Isabella
I dressed up pretty excited that the things were left in the past and today was a new day with a new experience. Plus maybe there is a chance that Tristan was going to have a good moment.
But that thought was quickly shattered when I got downstairs to have breakfast with him, only to find the dining empty.
“Where’s Mr. Tristan?” I asked a girl who was cleaning the kitchen.
“Good morning ma’am,” she greeted me immediately I called her.
“He left already,” she responded and I looked very confused as I stared at the time on my phone. It wasn’t 8 am yet and he’s already gone.
“Did he say where?” I asked because there’s no way he’s in the office at this time. It’s way for early.
“No, he didn’t,” She responded and I dismissed her.
“Was this intentional or just a coincidence?” I thought to myself and stared at my phone looking at the time still wondering where he had to be at this time and if there was some kind of emergency I wasn’t aware of.
I took my seat and watched them serve my food while I let my thoughts wander off to what was happening with Tristan.
I was done eating and walked to the front door, about to order a ride when his driver rushed towards me.
“Good morning ma’am, I’ll get the car ready,” He said in haste.
“What do you mean?” I switched off my phone, even though I understood what he had just said.
“Mr. Tristan said I’ll be in charge of your ride,” He said to me.
“Then who drives him?” I had to ask because he has always been Tristan’s driver for as long as I could remember working for him.
“He got a new one,” He said simply.
“I’ll get the car ready,” He left in haste while I stumbled backward shocked by what I heard.
“He got a new driver? What does that even mean?” I thought and held onto the wall for support.
Tristan had this close relationship with his old driver. The man was nice and friendly, and now I’m supposed to believe he left his so what favorite driver for me? It didn’t make any sense.
“Was this because of what I said? The whole suffocating me? Did he mean it when he said he was going to go away?” questions went through my mind and I didn’t know what time to think.
I gazed at the car in front of me, it was a new car. I’ve never seen it before in his garage.
“Is this a new car?” I nervously asked the older man who was now my driver.
“Yes, Mr. Tristan said it’s yours?” He responded with a smile and opened the door for me to get in.
“What is happening? What’s this? He got me a new car? What does this mean?” I thought unsure of getting in.
“But why didn’t he say anything to me,” I mumbled staring at the beautiful car in front of me. It was sleek black and the interior from what I could see from where I stood was beautiful.
“Ma’am,” he called my attention and I walked into the car, welcomed by the smell you get when you buy a new car or notebook.
“This is so beautiful,” I whispered and held my chest, almost tearing up when the driver got inside.
The ride was peaceful, I could barely hear the sound of the engine. It was luxurious and I didn’t know how to thank Tristan for it or if I even deserved it, considering what I said to him.
*
The moment I arrived, my plan was clear, I needed to thank him. So I rushed to the elevator, walked into my office, dropped my bag on the desk, and knocked on his door.
“Come in,” I heard a faint voice, and I pushed the door open and walked into his office.
“Good morning,” I said but got no response from him. I was so excited with the whole new car, still flooded with a lot of emotions that I wondered if this was a reward or punishment.
“Thank you so much for the car, Tristan,” I said smiling brightly.
“It’s Mr. Tristan,” He answered broodily.
“We are at work,” He seemed like his old self as he said those words to me. His eyes didn’t leave his screen as I talked to him or when he responded either.
“Yeah right,” I nod my head, telling myself not to think so much of it…
“Thank you, But I still don’t understand why?” I asked
“You’ve never mentioned anything about a car to me,” I pressed on further, hoping to hear why he had bought it.
“It’s a wedding gift,” He said simply leaving me speechless. I didn’t know what else to say but mouthed a thank you awkwardly, before leaving his office. I went back to my cubicle and continued my work.
Lunchtime came quickly, and I started at his office waiting that he would offer to have lunch with me. I thought the car was a way to get my attention and make me forget that little situation, but could I be wrong? I stayed there waiting for him to get off his, seat and come to me, but that did happen.
Lunch break went by and passed. I made an excuse for him and said maybe he’s busy and would have it later but that didn’t happen and my stomach was already rumbling by the time I decided to stand on my feet and meet him.
“Come in, “I heard his voice after I knocked on the door.
“I want to grab something, do I get anything for you,” I still stood a distance close to the door while I spoke to him.
“No, I’ll order something later,” He said and I didn’t know what else to do but just stared at him confused.
“But? You’ve..” I was still saying when he cut me off.
“You may leave,” he didn’t even raise his head to look at me, as he dismissed me immediately.
“He ate nothing,” I completed my statement and walked back to my cubicle, staring at his door saddened by how things turned.
I didn’t get anything, I felt too hurt to even think about food. I went to the bathroom, cleaned my face, and came back to work.
“He’s just busy, there’s a lot of work to do,” I made excuses for him and just drowned myself in work for the rest of the day.
It was finally the end of the day but I stayed back waiting for Tristan again even though I felt my stomach clench crying for food. I was so hungry that I didn’t think I’d hold on much longer.
“Just thirty more minutes,” I told myself as I stared at the time on my phone. I said I’ll wait till 8 pm cause that was the longest he could stay at this place before he started to get tired too.
I took a deep breath and managed to do a little work. But the thirsty minutes wait was longer than I had expected it to be. Immediately it was 8 pm on the dot, I turned off the monitor, grabbed my iPad, and organized my bag. I walked out of my desk, grabbed my bag, and walked to his office.
I didn’t even knock but just pushed the door open gently.
“Are you ready to go home?” I asked in a tired tone. I could feel myself almost staggering, but I rested my back on the wall completely out of energy.
“No, I won’t be leaving yet,” He responded and I could hear the clicking sounds of his hands on his laptop from where I stood.
“But it’s closing hour already,” I was still speaking when he cut me off.
“You can head home Isabel,” he said and dismissed without sparing me a single glance.
“Great,” I said angry and just walked out of his office.
This wasn’t just because we have a busy schedule or new products coming out kind of busy. He was back to his old self, the mean scary, and cruel Tristan I know.
I waited up for him, I didn’t have any lunch and was starving, but this was the attitude I got. This was the way he was choosing to treat me, so why get me the car? I thought staring at the car in anger.
Why was he doing this to me? I thought frustrated.
“This couldn’t just be because of what I said right? There’s no way he took what I said seriously. Right?” I thought in anger as I got into the car…