Chapter 7

• Days passed for Giselle, immersed in work and her nonexistent social life.
• Her car had already been delivered from the workshop, looking like new, as if that gray"eyed jerk with a Greek god's body had never crashed into it, but taking advantage of the man's generosity, she kept the new one."
• Right now, she was driving along the route to her work, listening to her favorite music, which ranged from pop, rock, to metal. Her fingers tapped to the music on the steering wheel, until one of the songs that stirred her up started playing, she turned up the volume and began singing loudly.
• "This ain't a song for the broken"hearted...
• She moved her head to the rhythm of the music, her hair starting to come loose little by little, until she removed the clip holding it in place. It was a real spectacle for the cars around her, some started recording her, taking advantage of the traffic jam.
• She didn't hold back, continuing until a call came in and she had to stop the music.
• "Hello? "she answered breathlessly and her assistant asked worriedly"."
• "Are you okay, Miss Sparks?"
• "Yes... you caught me in the middle of a concert in my car."
• "I see, what was the chosen song for your sweet voice to enhance?"
• "It's my life "she said, laughing". Is there something wrong?"
• "Yes, the Hunters asked to reschedule the meeting, apparently they have a client giving them a hard time and they turned to us for help."
• "Alright... "she moved a bit in traffic and sighed heavily". What would be the new schedule?"
• "In twenty minutes "he said somewhat embarrassed and she let out a scream"."
• "What?! Mr. Joules, I'm stuck in traffic!"
• "Don't worry, I can entertain them while you arrive."
• "Just don't juggle, please, or you'll scare them off "they both laughed and Giselle knew she couldn't be upset about something like that, because Hunter Security Solutions represented another opportunity, very similar to the senator's". I'll be there... when I get there."
• She hung up and continued with her personal concert until she managed to get out of that endless line of cars heading towards the building that housed SPR.
• She parked without much ceremony, as if she were parking an assault vehicle, got out of the car and walked quickly, the doorman greeted her and tried to say something, but Giselle didn't have time, because she was almost arriving at the appointment time.
• The elevator doors opened, she entered with other people who looked at her as if she had something on her face. She straightened her jacket and skirt, took a few steps, and when the doors opened again, she rushed out and went straight into the boardroom, where she first saw her assistant, then an older, beautiful and elegant woman, a man with a blank face, and then...
• "You!"
• ***
• Max was super anxious, his hands had been sweating since the night before just thinking about seeing her.
• He hadn't stopped thinking about her for a minute, in honor of that, he had gone to discreet places and hadn't slept with any woman, because they no longer tempted him as they used to.
• "I can't take it anymore, I have to do something "he picked up his phone and called his second assistant, because for him the first one was Kevin". Sanji, call Sparks Public Relations office and ask them to reschedule the meeting, tell them it's urgent because we have a difficult client."
• "I'll see what I can do, sir. I'll inform you as soon as I have news."
• He hung up, went to the gym in his apartment to relieve some nerves with exercises. While he was at it, Sanji called him and cheered him up as always.
• "It's done, Miss Sparks agreed right away."
• "Perfect, inform my mother and my brother."
• He hung up and ran to the bathroom, got into the shower, then dried off quickly and put on his best suit. He styled his hair as elegantly as his rebellious hair allowed and left with the same smile as a child going to his favorite place.
• He gets into his black BMW, as the red one is still in the shop, and cautiously drives to the building where the Sparks offices are located.
• " At last I'm going to see you, my rebellious girl, sharp"tongued...
• Upon arriving, he sees his mother getting out of his brother's car, with a look of annoyance at changing plans at the last minute.
• " Can you tell me why you changed the appointment?"
• " Because I want to get out of this as soon as possible, I don't need a publicist " "but if it's Giselle in person, I'll put up with anything you want," he thinks without changing his bored expression.
• " You need it, so that it helps you make better decisions, advises you to clean up your image, gives you ideas on how to invest your time in things that are productive for both you and the company."
• " And will a publicist do all that?"
• " It's not just anyone, Giselle Sparks is the best and she will tell us what we can do with you. Now, let's go."
• They enter the building, show their IDs and are then allowed to enter. As the elevator goes up, Max can't help but think about her.
• He may not care about this whole image thing, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to see her. He runs his hands over his pants to wipe away the sweat coming from them, the doors open and he steps out with his characteristic pose of a powerful businessman.
• He doesn't look at anyone there, because he knows what he'll find, it's always the same. Women with open mouths and lascivious looks. A man in his thirties, good"looking, stands in front of them and extends his hand."
• " Welcome to Sparks Public Relations, my name is Tomy Joules and I am Miss Sparks' assistant."
• " Nice to meet you, Mr. Joules " Lucy says kindly ". These are my sons Kevin and Max Hunter."
• The man greets each one, but Max can't stand the jealousy of that pretty boy working so close to Giselle, so he squeezes his hand more than necessary.
• " Wow... nice handshake " the man says, moving his hand ". Follow me this way, Miss Sparks will be here soon."
• " No rush, I'm very sorry for this sudden change, but my son..."
• " I have a very busy day and one of the clients will take up more time than I thought."
• His mother and brother look at him with furrowed brows, but say nothing. They follow Tomy to a huge meeting room, with comfortable chairs.
• " Can I offer you something to eat or drink?"
• " I want both, please " Max says and Joules sends a message, smiles, waits for Lucy and Kevin to order something, until they both decide on coffee.
• Tomy leaves the room to take care of the request, while his mother scolds him.
• " Is that the lie you told? What are you up to?"
• " Nothing, I just want to finish this nonsense as soon as possible."
• Tomy enters with a tray and Max gets the feeling that he had it ready before they arrived.
• He takes one of the delicious"smelling coffee cups, takes a sip and feels like he's in heaven, until Joules announces that Giselle has arrived."
• He refuses to look at the entrance, because he doesn't want her to recognize him immediately, he sees her approaching them out of the corner of his eye, hears her melodious voice greeting them until their eyes meet.
• " You! " Giselle shouts and dangerously approaches Max.
• " Hello, crash girl... " but a slap silences him and forces him to put his hand on his cheek.
• When he sees Giselle's face, he realizes that her hair is disheveled, as if someone had tousled it.
• " I can't believe it was you... that's why you seemed familiar to me, jerk!"
• " Did the car I sent you serve you well?"
• " Yes! " she says, threatening with a fist in front of his face.
• " I'm sorry, that day wasn't me."
• " Of course not! Surely you were still hungover from the party the night before!!"
• " Excuse me " Lucy says timidly, standing between them, to prevent Giselle from leaving her without her eldest son ". Do you know each other?"
• " Unfortunately, yes " Giselle replies, still glaring at him.
• Her anger is not because of the crash, but because she remembers that Max Hunter is the biggest jerk in the city... no, the state!
• And she spent all those days thinking about him, sighing for him. She feels like a complete idiot.
• " Mom... she's the girl I crashed into the other day."
• " It can't be! You knew who I was! I gave you my card... you are a... " she threatens to hit him again, but Lucy stops her.
• " I must agree with you that my son is a fool, but I ask you to stop hitting him, he is just recovering from the collision that day."
• " Well, he looked perfectly fine that day."
• " Yes, but that took a toll on him and he was in the hospital for twenty"four hours " Giselle steps back and sits in silence."
• She didn't imagine that, she didn't think it was so serious for him.
• " I apologize for my outburst " she takes the car keys and leaves them in front of him. " It helped me a lot, thank you."
• " But, you can keep it... " Max tries to say.
• " I said thank you " Giselle says through gritted teeth with her fist in front of him.
• " Well... oh god, these days... well " Lucy says, trying to compose herself and looks at Kevin to keep quiet. " We appreciate you giving us the appointment and for arriving with such short notice."
• " Although it wasn't enough time for you to fix your hair, who's responsible for that hairstyle? " Max says, trying to hide his jealousy.
• Giselle frowns, which Max finds adorable, she stands up and approaches one of the mirrors, looks at herself and blushes.
• " This hairstyle is Bon Jovi's fault, I'm sorry " she fixes her hair a bit and ties it back. She turns around and sees Max looking upset, while Tomy gestures to him that he messed up. " I mean, have you never messed up your hair singing a song in your car?"
• She sits down, with a crimson face, while Max can't stop staring at her.
• That woman is a demon, who could finish him off with a snap of her fingers, Thanos style, but she has something that attracts him like the sun attracted Icarus. He would like to understand what it is, to put up a barrier and not fall under the spell of that witch... on the other hand, he doesn't want to either, because he knows that letting himself be carried away by what he feels for her will be the best thing that ever happened to his life.
• " Well, I'm listening, what do you need from SPR?"
• " Actually, we need you, dear " Lucy says and Giselle smiles kindly at her.
• " I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm not available, I can advise and support our collaborators, but I don't work directly with anyone."
• " The thing is, we need you directly. I'm willing to pay you five million, over a period of six months, if you can get this boy to stop getting into trouble."
• " Excuse me, you're not understanding my job... " Giselle says, adjusting herself in the chair. " I advise, guide my clients, help them relate to the environment around them, I don't work miracles and your son needs something like that."
• " I also know that you must handle controversial matters that affect the organization " Lucy says and Giselle's lips become a thin line. " That's what I need from you."
• " But your company hasn't been affected by Max's... mishaps " the way she calls him by his name drives him crazy, because it sounds like a melody.
• " You're mistaken, Max is the CEO of Hunter Security Solutions, it's as if he were the company itself, so... yes, I need you."
• " Let's say I can accept, what can I do for him that you haven't done?"
• " Give him a good slap when he deserves it, like you just did."
• " That was an outburst... that won't happen again " she says embarrassed with the woman, not with Max.
• " But I want it to happen again! " she says very excitedly.
• " Do you want to pay me to re"educate your son with blows? Although the offer is very tempting, I'm afraid I won't accept. I'm a public relations specialist, not a nanny, sorry. I can recommend one of my collaborators or another colleague who...
• " No, dear, thank you. I suppose I'll have to look for another alternative, because you're the only one who can help us " Lucy looks at her seriously. " Seriously, you're the best and I know you could come up with fantastic ideas to improve my son's image."
• " Let's go " Max says, standing up showing annoyance, but he's actually very hurt, because he thought she wasn't like all the businessmen around him, full of prejudices towards him for his disasters, no one reached what he really was ", it's obvious that she has a concept of me that won't change, like most of the people we know, prejudiced."
• "But, come on... " Kevin says " The lady could hear us, explain to her exactly what we want from her."
• "Mr. Hunter, I understood perfectly that you want my services to advise Max on how to present himself to society, the places he could frequent, the people he should avoid, even how to relate to the opposite sex... but I can't do it, because I already told you that I don't work directly with my clients, everything is through my collaborators."
• "I don't know about you, but I'm leaving " Max storms out of there, Lucy and Kevin stand up and approach her to say goodbye.
• "I'm sorry, I really am..."
• "Don't worry, dear " she takes a card from her wallet and hands it to Giselle " If you change your mind, write to me or call me directly."
• "I don't think that will happen, but thank you for trusting in my work."
• "I trust more in the person you are, Giselle Sparks... you have the same strength and charisma as your mother."
• Giselle is taken aback by Lucy's words and leaves, Kevin says goodbye to her with a smile, then follows his mother.
• The woman sits down and looks at Tomy, who looks at her with a mix of surprise, fear, and admiration.
• "Did the slap sound too loud?"
• "Yes, and I think I even enjoyed it."
• "Oh my god... " she covers her face with her hands, feeling a strong urge to cry " I swear I lost all control when I saw him so smiley, it's the second time I've come face to face with him and I feel like that man can bring out my deepest emotions with just a word from his mouth."
• "I've never seen you like this " Tomy places a glass of water in front of her and she drinks half of it " And what surprised me is that you let go of five million."
• "You know money doesn't move us, because if this goes wrong, my reputation goes down the drain and with it many of the contracts we already have."
• "I know, that's why I admire you, that's what sets you apart from your father, if he had been here, he would have said yes."
• "But he's not here and this won't leave this room, only you and I know. The only way he can find out is if you tell him."
• "Or the Hunters."
• "I don't think they'll talk, I suppose it was even humiliating for them. But... I can't soften up, Max is too messy, if he doesn't listen to his mother, he'll listen even less to me."
• "Maybe his mother doesn't want to get involved, maybe she just wanted you to help him choose his parties better, so he can find a wife to keep him in line."
• "Hahaha, Max Hunter can be whatever he wants... except a husband."
• She stands up, looks at the hand with which she slapped him and it stings a little. Suddenly, she realizes that there's something she didn't resolve, but now it doesn't matter, and it's about the call she received that afternoon from Max, that voice sounded a bit like his brother's.
• "It doesn't matter now " she whispers to herself.
• She walks to the exit, but Tomy stops her.
• "Miss Sparks, I think you should see this " she turns around and sees Tomy holding the car keys with his fingers and a note in the other hand " It may be a joke, but deep down he seems like a gentleman."
• Giselle approaches her assistant, takes the keys as if they were unreal and then the note, the man leaves her alone with both things, because he glanced at the note and knows that it will make her think a lot about her reaction to him.
• "I'm very sorry for all the bad times I've put you through. Since I didn't pay for the repair of your car as we agreed, keep the new one, as compensation for everything my family and I have made you lose.
• Your Jerk."
• "But it's not mine..."
• She walks to her office, putting the note between her notebook and the keys in her pocket. It may not be so bad after all to accept a new car for the inconveniences she went through those days.
• The truth is that at that moment Giselle didn't understand what Max wanted to tell her, but she will when he gives her the most sincere kiss he has ever given to a woman in his entire life.
• And Giselle will slap him again, because it will be after one of his scandals.