The Fame Manager

It was a Saturday and so Claudia was fully free to do whatever she wanted to do. But she actually missed being at work with Cristiano. She thinking about him lying on the bed when the bell rang. She saw the clock, it was 10 o'clock. Who wanted to come now? She dragged herself out of the bed lazily and went downstairs. She opened the door and found Marcelo's wife, Clarisse. She smiled wide as she led her in.

"Did I disturb you?" Clarisse asked politely.

"No, I just woke up", Claudia replied politely too.

"Well, even if I did disturb you, get over it, lady", Clarisse said laughing and Claudia laughed back.

"So, why are you here so early?" Claudia asked.

"I wanted to go shopping and Marcelo was too busy with Iker and Ronnie so basically I had to jump at your home and Ronnie gave me your house's address", Clarisse said as she pushed Claudia upstairs.

"So, you want me to dress up now?" Claudia asked.

"Of course, genius", Clarisse said and pushed her inside the washroom.

Claudia smiled. She never had any real friends. Then there was this really big history behind it. She got out and went to her closet. She found a dress. She wore it on and went to Clarisse.

"Do you always wear dress?" Clarisse asked.

"Makes me feel comfortable", Claudia replied.

Clarisse smiled and then they went out for shopping. They talked and shopped for a while. Claudia refused to buy anything but Clarisse kept on bugging her so finally Claudia found a bracelet that caught her eye.

"My mother used to have a bracelet like this", Claudia said.

"Doesn't she have it now?" Clarisse asked.

"Well, she is not alive", Claudia said sadly.

Clarisse smiled weakly and hugged her. Claudia felt warm and loved. She smiled back. Clarisse took her and then drove to Iker's home.

"He has a nice home", Claudia said.

"Yeah, his wife is just as beautiful", Clarisse said as she parked the car.

Claudia and Clarisse walked inside the house and Claudia hugged and kissed Marcelo. Claudia smiled a bit and Iker's wife, Sara came from upstairs.

"Who is this young lady?" Sara asked smiling.

"Oh Sara darling, this is Claudia Munez, our fame manager. The one I told you about", Iker said and kept his hand on her waist.

"Oh hi, Claudia. It's so nice to meet you finally. Ronnie kept on talking about you", Sara said.

Cristiano appeared in front of them suddenly and everyone looked over at him. He smiled a bit embarrassed.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sara. You're really pretty", Claudia said smiling and hugging her lightly.

"Thank you but you're pretty yourself and Clarisse said that you have a nice dressing style too. I can say she wasn't wrong", Sara said winking.

"Thank you so much, Sara. You're too sweet", Claudia said smiling.

We all sat down and started to talk but my thoughts went to my mother today. It was kinda weird. I avoided thinking about her. Cristiano noticed it and he kept on thinking why she was so sad today. Cristiano poked Clarisse and asked her what happened. Clarisse said what happened at the mall. Cristiano nodded and asked for a favor.

A few moments later, Sara walked to Claudia. She sat next to her and started talking to her. Claudia became a bit comfortable about it.

"Claudia, if you don't mind, Cristiano is waiting for you at the pool", Sara said.

"Why?" Claudia asked.

"Just go, Claudia", Sara said and pushed her.

Claudia sighed and went to the pool. As she walked she saw, Cristiano standing over at the pool. The drowning sun made him look even better.

"What happened?" Claudia asked.

"I just wanted to talk", Cristiano replied.

Claudia nodded as she sat by the pool looking towards the clean water. The day seemed to have slowed down for her. Cristiano sat next to her, trying to focus/

"Why are you sad?" Cristiano asked slowly.

"I am not sad", Claudia replied.

"Yes, you are", Cristiano said.

"So, you noticed?" Claudia asked with a weak smile.

"I notice a lot of things, Claudia", Cristiano replied looking at the water.

"Then I think you know what I am sad for", Claudia pointed.

"I just know the matter, not the whole story", Cristiano said with an insisting smile.

"Well, it's my mother..." Claudia said as she felt vulnerable at the moment.

"I am listening", said Cristiano.

"My mom, dad, my younger sister and I used to live in Barcelona together. My dad used to work as an accountant in a firm and my mother used to work as a Maths teacher in a school. We weren't rich but we were well off. So, when I turned 12, my mother and I went to Brasilia to meet my mother's friend. My younger sister, Renee and my dad stayed over at Barcelona. Well, after a week later, when we came back home, our house's door was opened. It was weird. We walked in and saw that someone murdered my dad and my sister. It was awful. My mother was broken and a month later she killed herself. I was left alone and maybe too much young to witness all these. My mother's friend who used to live in Brasilia, she moved in Barcelona to help me. I stayed with her. She worked as a manager in a restaurant. She helped me with my studies and helped me to overcome. She died three years back. Since then, I have been alone. Also, my social life has never been so exciting. Never had a boyfriend. I used to be the silent girl at high school and college. I was a bit open in university but never had any real friends. So, I started working in this career. It made me feel someone in the crowd. And today, I saw a bracelet my mother used to have, well similar to it. It just reminded me of her. That's it and well, no one ever had the time to listen to my story", Claudia said and sighed.

Cristiano stayed in silence for a moment. The sun finally drowned and Cristiano gently hold her hand making her assure that he listened to her.

"It's sad, I am sorry to hear that. Claudia, I know you're a strong girl and that you have forgotten your past but its okay to remember sometimes. It's not your mistake. Just let go and start being happy", Cristiano said.

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you, Cristiano", Claudia said holding his hand.

They both stayed silent for a while. They were falling in love with their company because after all the money and fame, at the end of the day, they made each other feel at home.