Through You (The Hidalgo Brothers Book 2)

CLAUDIA

Many days have passed since I last saw Artemis. This isn’t out of the ordinary; when he works a lot he has a tendency to come home very late and leave early in the morning. I overheard his father explain that it’s been a hectic week at the office. Even his mother is concerned with his eating habits, and Sofia comes into the kitchen Friday morning with a special request.

“I need you to prepare a well-balanced meal and deliver it to Artemis for lunch. Carl can take you.” Artemis is so swamped that even his mother, someone who rarely worries about anyone but herself, has taken notice, and even offered her personal driver.

A part of me is excited to see Artemis. I miss him. I’ve grown used to his presence now that he lives in the house. It has also awakened in me a nostalgia that I wasn’t aware I was harboring until now.

Artemis used to be my best friend; the one person I could count on for everything. I’ve missed having someone in my life who’s there for me unconditionally.

I prepare his lunch with care and make sure to include a fruit salad for dessert. I ride in silence with Carl to Hidalgo Enterprises headquarters. I’m glad that I changed my clothes—the last thing I want to do is step inside the building wearing a maid’s uniform that looks more like a Halloween costume. I don’t think I should wear it anymore. After all, the one who made me put it on was Artemis. I enter through the glass doors and am amazed by how shiny the floors are and how impeccable everyone looks. At reception an elegantly dressed brown-skinned woman greets me with a smile.

“How may I help you?”

“I’ve brought lunch to”—I almost blurt out his first name—

“to Mr. Hidalgo.”

She looks at me puzzled. “For our CEO?”

“Yes.”

“And you are . . . ?”

“My name is Claudia. I’m the housekeeper for the Hidalgos.”

She looks me over from head to toe. The jeans I bought at a garage sale last week are not fancy enough, even though when I first put them on I thought they were the cutest pair in the world.

I suppose what’s cute to me may be trashy to others.

“Is he aware you’re coming, Claudia?” Her eyes land on my buttoned shirt, which I also thought looked pretty when I bought it on sale.

“I don’t think so. His mother sent me.”

She hesitates and scrutinizes me, making me uneasy.

I’ve been polite, and tried my best. “Listen”—I stare at the name tag she has pinned on her jacket—“Mandy, you can call whoever you want to confirm my identity. In the meantime, Mr. Hidalgo’s lunch is getting cold while you judge my appearance instead of doing your job efficiently.”

Her jaw drops and she looks stunned.

I continue. “Your job is to make a call, confirm who I am, and let me go up. Very easy. So stop wasting everyone’s time and do what’s necessary.”

Mandy does as I say and calls Artemis’s assistant. She issues me a visitor’s pass, which I pin on my shirt, and lets me go upstairs. Artemis’s office is located on the top floor, which doesn’t surprise me—he’s always loved heights. I bet his office has tall, wide windows so he can enjoy the view. When the elevator arrives, I’m greeted with a sweet smile from a tall, fuller-bodied male assistant, who is way friendlier than Mandy.

“Claudia?”

I nod. “Yes, hi.”

“Go on in.” He points me to the set of doors on the left.

I knock and hear Artemis say “Come in.” My stomach flip-flops as I make my entrance. The sun streaming through the large windows in his office blinds me momentarily. Tall windows, just as I expected. I know him so well. Artemis is sitting behind his desk, buried in paperwork. He’s taken off his tie, his shirt is wrinkled, and his hair is a disaster. I can see circles under his eyes.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

When our gazes meet, his face is overcome with relief.

“Hi, sexy.”

“Hi, iceberg.”

He smiles and gets up. “Just in time, I’m starving.”

I empty the contents of the lunch bag, placing them on the table in front of the couch on one side of his office. Artemis sits and doesn’t wait for me to finish plating before he starts eating.

Poor thing.

I missed you.

I can’t bring myself to say it out loud.

“Having a difficult week?” I ask instead.

“You have no idea.”

He reclines on the sofa when he’s done eating and closes his eyes. He looks exhausted. When I place my hand over his, he opens his eyes and looks at me.

“I . . .” I stop myself. I can’t tell him.

Artemis flashes me a sweet smile and intertwines his hand with mine.

“I missed you, too, sexy.”

I quickly release his hand as I hear the sound of the door opening, and turn around to see who’s there. It’s the redhead he brought with him to the house the night of the surprise party.

His girlfriend. Correction, his ex-girlfriend, according to what he said at his nightclub. She’s wearing an elegant black skirt and a white blouse paired with red high heels that match her handbag.

Her red hair is perfectly styled in a high ponytail and her makeup looks flawless. She carries a bag with food from a restaurant in one hand.

“Oh, hi. It seems I’m too late, and you ate already!”

My heart begins to pound erratically. I have a terrible queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The woman smiles as she walks in, stands in front of me, then leans across me and plants a kiss on Artemis’s lips.

Oh no.

I can hear the sound of my heart shattering inside my chest.

My stomach churns. Artemis avoids looking my way and keeps his eyes fixed on her. She turns her gaze on me.

“You must be Claudia. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Cristina, his fiancé.”

Fiancé.

No. Girlfriend. Or is it ex-girlfriend?

So what in the hell was happening between us?

He told me he no longer had a girlfriend. So what am I, the other woman? I try to calm my breathing but I’m having a hard time inhaling.

“Are you not feeling well?” Cristina asks me politely.

I need to throw up. I feel like I’m about to burst into tears, so I stand up.

“I . . . need to go now.”

For the last time, my eyes search for Artemis’s, but he looks away.

“Have a good afternoon,” I force myself to say.

I bolt out of his office. I feel stupid for believing that something great could happen to me, for letting him back into my life and into my heart when I damn well know we belong to very different worlds. Obviously, he only wanted to sleep with me.

Love and devotion, on the other hand, are reserved for his fiancé.

To someone like him, I’m just the other woman; I could never be anything more.

I’ve never felt a pain like this before. For the very first time I gave myself permission to be vulnerable. The bastard told me that he no longer had a girlfriend because he knew I wouldn’t do anything if he was involved with someone else.

How could he lie to me like this?

How was he able to look cool and composed when his fiancé arrived?

Does he not give one damn about how I feel?

I keep my cool, and keep my tears from freely flowing until I get home. There, I run to the bathroom and stare at my eyes, which are turning red as big, fat tears roll down my cheeks.

Claudia, you are an idiot.

Did I really think he would leave someone like her for someone like me? What hurts the most is that she’s engaged to him. Is he going to marry her? How could he kiss me and touch me the way he did when he’s planning to marry someone else?

How could he be unfaithful and use lies to make me complicit in his deception?

The memory of his smile and his words that day in the kitchen are fresh in my mind. How could he do that when he was engaged to someone else?

I cover my face so I can cry with abandon. In this whole fucking mess I can’t pinpoint what hurts most. I only know that the intensity of this pain points to deeper feelings I had started to develop for him beyond physical attraction.

It was much, much more than that.