Page 54 of Tell Me What you Think

"Thanks, I'm fine."

Olga sits down at the same round table as last time, tucking her hands between her thighs after setting the documents on the table and pushing them toward Andrea's side when the lawyer takes her seat.

"Is this the famous document?" Andrea puts on her glasses and skims it quickly to confirm it's the same one Olga had sent her as a scan Tuesday at noon.

"So what now? What's the next step?" Olga asks, unable to hide her anxiety.

Andrea glances at her sideways and feels a deep tenderness at how vulnerable Olga looks, and she's glad that a woman like Marina Cardona is interested in her, because her friend is exactly what someone like Olga needs close by — someone full of confidence who can help hers grow, because Olga doesn't seem to have any of her own.

"Okay," Andrea begins, taking off her glasses, "since you sent me the scanned document, I already got to work and reached out to your cousin's lawyer. I sent him the same copy you attached and added the property registry extract for the house in the village, which came in yesterday. Both things together tipped the scales completely in your favor, because the private document proves the split was made, and the registry extract proves your uncle sold the village house and was the sole beneficiary."

"So now we wait for them to respond?" Olga presses, anxious.

Andrea smiles and shakes her head.

"No, there's no need — he responded this morning."

Olga's eyes go wide and her mouth falls open like a fish gasping for air.

"They're dropping the claim. It's over, Olga."

She stares at Andrea in disbelief, eyes filling with tears.

"That's it? Just like that?"

"Well, there's still some paperwork between him and me to make sure they never bother you with this again, and obviously you'll need to process the transfer to get the apartment in your name. That's the most important thing, but it's yours, Olga. Your cousin has nothing left to stand on."

Olga's cry of relief makes the lawyer laugh, and Andrea stands up when Olga looks at her with a tearstained face and a huge grin.

"Thank you — I don't know how to thank you for all of this, I really don't," she murmurs when she hugs her.

"Just pay the bill," Andrea jokes, squeezing her shoulder before grabbing a box of tissues and handing it to her. "Come on, sit down for a minute. Sign a couple of things for me so I can close this out and you can get out of here."

"Okay, yes." Olga picks up the pen with a trembling hand and signs wherever Andrea tells her to.

She walks out of the building unable to wipe the smile off her face and decides to grab a cab back to Barcelona. It's one-thirty in the afternoon and she'd had to ask for time off — which Marina had granted without hesitation yesterday — because Andrea hadn't had another opening this week, so now she's heading straight to grab a quick bite before getting back to the office as soon as possible.

She floats down the hallway like she's barely touching the floor, but deflates like a balloon when she sees Marina's office is empty. It surprises her, because she knows her boss had nothing that afternoon except a meeting and a video call, but when she checks the shared calendar, she sees that Marina has been pulled into two more meetings that will keep her tied up for the rest of the day.

Since she can't hold in the excitement and needs to share it with someone, she picks up the phone and dials Silvia's extension, and while she waits for her to answer, she realizes that the first person she thinks of for everything is always Marina.

"How did it go?" her friend asks immediately.

"Better than good. She'd already reached out to Marc's lawyer and they responded that they're withdrawing." She rushes through the words, feeling like she might burst from the emotion.

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" Silvia exclaims, keeping her voice low. "I'm so happy for you, Olga. What a weight off your shoulders."

"Yeah," she answers, not bothering to hide the relief in her voice. "Let me buy you a drink after work if you have time."

"It'll have to be just one because I have dinner tonight and I need to get home early to get ready, but absolutely. I'll meet you downstairs on the way out."

"Perfect."

Olga hangs up the phone and looks back toward Marina's office, door open, lights off.

At five-ten she sees Marina appear, walking quickly toward her office because she has a video call with the Lisbon office at quarter past and another meeting with the tax department at six — but against all odds, Marina stops in front of her desk.

"Did it go well?" she asks, and Olga feels herself melt at the gesture, especially because Marina's face is pale and her eyes are red from exhaustion, and she could use these few minutes before the call to sit down in her chair and breathe instead of standing here checking in on her.