Jasmine*
"Yes at Caravan Park" Hart said happily over the phone.Hart, my boyfriend just spoke with me over the phone asking that I meet him at our favorite rendezvous.Four days ago when I met him at his house, I stumbled on a pack inside his drawer.Out of curiosity, I opened it and found a diamond ring inside of it."Jasmine, he wants to propose." Lilian, my step-sister said joyfully.She was the only one in my family who cared about me. I've been through a lot of trauma after my mom passed, Mrs. Smith took me to and fro hell.However, it's a thing of happiness that she was listed amongst those who must spend two weeks away from home, a conference held for the most experienced staff at work."Oh my God, I'm blushing, we have been doing this for three years and I can't wait for it," I told Lilian."What will you wear? You need to look stunning you know." Lilian smiled."Yeah... But you know, I don't have cute dresses. Well, I think I will love to wear this one, it's my favorite."I pulled out a box of clothes to pick out my so-called best dress but Lilian snatched it from me and wrapped it up, she dumped it somewhere."Do you get paid each time you try to disgrace me?" Lilian asked teasingly and I chuckled. "Yes, I'm starting to think you earn from it. Now come to my room let me find you a dress and a shoe."I anxiously followed Lillian silently as I didn't want to get her upset.In her room, there was a lot of furniture compared to mine, an empty room with just a wooden table almost destroyed by termites, a stupid box, and a bunk bed not forgetting a heap of useless shoes."Will you wear this one? It has a rope here," she pointed to the waist region. " You tie it right behind you and then there's a detachable rose flower, you just have to clip it at this point.""This is beautiful.""It is and here are my shoes, you are free to choose the one you will love to wear.""The red suede shoes.""Have it then. Hey, you are going to wear light makeup, come on, it's your happy day and you need to shine tonight."I blushed and held my hand up to my face, I wonder why I did that.The thought of being engaged to someone, the feeling of being married and tending to children was divine.Here, I was being faced with marriage and family. Woah, I didn't plan for this but then, I was so eager to have it.I watched as Lilian went about trying to put things in place for me so I could look more beautiful."Once it's 3 pm I want you to wake me up so I can prepare you for your date. There's food for you in the kitchen, I made dinner earlier today. Enjoy."She left me.I can't wait to leave Mrs. Smith's house for her and start leaving with Hart, my sweetheart.On her return from the conference, she would feel defeated and I can't wait to find that wicked witch in such condition; sad and jealous. Yeah, it will excite me.Once I'm married, I looked forward to getting employed somewhere even if it's serving as a maid as I do not have papers to qualify me for a better job.I lost track of time when the loud humming of a singer from a cd player broke my concentration, I realized I was almost late meeting with Hart."Lilian."I began to call Lilian from my room as I headed to hers. She was still asleep, I tapped on her lap and she sprang to her feet."Wait for me in the dressing parlor." She said and I walked out in anxiety. I was thinking about how it will go with Hart out there.Was he going to get on his knees? Or would he put the ring in my food or drink? Or will he leave it on my seat?I watched several romantic proposals from video clips on my phone, from the cinema, news and some others I witnessed personally."Hey, smile don't give me that look. It should be your best day." Lilian teased. "Look up, a little, no not your eyes, raise your face up." She instructed me noticing that I had become stiff and tensed.I did. Lilian put some makeup on my face and when I stood before the mirror I smiled with great satisfaction."Thank you, Lilian, I owe you.""It's a pleasure, my love."I walked into the gown, it was a pretty gown. I slipped my feet into the shoe easily. Oh my fucking, it was not fitting well."It goes with the dress, you will have to manage it, Jasmine ." Lilian pleaded."How do I walk with this?""It's simple, be confident and don't slouch. People won't take their eyes down there if you don't give them reasons to."It was so easy to say, it was only I who understood what I would be experiencing; Difficulty, not ease.I watched Lilian rush into a gown, she ran lipstick over her lip, picked her tiny purse, wore perfume and equally poured a minimal quantity on my dress.Sometimes she acted like a sister I never had."Up, up, up , shall we?" She snapped her fingers. "We're running late."Within a few minutes, we arrived at Caravan but there was no sight of Hart.We waited for almost forty minutes before my cell phone rang."I'm sorry Jasmine I'll be there soon, I got delayed by traffic." He said casually with a low voice.I took a sigh of relief and bent backward leaning on the chair.My eyes were busy scanning the park. Lilian brought me a glass of wine and left to meet with a friend still at the park.Out of desperation, I left with my drink to wait on the walkway for Hart, so I could scare him out by jumping out of my hiding.Everything was going well, until it was time to jump out."Haarrt!" I screamed and then, I bumped into a big man. My drink spilled on his coat, a coat I can't afford even if I had to sell everything I owned."Oops! I didn't mean to be this crazy..."I call him 'big' because just after I did that shit, his bodyguards bundled me up, tied my hands to my back, and made me follow behind him like a common slave."Take her." He had said. My pleadings were void, I angered him. I couldn't see his face when I looked from behind for the mask he wore.Instead of feeling pity for myself, for once, I felt a sense of relief having to follow a big man in the custody of his guards.Everything happened so quickly as though it was acted out from a script.He got seated at the VIP's lounge and beckoned on his guards to take me to him."Are you insane?" He asked, my face was down, of course, I didn't dare to raise my shameful face at him so he doesn't recognize me if ever he would see me again.Neither was I interested in knowing him, it would make no sense else it will make my knees even weaker each time I remember the experience.His voice alone caused me to quiver, why would this be happening today? I was starting to feel very hot encompassed by four hefty guys as though I stole their diamonds then I suddenly remembered that it was a command from their boss."Look up." He commanded me. I did though slightly, I was glad that my curly hair covered a greater part of my face.He abruptly pulled at his mask revealing his face. I watched him through my hair strands, gosh my legs wobbled at the thought of ravishing him perhaps not that, I just felt different. How different? I can't explain it in words.That's not all, the big man had so much beauty that I could hardly look away from him, and surprisingly, he too was staring.The only visible thing were my eyes, my face was covered with my hair as I was still smart enough to hide my shame by hanging my head althrough.A young man, his angular face was smooth, his eyes slanted at the edge.He was like a gold figurine placed in a glass and reserved untainted for tourists where they would pay to have a look.I found myself to be lucky as I had a look at him free of charge.For a moment, we stole glances and I reluctantly blinked, making myself break off from the eye contact competition.God! What was that? I asked myself noticing what I felt, well, this is not what I should be thinking about."Hey, I've been searching everywhere for you. Your would-be husband is here, he's been waiting for a while now."The big man's eyes turned to Lilian with hate and I begged without words that she should just run away and never come back, I was ready to bear his wrath alone."Take her too." He said in an evil manner but the men hesitated. "I said, take her!" He raised his voice.Jasmine* From clear observation, the man was bitter about something. Two of the guards walked toward Lilian but she disappeared into the crowd faster than I could imagine. I was now alone in my mess, I hoped that Hart will come to my rescue. "Alright, I'll have to keep you with me until we get your friend." "Oh please," I began to beg. "I came here to meet Hart, my boyfriend. Please let me, I'll come back, I promise." I lied and he knew it. He took one more deadly stare at me and tilted his head. "You got a familiar look, have we met before in some place?” He asked letting his eyes settle elsewhere to avoid looking at me. I shook my head in fear. "What is your name?" "Jasmine Bryan." I said raising my face a bit more since my neck was starting to ache. "I heard her talking about your would-be husband, what did she mean?" "Absolutely nothing, Lilian is just a crazy girl." "Let her go." With my head hanging, I curtsied. "I'm grateful, I'm sorry about your coat." He didn't r
Jason* "Next file!" I bellowed but the door remained closed. "This is the third time I would be demanding for this and if you keep me waiting for too long, I assume you don't value your job. A lot of resumes and application forms are submitted daily, I don't search for workers; they look for me." I raised my voice and lowered my dark glasses, my gaze fixated on the door. "Next file," I repeated. Sona, my secretary ran in with numerous files and placed them before me, she nearly got her dress torn by the doorknob in the process. "I'm extremely sorry Sir." My eyes walked over her body, I shook my head. "If you keep displaying this trait of incompetency, I don't mind helping you to lose your job." I adjusted my tie and flexed my neck. "This file is not stamped yet, where is this file coming in from?" She bent a little forward, her eyes scanned a few lines in the paper. "This is from the photography unit sir, they got to replace the lights as they are getting dimmer." "Are ther
Jasmine* "Yes, Jasmine I did. She will employ you. She's a kind woman, her former helper will be resigning by the weekend and she requires another maid." Lilian said confidently."How well do you know her? You know, though I'll love to serve as a maid, I must know who my master and mistress are." "The media carried the death of her husband some days ago, she's a widow." "Oh, poor thing. I'll try my best to pass the interview." I told her"You definitely will, she owns a restaurant, and she goes there with her favorite maid." "Wow, if I'm considered, I'll try to be her favorite so I could bring back enough pies." I giggled. "How much is the pay?" "Three hundred thousand dollars." "What? that's so much money, she must be very wealthy." "Absolutely." I've sat back so many times to think about how far I would have gone if I'd had the capital to venture into the sales of groceries, and for once bring my dreams into reality. Yes, that feeling of being my boss. I could be better, cou
Jason* "Congratulations, I'll be launching the playground tomorrow. The children will be allowed to play as soon as that has been done." I told Dr. Garvey, the owner of a private orphanage located at the heart of the state. From time to time, I made sure I made donations to the orphanage. Last month, the sum of two million dollars was being credited into their account for the welfare of the orphans, it was more like giving a complimentary support to encourage him. "Thank you so much, you are such a good man." His lips twitched into a broad smile, it revealed how excited he was. "And you too, this whole responsibility is vested in you, Mr. Garvey. You are in charge here and you deserve this," I remarked. "I can't wait to see the children playing happily during leisure and also, I'm grateful for the donation of reading materials to the school, your goodness rings in our hearts, Mr. Jason." "It's a pleasure, Goodman." We shook hands and he walked out of my office. I was about to
Jason* "Yes, may I know you?" I asked an unfamiliar lady, my guards stood around her to keep her away from proceeding further. She was somewhat lean, flat-chested with heavy makeup. Her appearance reminded me of a certain stripper I saw at a club. She smiled often revealing her diastema, her eyes walked over my body constantly. "I'm Aurora, the daughter of the former most famous Artist in the state. I lied about wanting to expose a secret, sir. I just wanted to meet with you. I'm interested in serving Mrs. Laura as her maid." "You must be insane! Do I look like a kid to you?" She fell to her knees and began begging. "I thought it was the only way I will be permitted to meet with you." She said with pitiful eyes. "Oscar! Throw this nincompoop outside the gate." I thought about saying that but I decided to be calm, today was my happy day. "This is my house, not Mrs. Laura's. You may leave now, good luck to you at Mrs. Laura's." I said without trying to be compassionate but my
Jasmine* "I'm afraid Lilian, I may not be considered for the job," I said to Lilian who was slicing green vegetables into a tray. She paused and examined me before walking down to where I was seated. "You must be optimistic at all times dear, you are a winner and I know that." She squatted beside me and took my hand. "Don't worry about anything." She got up and went away to finish slicing the veggies. "A certain Aurora poured dirt on my dress and later on she turned up for the interview." "Did you fight her?" "No, I didn't have to." "What the fuck? How could you let her go away with that? I wouldn't let anyone step on my toe and get away with it, never!" Lilian gritted. "I will learn your ways soon." I smiled and stopped immediately when the doorbell rang. "Don't worry, I'll go to the door," I said to Lilian. I dropped a novel I was reading on the seat and walked up to the door. Immediately after I opened up, a blinding slap landed on my right cheek. "You moron! Do I need to
Jasmine* "Yeah! I'll sew a pretty apron for you, you are getting this job at once. I trust your meals." Lilian expressed happily after giving me a thousand hugs. "I'll be the happiest person alive." "Wow, this is good news, that kind I love to hear. Now listen, sister, try your best to capture Mrs. Laura's interest okay?" "Is it about Mrs. Laura? No, her son will be there, he will have to taste our meals and make his decision. "Her son?" Lilian asked fearfully, she turned around and backed me. She looked into the distance and rolled her eyes left and then right. "I believe you will get the job." She said this time without confidence, she said it as though she was supposed to say something positive and then I feared for myself. Should I begin to prepare by going into the kitchen to try out different recipes? How about checking g****e for clues? Now, I wished Mrs. Laura had said in her mail, the kind of food we would be asked to prepare. I must win this. Why did Lilian suddenly c
"Are you dumb? Answer my question now!" Mrs. Smith hurled at Jasmine. "No ma." She shivered at the thought of having Mrs. Smith's hands over her face again so she braced up. Most times, she had always wanted to confront her as an equal, but end up doing things differently when she thought about Lilian. "She didn't mean what you heard." Mr. Bryan tried to defend her daughter. She ignored him and turned to Jasmine who was now standing as sitting on the seat would even make matters worse. "Your father has married me little beauty." Jasmine loved that she knew she was a beauty, she kept a fixed gaze at Mrs. Smith letting her eyes trail off from her face would mean receiving an unexpected slap. "I'll always be here for as long as I live, so I advise that you get that into your dumb head. With that said goodnight barbie." *** Jasmine* Today, I would be cooking for Mrs. Laura's son, afterwards, he would choose whose food he loved best. I said a few words of prayer as I set out to