NON-EXISTENT PRIVACY
The loud chime of a phone alarm startled Maria awake. Although her body wished to remain in bed a few hours more, she felt well rested and stretched her body. She had been asleep for over seventeen hours and her whole body felt numb. After Maria had fallen asleep in the presence of Kyros, who put her in bed and later saw himself out, the next time she opened her eyes was around 2am.
She was shocked wondering how she made it to her bed, then found a note beside her on the bed. In a nice calligraphy written by Kyros, the note read “You were sleeping so peacefully and didn’t have the heart go disturb you so I saw myself out. Call me when you’re awake and feeling better. XOXO.”
She smiled at the message and got out of bed to have a light snack. Maria was hungry and a light snack wasn’t going to satisfy her raging belly, so she settled for Noodles. It was a quick and satisfying meal. A light snack at 2am was a bad idea if she wanted to burn the calories she was always worried about.
After she had eaten to her fill, she went back to bed but set an alarm for 10am and slept off.
The bright sun shining through the window facing her bed burned her face, and she squinted her eyes. She managed to adjust her eyes to the bright light and got out of bed to shut the curtains closed.
Maria felt it in her bones that the day was going to be a long one. She planned to stay home the entire day and sort a few things out. She picked up her phone from the bed-side table and opened it to find a message from Kyros.
“Good morning beautiful, hope you slept well?”
Maria smiled at his sweetness. If Kyros kept it up, she was not going to be surprised if she fell for him. She replied to his text and dropped the phone on her bed.
She was about to enter the shower when she remembered the bath salt Kyros had gotten her the day before. Maria strolled back to the kitchen in her bathrobe to remove the items in the basket. The only basket she had touched was the one that contained snacks.
The requisite items Kyros had gotten were superb, and she looked forward to making use of them. Starting with the bath salt.
It bubbled in the bathtub, and the scent of it was soothing. She didn’t waste time in soaking herself in it. An hour passed, and she remained in the tub, creating dandy scenarios like she always did before she slept every night. When she pictured or imagined things, it made her calm. Safe as well and it made her content being alone.
Josephine was the bad guy when it came to separating Maria and water. Ever since Maria was a child, she loved the feel of water and always wanted to touch it. Given the chance, she showered more than three times a day.
It took a lot of convincing from her mother to curb her obsession with water. “Too much water will make your skin wrinkle, and you’ll grow old faster,” her mother said. That didn’t scare her until her sister, Giselle, pointed out the wrinkles on her feet and described it as ugly.
That did the trick, and she slowly reduced her contact with water. Sitting in the tub for over an hour, the memory of the past snapped her eyes opened, and she reluctantly got out of the tub.
Considering the amount she spent in the water, her skin had dried out, so she applied a hefty amount of moisturizer from head to toe. She dried her hair and applied her usual products that helped retain the lengths and keep her shining and healthy.
Thanks to Kate, she didn’t have much work to do and since it was the weekend, all she had to do was reply to her emails. Maria was hungry but lazy to cook or step out, so she settled on cereals.
There was a small area in the living room right beside the balcony that gave a bright view of the sky and the city. A work desk and plush office chair were placed to face the television. She created the area as a study, if sort to work remotely whenever she felt like or carry out tasks during the weekends.
It was the perfect spot. A splendid view on the left side, her large TV in direct line to the table, and on her right side was a straight and clear view of the front door. She settled in with her laptop and went straight to her email.
It surprised Maria to see zero inboxes. Except for a few promotional messages, there was nothing for her to reply to or attend to. The efficiency of Reid’s secretary, Kate, made her miss Clara, and she began considering placing an ad for an assistant.
She remembered Athina’s offer to be her personal assistant and began considering it. They’d worked together before, and Athina was familiar with the business. It was a good idea, but she didn’t want to put her friend under stress. And considering she’d have to boss her friend around, there was bound to be a problem.
As Maria shut down her laptop, a call came in on her phone and she picked the call.
“Hey Clara, I’ve been meaning to call you,” she said as she put the phone to her hear.
“Hey, no worries. Sorry I’m calling on a Saturday.” Her silvery voice said through the phone speakers.
“It’s alright. How are you doing?”
“Good, and you?”
“Dandy, just got back from the hospital, actually.”
“Oh my God! What happened?”
“A little allergy reaction.” The word ‘little’ should be amiss from the sentence, as it was far from the truth. Cause surely if it were a little allergy reaction, her eyes would have never set upon the white walls of the hospital.
“Are you okay now?” She asked, worried.
“Yeah, I was just about to watch a movie or series that will take up my time till Monday.”
“That is a brilliant way to enjoy the weekend, and I envy you for it.”
Maria laughed at her dejected tone. “Why do you say so?”
“The new manager has settled all our accounts and businesses with the bank, thus a lot of paperwork he wants us to clear before next week.”
“Hmm, seems like he’s a hard worker.”
Maria’s tone was flat to sympathize with Clara, but she was happy. Compared to the previous manager who had not only done shitty work and stolen enough money to make them bankrupt, it was nice to hear someone was actually stepping up to the challenge of building the restaurant.
The two spoke more about the restaurant. Clara filled her in on her how things were going back home and Maria filled her in on details of the expansion. The way Reid was planning the whole thing, Maria had the feeling her business was soon turning into a franchise.
It was a lifelong dream she worked hard towards. The late nights she spent in the restaurant reviewing their menu, marketing strategies, bookkeeping, and other related issues. Maria was this close to her dream of becoming a reality, and there was a positive sensitivity she could feel within her.
Clara and Maria would have gone on for hours on the phone if the doorbell had not rung incessantly. Maria had to cut their discussion short and promised to call soon before going to check who was at the door.
Maria looked through the peephole on the door and saw the impatient human ringing the doorbell. She pulled the door open as his hands raised to knock on the door.
“You certainly took your time to answer the door.”
“If you expected me to run at your Beck and call, you have come to the wrong place.”
“I can’t believe I have forgotten how unpleasant your tongue can be.”
Maria was stunned by his words and gritted out, “What do you want, Reid?”
The last time she had seen him was in the hospital. After he left her with Athina to attend his meetings, she had assumed it would be the last she’d seen him for a while.
Reid was shocked and proved her wrong by coming late into the night. She did not know the exact time he arrived as she was asleep. It was a few minutes before he left that she woke up and was aware of his presence.
He didn’t say much. He whispered, “Sleep well.”
And kissed her forehead before leaving the room.
Just a few hours before, she had wondered if she’d ever see that warm side of him. He was warm today, cold the next day, and on certain days, he was a bloody arrogant prick.
He smiled smugly at her and invited himself into her apartment. Astounded by his rudeness, Maria fell open and shut the door. The nerve of him. The thought of kicking him out appealed to Maria, but she couldn’t, since he owned the building.
“I believe I asked you a question,” she said, following him as he made his way to the kitchen.
“I heard you,” He said flatly. He opened the fridge and took a bottle of water like he owned the place.
Maria made a small sound of disbelief and shook her head. She gawked at him, irritated, and observed he was garbed in a formal wear. The black tuxedo on him was immaculate on him as well as the derby shoes on his feet that one would think he was meeting with the president.
It took every control of Maria to not admit how good he looked. His hair was even styled, his beards trimmed, and he looked good enough to be the cover of Vogue magazine.
“By chance, do you have a dress suitable for an important event?” He turned to her finally.
“How important?”
“George Pierre important,” He replied curtly.
He did not need to elaborate further, as she knew who he was talking about. George Pierre was a business mogul, who was labelled as one of Europe’s richest men. Maria laughed, knowing he was pulling her legs.
“My six-year-old sister can lie better than that.” She scoffed.
“George is a close friend of my father who I met recently and spoke to about a restaurant I had just invested in. He was interested in the business and wants to discuss more. He wants to meet my partner, so he invited us to his birthday party, which is tonight.”
Of all things he had rambled, the only thing Maria picked was the last word.
“Tonight?” She exclaimed.
“Yes, and thank God I was smart enough to make a backup plan if you were clueless in the wardrobe department.” He looked down at her, a grin on his face like a winner.
He had certainly won against in the battle of humiliation.
Maria was insulted, but couldn’t deny that he wasn’t far from the truth. She could count the important events she had attended, which were only two. Her high school prom and college graduation.
Reid walked past her, headed for the door. She followed, hot on his heels, and watched as he opened the front door. A flood of strangers carrying equipment of sorts filled her home. They were about six of them who acknowledged her and Reid before heading to the living room, which Reid directed them to so they could set up.
Maria was less bothered about the people who had come in, since she had an idea of what they had come to do.
“So, is Mr. Pierre looking to invest in the restaurant?”
“It will be a good thing if he does. My money can not cover our renovation and other finances,” He said.
Out of nowhere, he took her hands and pulled her to the living room. He sat her down in a chair facing a mirror that had just been set up.
“I know you’re nervous about going to a party, but just look at the picture.” He stood behind her, staring at her through the mirror, and she stared back at him.
His words were far from encouraging, but his smile was. He turned to speak to the lady who seemed to be the boss and said, “Do whatever it is you do as long as her hair isn’t tied up.”
He ruffled her hair and left the styling team to do their job. Turn her duckling self into a swan. A glam up she had not wanted, but still sat quietly and allowed them to do what they knew how to do best.