Gutierrez and Co.*
Light fell in slices across the polished wooden desk, in Maximiliano's office, the blinds were only half-drawn. Papers scattered around him, untouched—his head far too wrapped up in the headlines for any focused studying.
Josefina was opposite him sitting with her legs crossed, a tailored skirt and crisp blouse perfectly poised as always. But her eyes—cold, inscrutable—were not at all boring.
Suddenly, she broke the silence: "You know, it's suspicious.
Maximiliano raised his head from the numbers on the screen, frowning. "Suspicious?"
Josefina leaned slightly, digging her elbows into the armrest of her chair. Nothing can happen under her nose like this. Nothing slips past her." Her voice was low, slow, as if she were gauging the limits she could reach."
Maximiliano shifted uncomfortably. "You think it's an insider's job?"
Her dark eyes flicked up to him, assessing, almost daring. "You mean… someone among us?"
Closer to her," Maximiliano clarified. "Someone she trusts."
Josefina cocked her head, as though mentally rolling the idea around. They fell into silence for a moment before she shook her head gently. "I doubt it. They would KNOW what she was gonna do if she ever found out. She doesn't forgive. She eradicates."
Her matter-of-factness made his jaw go heavy.
"But closer to her?" Josefina pursed her lips and continued, cutting her tone tight. "Who could that be? She has no one other than yourself.
She stared at him for a beat too long.
Maximiliano felt the flush pooling in his chest.
He leaned over as fists on the desk, face tensing up in rage. "Don't—don't you dare start. I would never do that to her. She's like a daugh—
"Yeah, yeah." Josefina smoothly cut in, lips curving into a smirk. "A daughter to you."
Those words weighed between them heavily.
Maximiliano sullied through his nostrils, anger emanating off him in waves, and yet Josefina stood her ground. Leaning back, a she still looked deep in thought.
Working for Suzzanne for many years as her right hand had always been peaceful and right.
But thinking about this situation had made her feel things.
At the Gym*
The gym had gotten quieter as the night went on.
At this hour, most of the athletes were done with training and had gone home for the day; save for an odd clang of weights hitting the rubber flooring, or a distant whirr of cardio machines still chugging away in one corner.
It was an odor of faint sweating, metal and disinfectant that hung in the air.
The swirling pattern slowly subsided in the moonlight; through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights started to shine like stars pooling from below into a far more starry silhouette fading against an endless ocean of deepening blue darkness.
Enrique Velasquez was draped over one of the black leather couches inside the recovery lounge, a towel around his neck.
His muscles rose and fell rhythmically from the exercising.
Physically, he was exhausted.
Mentally...
That was another story.
His eyes remained staring just outside the room.
Neither on the monitor that was mounted against the far wall.
Not on the water bottle in his hand, untouched.
He was somewhere else entirely.
And Gael had noticed.
For the entire session.
Every missed cue.
Every delayed reaction.
All the time that Enrique had gazed off into space when he was supposed to be listening.
Gael had originally thought it was fatigue.
Then stress.
Then perhaps annoyed at something game related.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Because the more he sat there watching his buddy, the more obvious it became.
Enrique wasn't distracted by football.
He was distracted by someone.
One person met that description and nobody else.
Gael reclined back against the couch across from him and crossed his arms.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
The realization wasn't sudden.
It had been in the making for days.
Weeks, even.
Puzzles whose minutiae connect one after the other.
The way Enrique became strangely quiet whenever Suzzanne's name surfaced.
How he would sometimes just leave right after practice without saying anything.
How he looked unusually thoughtful whenever someone mention her.
At the time, Gael hadn't paid much attention.
But recently—
Recently the entire country seemed incapable of talking about one specific.
Televisions.
News stations.
Sports broadcasts.
Business journals.
Social media.
Everywhere.
One name.
Suzzanne Gutiérrez.
That woman had become the center of national storm.
And suddenly, sitting here watching Enrique stare into nothing, something clicked into place for Gael.
Gael straightened slightly.
His expression changing.
The teasing amusement vanished, replaced by something more serious.
Something cautious.
His eyes moved toward Enrique.
Studying him carefully.
"Enrique."
Hearing his name brought Enrique back into the room.
He blinked.
"Hm?"
Gael hesitated.
A rare thing for him.
Usually words came easily.
He wanted to be sure this time.
"Can I ask you something?"
Enrique glanced toward him.
A look of suspicion is written across his features.
"Depends."
Gael ignored the answer.
"This woman."
The one Enrique already knew Gael meant.
Gael could tell.
The slight change in his stance made him.
Still, he continued.
"Suzzanne."
A pause.
Then—
"What's her last name?"
Enrique looked confused for a fraction of a second.
Like he didn't understand why the question was even being asked.
Then he shrugged.
"Suzzanne Gutiérrez."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Gael stared.
His stomach dropped.
Not that the response surprised him.
But because it validated what he had hoped was not the case.
A slow breath escaped him.
"Damn."
Enrique immediately frowned.
"What?"
Gael looked at him.
Really looked at him.
As if trying to ascertain whether his friend knew what he had just admitted.
"You weren't kidding."
Enrique's confusion deepened.
"About what?"
Gael let out a short laugh.
The kind people made when the reality proved to be worse than they expected.
"The Suzzanne Gutiérrez?"
"Yes."
"– You mean the one on every channel in the country?"
Enrique's expression immediately shifted.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Enough for Gael to notice.
Which is sufficient enough to communicate to him that this knowledge was not fresh.
Enrique had known who she was.
" I know what's being said about her."
Gael stared.
That wasn't denial.
That wasn't surprise.
That was acknowledgment.
And that concerned Gael all the more.
Above the lounge was a TV which played on what appeared to be a sports network.
Muted.
But even from this distance, Gael recognised a familiar image being loaded on the screen.
A headline.
Another discussion panel.
Another segment dissecting the woman currently dominating national attention.
His gaze returned back to Enrique.
"How long have you known?"
Enrique shrugged.
"A while."
"A while?" Gael repeated.
His disbelief was evident.
"A while?" The response earned another shrug.
Somehow it made everything even worse.
Gael ran a hand through his hair. Trying to organize his thoughts.
Trying not to overreact.
Because despite what the media was saying, he wasn't interested in judging someone he had never met.
His concern wasn't in determining whether Suzzanne was innocent or guilty.
The truth was—
He didn't know.
Nobody did.
That was the problem.
The entire situation surrounding her had become a maze of accusations, investigations, conflicting reports, disappearing evidence, corporate scandals, political pressure, and endless speculation.
Every day there seemed to be another story.
Another headline.
Another rumor.
Another theory.
No one knew where the truth ended and the lies had begun.
And now Enrique had managed to stand slap back in the middle of it.
Gael exhaled slowly.
"Listen to me."
His tone had changed completely.
Gone was the teasing friend.
Gone was the playful banter.
This was the voice of someone who cared.
Enrique noticed it too.
His eyes lifted.
Meeting Gael's.
"What?"
Gael walked up toward Enrique and slumped back onto the same couch.
The earnestness on Gael's face got Enrique's immediate attention.
"I need you to be careful."
Those words lay heavily between them.
Enrique frowned.
"Careful?"
"Yes."
Gael held his gaze.
"I don't care what the news says."
"I don't care what people think."
"I don't care what's going on with her or her life."
The words came firmly.
Honestly.
Because they were true.
Gael didn't want to condemn anyone on the basis of headlines.
However, that did not mean that he was above the cold hard reality of the matter.
"But the things surrounding her are unsafe."
His voice lowered.
"Everyone in the country is following her."
"People are investigating her."
"Reporters are following her."
"Every week there's another story."
"Another accusation."
"Another scandal."
He shook his head.
"We don't know what she's playing."
The truth of the statement stood between them.
Neither did anyone else.
That was exactly the issue.
It had all turned to chaos around Suzzanne Gutiérrez.
Because chaos had a grand way of swallowing anyone in the area.
Gael's expression softened slightly.
"Understand what might be going on behind those headlines, accusations and her."
Enrique remained silent.
The words lingered.
Simple.
But it had weighed heavier than anything he'd said.
Enrique did not speak for a couple of moments.
His jaw tightened slightly. Not from anger.
From thought.
From what Gael said, was true, he couldn't deny that.
Suzzanne had clouded his mind ever since their first meet. He couldn't think straight.
But despite everything—
Despite the headlines.
Despite the rumors.
Despite what Gael stated.
With all the chaos that is surrounding her name—
The woman he remembered looked nothing like the woman whose description dominated the airwaves.
He remembered tired eyes.
Quiet conversations.
A smile that rarely surfaced, a guarded smile.
A person who would be weighed down by something far beyond what the public glare might indicate.
Author's Note:
Thankyou for reading<3
Have a Good Day/Night<3<3