He woke up in a good mood. The day outside looks great and the air has been getting more and more colder these past few days, indicating  that winter is on its way. He hates summer with its days of infernal heat that never seem to end, although he hates using public transport full of people even more. The lack of personal space is suffocating, his clothes get wrinkled, and his nightmare becomes complete when he has to deal with sweaty people, especially men who don't take care of their body hygiene. They are the worst.

For him, there was nothing better to brighten up a monotonous day than a skirt blown up by the wind or a neckline that showed more than it should, and it would be even better if he could get a phone number or social network from girls.

"Yaawnnn, another day. I need to get up soon."

Looking at the screen of his cell phone, he realizes that he can't slack off, it's time to say "see you later" to his comfortable bed and get ready for work.

His name is Ricardo Casanova, a curious surname that came from his father, Juan Casanova. He once read something about a famous Italian writer who was well-known for being a natural seducer and who had the same surname. Relatives? Unlikely.

But it was a fact that his father, when he was his age, was a bit of a ladies' man, at least until the day one of his girlfriends showed up at his door accompanied by her father and showing off a belly that he swore hadn't been there before.

With a child on the way, he had no choice but to abandon his adventures and to this day works as a civil servant, a position he earned through honest effort. Ricardo should have learned this from his father, but he wasn't willing to suffer the same fate, no matter how grateful he was for his upbringing. It wasn't what he wanted for his life.

With that in mind, Ricardo left home and currently rents a small apartment with the cheapest rent he can get, from where he goes out every day to work at Deliwings's Snack Bar, his first job. A name as ridiculous as it could be, but there are always customers, which at least shows that even though the main dish of the place is super-seasoned fried chicken, people like it in some way, perhaps masochistically.

He finds it a joke to spend the whole day wearing a uniform that smells of oil, but he knew very well that no one starts at the top. According to his father, work dignifies a man, or at least that’s what he believed. But Ricardo didn’t think so. He wasn’t there just to sweat and suffer until one day they threw him out on the streets.

The store owner has a daughter the same age as him, who often shows up at the store and pretends to work just to please her "daddy". Ricardo haves a plan for this. He was counting on his luck and charisma, and he intended to win the girl over, maybe that would give him a chance to move up in the ranks and say goodbye to that smelly uniform. But until that happens, he needs to work hard to keep his job.

After taking a good shower and using up the last drops of perfume he had gotten from a girl, he got dressed and went to the fridge. While chewing on a slice of pizza from the night before, he wondered if it would have been a good idea to spend more time with the girl at the perfume shop to get more perfume.

It would have worked out if it hadn't been for the fact that she had seen him flirting with the cashier girl at the bakery on the corner. In fact, the pizza he was eating was kindly offered by that girl he had made a pass at the day after the confusion had happened. He took a last sip of soda and went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth, his best business card.

He didn't need to wake up early this time. It was late autumn and luckily, the bus was emptier that day. He thanked the heavens for this gift he had received in silence.

He made it his hobby to look out the window during the trip, admiring each girl who passed distractedly by the sidewalks, when he saw a store advertisement that made him slap his forehead loudly, scaring the other passengers.

"Oh, shit! I forgot it was today!"

He apologized to the passengers and then returned to his thoughts. He had forgotten, but the advertisement did him the favor of reminding  that today was June 12th, Lovers's Day (not related to valentine's day) in his country. He was currently dating - or whatever his understanding of dating is - an employee at Deliwings's.

For him, Julia, his coworker, was nothing more than a relationship that started as a joke but ended up lasting two months even though he was flirting with other girls, his longest record to date.

 Damn, she’s going to kill me… - Thinking about the girl’s fury worried him.

The relationship between the two was not so bad, but a few days ago the boss’s daughter finally started talking to him more and smiling at everything he said, so their relationship was on its last legs.

 Julia was reasonably pretty and according to him, she had breasts that were worth it.

She hadn’t realized yet that he had his eyes on another girl, but he needed to find an excuse to end the relationship in a friendly way, but this June 12th seemed to have come early just to mess up his life.

Damn, there’s no store near the snack bar that would be good enough to buy a convincing gift. Maybe I can find something during my lunch break?

There was no more time to think. The place where he needed to get off was getting closer and the keys to the store were under his responsibility.

There’s no way, I’ll sort this out later. He thought.

He would find a way to trick Julia and give her something as a gift as soon as he had a chance to leave the store. But he would have to do it without the boss’s daughter seeing, because they were dating in secret and the discovery would mess up his plans.

They say that where you earn your bread, you shouldn’t eat meat’, but the person who invented that expression can stuff himself with bread until he bursts, I’m going to do well! - he thought, mockingly.

It was 7:45 am. There were fifteen minutes left until tore opening time and he was the only one who had arrived. Ricardo took the keys out of his pocket and began and began to open the locks on the grill and the back door of the store and then went upstairs towards the men’s locker room, a small and cramped room where he was forced to change every day. He put on the hideous white and yellow uniform but the worn-out oily apron will be for later.

The uniform smelled of sweat, but he had no other choice. He had forgotten his spare uniform hanging in the service area and ended up getting wet in the rain the night before, there was no chance of drying it in time.

On second thought, I have a day off tomorrow, so I can handle another day with this damn dirty uniform. With a bit of luck, I can trick Julia and give her her gift tomorrow.

"Good morning, Ricardo! You’re right on time, huh?"

 He felt his heart pound in his throat. Julia had just arrived. Since she was on time, she simply greeted him quickly and went up to the women’s locker room. She wasn’t wearing anything that could be considered flashy, but her curves stood out well and seeing her ass swaying as she climbed the stairs was a great sight for him.

Wow, look at this beauty… it would be a waste to break up with her.

Now, a quick explanation about the keys. The manager that Ricardo loves to hate took advantage of the fact that the snack bar's owner always arrived late to throw the keys in his hands and open the store himself. This saved him a lot of work. Add to that the fact that the manager really likes to drink and party at night and so Ricardo had to take on a new role against his will.

Ricardo burns with rage inside every time it happens, but the manager had the store owner’s back. He tried to console himself by saying that it was only a matter of time, because when he managed to have the boss’s daughter eating out of his hand, this game would turn in his favor.

"So, are you going to open it or not?"

Julia had returned and was now standing next to him in uniform with a smile on her face. He remember seeing on the shift schedule that she would be coming to work, but he thought it would be in the afternoon, not this morning.

This fact only served to further disrupt his plans to improvise a gift, since she would discover that there was none for her.

Ricardo now hoped that she wouldn't ask about her gift until the next day, or he would have to resort to stuffed animals from claw machines, he was particularly good at those. He picked up several plushies to give as gifts to other girls, his most basic strategy for winning them over.

"I'm almost done. Hermes threw his job in my hands again, but since I'm responsible, I'm not going to let him screw me over."

"Oh, that's right. Hey, what's that face? - Ricardo looked away as he spoke, but she had noticed. - Did you see any ghosts?"

"It's nothing. - It's a lie, but there's no way I'm going to say I forgot her gift! - I was just thinking about the shit that could happen if the boss came in and didn't see Hermes in the store."

" Let it go, it's not your fault. They're the big guys, so they can sort it out."

"Hahahaha, yeah, I'm worrying for nothing, after all I wear the company shirt - "smelly, but I wear it" -. Did you count the money in your cash register?"

"Yes, of course. At least this time that cute Marilise didn’t make the mistake of counting the wrong change. I’ve already paid two cashier's fees because of her and she doesn’t even care, a boss’s daughter who doesn’t know how to count money. Although she probably doesn’t even carry money in her pocket for her parties, she uses daddy’s card". - She answered while making princess gestures with her hands and body.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"It looks just like her, but I don't remember seeing her making those gestures."

"Ahh, stop being annoying!" - Julia puffed out her cheeks and stuck out her tongue.

Marilise is the owner's daughter, who is actually called Mr. Alberto, as he insisted on being called. Julia wasn't talking nonsense; Ricardo had already followed Marilise to a rave party on the outskirts of the city and saw her spending her money with a credit card in one hand and a glass of drink in the other. Ricardo could already imagine how difficult it would be to win over a frivolous girl like her.

"You better be alert, don't make any silly plans with her. Hey, it's already eight o'clock, the the rest of the staff should be arriving soon."

Ricardo spoke as if there were several people, but in reality only two more employees were expected to arrive in the morning. Camila, the other attendant, and Marcelo, the cook who, according to Ricardo, was the one who really kept the store going with his well-prepared food.

As for the manager Hermes, he must be running like crazy to get there before his boss while his latest hangover evaporates. Imagining him arriving late would be fun, but he knows it wouldn't do much good. The store owner arrives whenever he wants, and every day he brings his beloved daughter with him.

Alberto's wife, Solange, only showed up at the end of the month to scrape the store's coffers and pay for his expensive purchases. The employees breathed a sigh of relief when there was something left over for their salaries.

"I'd better get ahead and turn on the fryers. I need to fry the breaded chicken that were left over yesterday. If I don't sell them today and the health department shows up here, Alberto will eat our livers with onions."

"Oh, sooo scary. But before that, here's your girt!" - She said, extending her hand that carried a small green package.

"A gift? My birthday is only next month!" - he shamelessly disguised it, although the birthday part was true.

"Today is Lover's Day, you idiot! Don't tell me you forgot?" - She said, pulling Ricardo's ear in a playful tone.

The tone of her words sounded like a joke, but her look made it clear that he was stepping on a minefield. Any carelessness would be fatal. However, there was something more emotional in that look and Ricardo saw the chance he needed to improvise.

"Oh, heck, no! I didn't forget to buy it, but... I forgot it at home! Sorry, I promise to bring it back tomorrow without fail, the packaging is actually quite pretty!"

"... Really? - He could see the sparkle in her eyes change and a smile appeared, the excuse seemed to works - I'll charge you, okay?"

"Okay, you can charge me. Tomorrow is my day off, but I'll come to the store just to bring your gift, you can wait."

"Okay, I'll awaiting for this."

"Oh, shit, now she’s put me in a corner! I have to buy something, and it has to be done carefully or she’ll cause chaos in the store!” - Thinking about the scene gave him chills.

Luckily for Ricardo, the conversation was over. Hermes had just parked his car in a spot next to the store. It was possible to see from afar the deep circles under his eyes, meaning that last night had been one of those. He hadn’t come alone. Camila and Marcelo jumped out of the car right after, with Marcelo standing next to the trunk of the car. Hermes came to meet Ricardo, his yellow smile of falsehood brighter than ever.

"Good morning, Ricardo! Well done, you arrived on time and have already opened the store, earning a point with me. Have you fried yesterday's breaded chicken yet?"

"Good morning, Hermes! I was going to do that now..."

"What do you mean? Damn, and I had praised you! - He growled furiously - Come quickly and get those boxes with Marcelo and take them inside! And then go fry those damn breaded chicken! If Alberto arrives and has nothing to sell, someone's head will roll, and I guarantee it won't be mine!" - He shouted as he opened the trunk.

"Yes, sir! Right now!" - He answered mechanically.

It was neither the time nor the moment to argue, but when Hermes stomped into the store, Ricardo whispered a curse under his breath:

"_...You son of a bitch."

In the car, there were several boxes with frozen chicken pieces dripping onto plastic sheets that were carefully placed in the bottom so as not to wet the freshly vacuumed upholstery.

While they were loading the boxes, Marcelo mentioned that he was with Camila - they lived in the same neighborhood - waiting for the bus when Hermes showed up and kindly offered them a ride.

The next thing they knew, they were in the parking lot of a supermarket. Hermes's plan was to stock the store and he had hired a couple of idiots to do the job. That week's chicken delivery was late.

"I see, man. But the girls could help - oh, forget it."

By this time, Júlia had already disappeared with Camila into the store. She avoided getting a lecture while Ricardo was being chewed up, but she made sure to quickly appear at the kitchen door.

"Hey, don't forget to open your gift later, okay?"

It was after ten o'clock when the store owners finally decided to show up. They looked like a king and princess getting out of the carriage, a black Jeep with its body and wheels shining like it just came out of the car wash.

First, Alberto came in with his usual bad-tempered scowl. Ricardo bet he would rather stay at home comfortably giving orders over the phone, but the man was the kind of man who only believed in fattening chickens if he could touch them himself.

And besides, his office room had the best air conditioning in the place and a comfortable sofa; he wouldn't be uncomfortable for anything. Without even saying good morning to anyone, he went straight to the kitchen and spotted the empty chicken boxes.

"Hermes! Come here."

Hearing his name being called, Hermes shivered. He strode over to meet his boss, trying to contain the effects of his drunkenness the night before. He couldn't hesitate for even a moment.

"G-good morning, Mr. Alberto! At your service! - He said with a more than forced smile - Is something not to your liking?"

"The truck with the frozen chickens. Where's that damn driver who hasn't shown up to deliver them yet? Or did he only deliver these boxes here?" - He roared, pointing at the stacked boxes.

"I called him again today! He said he needed to take his truck to the mechanic. There was a problem with the engine, apparently. But he assured me he would come and deliver them today after picking up the chickens from the distributor."

"And those boxes?"

"I went ahead and bought these boxes at the supermarket because there was almost nothing to sell. Here's the receipt." - He took a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to his boss.

A vein in Alberto's forehead looked ready to burst.

"What the hell!" - The punch on the kitchen wall and the noise could be heard in the dinning area. - "Call that bastard again and tell him that if he doesn't show up here by four o'clock he doesn't have to come anymore! And he'll reimburse me every penny!"

After his verdict, he went upstairs to his office room while huffing.

"Y-yes sir, I'll do it right now!" - Feeling his blood freeze, Hermes ran to the phone, his legs wobbly.

"Hello, Gilmar? It's Hermes."

"Hey, Mr. Hermes! Talk to me!"

"I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Alberto told me to tell you that if you don't arrive by four o'clock with the merchandise, you don't have to come anymore and that you'll have to bear the loss. Sorry, boss's orders."

"Calm down, wait a minute! I'm not going to leave you hanging, the truck needs parts, but I'm already taking care of that. If I can't use the truck, I have an acquaintance who can lend me his truck. Your boss can rest easy."

"I understand you, these things happen. We'll be waiting for you." - With a sigh of relief, Hermes moved to put the phone back on the hook.

"Mr. Hermes, wait!" - That's what Gilmar's voice said.

"Huh? What's wrong, is there another problem?"

"It's just that there's going to be a lot of merchandise, I'll need help unloading it."

"Oh, that's all? No problem, I'll hold Ricardo overtime and make him help you."

"Ricardo? That skinny boy with the pompadour, right?"

"Yes, him. Why?'

"Nothing. See you later."

Hermes hung up the phone, pondering for a moment what Gilmar meant by that, but in truth it didn't matter to him, as long as he could keep Alberto's fangs away from his neck.

On the other end of the line, Gilmar hung up the cell phone while takes out  the money of his pocket to pay the attendant for the gas station's fuel. He lied without any regret about the condition of the truck. After paying, he left the gas station, but before heading down the road, he picked up the phone again and made another call.

"Hi, Dad! I'm still at school, what's up?"

"Diana, I'll come by your school to pick you up, we'll sort that out today."

"Oh, Dad, let it go!"

"No way! He made you cry, I won't let it go like that!"

"I shouldn't have told you."

"You're my daughter, and my job as a father is to take care of you. If that brat had the balls to kiss another girl in front of you, he deserves to have a little talk with me. I promise I won't do anything wrong with him, just talk."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, my sweetie. Trust your dad. See you soon."

"Ok. Bye."

With a sigh, the voice on the other end of the line nodded and hung up. Gilmar opened his cellphone message file and viewed a particular photo. A selfie. In it, his daughter was smiling, hugging a boy and a party in the background. It was Ricardo. Gilmar stared at his face and said in a low voice:

"Just a little chat, really". - Then she checked the heavy iron bar hidden behind the bench, until then used only to scare away thieves.

Back at the diner, Marilise finally enters in the snack bar. Wearing sunglasses and holding a cell phone, she posed like a model. Julia could barely contain her disgusted expression, trying not to let her notice. Marilise went up to her and greeted her.

"Hi, friend. You look great today!"

"Oh, hi, Marilise. Thanks, you too."

"I always am, silly girl! Ricardo came today, right?"

"Yes, he did, why?"

"I'm just asking, don't force your little head."

"Okay. Listen, my schedule is changed. I had asked for a day off for tomorrow, what happened?"

"Oh, your day off? It's just that Camila needed the day off tomorrow to take her grandmother to the doctor, poor thing."

"But she didn't tell me anything."

"Oooh, didn't she talk to you? Camila! Come here quickly!"

Camila came from the other side of the room. Clumsily, she tripped over a chair and almost dropped her thick glasses.

Julia likes her; whenever she can, she helps her colleague serve customers and control her shyness, which made Camila Marilise's favorite dish to exercise her supposed authority.. And this relationship of subservience reached its peak at that moment.

"Y-yes, Miss Marilise!"

"Milla, didn't you ask to change your day off?" Júlia said she didn't know.

Milla was not an affectionate nickname. Not at all. It was the subliminal password making it clear to Marilise that she should act according to her instructions; she resorted to this nickname whenever it suited her, much to Camila's despair. Every time she heard it, it made her swallow hard, after all, she needed the job to take care of her grandmother alone, the only relative she had left in the world.

"Y-yes, my grandma is suspected of having pneumonia, I really need to take her to the doctor. I-I'm sorry, Julia!"

"Okay, it's okay, you need it more than I do."

"Thank you!" - Camila answers tearfully, avoiding meeting Marilise's eyes.

"That's it, Milla. That's all, you can go."

"Yes, miss!" - And off she went again to the back of the room as quickly as she came.

Feeling triumphant, Marilise puffed out her chest and turned to Julia:

"See? Now you believe me?"

"But I didn't say I doubted it, I just didn't understand the exchange."

"Oh, okay then. But don't forget, whatever I say, it is said."

"Okay, I get it, sorry."

In fact, Julia really wanted to retort, but she knew that arguing with Marilise was like playing hopscotch blindly in a minefield. Camila would also be at a disadvantage, so she decided to swallow her salt. At least for now.

"That's better. I'm going to move up, my dad wants to teach me how to do the store's accounting. Who knows, maybe one day I'll teach you too, right? A little help to get ahead in life, let's see. See you later!"

Leaving Julia burning inside, he walked victoriously towards the stairs. But before stepping on the first step, he took the opportunity to speak to Ricardo, who had just come out of the kitchen with a request.

"Hi, Ricardo! Don't drop the tray, okay?" - A wink and that seemed to have a spell with the opposite effect; Ricardo almost dropped the plate of chicken wings in surprise.

"H-hi, Marilise! It's a beautiful day outside, isn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe. See you later." - He walked up the stairs smiling.

"Yes, see you later!"

Ricardo had a smile on his face, but when he saw that Julia was watching him more intently than she was writing down a customer's order, he thought it best to hide it and deliver the order.