Decisions

It only took one glance to notice him. He didn't even know his name or what he did, but he looked at him discreetly and couldn't help but follow him with his eyes until the secretary invited him to enter the office of the person who welcomed him to the job.

Santiago Lyon had just turned 24 and had completed his civil industrial engineering degree with maximum distinction at the best engineering faculty in the country, with job offers from three companies. He had chosen this corporation dedicated to the distribution and sale of fuels. It took several days of interviews until he was told to present himself on this day at 09:00 hours with the head of personnel.

He would work in the studies department of the central office, and that's where he met the person he had looked at while crossing the lobby of the corporation: Domingo Verhoven, a year older than him, a graduate in business sciences, who had joined the company a year ago and was dedicated to analyzing the feasibility of new businesses and corporate investment projects.

The company's headquarters occupied seven floors of a huge tower with views of the port, estuary, river, and nearby parks. Located in the financial district, it was an exceptional location. Domingo and Santiago's office faced north and they shared it with a third professional who was absent at the time.

They didn't take long to start a conversation after being introduced by Michael Atkinson, who worked as the studies manager, a fat and somewhat older man, quite competent and a bit ill-tempered, who had given Santiago instructions on his work and immediate tasks. It was a presentation not without some tension, which increased when they shook hands.

It was the secretary who showed him his workstation, activated his computer, and explained how to request his credential and access to the corporate platforms and networks. Everything was very efficient, neat, orderly, and oriented towards maximum effectiveness.

In the following hours, they conversed several times, always initiated by Domingo.

There were evident differences between them: Domingo was much more impulsive, extroverted, and even friendly; while Santiago was reserved, impenetrable, slow, concentrated, introverted, and secure.

Domingo had a characteristic highly valued by his bosses: he was able to perceive all the possibilities of a business or the foundation of a decision in a piece of data, an act, a gesture, or a situation. Santiago, on the other hand, didn't give opinions without having an ordered set of arguments and analyzing the pros and cons of any potential decision.

And these characteristics were also reflected in their lives outside of work. But something had happened that morning that had changed Santiago: his reaction to Domingo's presence. He had never experienced it before.

It was a double novelty: feeling such a strong attraction to a man and the nervousness of being n...