Tom was although taken aback a bit with the sudden declaration but he was still happy that she had agreed to hop on the offer he presented to her. He was glad that his plans would press further now, and if the universe permits, it would soar faster than he expected.
“Let’s meet tomorrow then, I have to go” she said to him
“Are you still at work? I can hear cars honking around” he asked
“I.. am going.. ho.. me… I just stayed back to do something” she stuttered as she tried to cover up
“I see! I will communicate the time of meeting to you tomorrow” he added and disconnected the call.
She sighed in relief and folded her fist in determination as she walked aimlessly into the street. It was then she realized that she didn’t pick her bag from the house and her card, purse or anything that contained her identity her money was not on her.
“Sh*t” she spat out
She wouldn’t be able to lodge at a hotel even though she wants to because she doesn’t have her ID card with her, she could have spent the night at work but the market was closed down already. She was torn about where to go because if she go to her mother’s room then her mother would bug her till she has no choice to talk about what happened.
She was still thinking about what to do when Eddy’s car pulled up in front of her and he ran out to meet her.
“Amber, can you please calm down? Can you please hear me out?” he said running to his side but he was met with a stinging slap from her
“How dare you show up in front of me, you shameless bastard? Do you think I am some pushover who would stand and listen to your rants? What do you want to say? What is the excuse you want to give to me? That you didn’t mean to? That I was at fault? I was never around? I was not enough? Tell me!” she yelled at him on top of her voice.
He held her shoulders and tried to calm her down because she was making a scene and people were passing by. He didn’t want her to draw unnecessary attention to them but she was not ready to calm down with the look of things.
“Can you please stop screaming? We can talk things out like an adult” he said to her but she flung his hands away
“Talk things out like an adult? You should have thought about that and brought that option to me before you started sleeping with my roommate. Was I that pitiful? Did you have a good laugh while watching me ignorantly following you both as I believed that you were only friends? Was it fun fooling me and making me feel miserable? You are both bastards and I said what I said so please get out of my sight because you disgust me” she spat at him and walked off with anger.
He was running to catch up with her when another car pulled up beside them making them fly to the side for safety. Tom came down from the car in his white shirt rolled up at the sleeve, his black pants was thoroughly ironed and his watch was glistering through the shining light. His hair was down and parted in the middle of his forehead, he was stunning!
His appearance was different from that of work and it was safe to say she had never seen this side of him. He walked to their side and they both looked at him with wonder of what he was going to do or say.
“It seems Miss Amber here doesn’t want to go with you, how about you respect her decision?” he said gently
“What do you think you are doing? This is a talk between us which you don’t need to concern yourself with” Eddy spat at him
“Well like you have said, I didn’t need to concern myself with it in the first place but Miss Amber here was once my secretary so she’s not a stranger and also I witnessed how she was shouting in the street because you refused to leave her alone, I think a gentleman shouldn’t do that” Tom said calmly and Eddy scoffed
“What is it to you if she screamed or not? This is our issue so stay out of it!” Eddy lashed at him
“I was not planning to intervene in your issue, I just want to discuss with Miss Amber about the company. As you might have known, she’s my secretary” Tom responded
“Secretary? Since when? She stopped working for you since so just stop embarrassing yourself” Eddy shouted
“Says who? Miss Amber Leo is still my secretary. It seems tonight is not a good night to discuss, we should see at the office tomorrow” he said to Amber who was confused about what was going on and left for his car.
Amber quickly ran after him to ask what he was talking about, how could she resume work when she was already fired?
“It was stated in the contract that you will work as the face of my paintings and I will make sure you keep your job, have you forgotten already?” he answered with his brows raised
“Ah! That was true” she muttered
“So see you at the office tomorrow, Miss Amber” he said to her and got into his car.
She was so happy that she didn’t know what to say at that particular moment, she turned around to jump for joy but saw Eddy still standing there and that got her angry again. She ran to Tom’s car and tapped on his window.
“Can you please take me out of here, sir?” she asked and he smirked
“Sure, get in the car, Miss Amber” he answered immediately and she ran to the other side to jump into the car.
Tom looked at Eddy where he was standing with a speechless expression and smirked before driving off.
The ride was silent and awkward for a few minutes before she decided to break the silence.
“Thank you for helping me out back there” she muttered
“You don’t need to thank me, I only did what I should do” he responded with his gaze fixed on the road
“I am sorry for barging into your car and requesting for a ride, I will get down at the next junction” she added
“I don’t know what happened between you two but I hope you can resolve it as soon as possible” he replied and she just nodded silently.
He had come out to meet an investor he has been trying to get for a while when he saw her and Eddy having a brawl by the road side. She seems to be so furious and Eddy wasn’t wise enough to at least leave her alone for some time so he had to step in and stop the scene because everyone was now paying attention to them.
He pulled up at the junction she talked about and she dropped down from the car.
“I trust you will show up at the office tomorrow, Miss Amber” he said to her and zoomed off before she could protest.
How will she show up tomorrow? She didn’t prepare for this at all, it has been up to four months she left office and she has discarded all her office materials. Her clothes were at home and she didn’t want to go home, at least not that night. Even the supermarket, she haven’t given them a notice of quitting, everything was happening at a very fast rate.
“Mr. Tom seems to be doing me more bad than good tonight” she sighed as she was stuck between what to do.
She didn’t have a choice than to go home since she would have to prepare for work the next day. She just went straight to her room and locked the door, she sat in front of her mirror and stared at her haggard and puffy face, and she had gone through series of emotion that evening and had been a mess.
“I guess has a way of giving and taking after all” she mumbled and sighed before heading for the bathroom to wash up.
She woke up the next day and decided to visit the supermarket first before going to the company to submit her notice of quitting.
“You are such a diligent worker, I am sad to let you go” the manager said with a sad face
“I am sorry that the notice is so sudden but it wasn’t my fault, I already told you that I will be working here till I find a new job” she explained
“I am so happy that you got one, I know and I’m sure you will do well so take care of yourself. There are many always lining up for the job, so I will find a replacement soon” he said to her and she nodded
“Thank you for helping me out” she thanked him and left for the hospital.
She met her mother staring at her favorite view and hugged her from behind.
“You always hug me from behind if you want to bribe me” her mother remarked and she was left speechless
“Do I do that?” she asked and her mother nodded making her laugh
“I am indeed here to bribe you” she added
“Is something going on?” her mother asked but she only smiled in return
“Nothing is happening, I am just here to bribe you that I might not be showing up as often like before because I am going to get very busy” she explained
“You shouldn’t worry about me, I will be waiting for you here while trying my best to stay healthy so be free to do what you want” her mother told her and she felt relieved.
She knew the face that if she starts to work at the company, she would get busy and since they are moving towards the end of the year where sales get higher and demands pump in than normal, she will have so much work on her table.
“You have to stay healthy” she said to her and hug her again before going to pay some of her bills with the money she was paid from the supermarket.
“Let’s push forward today with hope” she said in assurance and flagged down a cab heading to the company.
She was not sure how the contract would change her life but one thing was sure, without a risk, she would never accomplish anything in life so she’s betting everything on this aspect of her life.