LOVE, ETERNAL LOVE

It all began on a winter afternoon. It was very cold outside, and in the living room near the fireplace were Liz, Penne, and some of their friends who had gathered to celebrate the opening of their company. After some time working in other firms, they, childhood friends, graduated together and were now living the dream of their lives: to stop working for others and have their own space. Two young architects full of dreams to be fulfilled. It was just the beginning of one of their long-awaited achievements.

Liz, a beautiful young woman with fair skin, enchanting green eyes, long brown hair, always very dreamy and romantic. She dreamed of finding her prince charming. From a middle-class family from the countryside, she left home early to work and study, promising her parents that one day she would return and give them a better life. Which she did.

Penne, a very attractive blonde young woman with stunning blue eyes, very cheerful and enjoying life, as she always says. From a very wealthy family, but she pursues her dreams without relying on her parents.

Despite coming from different worlds, the two have always been close friends and have shared the same apartment for a long time.

While they were having wine and listening to beautiful music, Henry came up behind Liz, hugged her tightly, and asked her to dance. She got up, and the two smiled as they danced, while the others sat, giggling, watching them and commenting on how beautiful they looked together. But Liz and Henry pretended not to notice.

Henry Carl, a handsome young man who had secretly been in love with Liz for a long time, never had the courage to confess, but he tried to spend as much time with her as possible. He claimed to be waiting for the right moment to reveal his love. He was a renowned engineer, desired by many women, yet too shy to express his feelings.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Penne got up to answer it. The pizza had arrived. Everyone smiled and said, "Finally" (with giggles).

After some time, Zoe, Henry's colleague, said it was late and she was going home. So everyone got up and said they would go together. After all, it had been a very pleasant evening.

Zoe, an attractive and opportunistic young woman, who tries everything to be Henry's girlfriend. Knowing his love for Liz, she always disrupts their moments together so that Liz doesn't realize how much he loves her. She is always pushing Liz towards Piter, her cousin, who has a huge desire to go out with Liz and doesn't care what he has to do to get what he wants.

Piter Vermon, a rich and spoiled young man used to getting everything he wants. And says that Liz will one day be his, whatever it takes.

Everyone left, the friends tidied up, and went to bed. It had been a long day and a beautiful night.

The next day, Penne asked Liz if she had noticed how Henry looked at her, all in love, his eyes never stopped shining. Liz, with a smile on her face, said they were just good friends. Her friend smiled and said, "Then let's get to work" (and they giggled as they left).

Arriving at the entrance gate, look who was waiting at the car door? He, looking so handsome. Piter. "I came to give you a ride," Liz said she didn't need it, but he insisted. The night before, he heard them commenting that the car was in the shop, so he came to take the opportunity to get close to Liz. "Okay then," said Penne, "let's go, we're already late."

He, pretending to be kind, opened the front door of the car and asked Liz to get in. At the same time, Penne opened the rear door of the car and got in. "Let's go, let's go," she said, hurrying Piter. "Sure," he said with a smile on his face.

"We finally arrived," Liz said to Penne. "Thank you very much, Piter, for bringing us," thanked with a beautiful smile on her face, leaving him speechless. "Yo... you're welcome!!!" he replied.

Penne hugged her friend and smiling commented: "another in love..." Liz just smiled and they continued to enter the company. "Let's go, we have a lot of work to do."

A week passed, and Piter called Liz inviting her to dinner. She said she couldn't, that she had a work meeting that day. "Maybe another time we'll arrange a lunch." He agreed and they were going to arrange something.

Night came, Liz and Penne got ready to go out. They were very well dressed. One complimenting the other's beauty. They finished dressing and went out to the restaurant, where the meeting with new potential clients would be. They were very anxious, as it would be a very large and important project for their careers.

Arriving at the restaurant, they were already being awaited by a slightly older but very attractive guy. Penne was completely enchanted and could hardly say her name. "Pleasure... Penne." He was also amazed by her beauty, and introduced himself: "Nice to meet you, I'm Nick Dalton." Liz saw the looks exchanged between them and, to break the ice, introduced herself: "My name is Liz, we are partners and best friends too." He pulled out the chairs for them to sit down and said that he also had a partner, but he had gone on a business trip and couldn't attend the meeting. "But we will meet another time." He called the waiter, ordered a drink, chose the dishes to then talk about business. They wanted to get to know each other first.

Nick Dalton, a very important businessman, who with his partner is always looking for work, traveling in search of new places to build hotels, which he already has a worldwide network. And who, in this case, is now at dinner, where the friends hope to secure this beautiful project.

While they were talking, Henry arrived with some friends, and seeing Liz at the table with Penne and a man, he became a little jealous and went over to greet them. He hugged Liz and Penne and waited to be introduced to the man, who stood up and introduced himself. When Henry said his name, Nick immediately mentioned that he already knew his work and that it was a pleasure to meet him in person. Henry blushed, feeling jealous of Liz, which made no sense. It was just a business dinner.

So they invited him to join them, but he declined, saying he was with friends and didn't want to disturb the work meeting and said that he would make a great partnership accepting to work with the friends. He said goodnight and left to join his friends. But he couldn't take his eyes off Liz, how beautiful she looked. That red dress made her so sexy. How he loved her. He needed to speak his feelings to her soon, before it was too late. He thought, as he silently admired her.

"It was a pleasant evening," said Nick Dalton. "I'll be talking to my partner and we'll be in touch. After all, there's another company interested in this project. We'll analyze both and then decide which is the best company to carry out this work." Liz said it was a pleasure to meet him and hoped they could work together on this and other projects. Penne said goodbye too and hoped to see him soon. He confirmed, "I'm looking forward to it." He left with them to see them to their car. Before leaving, Liz passed by the table where Henry was with his friends to say goodbye to her friend, who looked at her all in love and said he would call to arrange a dinner. "So... let's arrange something. We'll call you!" And she left through the door, leaving Henry with only her soft perfume.

The next morning, while having their coffee, Henry called Liz and asked if she would like to have lunch with him, as he was meeting with clients and would love for her to join him. "Okay," said Liz. She asked where it was, so she would know what to wear. He said it was at a resort not far away, that he would pick her up at noon. "Okay," she said, ending the conversation. Penne asked what had happened and Liz told her about Henry's invitation. She smiled and said, "Today he's going to confess his love for you and ask you out." Liz smiled and went to get ready, saying they would be late if they kept chatting. "Oh! I forgot to tell you that I'll have to leave earlier to get ready." "Okay, today is calm. The projects are well advanced. And until we get an answer from that project we want so much, we have some free time."

Liz was finishing getting ready when the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she came face to face with Henry, looking very attractive. "Punctual," she said with a beautiful smile on her face. "You look beautiful!!!" "Thank you. Come in, I'm almost ready." "Okay! This meeting we're going to, is there anything I need to know... if I know the businessmen. Just to orient myself and know what to say." "Don't worry, you'll do just fine. They're a very calm couple and chose this place so they could bring their twins who are still very young children. I'm ready, we can go then."

"What a beautiful place!!! Why have we never been here! I want to come back other times. Can we?" "Of course. We'll come back whenever you want."

"Mr. and Mrs. Leus, nice to see you again. Good afternoon, Mr. Henry." "Thank you for finding time to discuss business with us. We know your schedule is full. And this very beautiful young woman, have you finally found a girlfriend? It's about time. Kkk." "No, no" (he turned all red). "I'd like to introduce my friend Liz Morrison. A very talented architect and has a great team." Liz, a little embarrassed, introduces herself. "Nice to meet you. It's very nice to meet you." "Henry told me you have twins?" "Yes. They are two years old, and we like to spend as much time with them as possible. What we don't have much of. That's why we asked Henry to come and meet us. And how nice that he brought you. So we can get to know each other too. Your kids are beautiful!!!" "Thank you! Henry, don't let her get away, beautiful, responsible, and delicate girls like this are hard to find." "It's true. Maybe someday." He looked at Liz with a beautiful smile on his lips, leaving her embarrassed.

"It was a great idea for us to meet here. A pleasant afternoon. I hope to see you soon Liz. It was very nice meeting you. I hope we can work together too and let's also schedule a dinner. Who knows, so Henry loses his shyness and you become a couple. You've taken the day off to make me feel embarrassed." And they all smiled. "So we'll see you soon. Kisses..."

"Liz, I'm sorry!" Said Henry awkwardly. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for the invitation. It was a very pleasant afternoon. And the Leus couple are sweethearts. We'll come back here later with all our friends to spend the day." It wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He thought they'd spend the day together, alone. "Let's have coffee and I'll take you to the company. Okay."

"Tell me everything..." Penne was already anxious to know how the meeting had gone. "It wasn't a date. It was a work meeting, and I just went with him so he wouldn't go alone. He could have gone with his assistant, but it had to be you. He loves you and you don't even realize it. Give him a chance. You look great together." "He's never said anything about it to me, how can I think about romance. And now I'm also focused on the project, waiting for Mr. Nick Dalton's answer. Do you think he'll call? I hope so," Penne said hopefully and sighed loudly. "Oh! I didn't tell you about the Leus couple. They said they would contact us too to talk about a project. It was a fruitful lunch."