Megan’s point of view.
My legs wobbled as I rushed down the hallway to report to my boss.
Even though I was trying my hardest not to check my wristwatch, my subconscious mind wouldn’t let me, my eyes still glanced at it anyway, and I gasped quietly -my heart beat increased as fear overwhelmed me.
Why does his office have to be at the extreme of this hallway, anyway? I grumbled mentally.
I was only three minutes late when I arrived, but taking the elevator ride made it five minutes, and now, walking down this stupid hallway is going to make it eight minutes.
“Hey” a familiar male voice exclaimed as I bumped into him. “Slow down, señorita”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lee” I apologized, immediately I raised my head and realized it’s Mike.
I wore heels; hence, I lost my balance and almost fell face flat, but he reacted on reflex. He caught my arms very fast, and helped me regain balance, but I let out a hiss because I hurt my ankle in the process.
He checked my arms briefly to see if I’m injured, which thankfully I wasn’t -well, except for my ankle.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah”
“You don’t have to run about in heels, besides…” he trailed off and checked his wristwatch. “… you’re only eight minutes late”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
“How sweet would it be if you were my boss, but unfortunately, you’re not him, and he’s not as reasonable as you”
We both laughed shortly at my very lame joke.
“Well, slow down and don’t trip again” he said and nodded at my ankle that’s already swelling up.
As if seeing the swell just triggered a suppressed pain, I squinted my eyes and winced quietly, then let out a pained laugh.
“I guess your advice won’t be needed after all”
“Yeah, I see why” we laughed again. “You’re just a few steps away from Mr. Belmont’s office, so, go on”
“I’ll see you at lunchtime”
His eyes bulged out as though a supermodel just gave him a kiss on the lips.
“Sure” he replied with his cheeks turning red.
I furrowed my brows as a question came to me -does he have a crush on me? Or how do I explain him blushing over having lunch together?
Oh, no!
My heart just suffered from heartbreak like four or five days ago, I can’t deal with anything that has to do with a heart right now.
“I’ll see you at lunch” he said, then rushed off before I could reply to him.
“You better not have a crush on me” I said underneath my breath, then proceeded to my boss’s office.
••••••••••••••
I took a few deep breaths, bracing myself for whatever’s coming my way after I step into Mr. Belmont’s office.
I checked my wristwatch again, which wasn’t a good idea because doing that just seemed to increase my worry.
“Are you coming in?” I heard him ask from inside.
His voice was normal, he didn’t sound angry…or maybe that’s just my mind trying to console me.
I grabbed the door handle, and pushed it open, then walked in -more like limped in since the pain in my leg is getting kind of unbearable now.
You may be wondering why, well, that’s because I’m still wearing and walking on the heels.
That isn’t my worry right now.
“Good morning, Mr. Belmont” I greeted the man (my boss) sitting in front of me with a deep frown on.
“You’re late” he bellowed instead of responding to my greeting.
I mentally rolled my eyes -tell me something I don’t already know.
My eyes subconsciously looked towards the big wall clock sitting comfortably above the window, it’s already 8:50am -damn, the morning traffic…damn everything that delayed and made me late.
“Why are you late by eleven whole minutes?”
Eleven minutes? That’s an exaggeration, I’m only eight minutes late -I almost screamed out in my defense.
“I’m sorry, sir” was all that proceeded from my mouth.
He didn’t respond, and we stayed in total silence.
He leaned forward, his elbows rested on his desk and his chin rested on his crossed knuckles as he stared or watched me silently.
His eyes were making me anxious, I couldn’t help but wonder -am I in trouble? Is he thinking of some dangerous punishment for me?
“I know we started off on the wrong foot” he finally broke the long and suffocating silence. “So, here’s a chance for us to start over and be friends”
Friends? Be friends with my boss? Is this a set-up ? I mean, isn’t it going to be weird being friends with my boss?
“I think being friends, and understanding each other will help us work better together” he said with a smile, which I find creepy and unusual.
“Is this a set-up, sir?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“No” he answered. “I have a feeling that you’re not happy with me…”
Isn’t that normal between most bosses and their workers?
“… I don’t like it that way”
Did I say that out loud?
“Yes, you did” he replied.
My eyes widened, and I slapped my hands over my mouth.
“I’m sorry, sir” I apologized immediately.
“Don’t be”
He searched his drawer and pulled out a file, then stretched it towards me.
“Starting today, you’ll be doing the usual job of a PA”
I collected the file and opened it to glance through.
“You can head back to your office now” he said.
I blinked a few times, then pinched my right arm to confirm whether I’m dreaming -I’m not dreaming!
“I believe you know what to do with that file, yes?”
“Yes, sir”
“Then go on” he nodded towards the door.
I smiled broadly, then turned and began limping towards the door, but stopped abruptly when I heard…
“Hold on”
Please don’t change your mind, don’t change your mind -I prayed in my heart.
“You’re hurt” he stated.
I looked down at my ankle, and boy, I could hardly recognize it… it’s so red and extremely swollen, it’s as if I’m wearing sneakers on my heels.
He sprang up and took long strides towards me. I don’t know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I saw something like panic flashed in his eyes.
“Come on, have a sit” he grabbed my left arm and carefully led me to a sofa, in the small sitting area in his office. “What happened to you?” he asked.
“I almost trip earlier”
He made me sit down, went on one knee and carefully carried my injured leg, and gently dropped it on the table. Did he study it with a scared expression? Why does he look scared? Or am I misinterpreting his expression?
“Wait, here, I’ll get some ice and a first aid kit”
“Ok” I nodded simply.
He lets out a shaky breath, then rushed off to the attached room in his office -I didn’t even know there’s an attached room until now.
What’s going on? Why is he being nice on my second day?
••••••••••••••••
Third person’s point of view.
*Room 0034 – SIN*
Ferguson’s eyes fluttered open, but he quickly squinted them when a bright sunlight streaming through the window stabbed harshly on them.
He felt a very sharp ache at the back of his head, making his head a bit too heavy for his neck. He tried to recall what happened and what led to this discomfort, then a vague memory of him drinking beers flooded his mind.
“Good morning, Mr. Alfonso”
His head snapped towards the direction where the voice came from, and he sighed when he saw Rob.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“It’s 8:55am, sir”
“F**k!” he cursed. “Why did you let me wake up so late? What about my class? I’m sure that Stella must be waiting for me”
He made to get up, but Rob’s next words stopped him.
“You don’t have any class today, and your sessions with Miss McCartney have ended, sir”
“What? Why? When did that happen? Why wasn’t I aware of this?” he asked with a confused expression.
Rob tilted his head, confusion was clearly written all over him as a million questions raced through his mind; What’s going on with Mr. Alfonso? Did he have too many drinks last night and ended up suffering from a memory loss?