“And I went fetch that Pepsi for him downstairs,” Thea was clenching her teeth as she talked to Lily, “Guess what he told me after screwing the cap and taking a sip?”
Lily was peeling oranges with a smile on her face, “What did he say?”
“He said it was too sweet!” Thea looked like she was losing her mind, “Only psychopaths who drink soap water would think Pepsi is too sweet!”
“You’re not gonna give him soap water to drink next time, are you?” Lily laughed.
“I wish I could,” Thea huffed, “Great. Now I’ve exposed my plans. It will never happen. I suspect Cody Bradley secretly enjoys torturing people.”
Lily shook her head, “No, sweetie. He’s only toying with you because he secretly likes you.”
“What?!” Thea grimaced, “I wish he could like someone else instead of me.”
“Thea, my dear… Am I delusional, or has your complexion suddenly changed?” Lily narrowed her eyes at Thea.
“Huh?” Thea rose from her chair, going suspiciously red, “No… I mean. It’s the lights!”
And then, she ran to her room and sat before the mirror.
Opening her kit of makeup products, Thea took out a brush and daftly painted wrinkles and spots over her skin.
Her 30-year-old makeup almost got busted. It must be because she was too angry with Cody that she started to sweat. The sweat ruined her disguise. It was all that man’s fault.
After the makeup was done, Thea checked herself before the mirror again. She was that plain and ordinary nurse again.
Thea let out a long breath.
If she wanted to keep herself safe, she mustn’t reveal her true face under makeup!
****
Cody’s family came to visit the next day. Thea noticed that Cody’s Mom seemed like a really nice lady. When Cristelle talked to Thea, she sounded extremely gentle. Linford also seemed like a polite gentleman from Thea’s perspective. All his family members were extremely good-looking people.
Thea wondered where Cody got his snobbishness and utter annoyance from.
“Thanks for taking care of our boy,” Cristelle smiled as she laid her eyes on the woman before her.
The woman looked like she was 30 or almost 40. And she had wrinkles and spots on her face.
She didn’t look that “hot” from the conventional point of view, but she looked like a nice person.
“I’m just doing my job, Mrs. Bradley,” Thea liked this lady for no reason. She was so gentle and polite.
“You know… Cody is not the easiest person to be around,” Cristelle smiled, “But he has a great heart. I know it can be hard sometimes for you to talk to him or get to know him. Just feel free to escape the house and walk in the garden when he’s too stubborn. Lily and Zoey will take care of the rest, okay?”
“Wow…” Thea’s mouth dropped open, “That’s really nice of you, Mrs. Bradley. But I think Cody started to like me. And also think he’s a great person. You don’t need to worry about him. I’ll take very good care of your son.”
Thea felt a bit dizzy being this close to such a sweet and elegant lady. Nevertheless, she was determined that she would do this job with all her heart, even for Cristelle’s sake.
“Thank you, Thea. That means a lot to me,” Cristelle hugged Thea shortly before leaving the house with her handsome husband and beautiful daughter.
Thea was summoned upstairs later on.
“Come here,” Cody was facing the window, his voice cold as he demanded.
Thea swallowed, feeling a bit nervous for no reason.
“Wha-what can I bring you, sir?” Thea asked.
“Did you tell my mom that I started to like you?” Cody’s voice sounded cold.
“Ye-yeah…” Thea felt a bit embarrassed. How the heck did he even hear that? Was he hiding hearing devices in his house?
“Where did you even get that conclusion?” Cody’s voice was harsh, full of sarcasm, “Why would I even like you? You almost sexually harassed me. I don’t need some weird woman who tried to get her hands into my pants. You should feel lucky that I didn’t kick you out of this house.”
“I really didn’t mean to…” Thea explained, “I thought I’d explained this to you. I was distracted back then.”
Cody twirled the wheelchair slowly to face Thea. His beautiful eyes were sharp and dark, “You don’t think we can actually be friends, do you?”
“No, sir,” Thea answered rigidly, “This is just my job.”
“Good, I will be glad if you stay in your line and don’t give me any trouble,” Cody’s eyebrows furrowed, adding coldly, “You can leave now.”
Thea felt relieved and whipped around. When she was just about to reach the door, however, she stopped in her tracks.
Thea knew she needed this job, but she couldn’t tolerate such rudeness.
She turned around, meeting Cody’s widened eyes, “I didn’t say those things to Mrs. Bradley because I wanted to be your friend. I couldn’t even tolerate you if I wasn’t paid. Your mother is a sweet lady. And clearly, she knows how annoying you can sometimes be, and she was worried that I would ditch this job and leave her son uncared for. I said those things to make her at ease because I knew she must be a great mother. Cody Bradley, you’re not the most attractive creation in the universe that everyone should pay attention to.”
With that, Thea just stomped her feet to the door and walked downstairs. Did she feel great after saying those words? Probably not, she felt uncomfortable, but he was so annoying!
Definitely. Would she get fired after giving that attitude to her boss?
After thinking for a short moment, Thea realized she didn’t care even though that arrogant man would fire her. If this were the last day of her job, she would accept the reality and find another one sooner.
No one could treat her like that.
Thea was unmotivated to do the chores after the hateful conversation in Cody’s room.
She went to her room and started watching movies with the volume lowered, analyzing how the actors acted in their scenes.
Thea’s biggest dream was to become a famous actress.