Chapter 4

Ettiene

She was running late,again. The third time this week. I glanced at the clock as i fished for my phone.

Soon as I dialed her number the door unlocked and there she was.

"Why does it seem like you are putting in major efforts to not look miserable?"

She slid it close. "Because I am." She hurried behind her desk and got to work.

"You are meeting with your parents at the Lacasa hotel,and no,you cannot cancel or postpone this one." She announced not lifting her head from her work.

Odd.

She has not thrown me a nasty glare,not even once. Her eyes have not made 360 degrees turn and she hasn't looked to the side trying to buy time as she weighed her words.

After long hours of silence. I close my tabs. "What is going on?"

She lifted her head but averted my eyes. "With what sir?"

The word sir rolled off smoothly from her mouth,it never does.

"With us."

She sighs and takes off her glasses,which by the way,she has never worn. "There is no us,sir."

The stress on the last part signified that she was leveling on the formal part of our relationship. I had no problem with that so long as it did not get this awkward.

"Okay." I admit nodding. "Then what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

My eyes narrow at her thinking of all possibilities. "Is it because of the other night""

"No!" She screamed getting on her feet."No. We promised not to talk about that night."

Her beautiful silky hair that was always flowing around her shoulders was now in a high ponytail that was too tight for comfortability.

"The day after?"

She helplessly drops to her seat. "Please stop. It has nothing to do with you." She lifts her head about to make a declaration."I am changing!"

"Changing?"

"Yes." She sits uprights and pulls her chair closer to the desk. "Yes,new me. Yay."

I have never heard such a weak jubilation.

"Hey,hey. Look at me. What is going on?"

Her eyes meet mine and she quickly looks away.

"No. No. No." I spun her chair around and knelt before her. "Don't cry. I mean,you can cry but I won't know what to do. Tell me what's wrong. I will throw in a few dollars,make some calls,I will make it right."

She sniffled so I offered her my handkerchief. "He broke up with me."

"Who? Your boyfriend?"

That was a dumb question with an obvious answer.

"Fuck him. I don't know who it was but I want to believe your taste in guys doesn't suck. I mean,look at us."

She smiles a little bit then says. "There is no us,Ettiene."

I suppress my smile.

No more sir rolling off smoothly from that mouth.

"You should get under me."

"What?"

"You know,to get over him."

She huffs and spins her chair to face the front. "You have a meeting in five minutes."

"On a scale of one to ten,how important?"

She pushes my hand away from her thigh. "You've postponed it three times now. This is business."

"Then can I feel you once the meeting is over?"

"No." And she was stacking papers together.

She turns and faces me with a smile. "How about never?"

"I'll give you the money."

Okay,that statement was wrong on so many levels.

"No,no. That's not…that's not what I mean."

The glasses were back and I knew that nothing I say now would get through to her.

"Prepare for the meeting." She said without much of a glance.

I go back to my desk.

"You know,if I want to get under someone,I'll do it without getting paid. And if I want to get some cash out of it,I'll go to the appropriate place and not to my boss."

I shall not reply to that.

_________________

Dinner with my family always sucks. Jules,my brother curses my existence. The whole process is tortures as everyone will be throwing daggers at each other.

My step mom at me,my brother Jules,at me as well. Father at both of them and me…well,I focused on anything that was not their faces.

Today was different. One because my personal assistant was with me. She made things bearable. Two,because we had company.

A young woman was seated across from me. She had no interest in whatever was going on at the table. On both her sides,were her parents I assume.

"Let's get to the point?" It was Jules who spoke.

Father cleared his throat and patted his mouth with the serviette. "Ettiene,who is she?"

"Desdemona,my secretary." I felt her eyes on me but did not look to her direction. Father nodded.

When I looked at her,she was focused on Jules.

I hope she is not planning on getting under him.

Jules smiled. "If I knew you were coming to work for him then I'd have left you on the road."

I glance at her then back to my brother.

"Our ride broke down and he was kind enough to offer us one." She explained.

I scoff. "Kind enough."

"Okay. This is the Glynn family."

"What business do we have with them?"

"This is their daughter,Myra. Since the both of you are too immersed in work to actually date,us as parents have gone a step ahead to simplify things for you." He spoke slowly making sure I felt the effect of each word.

"No. I am not going on a date."

The girl's father clasped his hand together on top of the table,a wide grin on his face."Good,then we can go ahead with the wedding?"

"Yes. We can skip to that part."

I frown but before I answer, Desdemona had pushed her chair back. She murmered a quick 'excuse me' and rushed off. I quickly followed.

"Bathroom." She said with her mouth covered.

"This way."

She was kneeling with her head to the bowl throwing out everything she had in taken within the past few hours. I was next to her with her hair grabbed in my hand as she had untied it for dinner.

My hand rubbed her back softly.

She pulled back,her eyes watery.

"Does the idea of me getting married to someone else sicken you that much?"

She went back to vomiting.

My phone buzzed but I ignored it,I had much important things to take care of.