9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Matías Moreno

I t's been hours since I sent the icebreaker. Hours! Am I that unlikeable? The little voice in my head grows louder, and that immediately triggers my "hit it with the facts" response. She mentioned in her profile that she's completely focused on her job. Maybe her work includes weekends? Just wait and see, the fact that she's not attached to her phone like most people these days is a good thing. It means she has more important stuff to do than spend all day on social media, even though she's only twenty-two. I take a few deep breaths as I attempt to steady my nerves.

I have the weekly meeting for the stadium project, and I purposely leave my phone on my desk. I need to focus on my work and do a fucking good job—Cattleya will eventually play in this stadium. I chuckle to myself. How crazy is that? Luciano starts the meeting promptly since today a representative from the team is joining us.

"Good morning, everyone. I wanted to join the team meeting today since I'm a new member of the Golden Warriors' board of directors and have been tasked with being the liaison between your company and the team. Please pretend I'm not here; I just want to learn," a man with salt and pepper hair, wearing a three-piece suit, says.

I don't think we've ever had someone from a client company join our weekly meetings before. But I guess when you're investing as much as their team is, you get to do whatever the fuck you want. Natalia, our lead architect, starts explaining the changes that had to be made to the original design in order to fit the terrain better. The rep for the Golden Warriors is taking notes like he's going to be quizzed later. To each their own.

Once the meeting is over, I head to my desk, but I'm stopped by Luciano.

"Matías, let me introduce you personally to Daniel." Oh, so that's the Golden Warriors guy's name.

"Nice to meet you, Matías. The work you're doing here is great, I'm pleasantly surprised at the progress you all have made in such a short amount of time."

I give him a smile as I say, "Yes, we try to be as efficient as possible while maintaining high-quality standards."

The guy smiles at me and then at Luciano as he starts pointing at me. "And that's why your company won the bid. Your integrity and high standards are great qualities and what The Golden Warriors Organization strives to be, as well." I nod at him, happy that he seems pleased with our work, and excuse myself.

I'm a one-track mind kind of man, and right now I need to find lunch; I'm starving.

Once I've had a sub and some tea, I'm back at my desk. When I check my phone, there's a notification from OfficialCherub. My heart starts beating faster, my hands are damp with sweat. What the fuck is wrong with me? I don't even know this mina . Rubbing my hands up and down my jeans to dry them off, I grab my phone and click on the notification banner. "Click the button to see Milena's answers." I click and see we answered the exact same way.

"Nice," I say to myself as a small smile forms on my face. I take another look at her profile again and notice she also sent me a message.

" Hola , dark angel. You sound interesting, what are you up to now? I just came back from a work trip, and I found the cutest kitty abandoned by my building. *watery eyes emoji* Hope to hear back from you, M."

Damn, an abandoned cat? I might not be an animal person, but I'm not cruel enough to leave a defenseless animal alone. This girl has a good heart. I immediately make up my mind that I want to know more about her and reply:

"Is it a he or a she? I'm glad you were able to rescue it. Does it have a name? And what am I up to? I guess my job is a traditional job in the sense that I work from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. So right this minute I'm back from lunch and about to dive into some calculations I need to do for the project I'm working on. What's your job about? Matías."

I put my phone away and dive into said calculations, but Milena stays on my mind the rest of the day. I can't wait to hear back from her again.

I'm in bed, doing the last social media rounds before falling asleep when I notice Milena's status is online on the app. Is she chatting with other guys? Did she read my message and decide not to reply back? I quickly remove those thoughts from my mind. I decide to open our messages when I notice there are three dots moving. You see dumbass, she's writing to you. Stop overthinking everything, I tell the little voice in my head.

"Calculations? That sounds complicated and kind of serious. I mean, what would happen if you made a wrong calculation? You mentioned in your profile you're an engineer, right? I'm not sure if I could live with that kind of responsibility on my shoulders."

I chuckle at her response, but she's not wrong.

"One miscalculation and a column could collapse and potentially the entire building, too. Or if I'm calculating material, if I don't make the correct calculations and buy less material, it can cost us potentially more money. Or if I use less material, the building can collapse because there's not enough iron or concrete supporting the structure."

I hit send and then re-read my reply. Giving myself a face-palm, I cringe at the way I spilled my nerd brain to Milena. Maybe she wasn't asking for specifics? Maybe it was a rhetorical question. " Boludo ," I say to myself. I shake my head and wait for her response.

"Wow, I have even more admiration for engineers now. Thank you for taking your job so seriously."

A full grin spreads across my face. I don't think I've smiled this big in a long time .

"Thank you. I just really enjoy what I do and numbers are fun. At least to me. *shrug emoji* Anyway, what did you go to school for? Is your job related at all to your studies?"

"I went to school for business administration and no, my job is not related at all. But it's my passion so *shrug emoji*"

Now this piques my curiosity; I feel like I need to know what her job is.

"So are you going to tell me what your job is about? Or you don't feel comfortable sharing that yet?"

"Love how direct you are, Matías. I kind of want to keep a halo of mystery about myself, for a little while longer. But let's say that I'm part of an athletic team. In which capacity? That's a topic for another day. *wink emoji*"

Damn, I like this girl. She's not desperate to give it all at once. She wants to take her time getting to know each other, and I'm totally okay with that.

"Fair enough. Let's switch topics then (at least for now), how's the kitty doing? Does it have a name yet?"

"Aww, you remembered. Kitty's good. I took him to the vet today for a checkup, and he's only a couple of months old. I bought him way more toys and treats that he'll be able to enjoy in the next year, but I couldn't resist. Do you want to see a picture?"

I've never been more invested in a damn pet than right now. I don't have a chance to reply because Milena sends a picture next.

"Say hi to Furball. That's what I'm calling him for now; I'm still looking for his forever name."

Once I click on the picture, I see the kitty is tiny indeed. Big, curious eyes and lots and lots of fur. Furball seems like an appropriate name. But what really catches my attention is the setting. Furball is nestled in a fluffy blanket that's on top of Milena's long, toned, tan legs. Damn, what a sight. My mouth waters on the spot, and my dick perks up in my boxers. What would it feel like to have those legs wrapped around my neck as I eat Milena's pussy?

"Cute, right?"

Milena's message comes right when my dick is desperate for attention.

"Yeah, he's cute. I like the black stripes he has on his face. It's like he has a tattoo or something."

The stripes give the kitty a bad-boy vibe, which is what my tattoos do for me. People usually stay away from "bad boys," so I don't have to face my demons and make conversation with every person. Only a few who I feel comfortable with know the real me.

"Matías, you're a genius. That's the name: Tinta (Ink)."

I chuckle at her response.

"Tinta, I like it. It has character, it suits him."

We continue messaging back and forth until the early hours of the morning with the promise that we'll chat more tonight. So far chatting with Milena seems promising—a curious girl with no red flags.