“Julieta! Enough is enough! I spent all morning looking everywhere for you! I went to your work. I walked around the park. I visited the coffeeshop. I went by your favorite restaurant. You had me so worried!” Tia cut off a sob. “I thought – I thought something had happened to you too!”
Julieta hung her head. “I’m sorry, Tia,” she mumbled.
“Stop hiding things from me! I’m not a baby! I’m a grown woman too! Whatever you’re facing, I will face it with you. You still have me, Juju!” She ran across the room and threw herself at her sister, her arms embracing Julieta as she tackled her. Jin just stood, watching this touching tableau. He was getting a little uncomfortable. Finally, he cleared his throat.
The girls stopped hugging and looked up at him from their prone position on the bed.
“I, uh, I should probably get out of your hair.”
“What? Jin, you’re not going anywhere. You’re going to cook something amazing for my silly sister here, and we’re both going to make sure she eats it. All of it.” Tia bent a stern glance on her sister. “And while you cook, she’s going to explain to me what exactly has been going on.”
Jin was thrilled. He loved to cook. Now he would get to make a birthday surprise for Julieta. This was a dream come true! He grinned at the girls before heading towards the kitchen.
Tia lay down next to Julieta and then turned her head to look at her. “So?”
“Someone is trying to push me out of the company.”
“What?” Tia sat up and gazed down at Julieta.
Julieta sat up next to her before scooting until her back was against the wall. They both relaxed against that wall before Julieta responded.
“There have been numerous ‘accidents’ at work over the past three weeks, designed to make me appear incompetent.”
“Accidents? Like what?” Tia glanced down at Julieta’s body, misunderstanding her statement. “Are you ok? Were you hurt?”
“Not that kind of accident. Missing contracts. Or the wrong one. Missed phone calls. Rescheduled appointments, but I wasn’t notified. And then my phone went missing.”
“You don’t think it’s all just coincidence?”
“No way.” Julieta shook her head decisively. “You know how detail-oriented I am. I am not that incompetent.”
“No, but maybe your new office staff is.”
“It’s Martina.”
“Oh.” Tia glanced at her. “You know I’ve never really liked her, right?”
“What? She’s been my best friend for years!”
“Yeah. I know. But that doesn’t mean I ever liked her.”
“Why don’t you like her?” Julieta furrowed her brow as she stared in shock at her younger sister.
“I don’t know exactly. She’s just always made me uncomfortable. And it always seemed to me that she was trying to drive a wedge between you and Santiago.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Like she was always saying junk about him around you. But when you weren’t looking, she was checking him out.”
“Hmm. How come I never noticed that?”
“Honestly? I think you were too busy beating yourself up over Mamá and Papá.”
Julieta fell silent. Had she really been that blind? To two people who called themselves her friends? Had Santiago ever really liked her? Or had he been after something else entirely?
She felt her whole paradigm shifting. Had her entire life been a lie?
