CHAPTER THREE

After Brandon leaves, the chairwoman brushes his insult off as childish exuberance and asks me to do the same. Well, easy for her to say but the man that walked out of this room was certainly no child. She ushers me to the dining room and we eat quietly. With servants on both sides of the dining table, all of our needs are met to.

In my head, I start to think of what it would mean if I lived like this every day of my life. In all honesty, I believe that it would be exhausting. I like the simple life that I lead and with Brandon's obvious contempt for me, I make up my mind while enjoying the heavenly chocolate cake dessert to turn down the chairwoman's offer.

Back at home, I sleep the rest of the day off after the chairwoman's driver drops me off. A loud, incessant knock at the door wakes me up in the evening. With sleepy eyes, I head towards the door. Hailey stands at my door ready to burst with excitement.

"Tell me everything!" She shrieks.

I shrug as I let her in and close the door behind her. "There is nothing to tell."

"Natalie, don't even get me---"

"Hailey!" I cut her off sharply. "For once, for the very first time, I'm being honest. There is actually nothing to tell."

I see her face fall before it takes on a look of pity.

"Oh my God, baby. What happened? Did she change her mind? Were you unable to see him?"

I give a half laugh before responding. "Oh, I saw him alright. Let's just say that he wasn't too excited to see me." I can see that she really wants to ask me to explain but doesn't want to make me uncomfortable so I tell her everything that happened at the Martinez mansion, what little there is to tell, at least.

Quietly, Hailey gathers me into her hands and tucks my head beneath her chin. As tears well up in my eyes, I find myself thinking that something like this would never happen to Hailey. She is 5ft 10 inches tall, with rich creamy skin, and her natural blond hair has gold streaks in it. She is slim and curvy and has the face of a supermodel. Hailey is the sort of woman that makes heads turn and she certainly is not the sort of woman that anyone would call an underdressed, ugly swan.

When I first started working at Giancarlo, Hailey and I hit it off like we'd known each other all our lives. At first, I was s little skeptical. I couldn't see why someone as gorgeous as her would want to be my friend but we soon grew on each other. We have been best friends for the past six months and I know now that I could never find another friend who loves me as fiercely as Hailey does. Another fine day to remind myself that I do not deserve her.

"What are you going to do now?" Hailey asks quietly.

"I don't know. Go back to my normal life, I guess. I never wanted any of the drama, anyways."

"I'm so sorry, Nat. It was I who convinced you that there might be something there."

"It's okay, Hae. It's not your fault. You know, I keep wondering why I feel so heartbroken when just yesterday, I was certain that I wanted nothing to do with the man." I say with a sad smile on my lips.

"It's the hormones, girl! One look at that gorgeous asshole and a girl's hormones are bound to start acting real crazy." Hailey says and makes me laugh. That night, Hailey sleeps over at my apartment and we watch silly rom-com together before falling asleep on the chair.

The next morning, I leave Hailey at home and prepare to go to work. She has the day off while I have to work. I consider calling in sick but if I'm being honest, I need work to get the thought of Brandon's harsh words out of my head.

At Giancarlo, everyone is murmuring again and I know that I am at the center of their conversations. I wonder if they have already heard. I mean, what if one of them is friends with one of the servants at the Martinez mansion? The mere thought of the embarrassment that would follow if the other employees find out what that asshole said gives me a headache but I steady my hands and force myself to focus on work.

I think that my sadness is obvious, however, because today, Alfredo does not shout at me. Even when I am slower than usual, he simply nudges my shoulders and asks me to hurry up in a calm voice. At 3, I take off my apron and head out of the kitchen for my lunch break. Most lunch hours, I remain at Giancarlo but this time, I need a breath of fresh air. I think to myself that I wish Hailey was here with me instead of at home.

The moment I step out of the kitchen, I know that something is off. The restaurant is eerily quiet and even the guests seem to be distracted by something. As I turn my head in the direction that everyone seems to be looking, I realize that the distraction is not something, but someone. Standing at a far corner of the restaurant and speaking quietly to a glassy eyed and almost swooning Mariah is Brandon Martinez.

I feel my heart hit the bottom of my stomach. Oh God, my life is about to come to an end. Brandon Martinez, like his mother, has not stepped foot in this restaurant since I resumed here and now, all of a sudden, he has come to publicly have me fired for daring to dream about a life with him. I feel dread creep over my skin in anticipation of the embarrassment I'm about to face.

As if he can smell my fear, Brandon's eyes suddenly catch mine and he leaves Mariah's side and begins walking up to me. I try to get myself to run but my legs feel rooted to a spot. Even with my heart beating so fast, my stupid heart still has the guts to do a backflip at the sight of Brandon's muscular body jutting out of the three piece suit he has on.

When he finally stops in front of me, I take a look at his face and I see that he doesn't look furious. No, he actually looks... What's this? Happy? Amused? Is that a smile on his lips? Before I can bring myself to understand, Brandon grabs my shoulders and covers my lips with his. Although my initial reaction was of shock, I soon felt a warmth spread through me. Brandon's lips on mine send a jolt of shivers down my spine and I foolishly find myself placing my hands on his chest and leaning into him. All of a sudden, he pulls back and with twinkling eyes, smiles at me, "Hello, baby. Looks like you missed me. I just spoke to Mariah and you have the rest of the day off. Let's go home"

At Brandon's words, my mouth opens and closes a couple of times but I am unable to form words. All at once, I feel my head become light and fuzzy. The last thing I see before my vision goes dark is Brandon's utter look of panicked shock.