The ballad was good, and Miguel, with his friend Alvaro, were distracting themselves from a hard week of work. At one point, a blonde caught Miguel's attention, and he stared at the young woman's swaying curves. His desire grew, and he moved towards the dance floor, moving in, involving the woman, showing interest, and dismissing the others who wanted the same as him.

She didn't reject him, accepted his approach, and the consequence was his bed. He liked being with the woman, who he only discovered two days later was called Ester. It was comfortable being with her. She didn't complain about anything, did everything he wanted, and all it took was giving her access to his credit card, and everything was fine.

Alvaro was unhappy with this arrangement, as only his oblivious friend didn't know that she was a fortune hunter.

"We never go out anymore, buddy," Alvaro complained, sitting on the corner of Miguel's desk in the office.

"I don't need to. I only went out to pick up women, now I have one who doesn't give me any trouble."

"You've been spending a lot of time with her, are you liking her that much?"

"Only the sex, I don't even know much about her."

"Women don't work that way, Miguel. They want a rich man to marry."

"But she won't get that, I've said several times that I'm averse to marriage and that she won't be able to charge me anything."

"Did you have her sign anything?"

"No, it's recorded."

"You're sly, my friend."

"I'm cautious. I wouldn't be who I am if I gave anyone a break."

Miguel Mendes, 33 years old, CEO of Mendes Empreendimentos Imobiliarios Ltda. Single and coveted, but doesn't want commitment.

*

Six months later

Ester burst into Miguel's office, with the secretary trying to stop her.

"Why aren't you answering me? I've been trying to talk to you for days and I can't."

Miguel looked at the woman, bored. He had grown tired of her two months ago and sent her away, and she had started insisting on talking to him a week ago.

"What do you want, Ester? We're over."

She placed a paper on the desk in front of him.

"I'm pregnant."

He read the paper, took out his checkbook, filled out a check for a good amount, and gave it to her:

"There, don't bother me anymore, forget about the recording."

She looked at him and at the check, turned around, and left.

"One less problem."

Miguel is a well-regarded businessman, from a real estate development firm. At 33, he is stable in life. He is not a billionaire, but he is rich enough to afford several luxuries, such as real estate and automobiles. His collection of watches is well known, and he is always well dressed, whatever the occasion.

White with brown hair, well-groomed beard, tall and athletic build, he was considered the best catch of the moment. Alvaro was not far behind, a descendant of Turks, he had dark skin and wavy hair, didn't like beards, and was an architect for Miguel's company. They have known each other since college and are the same age.

"I saw Ester leaving here, she seemed upset, did something happen?" Alvaro asked, entering the office.

"Don't bother me, Alvaro, or I'll forbid you from entering my office without being announced."

"Looks like the case is serious."

Miguel handed him the paper. His expression was one of annoyance, and inside, he seemed like a volcano about to explode.

"I sent her away with a hefty check, so if she comes to charge me for anything else, I have the check to prove I've already paid."

"I see, charging for a child… are you an idiot or what? It's a child, Miguel, not a wrecked car."

"Who guarantees that it's mine? I don't even know if this exam is real, I've been through too much. Let's forget about this."

"It's up to you, just don't complain when a baby with blue eyes like yours appears on your doorstep."

Miguel threw the pen at his friend, and he left the room laughing.

The days passed, and nothing more was said about the matter, Ester disappeared, and Miguel forgot. He also didn't go to ballads anymore, he only went out with Alvaro for drinks at some trendy bar, picked up some woman, and then forgot about her, and that's how he lived his days.

Only one thing annoyed him, someone was parking their car in his parking space in the garage of his apartment in the city. He questioned the administration, and they replied that it was a double parking space for his floor. One for each apartment, since there were two apartments per floor. He couldn't do anything, as he had never even seen who his neighbor was and only needed to be careful not to hit the person's Bentley.

He liked to stay in the apartment during the week, it was more practical, so he didn't have to face the city traffic every day, since the property was close to the company building. One of the days that he arrived more altered, coming from the bar, he parked in any way, and the next day, his car was trapped, as the neighbor had parked in a way that took advantage of the remaining space, but practically, pressing against his bumper.

They couldn't wake up the neighbor, and he decided to take a taxi, and when he returned, the car was not there, but they had left a message:

"The space is not only yours, respect and you will be respected."

It had no signature, and it didn't need to, he parked the car in the space and left it at that, someone who drives a Bentley deserves respect.

For two months, Miguel, Alvaro, and their team fought for the construction contract of a large resort on Barra da Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro. When the responsible businessman agreed to all calculations and completion deadlines, they all gathered for the contract signing and went out to dinner.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Miguel and Alvaro decided to hang out at a small bar and ran into a college friend, Dr. Carlos.

They picked up some women and went to Miguel's apartment, where the first thing he did was turn the music up loud. They kept drinking, dancing, and the women did a striptease, with laughter accompanying the music, waking up Jessica, the neighbor.

The intercom rang, and Alvaro answered; it was the building manager. He replied and hung up. Miguel was already making out with one of the girls on the sofa, and he warned:

"The neighbor complained about the noise."

"Come on over, neighbor!" Miguel shouted, drunk.

"Yeah, come on, you need some booze and women!" Carlos shouted, supporting Miguel, and they laughed.

Alvaro turned down the music, and everyone went to their respective rooms, and the noise changed. Two of the women were very loud, and the whole building must have been listening to the commotion. The intercom rang and rang and kept ringing, but they didn't even hear it. The noise only stopped at four in the morning.

Miguel called a car to take the girls, and he went downstairs in his pajamas to drop them off at the reception desk, said goodbye, and as he was returning to the elevator, the doorman called him.

"Hi, be quick."

"Sir, you disturbed your neighbors a lot, and you will probably receive some fines."

"It must be that annoying neighbor of mine, but today is Saturday, what's the problem with a little celebration?"

"It's just that your schedules are different, sir, but excuse my interference, good night."

"Thanks, good night, and bring on the fines, I'm…" he thought better of it, got in the elevator, and went up.

Arriving on his floor, he looked at the neighboring apartment and made a rude gesture, showing he didn't care about the complaints, and went into his own apartment. He lay down and slept until almost lunchtime and didn't see the irritation of the neighbor, full of dark circles, leaving for work after seeing his gesture.

Jessica parked in her space and entered the clinic. As she passed, elegantly dressed in a white suit, she was greeted with affection.

"Good morning, doctor!"

"Good morning, Marina. Get me a strong coffee, please, today I'll be fueled by caffeine."

"The neighbor again?"

"Yes, it went on until four o'clock, I've never seen such noisy women."

"Women? Wow! At least is he handsome?"

"I don't know, I've never seen him. Hurry up, please, and then tell me about last night."

Dr. Jessica is a general practitioner and only sees patients if necessary. She does shifts because of the lack of staff in the emergency room. She is the administrator of the clinic founded by her parents, a cardiac surgeon and an obstetrician.

She is 29 years old, has been working since she was 22, and specialized in hospital administration to support her parents. Brunette, tall, slender, with long brown hair, she has a classic beauty, but she doesn't like partying, despite having to attend events in her field of work.

Her parents complain that she hasn't gotten married and given them grandchildren yet, but they understand the workload she faces every day.

The coffee arrived, and she was already sitting behind her desk, looking at the computer screen. She sipped her coffee, waiting for the secretary to narrate the events of the night.

"So Dr. Carlos didn't come, but Dr. Humberto was still there and attended to the patient?"

"Yes, the patient is stable, but Dr. Carlos didn't even respond."

"All right, Marina, thank you."

Because she was a woman, the doctors thought they could act as they pleased. She passed the day rate to Dr. Humberto and took it away from Dr. Carlos, who didn't show up for the shift, was three hours late, and would lose double if he arrived and decided to leave because he had been discounted.

She exchanged her blazer for her coat and went to make the rounds in his place. She was already looking for another pediatrician to replace him; dealing with children was a serious matter, and he was behaving very irresponsibly.

She entered the first infirmary and began her check, and she realized that the doctor's negligence was greater than expected. She checked exams, changed prescriptions, and examined dressings. She played with the children and got some smiles.

She left there and went to the nursery, where her mother was taking care of a newborn with the neonatal pediatrician.

"Blessing, mother?"

"Hi, dear, God bless you. That face of yours says you didn't sleep." replied her mother, Dr. Helena.

"Yeah, but as soon as I get a break, I'll take a nap."

"I heard that Dr. Carlos didn't arrive."

"That's right, I'm covering him on the rounds, but there's so much recklessness that I feel like firing him today."

"I have a colleague who is dying for an opportunity; she just finished her specialization." said Dr. Leticia, from Natal.

"Hold on, I'm accepting anyone who is more responsible than the one who's here. Call her as soon as possible."

"Ok. I'll call as soon as I finish with this cutie." said the doctor, finishing examining the baby.

"Cute, isn't she, daughter?"

"Don't even go there, Mrs. Helena."

Dr. Jessica Bittencourt, 29 years old, General Practitioner, Administrator of Bittencourt Clinics Hospital.

Miguel went to the gym in the building's condo where he lives and ran a bit to sweat out the alcohol he drank excessively the day before, then went to the pool, took a shower before entering and took good strokes and then floated relaxing, relaxed.

When he left and returned to the building, he saw a red car pass and park next to his. He watched the elegant woman in a white suit get out of the car and enter the building, entering through the social elevator and he followed through the sports one. Arriving at his apartment, he called the front desk.

"How can I help you, Mr. Mendes?"

"Someone parked the car in my neighbor's spot and it wasn't his car."

"I'll check it out, sir, thank you."

He hung up and tried to forget, but the image of the elegant woman remained in his head. He got dressed and went down to have lunch outside and the red car was still there, but he decided not to worry anymore. Maybe the complaining neighbor is dating the elegant woman. Elegant and beautiful!

**

The days passed quickly with the new venture, Miguel was always around with the engineer and Alvaro, looking at the schedule, to meet the correct deadline and did not notice the time passing, until a bailiff was sent to his office, carrying a basket.

"Good morning, CEO Mendes, I am the bailiff from the children's court and I was tasked with delivering your daughter to you. Here are some personal items of the baby and the documents, of course. The mother has completely given up custody, so this little darling is all yours."

The man didn't wait for an answer, placed the basket on the armchair and taking advantage of the CEO's shock, showed where he should sign the receipt and, having fulfilled his service, ran away from there as if he had a swarm of bees behind him.

Miguel was still static when Alvaro and the secretary entered the room to see why there was such a desperate baby crying inside the office.

"Miguel? Miguel, wake up!" Alvaro called.

"Oh, my God, it's a little darling, poor thing." the secretary approached the basket and saw that it was a girl and took her in her arms.

"Be careful not to break her or we won't be able to return her!" Miguel shouted, making the baby cry even more.

"Don't shout, you're scaring her. Are there documents?"

"Yes, here." he showed the envelope with his eyes.

Alvaro took the papers and as he read, he frowned and at the end announced:

"There is no return, she is all yours."

"There is a bag, I'll see if there is a bottle, she must be hungry."

The secretary found a ready-made bottle, sat with the baby in her arms and put the nipple in her little mouth and feeling it, she opened her mouth and sucked strongly, feeding avidly.

"Calm down, darling, or you'll choke."

"I think it's good for you to get out of this apathy and start taking action. Hire an experienced nanny or a nurse, see, here is a prescription for medication and food for her. If it's not in the bag, provide everything."

"Okay, you can do all that."

"Oh, no way, I warned you and you didn't listen to me, now take care, because the daughter is yours and her name is Gabriela. Bye."

He went to the little baby and saw her round and rosy face, she must have been a month old, too young to go through that abandonment situation. His friend was reckless with women, he hoped he wouldn't be with his daughter. He left after telling the secretary not to help him, the responsibility was his.

The secretary finished feeding and took the baby to the father, lined his shoulder with a cloth that came in the bag and placed her face down there.

"Hold on, I'll let go, put her to burp." She took her hands away and he held the baby, quickly, afraid she would fall.

When he realized, the secretary had already left and he was alone with a baby, not knowing what to do.

"What did Alvaro say? Hire a nanny or nurse, that's it."

He held the baby with one hand and went to the phone and called the personnel department, requesting a nanny or nurse urgently. The head of the DP didn't understand anything, but sent the company's hired nurse, who arrived there and got a scare.

"Don't look at me like that and help, please, I'll pay well, it's an emergency."

"Everything for the CEO, I'll do better. I have a niece who is a professional nanny, I'll call her to come right now."

"I'm very grateful and I'll pay well, I need you to stay tonight or at least tonight."

The nurse picked up the cell phone and called, speaking quickly with her niece and hanging up.

"She'll take half an hour to get here, meanwhile, I'll check the patient's condition."

She took the baby, who complained, took her to the basket, took off her clothes and examined her, cleaned her, put on diaper rash ointment and dressed her with a diaper and clean clothes.

"I'll make a list of what you'll need to buy."

Miguel sighed in relief, when the nanny arrived, he would take advantage and buy everything on the way.