My Blind Fiancée

Tadeo made an effort to ensure that she didn’t realize how bad he was feeling.

“Don’t worry, I noticed it, that’s why I went along with it,” the detective had no other option but to respond that way.

They continued dancing and enjoying themselves for a while longer. Ava wanted to show Mateo that she was with Tadeo and that she didn’t care what he thought.

She moved slowly and sensually on the dance floor. Mateo believed that after seeing how that woman moved, he would need a good cold shower. Akiro was just as interested in the couple on the dance floor. He turned to look at his friend who didn’t miss a detail. Mateo was really messed up; he saw Ava in every beautiful girl. He had to convince him to go to therapy or he would end up in the madhouse, of that he had no doubt.

There was no trace left of the Mateo he knew. He had never seen him like this over a girl. The women he pursued before Ava were just fleeting adventures; he never spoke about them. That’s why he decided to distance Clara. The girl appeared everywhere, trying to make people believe that they were a couple, breaking the clear terms of their agreement.

The next morning at Miller Corporation, Daria was looking for an opportunity to copy the files from Teodoro’s laptop. She knew that he kept all his dark secrets there, which is why he always had it with him. He was a very distrustful man, and the files on that computer were worth gold to him. He would lose everything if they fell into the wrong hands.

She had to find the perfect opportunity. That day, they had a very important meeting. Teodoro entered his office’s bathroom, while Daria took the chance to install a virus simulator on the laptop. When the man came out and tried to access the files he needed for the meeting, an alert message appeared on the screen, “Deleting files, cleaning system.”

“Dariaaaa,” he shouted nervously and in a hurry.

“Tell me, is something wrong?” she quickly replied, knowing what he would say.

“I need some files, and the laptop has gone crazy. The meeting is about to start. Have Licciardi and the other investors arrived?” he asked anxiously.

“Yes, everyone is waiting for you in the boardroom,” she hoped he would leave quickly.

Teodoro and Daria always spoke informally. When she started as his assistant, they had something more than just a working relationship. Now, they only crossed paths occasionally, as he had relationships outside of work with some of his female employees.

“Damn it! Stay and try to fix the laptop. When you get it working, copy the necessary files to present the quarterly results. We need to show them that we’re achieving good returns, especially to your little boyfriend, who is the largest investor. You know that if you help me achieve great profits, I’ll reward you generously. We need to make him trust us unconditionally.”

“I know, that’s why I keep helping you cover up your mismanagement,” she said to make him feel at ease.

“Mismanagement from which you’ve also benefited,” he replied angrily.

He left the office in a bad mood and headed to the boardroom, where all the investors were already waiting. He made a great effort to hide his bad mood; he didn’t want them to notice that something was wrong.

“Buongiorno, gentlemen,” he feigned a smile as he greeted the investors.

“Buongiorno, Miller,” Mateo replied.

“Mr. Licciardi, it’s a pleasure to have you here,” he replied obsequiously, not hiding his attempt to ingratiate himself with him.

“If we’re going to talk about our investments, this is where I should be.”

“That’s right,” another man replied. Everyone was there to learn about their investments.

Meanwhile, in Teodoro’s office, Daria was copying all the files onto a hard drive that Mateo had given her. The process was time-consuming, and she just hoped that Teodoro wouldn’t think of returning. To be sure, she left the files copying, took some documents, placed them in various folders, and headed towards where they were.

“Buongiorno, gentlemen,” she said, smiling and directing her gaze at Mateo, who smiled back.

“Buongiorno, miss,” the others replied in unison, with some of them eyeing her appreciatively.

“We have some technical issues. I hope to resolve them in a few minutes. For now, in these folders, you can see the performance of the investments in the last fifteen days.”

She said this as she placed the folders in front of each of the investors. She leaned over to put the folders on the table, displaying her assets to each of them. The men didn’t miss the opportunity to admire her as she coquettishly smiled.

Mateo watched calmly because she didn’t really matter to him. She apologized, gave a flirty smile to Mateo, and returned to Teodoro’s office, making sure the man would be occupied explaining the graphs while the files continued to copy. Although she might appear shallow, she was very intelligent when it came to charming someone.

A few minutes later, she removed the hard drive from the computer and put it in her bag. She was grateful that Teodoro didn’t have cameras in his office. She removed the virus simulator and erased all traces of what she had done, copied the files her boss needed onto a memory stick, and headed to the boardroom.

She handed the memory stick to Teodoro, who immediately inserted it into the projector and began the presentation. Mateo thought he was very good at wrapping people up in his tricks. He was very eloquent when speaking, and if he didn’t know what he was really doing, he would surely be convinced of the good management of his money.

On the other hand, Akiro had tried to obtain Teodoro’s files on several occasions, but he never connected his laptop to the internet for that purpose; he used the office computer. This led Mateo to approach Daria after investigating and confirming that she had access to those files.

After the meeting, they all left, and Daria caught up with Mateo. It was their lunch break, and they had agreed to eat together. At the restaurant, she would hand him the hard drive. The next day was their engagement party, and she had invited very important people and, of course, the most relevant media outlets.

They entered one of the city’s best restaurants. Mateo was well-known, so they were quickly given one of the best tables.

“Amore, here’s the hard drive with a copy of all the files that Teodoro has on his laptop,” she said, handing it to him. Mateo smiled as he received it; he could finally get rid of her.

“You finally got them. Thank you, Daria. You have no idea what this means to me. Soon, I’ll be able to recover what Teodoro Miller has stolen from me.”

“He’s stolen from us, dear. Don’t forget that after our wedding, the company will be in my hands,” she reminded him of his promise.

“It’s not like that,” Mateo said with a smile.

“What do you mean it’s not like that?” she asked, concerned.

“Here are the documents proving that the company belongs to you. It was a surprise I wanted to give you. Months ago, I transferred it to your name, and in these documents, you’re listed as the sole owner.”

She let out a scream of joy, hugged and kissed Mateo effusively. He smiled maliciously; both that woman and Teodoro Miller would soon get what they deserved.

The meal continued with displays of affection from Daria. Mateo felt the urge to get up and leave her alone; he felt like he couldn’t stand her for even one more moment. But what he had prepared for her was much better, so he continued to fake love, just one more day. He would see what awaited her.

Mateo noticed a reporter being escorted out for taking photos of someone at a table behind them. When he turned to look, he saw it was Tadeo and Grecia. She had a certain level of fame, which is why the reporter had been interested. Daria turned and, upon seeing Grecia, asked Mateo to invite them to their table.

“Look, love, it’s the concert pianist and her boyfriend. Invite them to our table; I’d like them to join us. Go on, do it,” she insisted.

Mateo stood up and approached them, not so much because Daria had asked, but rather because he wanted to have her close.

“Buona seratta,” he said, smiling.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Licciardi. What a coincidence to meet you again,” Tadeo replied with a displeased expression that Mateo pretended not to notice.

“I’m with my fiancée at that table, and we’d like you to join us,” he requested, pointing to their table.

Tadeo glanced at Ava, secretly hoping she would refuse, but she was determined to show Mateo that she didn’t care.

“It will be a pleasure, Mr. Licciardi,” she replied, attempting to smile.

“Just call me Mateo, Miss De Luca.”

“Okay, Mateo. Then just call me Grecia or Greys, as my friends do,” she said. Tadeo felt like all of this was hitting him like a bomb. Was he invisible?

“Alright, Greys. Thank you for accepting my invitation,” he said, flirting.

They got up and headed to the table, where Daria excitedly observed that they had accepted the invitation. Grecia was starting to gain recognition, and Daria wanted to befriend her.

“Hello! It’s such a pleasure that you accepted our invitation, Miss De Luca,” Daria was genuinely delighted with her.

“Thank you for inviting us,” Grecia replied with a big smile.

Tadeo was visibly annoyed and remained silent from that moment on. The meal proceeded with Daria bombarding Ava with questions. Patience was required with a woman like Daria, who didn’t stop talking even when she was eating. “What did Mateo see in her?” Ava wondered. She had a good body, but she was really stressful.

Mateo had sat next to Ava, and Tadeo and Daria were seated across from them. Mateo had done this with full intention, to be close to her. From there, he could smell her perfume, and she was distracted answering Daria’s trivial questions when suddenly, she felt a hand on her leg. She recognized the warmth of that hand immediately. Mateo gently traced her leg. “What audacity this man has,” she thought, while trying not to blush.