I heaved a sigh, glanced at my wristwatch, feeling quite bothered about how Ryan would scold me. He had sent me on an errand, but I had taken too much time than usual. Well, it wasn't my fault. There was this weird person who had been trying to flirt with me at the bank. I hated being flirted with in public, but, when the person had been wooing me, it had made me hopeful that someone would eventually like me someday. That was good news.
I bit my lower lip, took a glance at my outfit. I had to ensure I looked good. I had taken a long walk, which could've made me sweaty and tired. Good for me, I hadn't worn high heels. Since I was this tall, I had decided to never wear high shoes. It made me feel like a giant sometimes.
My phone beeped. Grabbing it from the pocket of my skirt, I grunted on seeing Ryan's text.
"Why are you taking so much time? You don't wanna lose your job, do you?" He texted.
I rolled my eyes, sighed again. Glaring a bit, I was about taking a turn to the next hallway, but then, I had to bump into someone.
"Oh, gosh." I gasped. Slowly, I moved my eyes to the person I had bumped into. Seeing some kind of blonde head nerd, whose hair was obviously dyed, absolutely a cute dude, tall, having brown skin because he was mixed, a smile crept to my lips.
He blinked. To my surprise, he didn't adjust his box-shaped glasses which had a black frame, like the nerds I had seen. He seemed like a cool nerd.
"Oh, I-I'm so sorry," he apologized, and took a step backwards.
"It's not a problem." I laughed weirdly. Until he had spoken, I hadn't realized that I had been staring so much at his forest green eyes. What was with me?
He smiled too. "Great then."
"Yeah."
We were silent for a while. But then, he stretched his hand for a handshake. "Oh, so, I'm Kenneth. Kenneth Michael."
"I'm Serene Alan." I took his hand, grinning at him so much. "I work here. So sorry I bumped into you."
"It's not a problem. I do come here to deliver food. I work at a nearby store," he said.
"Oh, good. That means I might see you some other time." Gosh, what was I saying? See him?
He nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'd also like to see you again. Anyways, I've gotta get going. Have a nice day."
"Oh, thanks. And you too."
He tugged a box to his chest, walked past me after saying a "bye" with a smile creeping on his lips. I let out a shaky breath, feeling weird that I had seen a very cute nerd.
Not wanting to feel like an idiot, I twitched off the weird thoughts rambling into my head, then hurried over to my office. Gently, I opened the door, trying to be a little stealthy. The moment I shut the door behind me, I turned to my table.
"Oh my gosh!" I yelped, completely startled. Why would Ryan be sitting on my table?
He was tossing a small ball in the air. Glimpsing at me, he sniggered. I gulped in fear. Was he really going to sack me?
"Where are you coming from?" He inquired. His deep voice sounded like a threat, and I knew he wasn't going to spare me this time around.
I stepped close to him. "You sent me on an errand, remember? It's not like I… went somewhere else."
"Guilty conscience." He faced me. As he did so, he had his arms wrapped around his chest. "Come on, tell me. Did you go to your boyfriend's place or something?"
I scoffed. "I would have, only if I had one."
He wiggled a brow at me. "You don't have a boyfriend?"
I shrugged. "Donno. And, that's not something we should be talking about."
"Why?" He stood up, dropped the ball on the table, his hands behind him as he sashayed to me. "I'm your boss, not your enemy. Well, whatever. I care less. So now, you have to tell me why you're late."
I stared blankly at him. I couldn't tell him that someone was flirting with me, right? He could fire me for that. But wait, what would I tell him?
"Um…" I bit my lower lip, acting confused. Furrowing my eyes at him, I scratched the back of my neck. "Well, you see, I kind of fell into a…" I chuckled weirdly. "It seems unreal, but it's true. Um, I accidentally slipped into a Lion's den. I'd thought it was a workshop, not knowing it was a den."
Good Lord, what had I said? How had I been stupid enough to say something that stupid?
He was silent for a while. I knew this was the end of my work here. Abruptly, he frowned. "Do I seem like I'm joking around? You feel into a den, and you're still alive? Are you sure you aren't suffering from a mental disorder?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Arthur." I pulled my lips into a pout, rubbing my palm against each other as I pleaded. "Alright, I'll tell you what really happened."
"Last chance," he announced.
I nodded, and sighed. "Okay, to be honest, I was chased by a bulldog. I-I really can't tell how it happened. I was at the coffee shop, then this dog appeared, and began to chase me."
"Are you for real?" He frowned harder. "A dog chased you, but you still look this good? Your hair isn't even messy."
"Oh, Mr. Ar—"
"This is it!" He snapped his fingers in the air, glaring harder. "Your job here is over. Pack your stuff and leave. I'm done with you."
I gaped. He was about walking past me, but I grabbed his arm back. "Don't do this to me, Mr. Arthur! This won't happen again, I promise!"
He snapped my hand off his arm, turned to me. "What's with this craziness? Sputtering those lies, shows that you've got no respect for me."
"That's not it." I shook my head crazily. "You're my boss. I'm bound to respect you. Alright, fine, I promise to do anything to make it up to you. Don't fire me, please."
He was silent for a while. And then, a sinister smile curled on his lips. That smile made my heart skip a beat. I didn't trust this man.
"Really?" The raspiness in his voice was also scary.
I nodded hesitantly.
"Good," he remarked. He cleared his throat, moved close for some very annoying reason. "You see, you're very pretty. You've got a nice body too."
"Th-That's weird," I said.
"Tonight, I'll be attending a business dinner. Too bad I've got no date for the dinner. So, you'll be my date. Your elegance, together with my charm, would make everyone notice me."
I dropped my jaw. "You can't do that, Mr. Arthur. What if Mr. Shawn sees us together?"
"That'll be your cross to carry." He shrugged.
I blinked like a maniac. "B-But, why me? What about Sherri? What about the women who come to the office to seduce you? What about the other female workers in this company who're dying to get your attention? What about the women you hang around with? Why me?"
He took another step close. His smirk widened, and he leaned close to my ear. "You're the prettiest of them all. Ms. Alan, do this, or lose your job."
"But—"
"See you by eight in the evening. I'll pick you up at Ville Store, okay?"
"You can't—"
"Have a nice time," he added. With that, he turned to the door, jerked it open, then made his way out of the office.
Totally puzzled, I just froze in my tracks, my mouth and eyes jerked open. I had to meditate for a while. I couldn't fathom all that had just happened.
Who did he think he was? The boss of me? Absolutely ridiculous!
***
Vicki threw scowls at me as she stood by my bed. She had her arms tucked around her chest, her lips pursed. That dirty look was pretty menacing, but I really wasn't ready to listen to her. I didn't believe she wanted me to go with Ryan. She fully knew how mean and crazy he was."No." I tossed the blanket off my body, stood up from my bed, then walked to the standing mirror which was placed by the wall on the left side of my room.She grunted a little, and walked behind me. "You're so annoying! I wish I could open your brain box, and add some senses in your head.""Yawn!" I sat on the stool in front of the mirror, adding a skin lotion to my face. "See, you're young. You don't know certain things. Like, this is ridiculous. I shouldn't let a man control me. What am I? A toy?""Ugh!" She groaned. She grabbed the wooden stool behind her, sat on it, and faced me. "Please, stop. This isn't a jok
It was really hard for me to keep this smile on my lips. I felt so frustrated and angry, but well, I just had to keep pretending to be fine with this craziness."Is she your girlfriend?" The oldie in front of us asked Ryan that question.Ryan and I glimpsed at each other, and he laughed weirdly. "Oh, yeah. She is. We only began dating recently."He had his arm wrapped around my waist, my hip locked to his body. The moment he called me his "girlfriend", I curled my arm around his waist as well, pinched him from behind. He flinched a little, his jaw clenched. If this cost my job, then so be it! Why would he tell such a lie?His girlfriend? Yuck!"You're such a beautiful couple," the old man remarked, grinning so hard to the extent I could spot his missing canine tooth. "Hopefully, my son will have a pretty woman like you someday."I feigned a
Anyone could go giddy by only shopping with people like Praise and Tracie. They were pretty crazy. They always wanted to buy everything in the mall. Aside from Vicki and the rest of my family, they were my best friends. Though they could be so annoying sometimes, they were the best friends anyone could ever wish to have. We had been friends for about twelve years, so I understood them a lot.Praise was the eldest. She was twenty seven, and was married to a black English man. They had a pretty two year old girl, and were hoping to have a baby soon. She was tall, had a beautiful dark skin, and was very beautiful. Since she was an American, her husband and her decided to settle down over here. That was good for me. At least, I wouldn't have to miss her."Oh, that's the curling cream!" She hurried over to the shelf which had a couple of hair products. I rolled my eyes, knowing that she had been dramatic when she had screamed out that
I scanned my eyes around, looking for Praise. In a short while, I saw her standing by the other side of the mall, just opposite Tracie and me. She was smirking, and I knew she was ready to do something stupid."Oh, help! Please, do something!" Sherri kept hopping around like a maniac. Of course, it was hard for anyone to help her out. Would anyone want to open her panty only to kill the cockroach in it? Well, in fact, a couple of people were filming her.She threw her hands into her hair, her face squeezed like she was weeping hard. Her butt poked backwards, her hands dashing into her miniskirt, probably trying to get the cockroach.She rolled her eyes around, seeming like she was searching for something. And, the moment her eyes landed on the corridor which led to the restroom, she gasped. All of a sudden, Tracie disappeared. I didn't know where she went, but all I knew was that she stepped backwards.&
I ran my fingers into my hair, feeling so drained. Propping my elbow on the table in front of me, I let out a sigh. I couldn't wait for the weekends. Work could be very tiring sometimes.The knock on the door caught my attention. I had thought it would be Ryan, but well, I didn't think he'd be dumb enough to knock, when he could easily walk in.Grouchily, I pulled my swivel chair backwards, stood up after dropping my pen on the table, walking to the door. I could have just asked the person to come in, but due to how tired I was, my voice might not be loud enough.I pulled the door open, took a step backwards. "Oh, you." I noticed a smile creeping to my lips. "How're you doing, Kenneth? Nice seeing you again."Those green were staring deeply at me, his lips smiling widely at me. I really liked seeing this guy. But woah, why had he come to my office?"I'm gr
I didn't think Mr. Shawn could have the guts to touch me, and tell me he had some feelings for me. Fine, there was no big deal about his feelings. It wasn't a crime for him to like me. However, his approach wasn't nice. Also, I didn't think I could give him a chance in my heart. Everyone knew he was a Playboy, a guy almost every woman liked. Between, he had no respect for women.Seeing Sherri walking out of Ryan's office, I looked away. I didn't want to encounter her craziness. Mr. Shawn had ruined my mood, so I really couldn't let her crawl to the list.Ensuring she had stepped out, I arranged my table, ready to head home. Taking a bunch of files from the table, I made my way to Ryan's office. Before knocking on his door, I took a deep breath. After he had yelled at me, I had ensured we didn't get to see each other. He had really scared me earlier."Come in." His thick voice sounded from his office.
It wasn't like I was scared of her or something, but well, I was scared of her right now. How in the world had she come in, and we hadn't heard her footsteps? Was she a ghost? And, she knew the door pin of Ryan's door?Ryan sat up immediately, sat straight. Like a criminal, I sat as well, feeling quite tense. This felt so embarrassing. I had known I shouldn't have come here.She took a step close, tears filled in her eyes. "Ryan, what's this?! Have you gone this far?""Oh, goodness." He raked his fingers in his hair, sighed hard. Leaning into the couch, he used his hand to tug the back of his neck. "Sherri, breaking a glass cause you're angry, isn't nice. That thing's expensive. And, why would you come here without telling me?""Don't divert from this topic." She put her hands on her waist, holding back her tears as she blinked hard. "And whatever, I'll get you a new glass. Ryan, what's your pr
"Did you blush?" Praise asked, as she dropped the last plate of corn dogs she and her husband, Daniel, had just made, on the dining table.I rolled my eyes, huffed. "Of course not. Why would I blush? He's my boss, remember? Fine, we spoke for a long time, but I couldn't possibly fall for him in only a few hours."Tracie chuckled as she slurped her burnt ends. "You're such a weirdo. My husband and I were friends for two years. I fell for him in a second. I mean, it's a particular moment you discover your love for someone.""True," Praise contributed. She joined us on the dining table, took a deep breath when she settled to sit. I passed the plate of corn dogs over to her, and she grabbed one of them. "Well, my love story is… pretty boring. But, um, Tracie's right."I giggled. "Boring?"Daniel cleared his throat as he dropped the jug of orange juice on the table, givin