Page 13 of Distrustful

Chapter 7

"Why don't you ask Eliot?" Benjamin suggests, standing next to Trinidad at a restaurant's bar.

He's drinking sparkling water while Trinidad swirls the wine in her glass.

It's her third time at this particular place, a seemingly normal restaurant where most diners probably don't know what happens beyond the door at the back, the one leading to the third-floor restaurant, but Trinidad knows. She's heard about this place and knows that at the back of the third-floor restaurant, there's another door leading to a room where those who enter have access to an immense space with dim lights, soft music, three small bars strategically placed, and corners with sofas or beds where people can have sex with strangers, swap partners, or participate in orgies.

Trinidad has never set foot in such a place, but she's always felt an overwhelming curiosity to enter, especially lately, when she feels needier than ever. The businesswoman has many problems relating to peoplebeyond her work, so in recent years, she can count on one hand the people she's slept with. She remembers the first was a woman she met while vacationing in Turkey, also Spanish, and Trinidad felt comfortable because she knew whatever happened with her would stay in that country. The second is a catalog escort whom the businesswoman hires when her toys aren't enough and she needs human contact or some conversation afterward.

Benjamin, with his fatherly role embedded to the bone, doesn't agree with this lifestyle. He always advises her to open up, not to fear people so much, and if she does fear them, that's what she has him for, but Trinidad finds it very difficult.

"Eliot?" she says with a laugh. "Come on, Benjamin, he'd have a fit if I asked him to come with me to a place like this. Besides, I don't want to sleep with him."

The other two times Trinidad has been to this curious and exclusive restaurant, she's never dared to cross to the other side. She stays at the bar like now, having a drink with Benjamin because, although she's a decisive woman, she can't find the courage to enter alone, feeling vulnerable without her bodyguard's protection, which she believes would change if she found someone trustworthy who wouldn't mind entering such a place with her.

"So, you won't see him again?" Benjamin inquires curiously.

Trinidad observes the elegant venue from the bar, with its white tablecloths and antique candelabras creating a distinguished atmosphere. The walls are decorated withabstract paintings in dark tones, and soft jazz music floats in the air.

"No, I don't think it's appropriate to let him get his hopes up."

Benjamin makes a face, and Trinidad raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well, I had my hopes up. That Eliot is a good guy, Trinidad, he'd treat you as you deserve, and I'm sure he'd know how to make you happy," he says with his characteristic rectitude.

Trinidad looks at him tenderly and smiles.

"Stop worrying about me, Benjamin, I'm fine like this."

"No offense, but I don't believe you," he dares to say and takes a sip of sparkling water while watching her with his characteristic paternal gesture. "I've known you for years, and I know deep down you yearn for something more."

Trinidad smiles again, this time wanting to hug him.

"Come on, Benjamin, you've been divorced three times, do you really still believe in true love?"

"I still believe in people, in people who can fall in love and share a path together for however long, it doesn't have to be for life. I don't regret any of my three marriages, and if I meet another woman who makes me feel good by her side, don't doubt you'll have to be my maid of honor."

Trinidad's sudden laughter is only interrupted when the entrance door opens and she sees Maria Molina walk in. The businesswoman blinks in surprise several timeswith her gaze fixed on her to make sure she's not mistaking the person, but she's not, it's Maria, and after greeting someone at the entrance, she continues forward and doesn't seem to be there for dinner.

"What's wrong?" Benjamin turns in alert mode and breathes in relief when he sees it's the lawyer.

Maria hasn't been there for a long time. Since she and Ursula stopped sleeping together and her husband asked for a divorce, she's dedicated herself to dating through apps or hooking up with company staff, but since her last argument with Ursula where she was forbidden to approach anyone from the work environment, she's decided that a good option is to return to this place like before, staying at one of the bars inside while having a drink and examining the merchandise.

The lawyer stops dead in her tracks when she sees Trinidad at the restaurant's bar, her heart races and suddenly she's thirsty. She doesn't understand what she's doing there and wonders if she knows what happens on the other side of the door or if it's just a coincidence that she and her inseparable bodyguard are in the building. Trinidad's eyes lock with hers, and for a moment, their gazes remain hooked. Maria hesitates but finally resumes walking and greets them dryly before passing by, reaching the back door that so disturbs Trinidad, and crossing it without any qualms because she's done it dozens of times.

"Well," Trinidad says so surprised that her eyebrows arch and she almost lets the wine glass slip between her fingers.

Benjamin wants to hold back his laughter but can't, and his lips begin to curve upward.

"Seems like that woman isn't afraid of anything," the man comments.

"No, she's not," Trinidad confirms, not taking her eyes off the door.

Something has ignited inside her, something that begins to burn her insides and she knows won't be extinguished if she doesn't cross the door. It's evident that Maria and she clash like two freight trains, but despite Trinidad's insecurities in many aspects of her life, in this case, she has none. In her opinion, Maria has too much attitude, and someone needs to bring her down a notch.

"Will you wait for me here?" Trinidad asks Benjamin.