Chapter 1

Marc learned from a very young age that no one valued the passage of time as much as he did, except in job interviews and other formal appointments in which first impressions should be favorably covered. Few took punctuality into account, what interested them more was the absence of it, and sometimes not even that.

He had studied human behavior in detail like the best experimental scientist he was n't . In this way, he noticed a particularity that helped him form the most characteristic aspect of his personality. Who hasn't heard of the "elegantly late" excuse? Who had not once uttered that famous proverb that said: "good things are hard to come by"? It had been years since Marc, bearing in mind that lack of punctuality was valued much more than punctuality, appropriated tardiness to define himself. That's how he was known: as the man who was always late for appointments and who was expected because it was worth it. You could even say that he deserved double for the minutes he charged for his pretty face.

However, that day was special, not only because the hot city of Miami had woken up cloudy in mid”March, nor because he had to settle for a tie that did not suit him because he forgot to go to the laundry, but also because of the clock. .

Although Marc weighed the traffic among other variables why he was likely to show up a while later, he had arrived at his destination earlier. Not at the right time, but almost twenty minutes in advance. Marc could love that the whole world lost orbits because of his grace, but he wouldn't go around to kill time “and his entrance was epic” so he decided that Tuesday would be a great exception.

He took another look at the clock and went through the revolving door of the monumental building, one of many skyscrapers dedicated, for the most part, to telecommunications offices and other business associations. On the penultimate floor he would find one of the few law firms that competed with his.

Well, maybe that one of yours was an exaggeration. Neither he raised it nor had he been on the staff for much more than nine years, but everyone agreed that he was the face and the thinking mind behind the corporation. Just as his enemy was from the company he was working for, that asshole Caleb Moore who graduated with honors in his same year and dared to compete with him since they met the first time. The visible difference between the two was that the name of the latter shone on the letterhead with no other to overshadow it.

“ Lawyer’s firm , opposite Ambani & Moore SLP , and that while Marc had to pay homage to the one who was and believed to continue being his mentor, Caleb's ass rested in the management office.

He had nothing to envy him because they had the same power... Except that he managed it in the shadows, and he planned to demonstrate it in their reunion, a shoddy meeting to negotiate an agreement on behalf of the respective clients.

I'd be lying if I said he wasn't thrilled with the idea of going head”to”head with the big boss. Of course, he would deny it if they asked him; he tried to hide his interest under layers of premeditated arrogance. Even knowing that she could crush him with a single finger, as she had hundreds of times before, Moore was a match for her.

Marc was a dedicated winner, and he owed his victories to the mental agility he had inherited from one of his parents, to the help of other professionals and, of course, to his not very orthodox methods to get what he wanted. He was trying to get out of as many lawsuits as quickly as possible, which means he was there to settle quickly and fairly with Moore and then move on to other stories. For a lawyer, he hated trials, they bored him greatly, and what's more: he saw them as unnecessary. Turning to a third party to solve a problem between two did not sound like a resource that Marc would use. Moore was the other side of the coin. He enjoyed postponing litigation, studying for months and why not… winning it in the end.

There were people for everything, but Marc wasn't going to waste valuable months waiting for the resolution to be able to... encourage him and his client to do the opposite.

Unfortunately, he knew Moore wasn't bribable, and Marc didn't like calling himself the guy who corrupted his opponents either. Yes, it was practical, and he imagined that everyone had a price. And if it didn't, he was counting on Moore being smart enough not to get in his way. Especially when he already had a slight idea of what would await him if he challenged him.

Marc reached into his briefcase and showed the badge to the guard on duty who softened his brows when he read his name. She showed the respect that the boy who had been looking at her for a long time had forgotten, and who took advantage of the pause to throw himself on him. He was armed with a wad of card”sized cards, and the scuffed toecaps of his Converse indicated that he was nothing more than a teenager.

“Good morning sir. In case you need insurance.

Marc smiled politely and tucked the insurer's name into the outer pocket of his jacket. The boy blushed and lowered his head. What a cutie , he thought in the elevator. He punched number seventeen and stood between two business”dressed women, both of whom were noticeably nervous.

One of them had her bow shifted a little to the right, and the other had her blouse on inside out. They might be applying for the secretary position, judging by the scant lines on the résumé they held in their hands and the store”bought skirts bought at second sales. With the naked eye, he swore they would hire the one with the bow.

The elevator was about to close when a tiny hand got between the sensors. A slant”eyed girl slipped into the cubicle, surveyed the floorboards, and smiled guiltily.

"Sorry..." And God knows why he was apologizing. It's just that I'm late, I couldn't wait for the next one. Hello.

"Good morning," Marc greeted, glancing at him. He had a weakness for exotic women, but this one in particular amused him more than anything else. She wore ripped stockings and only one painted eye, and yet she faced the day with optimism. It intrigued him that she had freckles on her nose, contrary to the myth that Asian women had perfect skin. First day of work?

“Uh…” He glanced over his shoulder, just in case he was addressing someone else, “no, not really. I come to see my older sister. They have thrown a surprise party for him and he was going to give him his little gift. She lifted the bag from her elbow. I see we're all going to the penultimate floor. You have the face of a lawyer, I'm sure you work here or at least you know it. A few fingers shorter than me, much prettier...

“Are you sure about that? I see difficult.