band taped to the wall and it reminded me of the time I spent there... And it also brought to my mind Jardel. I didn't like to think about him. It reminded me of a time when I was submissive and sympathetic. I was still trying to forget that Barbara.
• I remembered security Anon calling me Mrs Bongiove and I started laughing. How could a person have no idea who Bon Jovi was? Had he been working for Heitor Casanova for a short time?
• What is certain is that he was the man to be trusted, or he would not be called by his wife.
• I remembered Heitor Casanova's gaze on me and I felt angry. What an arrogant man. It was just a mistake... I would never sneak in there to see someone sucking him in the middle of the hallway. Couldn't you tell that I was drunk and lost?
• I closed my eyes and fell asleep in no time.
• When I woke up, it was past eleven o'clock. I took a shower and put on an outfit I still had in my closet from when I was young. I should be pleased that I managed to slip into an outfit from years ago. They were there just for emergencies like these. And because I used the “emergency” so much, I had already taken almost everything to my apartment.
• As soon as I got down, my grandmother was already waiting for me with coffee, cakes, breads, homemade jams and everything I was entitled to.
• She was always like that: she tried to fatten me up.
• It felt like I hadn't eaten in ages. In fact, I knew that almost nothing could match her food, or her breakfast… much less the way she treated me: with affection.
• I still didn't understand how she managed to stay away for so long, when the love she felt for me was visible. I asked countless times about my father and my mother's past and never managed to get a word out of her. There was a time I believed she didn't really know anything.
• But time passed and I became a woman. And he knew she was probably lying. And I wasn't sure I wanted to know the truth. What was the use of raising expectations about my father if he knew about me and never came to me? If I ever met him, I wouldn't forgive him. It was twenty-seven years of rejection and oblivion. And nothing could erase it.
• I told Mandy about the visit to the gynecologist and she reassured me a lot. She also told me that while my mother lived with her, she did not have endometriosis. I also explained how difficult it was to get a job. Then she offered me money, which I didn't take. My college had already been paid for by her. So the least I should do, out of obligation, was get a decent job in my field. And to show that she gave me the tools and I knew how to work.
• Late in the afternoon, I left, leaving my dress from the night before stashed there for future emergencies, like last night's.
• This time I called a taxi and went to the central square. I passed the gas station where I met Jardel and got off there. I still wish that day hadn't happened. But there was one thing I was grateful for. And I needed to end that cycle.
• I walked along the narrow street, with old houses. I opened the old iron gate and knocked on the paneled hardwood door with weathered pink walls.
• The door opened and there she was:
• - Barbarian? She said in surprise, her eyes brimming with tears.