(Renata Pellegrini)
“What did the boss want?”, Caio asks as I approach the counter.
I sigh, I can’t tell anyone what happened in that room. I take a seat behind the counter next to Caio and look towards the entrance. I don’t like to lie, but Caio has been very nice to me, no need to give him a dry answer, better to lie.
“I didn’t even go into your living room, he told me to leave even before I came in”, I make up the excuse, but his eyes look at me suspiciously.
“You took too long, and your hair is disheveled”, he says looking at me.
Shit! I run my hand through my hair and feel that there are still some loose strands, I can’t look people in the eye while I’m lying. I move my gaze to the ground.
“I bumped into the vice-president’s secretary, that’s why, and I also spent a few minutes talking to her, she’s very nice”, I lie outright.
‘Please Miss Sophie, I’m sorry for using you like this’ – beg in my thoughts.
“Miss Sophie is very nice and beautiful too, too bad she is a married woman.
Ah, so she is already married, as beautiful as she is, surprise she is single.
“Yes, the day I arrived, she was the only one who greeted me and didn’t look me up and down, she is amazing”, I say smiling.
It’s good to be around people who are humble in spirit, I wouldn’t mind working for Sophie. But unfortunately, Veronica is my “boss”, lucky for me the work school is sent by email, I don’t need to exchange words with Veronica, that makes me feel relieved.
> Lunch time:
“Aren’t you going to eat?”, Caio asks.
“I’m not hungry today, you can go eat”, I say smiling.
“It’s not good to skip meals, and lunch is deducted from your salary anyway.”
“I know, but today I’m going to stay, have a good lunch a you.”
Luckily for me, he doesn’t insist on conversation, just gives me a smile and leaves for the cafeteria.
The butterflies still fly around my belly, in my mind appears again and again the vision of soft, warm lips, I can still taste the mint of my boss’s mouth, his hot breath, his kisses on my collarbone. My hands tremble and my heart beats faster. Remembering his big hand on my thigh makes me shiver.
Mercy, I feel these things only with memories… How embarrassing!
‘Calm down, woman, what little shame is this?’- my mind scolds me. She’s right, I’m no longer a teenager with hormones at their peak.
Although… I’ve never felt anything like this before, my heart never beats fast for someone, but I don’t think it’s because I’m liking my boss, never that, our worlds are completely different and distant. It’s just the thrill of finally not being a VM ( Virgin Mouth ) anymore, that’s all. No man has ever gotten this close to me, it’s just the adrenaline of the news, just ignore that it’s soon to pass.
I lay my head on the counter, I start thinking about Amanda, she didn’t come to work today, Friday, after dropping me off at home, she said goodbye and left. I wanted to apologize to her. I wanted to see her today, I would invite her to my house for lunch, it would be my way of apologizing.
But also, it would be a way for me to not feel so alone. After coming here, after having spent my first meal with Filippo, I feel lonely when it comes to eating at home.
“This is no place to sleep!”, Veronica slams her hand on the table causing a big noise, startling me.
I swallowed hard, I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t notice her arrival. Damn it, I never wanted to hear her voice again.
“I wasn’t sleeping”, I tell, looking at her.
“When referring to me, don’t forget to say: Miss Veronica, don’t forget who’s in charge here”, she says, crossing her arms looking at me.
“Okay, Miss. Veronica”, I answer.
“Go get me a coffee.”
“No”, I answer quickly, oush, what does she think I am?
“What did you say?”
“I said, no, I’m not your assistant to fetch you coffee.
“Look, shitty favela woman”, she puts her hands on the counter and brings her face close to mine, “There is no no, I am your superior, I command and you obey, don’t forget that your salary here is per hour. I might as well leave you soaking at home all month”, she threatens.
The previous trembling in my hands turns into tingling, I really want to punch that plastered face.
“Come on, girl! Get off your skinny ass and go get my coffee, I’m in my office, you have five minutes”, she speaks, turns around and leaves.
Now inhale, inhale… I repeat this process about five times. I can only have thrown one stone at the cross.
“Apparently the bitch is already throwing poison and now on a new target”, Caio sits next to me at the counter.
“Well, have you had lunch yet? I ate quickly”, I speak more calmly.
“Eating alone is like that, lunch is only delayed when you have someone to talk to.”
“Oh, I get it.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get coffee from that… that… that… agr!”, I need to control myself, I can’t keep cursing here.
“She likes black coffee without sugar”, he warns me.
“”How do you know that?””
“You’re not the first one to be forced to go get her coffee”, he says, rolling her eyes.
“Have you gone?”, I ask curiously.
“Several times, the first time she even threw the coffee at my head.”
“How wretched, this is abuse of power, why doesn’t anyone denounce this snake?”, I ask, not satisfied, how does Filippo allow someone like her to work here?
“She says she is a close friend of the”, she underlines the last word, “Of the great tycoon Filippo Valentini and that no one’s word will ever be worth more than hers. She threatened me a lot at first.”
“To let you soak at home?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Why? I don’t understand…”
“She wanted me to… well… to sleep with her, and I refused and that was it. She said she’d still reverse the story and say I was stalking her.
“That ordinary bitch”, damn I’m in the company, Veronica is not worthy of any kind of respect, “You’ll see.”
“She did worse to Amanda.”
“How so?”
“Amanda, despite always smiling, her life is very complicated, she didn’t accept Veronica’s threats and stayed home most of the month, when the situation really got worse she had to swallow her pride and apologize on her knees to Veronica.”
Shock, does Amanda need her paycheck too? And that pink car, that make-up and those nice clothes? What else is she hiding behind her smile?
What a hate! I will avenge you Amanda, too bad I’m not here to see it. But tomorrow you’ll get the news.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t get into trouble”, I hear her voice getting more and more distant, but I’m not going to follow her advice.
I’m not going to accept this anymore, today it’s either going to be her, or it’s going to be me, the two of us here are not going to work. I don’t have cockroach blood.
Idai she’s close to Filippo and I need this job to be able to eat… Fuck, today I’m going to break her face. I’m going to make the biggest scandal this company has ever seen!
What if I get fired? I just take the money from the two I worked for and go back to Brazil, even if I have to borrow money from the bank.