472 Ba
ch 42

Andrea didn’t understand how she could feel so bad and so good at the same time. She had gotten her contract, but Mason had the nose of a bloodhound to ruin her happiness. “I’m going to… I’m going to be at my desk…” she muttered under her breath as if she were talking to herself and Zack felt a knot in his stomach as he realized how much this was affecting her. She had lost weight and at times it seemed like she was losing her mind. “How much is the bonus for the contract?” she asked Ben when the door closed behind her. “Four thousand dollars,” his friend answered. “Double it, and we’ll start looking for contracts for the boy,” Zack said as he completely got into his role as the owner of that company. “There are some cards we can move to get him exceptional publicity…” He looked at his watch, calculating the time because he knew it must be late in the United Kingdom and the person he wanted to talk to was there. “I’ll make that call tonight, for now, we have to resolve the daycare thing.” Half an hour later, Mr. Gazca, a man in his sixties, appeared in his office. He was the one who had taken care of all the paperwork for the transfer of ownership of the company, but even if he was a corporate lawyer, he could know someone who could help him with Andrea’s case. “I’ll take care of the daycare issue right now, your honor, consider it part of my job for the company,” the lawyer said firmly. “Now, I can take care of Mrs. Brand’s case as well, if you agree.” Zack frowned. “I thought you only worked for companies.” “I have three children in college, Mr. Keller. That costs money and companies pay more, but I used to be a trial lawyer. If you put me in charge of the case, and pay me adequate compensation, then I’ll be happy to help Mrs. Brand get her daughter back. Thank you for reading LeeNovelas.com.” “And was he good at it?” Gazca smiled. —You don’t have to worry, I’ve been in this all my life, I just have to meet the husband’s lawyer and I’ll tell you exactly which leg he limps on —he sentenced. And he certainly knew which one, because the moment Ben told him the little he had found out about Ben and Gazca he knew that he was represented by Basil Gagnon, he took a deep breath. —The good news and the bad news —he declared. It is said that Basil Gagnon is one of the minor lawyers of the Rizzuto family. —The Montreal mafia? —Ben worried. Remember. Read this novel only on LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites. —They are all over the country, and of course they have a network of lawyers for their… associates. But the fact that it is a minor entity cannot make us forget that the guy works with and for corruption —the lawyer explained to them—. So the first thing is that you have to be careful, all the time, and the second is that this is going to be more interesting than you thought. Ben stayed in the firm,trying to use Andrea as a justification for keeping an eye on her, and Zack and his lawyer made a quick tour of the court that ended up in the Social Services Office. “Mr. Gazca! It’s been a while since you’ve visited us!” the director came out to greet him and Zack smiled quietly. To what do I owe the honor? “I’ve come to file a complaint for corruption against two of your social workers,” Gazca said with a smile and the director turned livid as he read the document. “But… how…?” “Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to discuss it in private?” the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers Zack had seen just a few hours ago. “What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…?” the director was shocked. “To start with, I want you to confirm the evaluation order for the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation,” said the lawyer firmly. That nursery already had state approval, and suddenly an order came out from here to evaluate it and close it just a few hours ago. So I imagine you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he could tell they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it afterwards! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That’s easily verifiable with the access to your income that a court order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos.” Which do you prefer? Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s confidence in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”And Zack and his lawyer made a quick tour of the court that ended in the Social Services Office. “Mr. Gazca! It’s been a while since you visited us!” The director greeted him and Zack smiled softly. To what do I owe the honor? “I’ve come to file a complaint for corruption against two of your social workers,” said Gazca with a smile and the director turned livid as he read the document. “But… how…?” “Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to discuss it in private?” the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers that Zack had seen just a few hours ago. “What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…?” the director was shocked. “To start with, I want you to confirm the evaluation order for the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation,” said the lawyer firmly. That nursery already had state approval, and suddenly an order came out from here to evaluate it and close it just a few hours ago. So I imagine you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he could tell they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it afterwards! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That’s easily verifiable with the access to your income that a court order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos.” Which do you prefer? Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s confidence in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”And Zack and his lawyer made a quick tour of the court that ended in the Social Services Office. “Mr. Gazca! It’s been a while since you visited us!” The director greeted him and Zack smiled softly. To what do I owe the honor? “I’ve come to file a complaint for corruption against two of your social workers,” said Gazca with a smile and the director turned livid as he read the document. “But… how…?” “Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to discuss it in private?” the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers that Zack had seen just a few hours ago. “What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…?” the director was shocked. “To start with, I want you to confirm the evaluation order for the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation,” said the lawyer firmly. That nursery already had state approval, and suddenly an order came out from here to evaluate it and close it just a few hours ago. So I imagine you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he could tell they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it afterwards! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That’s easily verifiable with the access to your income that a court order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos.” Which do you prefer? Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s confidence in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”—the director came out to greet him and Zack smiled softly. To what do I owe the honor? —I’ve come to file a complaint for corruption against two of your social workers —said Gazca with a smile and the director turned livid as he read the document. —But… how…? —Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to discuss it in private? —the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers that Zack had seen just a few hours ago. —What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…? —the director was shocked. —To start with, I want you to confirm the evaluation order for the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation —said the lawyer firmly—. That daycare center already had state approval, and suddenly an order to evaluate it and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine that you signed that authorization. Isn’t that true? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he could tell they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it afterwards! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this in two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for the photos in tomorrow’s headlines. Which do you prefer?” Mr. Gazca was an imposing man, with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back at her daycare. If you want to see how, be at this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”—the director came out to greet him and Zack smiled softly. To what do I owe the honor? —I’ve come to file a complaint for corruption against two of your social workers —said Gazca with a smile and the director turned livid as he read the document. —But… how…? —Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to discuss it in private? —the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers that Zack had seen just a few hours ago. —What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…? —the director was shocked. —To start with, I want you to confirm the evaluation order for the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation —said the lawyer firmly—. That daycare center already had state approval, and suddenly an order to evaluate it and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine that you signed that authorization. Isn’t that true? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he could tell they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it afterwards! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this in two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for the photos in tomorrow’s headlines. Which do you prefer?” Mr. Gazca was an imposing man, with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back at her daycare. If you want to see how, be at this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”—But… how…? —Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to deal with it in private? — the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers Zack had seen just a few hours ago. —What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…? — the director was shocked. —To start with, I want you to confirm the order to evaluate the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation —said the lawyer firmly—. That daycare center already had state approval, and suddenly an order to evaluate and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine that you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he realized that they had no idea what he was talking about. —It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…! —Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it later! And I know from a good source that this accusation was backed up with a lot of money, the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this in two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos. Which do you prefer?” Attorney Gazca was an imposing man, with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the ultimate consequences only accentuated Zack’s confidence in him. Shortly after, they had the necessary documentation and Gazca hit him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in your nursery. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me. “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right? You just have to introduce me that way,” Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”—But… how…? —Would you prefer me to tell you here or would you like to deal with it in private? — the lawyer smiled. Two minutes later everyone was in the director’s office, including the two social workers Zack had seen just a few hours ago. —What does this mean? How can it be that they are accusing us of corruption…? — the director was shocked. —To start with, I want you to confirm the order to evaluate the daycare center of the company Nexa Sport Representation —said the lawyer firmly—. That daycare center already had state approval, and suddenly an order to evaluate and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine that you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he realized that they had no idea what he was talking about. —It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…! —Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it later! And I know from a good source that this accusation was backed up with a lot of money, the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. “Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this in two ways, director. You go with me to declare the nursery operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos. Which do you prefer?” Attorney Gazca was an imposing man, with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the ultimate consequences only accentuated Zack’s confidence in him. Shortly after, they had the necessary documentation and Gazca hit him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in your nursery. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me. “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right? You just have to introduce me that way,” Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”And suddenly an order to evaluate and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he realized that they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it later! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this two ways, director. You go with me to declare the daycare operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos. Which do you prefer?” Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”And suddenly an order to evaluate and close it came out from here just a few hours ago. So I imagine you signed that authorization. Isn’t that right? The director turned pale and from the way he looked at the social workers he realized that they had no idea what he was talking about. “It was an emergency! There was a very serious accusation…” “Even if it had been an emergency, they should have reported it later! And I know from a good source that that accusation was backed up with a lot of money,” the lawyer interrupted him. “That’s not true!” the other defended himself. “That is easily verifiable with the access to your income that a judge’s order will give me,” Gazca said. Or are you going to tell me that I won’t replace a considerable injection into your accounts when they review them?” The social workers looked at each other and both remained silent, stunned. “Well, we can do this two ways, director. You go with me to declare the daycare operational, or we pose for tomorrow’s headline photos. Which do you prefer?” Mr. Gazca was an imposing man with many years of professional experience. The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back in her daycare. If you want to see how, come to this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back at her daycare. If you want to see how, be at this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”The fact that he was willing to take this to the extreme only increased Zack’s trust in him. Soon they had the necessary paperwork and Gazca patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “All set, Mr. Keller. Tomorrow you will have the girl back at her daycare. If you want to see how, be at this address tomorrow at eight o’clock.” Zack nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “I appreciate you taking care of the case, the only thing that worries me is that Andrea doesn’t want to accept my help,” he said. I mean, after everything that happened between us… we had a bad breakup and she still hasn’t forgiven me.” “There are other ways. I’m also the company’s lawyer, right?” You just have to introduce me that way, Gazca told him. “Let me take care of the rest.”Mrs. Brand would not object. They said goodbye at the courthouse door and the lawyer left while he walked to his car, not knowing what else to do. He felt so helpless that he could barely contain himself; he only wanted to help Andrea, although he understood that she would not forgive him so easily. He was almost there when his eyes stumbled upon something that caught his attention: the enormous windows of a department store. He walked quickly towards her and asked to speak to the manager. And as soon as the assistant saw the Rolex on his wrist, she ran out to get it. He was received with deference and treated with distinction. “How can I help you, Mr. Keller?” the manager asked him. “I need you to make something for me, a special catalogue, please,” she asked, and upon hearing her proposal, the man did not repeat the request. An hour later, parked in front of Andrea’s building, Zack saw her arrive, head down and with tears in her eyes. She no longer even bothered to hide it. She knew she wouldn’t eat or sleep that night, and that she would be a shadow of herself until she had her daughter in her arms again. He watched her talk for a moment to a neighbor he remembered, it was the same one who had gone to warn him about Mrs. Wilson one night, but Zack couldn’t remember her name. She only remembered the number of the apartment she was entering, and then she forced herself to go home. He was right, Andrea didn’t eat dinner or sleep that night, and the next day she looked like a zombie going up in the elevator. She left her things in her cubicle and took a deep breath, she couldn’t miss seeing Adriana, so she was just going to ask Ben for permission to be absent in the morning when Zack appeared in his office. “Good morning…” he greeted with a smile and she didn’t even look at him. “Hello,” she answered in a hollow voice, but before she left he stopped her. “I think you should go to the reception. Your most important client is waiting for you.” Andrea took a deep breath. —I only have one, Zack—she hissed, but she barely stopped when she saw the nurse get off the elevator with Adriana and Mason behind her with a sour face. Andrea ran to take her daughter in her arms while her heart was beating fast. And while she showered Adriana with kisses and hugs she saw Mason approach Zack with a threatening gesture. —That was not a smart move. I warned you to get out of my way—she hissed under her breath and Zack smiled at her. —And I have testicular deafness, I only hear what comes out of my balls. So you can keep threatening, but I already know who you are and what you are capable of… and you still don’t know who I am—Zack replied. Mason made a sneer and left there followed by the nurse, and Andrea turned to Zack. —What was that? —she asked and he approached for a moment to kiss the baby’s head. “I’m just putting the pieces in place… that’s all,” he said before leaving for his office. And now that the first piece had fallen, all that was left was to move all the others.