His little body had immediately tensed up at my question but he remained as silent as ever, keeping his lips tightly shut. The only thing that told me that he had heard my question at all was the slight frown that appeared right after.
But it had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He immediately pulled his hands away from Ms. Belcalis as if he had been burned and hopped off the bed with a slight humph.
Avoiding my question all together, he instructed, “You can stay downstairs for the night since it’s late, but don’t try anything.”
I nodded silently and gathered all the dirty items off the nightstand. The shredded clothes, dirty clothes, and bloody basin. Taking one last glance back at the pair, watching how he meticulously tucked his mother in with an array of blankets, I stepped out of the bedroom with an armful of items and made my way downstairs.
It was pitch dark outside with only a few rays of moonlight shining through the windows. There was the usual random hollering and barks here and there from outside, but it wasn’t anything all that unusual for living so far north in Manhattan.
I flipped on a light switch as I turned into a new room, illuminating what appeared to be a cozy little living room connected to a forest-green-themed kitchen. All sorts of books and knitted blankets were lying across the living room, whether on the coffee, sofas, or ground. Although it was a bit messy, there was some sort of a homey feeling that came with it.
As I walked into the kitchen, I was instantly hit with a familiar sweet scent. It was the same scent whenever Ms. Belcalis passed by me in the office. I had never been able to quite place my finger on it before, but now I realized that it came from a habit of baking. The sweet scent of honey mixed with caramelized apples.
All sorts of baking supplies- ranging from a stand mixer to loose whisks and measuring spoons- were scattered across the countertop. In the little corners of the kitchen, there were clear containers holding muffins that she must’ve made recently.
She must’ve been quite fond of baking.
I set the bowl of bloodied water in the kitchen sink and tossed the ruined clothes into the waste bin. I grimaced as I poured the murky water down the drain, staining the side of the sink. Not wanting to leave a mess, I started working on washing the bowl and the kitchen sink, and all the other dirtied utensils around her kitchen.
By the time I finished, the little hand on the clock hanging above my head was sitting in the 2nd position. It was definitely late, and there didn’t seem to be any spare beds or rooms down here despite that kid’s words. If it had been anyone else, I probably would’ve headed home already, regardless of the time.
Yet I found myself taking a seat on one of the sofas in the living room. I just couldn’t bring myself to leave them all by themselves. Even though we were currently in the same house, my mind still couldn’t settle down.
I sighed as I leaned back on the sofa, loosening the tie around my neck.
I couldn’t sleep knowing something might happen to Ms. Belcalis during the night. What if she woke up in fright at night, trying to figure out who “broke” into her house and put her down on her bed? What if the injury on the back of her head was worse than I had originally thought and she suddenly stopped breathing? What if she had a panic attack in the middle of the night, recalling what had happened earlier today?
Even though sleep wouldn’t come to me, the entirety of this house still gave off a scent that seemed to relax my body naturally. And if it had been any other scenario, one where I wasn’t worried about her well-being, I probably would’ve easily fallen asleep already.
I tiredly rubbed my forehead.
Pulling out my phone, I decided to distract myself with some unfinished paperwork. I had left my laptop and all my files at the office in a hurry to get Ms. Belcalis back home, so I had to make do with completing my work on my phone.
An hour passed with ease as I scrolled through the contracts on my phone and digitally signed them. I finished all my work for the rest of the week, not that there were many days left anyway, since the weekend was just a day away.
Reaching the bottom of the list, I started working on the papers for submitting a sexual assault case against Jimuel while firing him simultaneously. There would be no problem with filing a lawsuit against him since I already had evidence from the camera security systems wired throughout my building and inside conference rooms. But I still needed to contact my lawyer to make sure he could dig up some other bullshit reasons to make sure he gets a minimum of 10 years of prison, if not a lifetime.
I was so busy messaging the details to my lawyer that I didn’t notice the incoming rays of the morning and the sound of light footsteps descending the stairs. In fact, I didn’t notice a single thing until I felt a light breeze on the side of my cheek.
I immediately froze and turned to see who it was. My eyes widened when I found a familiar pair of bright violet eyes framed by soft hazelnut locks as her name escaped passed my lips in a breathless whisper.
“Ms. Belcalis…”
She was in the cream-colored nightgown that I had dressed her in last night with an additional fluffy beige blanket hanging off her shoulders.
She seemed still only half awake as she stared at me in curiosity.
Realizing how I had been blatantly staring at her, I quickly diverted my eyes and stood up from my seat, taking a step back from her. I cleared my throat with a nervous rub to the back of the neck. “Are you feeling better, Ms. Belcalis? I didn’t mean to intrude into your home, but you kept asking for Liam before you passed out, so I thought it would be best to bring you back home and…”
My voice trailed off when I noticed Ms. Belcalis stepping closer to me. My breath hitched when she stopped right in front of me with less than a foot of space, looking up at me with those bright, beautiful orbs.
“Did you spend the night here?”
I nodded soundlessly.
Her eyes softened when she noticed how flustered I must’ve been. For someone who was normally quite cold around others, I somehow always found myself unable to keep my composure around her.
“In the living room?”
I nodded again.
Her eyes darted momentarily at her sofas before eying me up and down. She mumbled with a slight frown, “It must’ve been quite uncomfortable for Mr. Cordova…”
“No, it’s quite alright. I was more worried about Ms. Belcalis’s well-being,” I refuted. “I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you two alone, worried that something might have happened during the night.”
She nodded understandingly with a thoughtful look on her face. “I should at least make you breakfast as a thank you.”
I quickly waved my hands in negation. “No, no, please don’t feel obliged. I don’t want you to overwork yourself after you just woke up. If anything, we should be checking on the injury on the back of your head first.”
A look of realization suddenly spread across her face as she started to reach a hand back in search of said wound.
I instinctively caught her wrist before it could touch the open wound. “Ah, please don’t touch it. Let me get the disinfectants first and help you clean it instead.” When I realized that I had touched her without her consent, my eyes widened, and I immediately released her hands. I blabbered, “Uh, I’m sorry for touching you. You must feel uncomfortable with having a man in your house, especially after what happened yesterday. I should just-”
“I-It’s okay. I d-don’t hate it b-because I know Mr. Cordova w-won’t hurt m-me.”
She pulled her blankets tighter as she nervously glanced around the room at anything except for my eyes. Her voice was so soft that I barely caught it, but it was more than enough to halt my words.
My brain short-circuited at such a cute sight, not knowing how to respond, and I ended up blurting out, “I fired him. You won’t have to see him ever again.”
She nodded timidly. “T-Thank you.”
“I understand if you don’t feel comfortable coming to work anymore. I can find a replacement project manager, and I’ll still pay you for-”
She shook her head and mumbled, “It’s alright. I can still continue my work and go back to the office.”
I nodded mindlessly as my brain barely comprehended her words. It was failing to operate between the shock that she wasn’t leaving and the excitement that this wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.
A moment of silence passed as my brain failed to come up with any words until I finally managed, “Then, I guess I’ll just leave and-”
“No! Please, at least let me make you coffee.” She nervously shuffled in front of me before adding, “Mr. Cordova did so much for me and even stayed on an uncomfortable chair all night, so it’s the least I could do.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, hesitant to agree. “Okay… but only if I can check on your injuries first.”
She nodded quietly and padded into the kitchen in search of something. I trailed behind her, trying to figure out what she was doing, only to realize that she was looking for the first aid kit. She handed the little box to me and turned around, facing her back to me as she pulled her hair out of the way.
I wasn’t one who normally got flustered by women, but the mere sight of the nape of her neck made the inside of my mouth go dry all of a sudden.
I set the box down on the counter and pulled out the disinfectant bottle as I tried to regain my bearings, swallowing what little saliva I had left in my mouth.
Trying to ignore my racing heart, I carefully parted her hair to check on her wound. It had scarred over during the night with only the littlest amounts of dried blood around the edges.
She sucked in a sharp breath when I coated it in the disinfectant, making me immediately mumble an apology. I finished cleaning it as quickly as possible, finding it awfully hard to concentrate with her little body standing right in front of me. I tucked everything back away into the first aid kit and whispered a quick, “Done.”
“Thank you.” She graciously took the kit away from me and tucked it out in one of the overhanging cabinets. “Please give me a moment to get the coffee going.”
I nodded and sat back down on one of the countertop seats. Watching how she graciously flowed through the kitchen, I found myself uncontrollably mesmerized by the sight of her.
By how her hair swayed with each little step. By how her eyes lit up in recognition at different items. By how her sweet scent blended nicely with the warm aroma of the brewing coffee.
It all just had such a homey feeling that I found myself reluctant to return to my empty apartment.
In little to no time, I found a piping hot mug of coffee sitting in front of me and an adorable little girl standing in front of me with bright pink cheeks as she cradled her own cup.
It had a familiar aroma as I brought the cup up to my lips. Taking a sip of the cup, I realized it had the same usual bitterness paired with a special type of sweetness in the coffee she brought me every day.
Was it not simply coffee from some random old shop? Did she personally make coffee for me every day?
Looking up from my cup in surprise, I tried to ask, “Were those-”
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?”
Unluckily enough, before I could ask her, I found myself cut off by a familiar little voice from the top of the stairway.
Ms. Belcalis’s eyes widened as she watched Liam scurry down the stairs in a huff and walk up to me with a renewed sense of fury.
Without any fear, he yanked on my arm and hissed, “I only said that you could stay the night. You were supposed to leave by morning.”
Despite his efforts, I remained unmoved. He was still just a tiny child in comparison, even though he had the mannerisms of an adult.
Ms. Belcalis immediately started to panic and stutter, “L-Liam, please d-don’t t-talk to Mr. N-Cordova l-like that.”
I gave a light chuckle, trying to break up the tension. “It’s quite alright. I don’t mind.” Plucking the kid right off the ground and into my arms, I continued, “He’s just very protective of his beautiful mother.”
Ms. Belcalis blushed at my words, but Liam did nothing of the sort. If anything, my words seemed to have only added fuel to the fire.
Struggling against my hold, he shouted, “Who do you think you are?!? Let me go this instant! I knew that I shouldn’t have trusted you.”
I loosened my hold and let him slip out of my arms before he did anything else that might result in him hurting himself.
He immediately scrambled away from me and ran to his mother’s side, holding onto her side in a protective manner as he growled, or at least attempted, at me.
Ms. Belcalis stroked his head soothingly and softly reprimanded, “Liam, please apologize to Mr. Nikoalos. It’s not nice to be so rude to someone who helped us so much.”
His face contracted into a look of disgust. He clearly hated me for some reason, even though I wasn’t 100% sure why.
His grip tightened around her as he glared at me from across the counter and spat out, “I don’t care. All men just want to take advantage of Ms. Jane at the end of the day. He would be no different.”
What was he talking about?
Was this not the first time Ms. Belcalis had been assaulted before?
Was it a common occurrence for her to get assaulted?
My stomach immediately churned at the thought of someone so innocent being taken advantage like that everyday.
“Liam, you can’t accuse just anyone of such things!” Ms. Belcalis looked up at me in a panic. “Please don’t be offended by Liam. He isn’t the-”
I held my hand up, stopping her mid-sentence. “It’s okay, Ms. Belcalis. I know that he doesn’t actually mean any harm by it.”
She nodded timidly and wrapped a firm hand around Liam’s shoulder. Liam frowned from being indirectly instructed to stay silent but didn’t argue with his mother.
Seeing how she looked too ashamed to meet my eye, I easily figured out that Liam’s words must’ve held some truth to them. This must’ve happened to her before in the past, and probably more than once by how Liam was acting.
Clearing my throat, I stood up from my seat, deciding it was probably best for me to leave now before I made either of them any more uncomfortable. “Then, I’ll see you on Monday, Ms. Belcalis. And, if you feel you need a few extra days, please feel free to take them. I don’t mind picking up a bit of the slack for you.”
She nodded silently as she continued to avoid my eyes.
I sighed internally. We were finally getting a bit closer this morning. She was finally starting to approach me out of her own accord, but the distance immediately snapped back to its original size with Liam’s outburst, and now she couldn’t even look me in the eye anymore.
Trying to soothe the young boy, I tried to tell him, “And, Liam, I hope you won’t hate me too much. I would never try to hurt you or your mother, so I hope you can learn to trust me a bit more in the future.”
He stayed silent, not giving me any response except for a fierce glare.
I picked up my jacket, double-checked to ensure my keys were inside and started to head out the front door with a heavy conscience. I thought we were doing quite well this morning, especially since I had originally expected her to freak out at the sight of a ginormous male figure in her kitchen. But now it felt like we were departing on a bad note again, just like the first day she had started working for me.
Right before I closed the front door behind me, I felt a slight tug on the back of my shirt. I looked back in curiosity and found Ms. Belcalis standing behind me timidly. She squirmed in her position as she desperately tried to look for her words.
Parting her tempting lips and closing them back shut repeatedly to no avail.
Just what was she trying to do to my self-control…
Finally, after minutes of silence, I gently tugged her fingers off my shirt and gave them a small reassuring squeeze. “I’m not upset with you or your son. If anything, I find it quite adoring to see him care so much for his mother. But I hope that if you are ever in any trouble in the future, you wouldn’t hesitate to call me. I would hate to see someone as caring as yourself get hurt again, so please don’t avoid me simply because I’m ‘Mr. Cordova,’ alright?”
She looked up at me with wide eyes and nodded mutely.
“Good. Now take care of yourself. I want to see you in good health on Monday. Otherwise, I will send you home, okay?”
She nodded again.
Giving her fingers one final squeeze, I released her hand and waved goodbye.
Her little hand poked out of her blanket, reciprocating an adorable little gesture in goodbye.
With a faint smile on my lips, I turned around and climbed into my car, pulling out of the driveway only after I saw Ms. Belcalis re-enter her home. Despite the revolting event leading up to me ending up in her house, I couldn’t help feeling a bit lighter than before after finally getting a bit closer to Ms. Belcalis.
She showed me emotions that I never would’ve thought I’d see on her once emotionless mask, ranging from red blushing cheeks to her shy smiles of joy. She didn’t seem to feel as anxious in my presence anymore and was actually willing to get closer to me.
It made me wonder if it would possible for me to enter her life as someone more than just her boss.
A glimmer of hope that almost felt as if it would be too good to be true.