Chapter 18

Heather tightly clutched onto the present she had selected for Alejandro's father as she walked with Alejandro towards the Burromuerto family home.

"You all good, mi amor?" Alejandro gave Heather's hand a tight squeeze once they arrived at the door. She let out a tiny nod. Alejandro smiled and then rang the doorbell.

"¡Feliz cumpleaños (happy birthday), Papá!" Alejandro grinned once Javier opened the door. He then lovingly put an arm around Heather. "Ésta es mi novia (this is my girlfriend), Heather."

"Happy birthday, Mr Burromuerto," Heather politely added as she held up her gift for him.

Javier took a glance at the present and then at Heather. Heather bit her lip. What would his reaction be?

"Thank you," he eventually said.

He then called for Maria, the Burromuerto family maid. "Maria, can you take this?"

Maria gently grabbed the present from Heather's hands and made her way towards the hallway.

"Please come in," Javier then mumbled to Heather and Alejandro as he took a step back and gestured inside the house.

Heather gave a tiny smile and held onto Alejandro's hand as they walked inside together.

She then curiously glanced around at the decor and furniture in the house like a kid wandering through a museum for the first time. The first thing she noticed was a grand marble staircase in the foyer and a fancy chandelier hanging on the ceiling. The house seemed even bigger from the inside compared to the outside.

"Wow, your house is huge," Heather breathed.

Alejandro let out a chuckle. "It's not technically my house."

Heather didn't say anything else but only turned to look at Alejandro. She found herself wondering whether he'd grown up in a rich household.

"Papá built his company from the ground up when we first moved to Canada," Alejandro suddenly said, as if reading Heather's mind. "It took years to get to where he is now."

Heather simply nodded and let out a smile.

Alejandro then introduced her to some of the other guests at the party, and told her some stories about his childhood and memories growing up, such as the time he had accidentally broken a vase and managed to successfully frame it on José instead.

He then led her to where his older brother, Carlos was standing.

"Carlos, this is my girlfriend, Heather. Heather, this is my older brother Carlos," Alejandro beamed as he introduced the two.

"Alejandro has told me a lot about you," Carlos warmly smiled. "He gets so excited every time he mentions your name. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Heather."

"Likewise, Carlos," Heather replied. "You don't work at your dad's company, right?"

Carlos let out a light chuckle. "Correct, I'm a professional soccer player. I'd much rather be out on the field than sitting at an office desk."

"That's right, I do remember Alejandro mentioning that," Heather nodded. She then curiously turned her head as a tall, brunette woman suddenly walked towards them and stood next to Carlos.

"Heather, this is my wife, Elena," Carlos said. "She works as a teacher."

"Hi Heather, it's such a delight to meet you!" Elena chirped as she leaned over to pull Heather into an embrace. "I love your necklace by the way."

Heather wasn't particularly fond of hugs, unless it was in relation to Alejandro or Courtney, but Elena had a warm and friendly vibe. She smiled and hugged Elena back. "It's nice to meet you too, Elena. The necklace is the Red Velvet necklace from my business's latest jewellery collection."

"It's gorgeous," Elena nodded.

"Carlos and Elena have been married for three years and together for seven years altogether," Alejandro smiled.

Carlos laughed. "You and Heather make a very fine couple too. It's nice to see my baby brother so happy."

"Which makes José the only remaining single person in the family," Alejandro added, a smirk on his face.

"Oh my god, and that just reminds me!" Elena suddenly squealed as she clapped her hands together, before giving Carlos a playful shove. "Ha, you lost."

Alejandro and Heather exchanged puzzled glances. "Lost what?" Alejandro asked.

"Carlos and I had a bet as to whether you or José would be in a relationship first. Whoever lost would have to do the dishes everyday for three months," Elena explained. "And I was right."

Alejandro turned to look at Carlos. "Hermano, we need to talk."

Carlos lifted his hands up in defeat and chuckled at his brother. "I only said José because I know you have high standards and won't settle for anything less."

"Okay, that's fair," Alejandro proudly stated, as he turned to look at Heather, a loving look in his eyes. Heather felt her cheeks blush and she shyly linked her arm in Alejandro's.

"Aw, love is in the air," Elena beamed. "And for the record, I only said Alejandro because I didn't think José looked like he wanted to be in a serious relationship anytime soon."

"Also very true," Alejandro smirked.

They continued chatting for the next little while, until Carlos and Elena went to talk with some of the other guests and Alejandro had to use the bathroom. Heather gazed awkwardly around the room and then pretended to be busy on her phone whilst she waited for Alejandro to come back.

"Hola, Heather," a deep and low voice suddenly called out.

Heather rolled her eyes before spinning around and forcing herself to face the source of the familiar and obnoxious voice. Speak of the devil. José. She had obviously expected him to be there, but she had decided that she wasn't going to let him get to her.

"What a wonderful surprise to see you here. I must say, you look absolutely breathtaking, hermosa," José continued as he flashed a flirtatious smile and then eyed Heather up and down, before licking his lips.

Heather took one look at him and felt disgusted. She couldn't believe that two-faced jerk had the audacity to flirt with her, after he was the one who was responsible for publishing the article about Illuminate. Not to mention the fact that he was also hitting on his brother's girlfriend.

"Too bad I can't say the same about you," she snickered.

José felt his blood boil and his face go red. How dare she? No woman had ever talked to him in that tone before. She and Al were definitely an annoying match, he angrily thought.

José took a deep breath to regain his composure before he spoke again. "Heather, I must apologize about what happened with the article about Illuminate. Please know that it was all business and nothing personal. I'm sure you, of all people, would understand right? Particularly given your past reputation." José spoke in a condescending and almost mocking tone, and there was an annoying smirk on his face.

Heather clenched her jaw. There was a sudden urge within her to punch José there and then, but she held her breath. There would be another time, but today, she didn't want to make a scene in front of all the other guests. For Alejandro.

"Is that all?" Heather calmly replied as she folded her arms, a flash of boredom across her face. "Thank you, next."

José furrowed his brows. He studied Heather carefully as he eagerly waited for her to make a big scene and embarrass herself in front of everyone at the party. He was both surprised and disappointed when he realized that he didn't seem to be getting any other reaction out of her.

"José, shut the fuck up right now." Alejandro said as he suddenly reappeared next to Heather. He glared at José and clenched his fists.

José rolled his eyes at the sight of Alejandro. "Ah, typical Al, but don't worry, I have better things to do than to waste my time talking to you two anyway." He sneered and then walked away.

"Heather, we can leave right now if you're uncomfortable, I'm so sorry—" Alejandro immediately said to Heather once José was out of sight.

Heather tightly squeezed Alejandro's hand. "It's alright, you don't need to apologize for his behavior. Let's just ignore him and enjoy the rest of the party."

"Are you sure, mi ángel?" Alejandro gently asked.

Heather nodded and smiled. "Come on, let's get some food."

As they headed toward the food table, Maria appeared in front of them. "Alejandro, I'm very sorry to interrupt but do you happen to know if there are any other bottles of scotch in the house? I couldn't find any in the basement."

"I know Papá usually has a spare bottle in his study," Alejandro replied. "I will grab it, don't worry about it, Maria."

"Thank you, Alejandro," Maria smiled and walked off.

Alejandro gave Heather a kiss on her cheek. "I'll be just a minute," he promised and she gave him a nod.

Alejandro quickly made his way up the marble staircase and to Javier's study room. From memory, his father usually had a spare bottle of scotch in the bottom drawer of his desk. As he bent down and pulled open the drawer, he instantly found what he was looking for and beamed in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to stand back up with the bottle of scotch in his hands and close the drawer, he suddenly noticed something else; it was the front page of a set of documents with J&B Co's company logo and his father's signature.

He immediately froze when he saw the title of the document: 'J&B Co Succession Planning - CONFIDENTIAL'.

Alejandro hesitated for a moment. He knew that he probably shouldn't be snooping around in his father's study, particularly given that the documents were labelled as confidential, but part of him was very tempted.

He continued to stare at the document title for a few more seconds, feeling internally conflicted as to whether or not he should open it. Slowly, he put down the bottle of scotch and swallowed before picking up the file. Just one look. It can't hurt, right?

And when he flipped through to the next page, he read the sentence and words that instantly caused him to feel a sharp stab in his stomach:

"Upon Javier Burromuerto's retirement, José Burromuerto will be appointed as the company's next CEO."

With shaking hands, he continued to read through the rest of the documents. With each word he read, the pain in his stomach only intensified. The documents were quite detailed and it was clear that a lot of planning had gone into them.

He also noticed the date on the document - it was dated shortly before the Chris McLean Young Business Leaders Development Program, which was now several months ago. In other words, this document was already in existence the day his father had come into his office and supposedly told him that he had 'great potential to be J&B Co's next CEO'.

Alejandro didn't care about the CEO position. In fact, that had not mattered to him for a long time ever since he knew how strongly he felt about Heather. But what he did feel betrayed about was the fact that his father had lied to him, that he had not even bothered to tell him this news and that he had been kept in the dark for this long. It was as though he wasn't important in the family - the family who he had always loved and respected, well, barring José.

"Who the fuck said you could enter my study without my permission?"

Alejandro froze when he heard his father's voice.

"Papá, is this true?" Alejandro blinked, as he turned around to face his father, holding the documents in the air. A part of him still hoped, or wished that this was all some kind of joke, or that his father would finally be honest with him and tell him the truth. But who was he kidding?

There was a deliberate silence in the room as Alejandro looked into his father's eyes and waited for him to speak.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Javier eventually grumbled.

Alejandro shook his head. "Unbelievable, Papá, the evidence is right here and you still won't tell me the truth." His voice shook.

"Alejandro?" Heather gasped, as she suddenly appeared at the door. She immediately noticed the broken expression on Alejandro's face and the emptiness clouding his emerald green eyes.

"If I hadn't found these documents today, were you ever going to plan on telling me the truth?" Alejandro blurted out. "How many more other secrets are you hiding from me?"

"I don't owe you any answers, particularly with the way you've been behaving lately," Javier grumbled. "I would have discussed it with you in due course, but regardless of how you're feeling and what is in those files I don't appreciate you snooping around in my study."

Alejandro shook his head again. "Papá, I saw the date of those documents - they were dated several months ago. If you wanted to say something to me, you would have done so ages ago."

Before Javier could reply, Heather stepped in. "Alejandro deserves to know the truth," she said as she walked to Alejandro's side and placed her hand around his back. She didn't know what this was all about, only that she needed to be there for him right now. Alejandro gave her a weak smile in return.

"This is a family matter, stay out of it," Javier grumbled to Heather.

"Heather is my family too," Alejandro firmly said. Javier didn't say anything and only raised a brow in response.

"Hey, it's okay," Heather gave Alejandro's hand a gentle squeeze.

Alejandro turned to look at her. "I need some fresh air, would it be alright if we leave?" he muttered.

"Of course," Heather nodded.

Alejandro tossed the documents on his father's desk and the two of them made their way outside of Javier's study room.

As Alejandro walked down the stairs, with Heather following after him, Carlos noticed the empty expression on his face. Once Alejandro was downstairs, Carlos immediately walked over and grabbed his arm.

"Hermano, are you alright?" Carlo asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

"Carlos, did you know about this?" Alejandro cut straight to the chase as he eyed his brother. "About Papá's plans?"

"About what exactly?" Carlos gently asked.

Alejandro shook his head. "Please don't play dumb with me as well."

Carlos let out a sigh. "If this is about the CEO thing, I had an inkling, but I wasn't sure if it was confirmed."

Alejandro stared at his brother blankly and felt his heart sunk even more. Even Carlos knew. So everyone knew except me.

"Hermano, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to say anything to you if I wasn't completely sure it had been confirmed," Carlos softly said. "I assumed Papá would have spoken to you about it but I guess he hasn't."

Heather stood there silent as she watched Alejandro and Carlos talk. At that moment, she put two and two together and realized what Alejandro had seen in his father's study.

Alejandro sighed. Carlos looked genuine. "It's fine, don't worry about me," he eventually said. "I'll be alright."

He then turned to Heather. "Come, let's go," he murmured as he took her hand and led her outside.

***

Alejandro and Heather sat together on a bench at a nearby park outside Alejandro's house. Alejandro had just finished explaining to Heather the whole story and what he had seen in his father's study just then.

"I don't even care about the stupid CEO position. It's just that...after my mother passed away, I spent so many years chasing after my father's validation and approval, trying to beat José at everything and prove to Papá that I was worthy... and looking back it all feels so stupid," Alejandro spoke and he shook his head. "José must be laughing his head off right now. I feel like such a big idiot."

Heather rubbed his back soothingly and listened attentively as Alejandro let it all out. She wasn't really good at comforting people, nor did she have much experience in comforting others either, so she hoped that she could still somehow show that she was there for him.

"The feeling of being lied to sucks, especially when it comes from a family member," Heather said. "And if it means anything, if I were in your father's position, I definitely would've chosen you as the next CEO and fed José to the sharks instead."

Alejandro let out a tiny laugh. "That does mean a lot, thank you, mi amor. Although I'd feel sorry for the sharks."

"They'd probably spit him out," Heather agreed.

There was silence for a few moments as Alejandro stared into the distance and gathered his thoughts. He then took a deep breath.

"I- I don't think I can do it anymore," he suddenly blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Heather looked at him, a concerned expression on her face.

"Work in my father's company anymore," Alejandro said, his head hung low. "I just can't."

Heather continued to stare at Alejandro, taking in what he had just said. She bit her lip as she felt an idea form in her head.

The next moment, she gently lifted his chin and stared into his emerald green eyes, forcing him to look at her. "If you want, there will always be a special vacancy at Illuminate waiting for you," she spoke in a soft voice.

Alejandro felt his heart skip a beat.

"Is that a formal job offer?" He let out a tiny smirk as he cocked his side and looked into Heather's grey eyes.

"I'm still going to have to interview you and do a background check on you just to make sure," Heather smirked back. "But yes, consider it done."

As Alejandro opened his mouth to say something again, Heather quickly put a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"Alejandro, you don't have to give me an answer right now," she said, removing her hand. "In fact, I don't want you to. I want you to have the time to carefully consider it. And whatever your decision is, I will support you," she added.

Alejandro didn't say anything back and simply nodded. He gazed lovingly at Heather and allowed himself to get lost into her grey eyes once more, before burying his head in the crook of her neck.

José might have the CEO position, but I have Heather, Alejandro thought. And she's more important to me than any fancy job title.

Amongst the darkness, the hurt, the betrayal and the lies, she was the spark that lit up his soul.

And deep down, he already knew what his answer would be.

--

A/N - so, what do we think / how are we feeling??

Thanks for reading :)