Hailey gave me an appreciative grin. "Is that so? Then welcome to this company! I hope we can be friends, Stella!"
Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the blushing cheeks of Nick who was right next to me. It made me think that maybe he has a secret crush on Hailey even though in our chats, he blatantly tarnished her reputation.
I stood up and went with Hailey. Damn! It's a painful feeling when your crush has another crush. I can see the attention that Hailey gets from the people around her, maybe if we are always together, I have to get used to this kind of situation.
After we arrived in front of the elevator, two women came out and took a picture of Hailey. They don't wear uniforms the same with us so I thought they were working on another company. The worst part is, I took the picture of them with Hailey and I heard no thank you. When they left, I praised my half-sister while we waited for the elevator to go down to the ground floor.
"Wow. Your charisma is so strong, Ma'am. It's good that you have a fan base, if only I am as beautiful as you, I'd probably be famous too!"
The elevator opened on the left side and we both entered before she answered my question. Fortunately, the elevator was empty so we can have a heart to heart talk.
"It seems like you accidentally overheard my conversation with my father earlier?" Hailey let out a frustrated sigh before continuing to speak. "That old man has never been so proud of me ever since. All I want is to make him proud!"
It's hard to lie and I probably have nothing to lose if I admit the truth. "Y-yes Ma'am Hailey... I'm sorry, I had no intention of interfering in your personal matters."
"I know that. I'm sorry too, I am a failure so I deserved to be yelled like that!"
"Not that I'm interrupting, but does sir Joseph yell at you every day?" I bravely asked.
"Well, that only happens when he is in a bad mood. Usually, I'm the one he gets angry at. Although, I admit that I tend to fail most of the time but it does not mean I am nit doing my best!"
"Don't worry, Ma'am. The time will come when your father will be proud of you. No one starts being good right away," I advised her. This is also what my mother advised me before, so I became a strong person. Of course, sharing is carrying.
"By the way, Stella, are you a fresh graduate?" she asked, disregarding my advice to her.
"Yes Ma'am Hailey, this is my first work!" I answered right away.
"Congratulations. Are you an honored student?""I don't want to brag or anything of that nature but yes I am! I was cum laude before and the moment HR and sir Michael saw my credentials, they accepted me right away!"
The elevator opened and we got out. It seems that she forgot what I told her so she changed the topic again.
"We'll go to the restaurant near here, we'll both eat there!"
My stomach almost lurched at what she said. Because in my whole life, I have never eaten at that kind of restaurant. But I am not a picky eater.
"Actually Ma'am, it's okay with me if we're just next to the cafeterias. I'm not picky about food."
"Okay, I know a restaurant near here, we just need to walk a little bit. I'm not picky about food either, so it's okay. Besides, I'd like eating foods of poor as well!"
I guess I did something wrong, I should have just said yes to her. Now, I have no choice. When we got out, we went to the left side of our building and stopped in front of a kiosk stand with a silver roof but this kiosk is filled with many customers.
"Looks like we won't be able to eat right away with so many people, Ma'am!" I complained to her.
"Alright, let's go to the most underrated restaurant in this place!"
"Sure!" I replied shortly.
We just kept walking until we got to the very end of the kiosks where there was an old man selling by himself. My heart was suddenly filled with compassion because nobody was dining in front of his shop. When he turned to Hailey, he happily greeted him.
"Hey, how are you Hailey? It seems like we haven't seen each other in a while?" he asked. His excitement was plain to see in his eyes."Don't worry, I'm fine Dad Elmo. Can we eat here?" Hailey asked.
"Well, yes!! In fact, you are my first customers today!"
"Is that so? Don't worry, we will be eating here often," Hailey put her arm around my shoulder and introduced me to Elmo. "By the way, I would like you to meet Stella. Our new employee! She saved Daddy Joseph earlier so I will treat her.""Really? I am glad that your father is doing okay! They said that your father is really kind!"I just looked at Hailey while she was talking to the old man. I don't know but I can see the disappointment in her eyes.
"Dad is really kind, just to other people!" Hailey said with a frown. "Sometimes, I ask myself if I'm really his daughter!"
"Didn't I tell you before that you should work hard? Like it or not, I know your father is very proud of you!"
Hailey's face remained sad and she changed the topic again. "Alright Stella and I have two rice!" she turned to me and asked. "What do you want to eat?"
"I'm fine with the vegetable dish. I am actually a vegetarian!"
Hailey turned back to father Elmo. "Alright, mine is the same!" She took her branded wallet that I dreamed of having. She took 50 dollars and gave it to Elmo.
She suddenly asked me a shocking question."How about you, Stella? Where is your father working?"What she asked me made me sweat. I almost swallowed the rice in my mouth without chewing. It took a few seconds before I stuttered to speak. I need to be very careful otherwise I'll be caught in my own lies."My... my... my father left us since I was a kid so my mother raised me alone!" I really tried to cry to bring him to my emotions. Fortunately I really cried in front of her.She held my hand and looked me in the eyes with pity. It seems I am a best actress as of this moment.She gave me an apologetic grimace. "Sorry if I brought such painful past. But I'm sure that you and your mother went through a lot and she breathed a sigh of relief when you graduated!"I agreed with what Hailey told me. "Well, I can't deny that what you told me was true. When she presented me with the award, our stage was almost flooded with tears!""Too bad, I am certain that your father regrets leaving you beh
Stella suddenly stood up and looked at the waiter in a mocking way. It looked like she was really fucked up with what happened."Fuck, are you stupid? Out of all the people who eat here, you're going to bump into me?"The waiter was on the verge of panic and looked like he was about to faint from nervousness. I tried defending him from Stella's rants."Sis, I am sorry on behalf of the waiter. Maybe he was tired!" I said with a firmed voice.I really hate people who think they are above other people. It really annoys me!Stella suddenly pointed at me. "Stop defending him, he should be punished for what he did. As customers, we don't tolerate like this to happen!"I was surprised that she refused to listen to me. I became quiet again. She turned back to the waiter who spoke again while keeping his head down."Ma'am, I'll just pay for your clothes if you want!"Stella grinned as if he was insulted by what she heard. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much this dress costs? Even if you wor
When we returned to the office, it was only 12:40 p.m. Almost all the lights in the departments were turned off, even my colleagues at work were al asleep. I slowly went to my seat and was about to sit down when Nick woke up. This guy has a sharp I immediately smiled at her and sat in my seat."Hey, how's your walk going, sir? Are you full?" he asked, smiling at me.I belched suddenly and looked around, luckily no one woke up. Andrea suddenly laughed at me."Hahahaha, don't answer. I already know!" he answered lamely, followed by another question, "Is Hailey a nice person to you?"The way that he asked this question, as if he really knows Hailey from the very start. "She's so much fun to be around!" I answered. "And believe it or not, we treated each other like sisters!"I wasn't able to detail the whole thing, especially when Hailey showed her bad side. That incident was really bad and I think it will be imprinted on my mind forever."Well," Nick said as he seemed not impressed wit
I peed and went out of the comfort room to wash my face. Damn! This is my first time experiencing I've ever been gossiped in my entire life and the pain is heart-wrenching. When I returned to the office, I saw Hailey glancing at her cell phone in front of my area. She was wearing a plain red shirt and her face was beautiful even without make up. I took a few steps before she looked at me and greeted me with a smile. "Hey sis, shall we go now?" she asked. "Sorry I was really busy a while ago with my work!" I went to my area and took my things while taking to Hailey. "That's okay, I am not in a hurry." "Wait a minute, what is your social media account or even just a cellphone number? Our email is for business purposes, so it's better if we communicate by other means!" I gave her my number and social media account. She sent a friend request to me, and I immediately accepted her. We walked to the parking lot until I saw her brand new Mercedes. My jaw dropped on the floor because of it
Hailey smirked. "What does she call you when she's mad?""She called me a fucking bitch. I know that sounds so harsh, but I am used to being called by that!""Well at least you've got a mom who called you that. I guess I need to tell my dad to call me bitch whenever he is mad as well!""Trust me, it's very humiliating if someone beside your mom called you that. But as for Sir Joseph, I think it's impossible for him to call you a bitch. It's not on his character if you ask me!""Okay, please answer me... I want to know your sincere opinion about me and my dad. What is your initial impression? Regardless if it's bad or good. All I care is your honesty!"I felt like in a hot seat. Of course, I am either frank or liar depending on the situation. If I give her a complimentary statement, she would think that I am a social climber, but if I am being too honest to tell the truth, she might get offended. I decided to play safe this time."I think it's better if we try to do it sooner or later.
"Sure, Nick is a nice person as well!" Hailey said with a serious voice.From the way Hailey spoke up, I can really feel that she is not yet ready to face Nick. The fact that she used me to communicate with him adds up to my suspicion that they have something in the past."Please don't tell him that Justin is coming as well!" said Hailey.I followed Hailey, I did not say that there is another person coming.I replied to Nick. "I asked Hailey and she agreed!""That's great. Just chat me the address of that bar so I can use my motor to go there!" Nick replied with a heart emoji at the end.I sent the complete address of the bar to Nick then I received a notification on my phone. I looked at it and my eyes widened in shock. Justin sent me a friend request. I was shaking like hell. I feel I am the most beautiful on Earth.Hailey looked at me. "What happened? You looked pale!""No... it... it's nothing. I just could not believe that Justin sent me a friend request. I know it's a stupid que
Not too long, we arrived inside the bar and sat on a round table. The sound was too loud we could not hear people talking and only the disco ball illuminated the area. Later on, a waiter with a menu on his hand."Good day, may I ask what is your order?" he asked in a polite way, looking at Hailey.Hailey took the menu from his hand and inquired the waiter."What would you like to offer for a moderate drinker like us?""Caipirinha, Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Pina Colada, and Californication!" the waiter answered."How about for the heavy drinker?" Hailey asked the waiter again."Beers, Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany Vodka, Everclear 190, Hapsburg Absinthe XC, and Devil's Springs Vodka!""Okay, give us one case of beers!" Hailey gazed at me. "What would you like to drink? It's on me!"Honestly, I did not know any of those cocktails as I only know some street beverages."Ah, I'd like to drink Margarita!""Alright, I will also order that. Please also add sisig, boneless wings, mozzar
I admit, I was not comfortable with the way Justin kissed me. Hailey noticed my awkward movements so she came on my defense."Justin, please be easy on Stella. She ain't used to aggressive guys so please stop making her feel embarrassed!"Nick suddenly held my hand and placed his mouth next to my ears. "Please, stay away from that man. I can tell you right now that he's just after your body. Don't let him get closer to you!"I just smiled at Nick in response to his advice. I took my beer and broke the awkward situation."Guys, let's have some fun. We are here to enjoy, right?" I shouted, trying to overcome the loud sound of the music.I was beyond happy as Hailey supported my statement. "You're right, we are here to celebrate our flourishing friendship!" She took her wine and took a sip.Nick and Justin also drank beers. Finally, they have decided to break the tension before it got worse."Hey Stella, how long have you been working in Hailey's company?" Justin asked."Few days," I rep