Chapter 2. Let's get to work

By Denis

—Are you sure?

I excitedly ask my best friend Angy.

We had gone to elementary school, high school and college together.

We've known each other forever and frankly I love her as much as my sister, maybe even more, and that's saying something because I adore Gaby.

We also went on a trip to Europe for six months; it was our parents' graduation gift.

My parents owned a party supply import company, and we also imported many electronic items. We have exclusive agreements with various brands, the best ones, and also our own factories related to our business. It was the largest distributor in the country, and I knew that sooner or later I would have to work with them, but for now my siblings, Gabriela, who was 27, and Javier, who was 30, were working there.

I had just returned from my trip.

Angy and I share our romantic failures; she's in love with my brother and I'm in love with hers.

What I had seemed like an obsession.

—Yes, he wants someone who speaks 3 languages, who has a degree in business administration or accounting or some related career, but who is ugly. You meet the first two requirements, but my friend, you are one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

I laughed, that's what she said with her light green eyes and her brown hair and a stunning body, she drove all the men in the world crazy.

The truth is that I am beautiful too, and I know it.

Why would I deny it?

—I'll dress up and present myself as a secretary; I don't think many candidates will apply.

I mean, thinking I'd just had a brilliant idea.

—Girl, you're a genius! Imagine if you win him over and we became sisters-in-law!

—Let's hope we become sisters-in-law twice over.

I want it with all my heart, I want to win Leo over and for her to win Javier over.

—The problem is that both your brother and mine are terrible womanizers.

—That's true, we'll come up with a plan.

—Your brother doesn't know me, I think, and mine doesn't know you either. He saw you a couple of times, although it was a while ago, and since you're my friend, I'm sure he didn't look at you. If he had seen you at a club, he wouldn't have let you leave without having sex with you.

I laugh because I think my brother would act the same way towards her.

—They're ignoring both of us…Have they seen photos of us on social media?

—No, he doesn't use social media.

I'm sure Javier doesn't use the same social media as us either; our brothers are almost friends, that is, they are friends without being close, but they handle themselves in the same way and go to the same places to have fun.

—Okay, when you get home I'll show you what I plan to wear, I'll be back in an hour.

I went to the house of a great-aunt, she was a spinster and I asked her for her oldest dresses, those that she kept with mothballs and never wore.

My aunt Rosita didn't understand why I wanted them. I didn't want to hurt her by saying that I wanted to make myself ugly with her clothes. In reality, she wasn't ugly; when she was young, she was very beautiful, and she still was, but she was stuck in time.

Actually, her clothes were outdated, that's the right word.

When her boyfriend died in a car accident, she never recovered, she didn't go out and it seemed like her house was from the 70s, she didn't even change the carpet, she was like a widow without being one, her love was so powerful that she never got over it.

I don't know whether to admire her or feel sorry for her.

I believe that what I feel for Leonardo is as powerful as the love that my aunt Rosita had and still has for the man who was the great love of her life; in that I do identify with her, even though Leonardo doesn't know I exist and I die with every sigh for him.

Many people said I looked like her.

Anyway, I consider her a very close person and I have a lot of affection for her; she always supported and defended my siblings and me when our parents tried to punish us for something. She is my father's youngest aunt.

When I returned from my trip, my parents had a pleasant surprise for me.

I had been given an apartment, a flat, with three bedrooms, all en suite, plus a large living room and a dining room where more than 20 diners could comfortably sit; it was comfortable, the apartment was beautiful, very luxurious and had a beautiful view.

I, who was already used to a certain degree of independence, thanked them very much; I loved the idea of living alone…although I set aside one of the rooms for Angy, and invited her to live with me. Of course, she could buy her own apartment or whatever she wanted, but we were very used to sharing everything, and she happily accepted.

Angy arrived home and when she saw the dresses, she couldn't believe that such old-fashioned clothes still existed.

—Okay, you disguise your body and that's it. What about your face?

I took out some Harry Potter-style glasses, put my hair in a bun, and painted on two horrible beauty marks.

Angy was laughing her head off.

—Friend, you're still beautiful.

—Did you look at me closely?

—Yes, your sky-blue eyes are incomparable and your long, straight, blonde hair is beautiful; my brother is crazy about blondes.

—When I ran into him at your house he didn't even look at me, I don't think he likes me, he doesn't know I exist, he doesn't know me.

I say, distressed.

—I hope he doesn't recognize you.

—He's not going to do it, he never paid attention to me.

I insist, and we both cross our fingers.

I tried a thousand different makeup looks, making myself look uglier each time.

We spent several hours practicing; I had to do it alone. Angy wasn't going to be there every morning to help me, even though she lived at home, sometimes she stayed overnight at her parents' house.

The funniest part was the lipstick and creating thick eyebrows.

—The lipstick is exaggerated, you want me to see you as ugly, not as a crazy woman who escaped from a psychiatric hospital.

He took me to the mirror and when I saw my reflection in it, we both laughed.

She looked like a crazy woman.

—You're right.

—Now all that's missing is the hair.

-Wig!

I took out a wig, which my aunt also had stored away.

It was dark brown, curly, so late 70s that it was impressive.

What was happening to people during that time?

Did she like looking ugly and old, even though she was young?

We didn't understand that generation.

They really did dress like junk.

I also had to admit that my aunt had a good body and the best clothes didn't look so bad on her.

But in the decades before the 60s, people dressed better; this is a mix of psychedelic and conservative, all very strange.

I even found it fun.

We talked all night and encouraged each other.

I know it's going to be hard to see him with different women all the time, because Leonardo is a womanizer and is always surrounded by beautiful ladies.

I had to prepare myself psychologically to see him arrive arm in arm with others; I knew that was going to hurt me.

—I'm going to tell her that we're friends.

—I don't know if he'll believe it.

—Well, at least we went to school and college together.

—I'm going to tell my mom.

-No!

—Yes, every Thursday my brother has dinner with us at home and he was so obsessed with wanting an ugly secretary, he kept talking about it…

-I don't understand…

—My parents are going to ask him, and when he says your name, they're going to say you're beautiful.

—What are you going to tell him? That I'm in love with your brother?

-Could be…

-What a shame!

—I'm not going to tell him that you want to sleep with him either.

—You know what I want more than that…

I say while laughing nervously.

—Friend, you're as crazy as I am, but at least I slept with one, although it was a disaster, on our graduation trip, and then with another, on the trip, although in the middle of the act, I pushed him away and ran away.

"It's not that I want to remain a virgin until marriage, it's just that outside of your brother, nobody..."

I liked it.

I mean, even though she knows it.

—I hope you can win him over.

—And I hope you win over my brother…

—Don't you want an ugly secretary?

We both laughed.

—I don't think so, we have to come up with something else…

—Seduce him….

—But he knows you're my friend, and that's going to make it harder; he's going to have to hold back.

—if he even remembers me, but we'll think of something.

—Or something might come up, look at this opportunity I have…

We clapped our hands with open hands.

—Should I send an email?

—I don't know, I think it's better if you introduce yourself on my behalf.

—Send him an email or a message telling him I'm on my way, so he doesn't ask for photos or a resume.

—That's a good one.

—Anyway, we're going to take some pictures now.

So we did, we took photos, me in different outfits and Angy changed into my clothes. We had recently arrived in the country and she was just settling into the apartment. Since we are the same size and physically similar, there was no problem with the clothes.

We are both 1.65m tall, maybe Angy was 1.67m, same proportions, medium bust, small waist and good butt.

I had rushed to take all my belongings to the apartment; I did it immediately as soon as I received the key.

We positioned ourselves in different parts of the department, pretending it was a different day.

Then he took pictures of me to put on the resume we put together.

—I'm going to tell you that my family owns an import business. I'm going to try to lie as little as possible, so I don't put my foot in it.

—Of course, you're right, besides you have to justify how you went to such an expensive school and an even more expensive university.

—I'm not going to tell her that we went on a trip together, in case she wants to see photos.

If I saw myself as I truly am, I wouldn't be able to carry out the plan.

We stayed to finalize the details.