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 closer, 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 problem? What do you see in this filthy, middle-class woman? Look at me. Am I not good enough for you?”
“You know what?” Ryan stood up from the couch, stood in front of her, kind of glaring at her. “I’m tired of this. Sherri, I don’t know about later. But, for now, I’m not interested in—”
“Stop that!” She snarled. She squeezed her face, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. “Just stop! Is it a crime to be forgiven? Yes, I made a mistake by sleeping with someone else, while you and I were dating. But, I was only drunk. I’ve been apologizing to you since forever. Let’s just get back together.”
Oh, wait, they weren’t dating? And woah, she had once cheated on him? Ah, this was such a great story!
Like the silly person I presently was, I leaned into the couch, ready to watch the whole series of this movie she was acting in. I smirked too.
“See, see, that won’t be possible.” Ryan shook his head, waved at her. “Once I say I’m done, I’m really done. There’s truly no point in your tears and apology. Yes, I’ve really forgiven you, but I just wanna move on. I don’t have a girlfriend yet, but I’ll get a good one someday. I’m not ready to accept you.”
She sobbed. For a moment, she was silent. And then, she turned to me, rushed over to me. I was startled and scared to the point I couldn’t take a swift move on what to do or say. I managed to stand up though, but didn’t know what to do to her. Why was she running towards me?
“You idiot!” In a blink of an eye, her hand clashed against my cheek.
She hit me so hard to the extent my legs stumbled over each other, and I forcefully sat back on the couch. My neck propelled sideways, and I could do nothing but hold my burning cheek. This slap made my sense go blank for a while. I didn’t think I had ever been slapped this hard.
I was shaken, furious, upset, perplexed and shocked. She had just hit me? Slowly, I turned to her. Tears were in my eyes, and between, I was completely speechless.
“Sherri, are you crazy?” Ryan gripped her arm from behind, turned her around.
“Yes, I’m crazy!” She cried. She pointed her index finger at him, weeping really, really hard. “Everything’s her fault. Until she came, we were both happy. It’s been almost a year since you met each other, and since then, my life’s been miserable. You have no time for our relationship. Do you realize how much that hurts? I’m so in pain, my love. I’m in so much pain!”
“Leave here now!” He roared. He threw her off his grip, glaring so much. “If you don’t get out, I’ll call the police on you. And please, don’t make me do that. I still like you as a friend. I don’t wanna lose you, so just leave.”
She sniffled, violently rubbed her knuckles against her eyes. “Alright. I’ll leave. But, this isn’t over yet. I won’t let her succeed in this stupid plan. I’ll ensure I get my man back.”
Saying that, she grabbed her purse from the center table, turned around, stomped towards the door. Walking out, the door shut on its own, and there went silence.
Ryan glimpsed at me, and just turned to the staircase. Without saying anything, he ran up the stairs, leaving me here. What a shame. He couldn’t even apologize for her craziness?
I just sat like a frozen bird, not knowing what to do.
***
Okay, fine, I knew I should go home already, but I needed to explain a bunch of things to Ryan, regarding tomorrow’s meeting. I was surely still so upset, but I had decided to let it pass. Sherri didn’t deserve my emotions. Between, there wouldn’t be a second time for that. Next time, I’d definitely hit her back. What an asshole she was.
I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs, so I turned to the direction of the sound. Oh yes, it was this annoying man. He halted when his eyes caught mine, blinked like he was confused. Good for me, he was wearing a v-neck shirt.
“You’re still here?” He put his hands behind him, began sauntering towards me.
I frowned, and just looked away. “No, it’s my ghost that’s seated here.” Who cared if he was my boss?
He sighed. Grabbing a small stool which was beside the couch, he sat in front of me, faced me. What was going on now?
“Hey, you’re upset?” He asked. He sounded calm, as if he was feeling bad. What a hypocrite.
I nodded without hesitating. “Yeah. Very upset. Wait, is this how rich people behave? You guys just have to always be mean? See, if she ever hits me again, I promise to break her bones. Does she have no shame? Blaming me for no good reason?”
“Sherri’s always been like that.” He scratched the back of his neck, his brow raised at me. “Don’t know what to do with her. She’s been my friend for a long time, so I really can’t get rid of her.”
I scorned, some stupid tears forming in my eyes. “No one’s hit me that way. First, she always blames me for stealing her man. And then, she had the guts to hit me?”
He shrugged. “Donno what to do.”
“Then apologize!” I retorted. “Fine, I understand the fact that you never wanna apologize for the mistakes you make, but this is the limit. I’m supposed to be used to the torture from you both, but it’s getting too much. If you hate me, why don’t you just fire me? I’ll leave. I might need the income so much, but at least, I’ll be happy once again.”
He leaned close, his lips pressed against each other. “Oh, I-I’m sorry, I guess. I’m not a bad person. It’s just that— Alright, I’m sorry.”
“That’s not enough. You’re such a bad boss. You can do better,” I uttered.
He rolled his eyes. “Seriously? And, is this a good way to treat your boss?”
“Fine!” I slapped my hands against each other, acting like a crazy and weird person. “If this is how you’ll apologize, then I’ll ask Mr. Shawn to change my job at the office. Henceforth—”
“But how am I supposed to apologize, woman?” He threw his arms up, widened his eyes and mouth. “You don’t expect me to go on my knees, do you? I’m sorry, okay? It wasn’t like I was the one who hit you.”
“I don’t know.” I hissed.
He hit his palm against his forehead, stood up. For some reason, he stretched his hands forward, poked his butt backwards, doing some kind of squats. I widened my eyes in shock, wondering what was going on.
“Mr. Arthur, what’re you…”
“I’m so sorry, Serene. I’m sorry, Serene. Please, forgive me,” he uttered as he squatted.
Surprised, I burst out laughing. What in the world was he doing? Maybe he wasn’t a sadist after.
“Are you crazy?” I held my belly, threw my back into the couch, laughing hard. His craziness was definitely making me feel better.
After a while, he stopped squatting, and sat back on his stool. He was smiling, which was pretty cute.
“You forgive me now?” He cocked his eyebrows at me.
I nodded. “Definitely.”
“To be honest…” He tucked his tongue in his cheek, used his hand to tug the back of his neck, seeming quite hesitant. “I don’t want you to stop being my secretary. You’re hard working. I had to fire my last secretary because she did something crazy. It’s confidential.”
“Hm…” I leaned close, my eyes furrowed at him. “Why are you being nice? You’re sure you don’t need anything from me?”
He chuckled. “I feel bad that Sherri hit you. She proved to be mannerless. And, you did nothing. I also realized that you hardly ever complain about my attitude towards you, and I feel bad for yelling at you. I just feel like I’ve wronged you in so many ways.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you’ve realized your mistakes. So, can we start working now? My mom will be worried if I get home late.”
He chuckled again. “Mama’s girl.”
I shook my head at him, and just grabbed the files. Taking the documents from it, I started to arrange them. My eyes were on the documents, but the corner of my eyes could see him staring at me. That was definitely so uncomfortable. What now?
“You’re pretty,” he stated. My heart jumped to my throat, and I swallowed. I hoped he wasn’t going to flirt with me. Not again.
According to the romance movies and novels, whenever the guy and lady were alone, they’d stare at each other for a while, then kiss slightly. After kissing each other slightly, they’d move to a deep kiss. And then, he’d ask her to comfort him in bed. And then, she’d acknowledge his proposal. And then, they’d get pregnant. And then, they’d—
Okay. That was stupid. Nothing like that happened in real life.
I blinked about four times, realizing I had been deep in thoughts. Oh yeah, I just laughed nervously. “O-Oh. Thanks. You’re handsome too, I guess.”
He leaned close, sucked his teeth, his eyes squinted at me. “Tell me, do you feel anything for Raymond Shawn? Heard you went to his office today, though I told you not to.”
I scoffed, and laughed weirdly for a second time. “Feel something? How ridiculous.”
“Okay, good.” He nodded. “I believe you. So, let’s get to work.”
“Hm.” I nodded.
I gave him some documents, and we began working. All evening, we worked and laughed together. It was weird to admit that I had some fun with him. After all, he wasn’t that much of a bad person. He seemed… different.
***
(Hey, everyone! Don’t forget the comments/reviews! Thanks for reading…?)