Chapter 6: More Than It Is
My heartbeat began to race as I tried to relax.
"Have a seat, please," he gestured towards a chair.
He sat down across from me, making me feel trapped.
"Would you like to join me for breakfast? I'm starving," he smirked at me, ignoring Nico's presence.
I was sweating under my jacket as I looked around the restaurant, checking if anyone else was watching us.
"I'm sorry, but I'm here with a friend already," I forced a smile.
"Hmm, well, I guess we have to do this another time," he shrugged, "I hope you enjoyed your evening yesterday."
"It was great," I lied.
"And, how does the job go?" He leaned forward.
I wanted to slap the smug grin off his face.
"I'm doing fine, I'm actually enjoying it," I replied politely.
"Doing fine, hmm... I see," he pursed his lips. "You know, maybe we shouldn't waste our time anymore."
"Excuse me?" I gasped.
"You're good at your job, but nothing special," he shrugged, "you're not the best at what you do and I can find someone better than you."
My heart began beating faster and I felt my throat closing in.
I had no other choice but to stay calm.
"You can try, but I doubt that you can find someone as good as me," I spoke calmly.
"Excuse me, sir," Nico interupted, "we're trying to have breakfast here, could you talk about your work matters with Glory at work instead?"
"Oh, yes, of course," he answered, putting away his phone and standing up, "glad to meet you, Mr Nico."
"Nice to meet you, too," Nico lifted the corners of his lips.
For the moment I was really happy for Nico's save, but one thing didn't leave me alone was the fact that he asked about my work from last night, 'how does he know?' I bit my lip as my left foot wouldn't stop shaking, "relax, I'm sure he doesn't know."
Nico placed his cold hand on mine, trying to calm me down, he looked me straight in the eyes, "and he's not even that handsome to be honest..." He left a long sigh.
His statement made me giggle, "you know he's your type," I replied to his comment as my lips curved upwards.
"I know, I know," he laughed back.
"Come on, let's go," Nico interrupted my thoughts.
We paid our bill and walked out of the café.
"Let's take a walk," Nico suggested, "I want to show you a new place."
"A-a new place?" I gasped, "I have to go to work," I panicked.
"It will take only twenty minutes," Nico reassured me, "just trust me on this."
"Okay," I gave in and followed him out of the door.
I felt lightheaded as I noticed the heat on my skin, it was scorching hot.
Nico took my hand into his and led me towards the sidewalk, "look over there!"
He pointed at the road and I saw a sign which read: 'The Abandoned House'.
"Wow, that's interesting," I murmured.
The house was huge and it looked abandoned. There were peeling paint on its walls and the windows were boarded up. It looked like the house was waiting for a new owner.
"Oh, come on, it looks creepy," I told him, "I hate haunted houses. I think you made a mistake."
"I've heard that it used to belong to a famous movie director and that he committed suicide here," Nico smiled, "I want to check it out."
"Why? No-no!" I shouted at him.
He was a freelancer, but I still needed to go to my office work, "Nico, my stop is there." I pointed at the bus stop near the road.
"Okay, I'll wait for you there," Nico smiled.
I took a deep breath before I climbed onto the bus and sat on a bench.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing. I slowly inhaled and exhaled air, preparing myself for what will await me next... 'This damned Ace!' I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw as I imagined his handsome face.
***
After I got off the bus, I took a few steps toward my workplace. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to throw up any second.
I was walking fast and soon enough I came across the entrance of the building.
I stopped in front of it, biting my lower lip hard.
'Damn, I hate this job! Why am I doing this?'
I took another deep breath, calming my nerves before I entered the building.
The first thing I noticed was the smell of cigarettes and alcohol. Most likely, that's what they called a 'lounge', it was very crowded and noisy.
There were several men and women sitting around the tables while others were talking loudly on their phones.
'At least I won't have to deal with them,' I thought as I went further inside the lounge.
There were stairs leading upstairs and I ascended them, trying to find my office.
As I reached the top floor, I saw a woman with short blonde hair who stood in front of a desk.
Her face looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I knew her from.
"Good morning," she greeted me with a warm smile.
"Good morning," I returned her greeting.
"I'm your supervisor, Ms. Tina," she introduced herself, "I'm glad to have you here."
"Thank you, ma'am," I replied, "I'm sorry for showing up late."
"That's not a problem, everyone has their own schedule," she smiled, "if you'll follow me, I'll take you to your office."
"Sure," I followed her.
She showed me to my office; it was small and simple.
"If you need anything, just ask," Ms. Tina advised me.
"Thanks," I nodded.
"Have a nice day," she left me alone and I was all by myself in this cold and lonely office.
The dark grey walls gave me the feeling that I was locked inside this place until death.
I sighed as I sat on the chair behind my desk.
I laid my hands on the cool surface of my desk and took a deep breath, "until mom gets better, until mom gets better!" I repeated the sentence and mumbled it to myself.
"What am I supposed to do now?" I whispered.
The phone rang and I jumped off my seat.
I picked it up and said, "this is Glory."
"Hey, sweetie," a familiar voice greeted me.
It was my mother's doctor, "is everything alright?"
"Yes, Dr. Gilliam, thanks for asking," I replied, "everything is fine."
"Well, that's great news," he replied, "your mom is recovering very well."
"Thank you, Doctor," I murmured.
"No problem," he chuckled, "but the bill is due this week, so don't forget to pay it."
"I won't," I replied.
"I'll call you again next week," he ended the conversation.
I put the phone down and sighed, 'another payment, huh...'
I took a deep breath and tried to relax.
For some reason I kept thinking about the man who introduced himself to me yesterday.
He was handsome and sexy, but I didn't want to get close to my clients.
I sighed one more time. I felt tired and sick of my life and career right now.
I needed something new to happen in my life or I will go crazy, 'I'll do something about this.'
Then a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
"Come in," I ordered my visitor.
"Miss Arabella..." A cold tone greeted my ears, "how deoes he...?" I turned around and saw my boss standing in front of me, "Ace!"
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