Chapter 2 – Aya, Duck!

(Aya’s POV)

My hands flew, covering my face, hoping they would hide me from embarrassment when my three interviewers stood up. Tears rolled down my cheeks, wishing I had the power to vanish from the face of the earth.

“Is everything all right?” It was Liam’s voice, asking me worriedly.

I shook my head, then nodded, unsure what to tell them, but there was no other way to get out of this place except to walk the long hallway to reach the main door, hike down to get into the gate, and go on foot to the bus station unless I wanted to roll down from the gate.

“My legs…” I cried, pointing at my right leg, not caring about the job anymore. I just wanted to get this over with and run away from them.  

“Oh!” Ariana exclaimed. “Did you walk here with those really beautiful shoes?”

I could imagine her suppressing a smile, but I had to answer her, so I nodded. Then, I heard a sigh, and my body jerked when someone knelt before me and took off my shoes.

“Ariana, ask for the heating pad. Liam, get me that chair,” Red instructed and turned to me. “This will hurt a bit.”

Red was not joking when he slowly lifted my right leg to stretch my cramped muscle. I had to hold onto the edge of the chair and press my lips tighter to suppress a loud cry. I watched him massage my muscles from my leg to my feet. At this point, I didn’t care if my skirt was slightly hoisted because I would run barefoot toward the hall after this, and I would never see them again.

This was agony because his touch brought a tingling sensation to my core after the pain and stiffness of my muscles were gone. I swallowed hard, hoping my face was not the same as his name, but I doubted it when I could feel the heat on my cheeks.

When the cramping had passed, Red pulled the chair before me and carefully rested my legs on it. Ariana came back with a heating pad and gave it to him. He placed it on my leg and took my hand to hold the pad. I swallowed hard, looking down, not wanting to give colors to his kindness.

He stood up, took his bottled water, opened the cap, and gave it to me.

“Thank you,” I murmured, looking elsewhere as I drank.

“She’s here already, and most likely, she’s not going anywhere while resting her legs, so we should at least interview her,” Ariana sat excitedly on her chair. “Let’s say, for future references.”

The liquid must have gone to the wrong pipe, choking me. I had to cough to recover from another embarrassment. I shook my head, not caring anymore about the brimming tears in my eyes.

“Oh, it’s okay. I think I’m good. After this, I’ll leave, and…” I breathed out and closed my eyes. “Thank you. You… You said you’re looking for a male applicant… and umm, I have wasted much of your time, so -”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ariana smiled sweetly. “Miss Rodrigo, this is Liam, our cousin, and my brother, Red,” she began as she waited for him to sit down.  

“Where’s her paper?” Red sighed, looking at the papers on the table.

“Oh, here,” I panicked, but before I could stand, Liam already stood up and walked closer to me, taking the envelope beside my bag and giving it to Red.

“What’s your name?” He asked in a hurry, flipping my application form without reading the details.

“Mariel Aida Sophia Rodrigo,” I answered quickly.

“What?” A line etched between Red’s brows, returning on the first page of my application form. “Never mind. Ms. Rodrigo, I don’t want to waste your time, but you are not qualified for this job.”

“Yeah. It’s okay!” I nodded, wincing as I moved my right leg. “I’m leaving. Thank you so much for your time, for everything!”

How to run fast was my only problem now.

“But Ariana’s right. Since you’re already here, we’ll proceed with the interview,” he said, looking at me.

I swallowed hard. “But you just said -”

“This is for our future references,” he cut in. “Your name is really long. How do you want us to call you?”

I shrugged. “Those were three names, so I think any name will do.”

“Mariel?” he said, but it sounded like he was asking for my permission.

Mariel? Only my professors called me that name. I shook my head and said, “Mariel’s too girly.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Aida then,” he suggested.

“Don’t you think it’s too classy? I have a classmate -” I bit my lower lip and blinked when Red glared at me.

“Sophia? I like Sophia,” Liam cocked his head to look at them like he was participating in our nickname guessing game.

“Yeah, right! Your ex-girlfriend’s name is Sofia, so will she be Sofia the second?” Ariana chuckled, rolling her eyes but looking like she was enjoying the interview.

“Then what should we call you?” Red sighed, getting impatient already.

“Maya or Aya. My dad calls me Maya, but my mom said the M was too much, so everyone calls me by that shorter version of my name at home.” My cheeks blushed as I explained.

Liam laughed amusedly. “You should have told your parents you wanted a shorter name.”

“I did,” I smiled at him, causing Red to look at me. “But all I could say that time was waah, waah, waah!”

“Are you trying to be funny?” He narrowed his eyes, not looking happy with my joke.

I pressed my lips and shook my head. Why did I even say that joke whenever someone asked me about my name?

“I know this wasn’t significant to you, but when I was born, my grandparents from both sides of my parents argued about what should be my name, and my father, a peace-loving person, took all their suggestions,” I explained, not telling them my name should be four and all my school life, I struggled writing three names plus my last name.

“Maya. It’s cute,” Ariana smiled.

“Like the small bird,” Liam chuckled.

“Actually, my father named me after that. Maya,” I told Liam as if it was the answer to the trivia of the day. “These small birds usually feed on our crops -”

“Your father named you after the pest?” Red interrupted; his eyes were wide as he asked.

I pursed my lips because it was not what my father said. He found the bird cute, so he named me after it.

“Just call me Aya,” I said before my mother rose from her grave if I changed my nickname.

“Aya, first off, this invitation was sent late to Addie Rodrigo. Second, they indicated the wrong position here.” He put my paper aside and propped his elbows on the table. “We’re looking for a male nanny, not a tutor. As for the tutor, we already had one,” he clarified.

My eyebrows raised as I remembered what Ariana said about other applicants being on top of their class and having a master’s degree, yet no one got qualified as a nanny. A nanny?

“You need a college graduate and black belter for a nanny?” I did not mean to blurt it out. “If you’re looking for a male nanny, why send it to Addie?”

Red glared at Ariana, the one who was at fault in this weird job application announcement.

“What?” She chuckled, flipping her wavy hair to her back. “At least we have wider choices. Aya, we really need the strength of a man here because his kids were quite a handful, so I thought gay women could get qualified too.”

So, that was why Addie got qualified to apply for this job, except they were looking for a nanny, not a private tutor. My cousin was a proud lesbian and had a beautiful girlfriend, Leslie, and I could say they were a very charming couple.

“Unless you’re one,” Liam wiggled his eyebrows.

I nodded, pressing my lips tighter to suppress a laugh, hoping they would not notice the lie behind my eyes.

“You’re a gay woman? A lesbian?” Red’s eyes were telling me he didn’t believe me.

“Yes,” I answered without faltering.

Addie and Leslie would flip once they heard I lied about my gender, but this would only be temporary. I was only enjoying my interview, but after this, I would go back to my first plan, to run away as quickly as possible.

“You’re still not qualified. We wanted a college graduate for this position,” he muttered.

“Okay,” I stood up since I felt my right leg had finally recovered. “Thank you for your time,” I said, picking up Leslie’s shoes and getting ready to run barefoot.

“Wait. She hasn’t seen the children yet,” Ariana stood up.

“She doesn't need to meet them,” Red shook his head, arranging the papers before him.

“That’s not fair. All nanny applicants had met your children, and you gave them the time to decide whether to take the job or not,” she explained, walking in front of me and startling me when she took the shoes in my hand.

“Didn’t you hear me, Ariana? She’s not qualified,” he scowled at her.

“You know what, it’s okay,” I assured her, trying to snatch the shoes from her. “Mr. Carlington is right. I was thankful for the time.”

“But Liam and I like you,” she growled, glaring at her brother, who walked in our direction.

“Ohh…kay,” I swallowed hard, terrified she might hit Red with Leslie’s killer shoes. I have no money to bail those shoes, just in case.

“Fine!” he snarled, taking the shoes from her, and turned to me. “You’re still not qualified.”

What was with Leslie’s shoes? I grabbed them from him and hugged the shoes so no one could take them away from me. Arianna squealed with joy as she anchored her arm to me, not minding if I was walking without my shoes. She led me to the door, leaving Red and Liam inside the room.

“Though they’re little monsters, you’ll love them,” she muttered happily as we climbed the stairs.

Little monsters? Was I too delicious to be eaten by Red’s children? I pressed my lips, blushing as I thought of Red devouring me because if it were him, I would gladly offer myself to him. I let Arianna blabber about the children until we stopped at their playroom. My eyebrows raised, noticing she took a deep breath before opening the door.

“Duck!” One child shouted.

Duck?

Ariana lowered her head to avoid the toy flying across the room, but it was too late for me to squat down. Before I knew what was happening, the squeaky rubber duck hit my forehead, causing me to see little yellow ducklings flying around my head. With my legs unstable, I fell over but got lucky that someone was behind me, catching me before my bottom hit the floor.

“Uh-oh!” A cute voice muttered.

I heard the scrambling of feet, but I wanted to assure the duck, and the slight pain in my forehead was nothing because I was in the strong arms of the perfectly sculpted body of my future employer… that is, if I get hired.

“Aya, are you okay?” Red asked worriedly, raising his other hand to touch my forehead.

I sighed and thought of the emotions stirring inside me. If this was not lusting Red Carlington, then what could this be?