Winter Bear; Stay With Me.

“I’ve lost my job”

Devastation was an understatement as Bloom stood over the threshold with a damp aura about her. She fisted her hands to her sides as her little frame began trembling. She hated how horrible she felt but she knew there was nothing she could do to change what had already happened.

Mr Griffo wouldn’t bother to listen to her complaint either so she knew it was better she woke up to this fact and chugged it down.

“Bloom?” A man stood up from where he was seated, by the fireplace and carefully approached the despondent woman. His brows creased when he got a clearer look to her face and he sighed, placing his large hands onto her shoulders.

“Hey now…don’t put on such a look” His voice came out soft and caressing that even the stubborn woman had to dissolve under with a groan. He smiled when he saw her giving in and moved his hands to hold hers to guide her in.

“I…I’m so…so sorry” Her voice croaked out despite her efforts to come out clean. But he man understood better and only nodded his head with a warm smile on. He made her take a sit on the high-backed sofa he just stood up from. “Now tell me about it”.

His voice was coaxing and so were his emerald orbs that made her stiff shoulders relax as her fingers yearned for each other over her clasped thighs. Then she sighed, a heavy and strenuous one and finally spoke.

“I promise I didn’t do anything wrong this time…it was that annoying customer…and…he just wouldn’t listen to me…” She gushed on in a single breath, immediately drawing in deep breaths to calm her racing nerves.

At that point, her fingers were engaged in a battle of their own to help her stable her trembling and simmer down a little.

Benjamin lifted a hand and covered it over her active fingers, looking up to her with understanding while she chewed on her lips as if she was about to cry but was too stubborn to. “Bloom…it’s okay. It’s high time you quit working there and it’s not like the wage is anything to smile about. Don’t look so broken, you’ll get another job”.

He waited for her to make a move and calm down like she normally did. Then she groaned loudly, throwing her head back and pouting. This brought a huge smile onto his face and he stood up, stretching to his full height of six feet, three inches. He dug his hands into the pockets of his pants and watched her slouched form studiously.

“Why don’t you go check on Mario, he’s been waiting for you. I’ll bring your dinner upstairs” He moved past her, ruffling her loose bun of auburn hair. The little woman fought against his friendly assault and rose up on her knees on the sofa as she watched him leave the sitting room.

“I need to get a job soon…” She dragged herself off the sofa and trudged heavily towards the staircase at the other end of the sitting room.

When she arrived before the bedroom door, Bloom gently held the knob, twisting it carefully and giving it a light push. Poking her head through, she found the kid strewn over his bed with his blanket crossed diagonally over his body.

She let out a giggle, entering into his room fully and sat at the edge of his bed. There were a number of books on his bed which ranged from his finished assignments to picture story books all opened with his tiny frame over them. So Bloom gently lifted him up and quietly pulled out the books from beneath him. The little auburn haired only stirred a bit but his eyes didn’t come open.

Bloom giggled again when he threw a leg over her hand in his sleep and she arranged him properly before branding a soft kiss to his forehead and leaving the kid to enjoy his sleep. She got to her room just beside his and quickly had a shower before she was joined by her older brother who brought her sumptuous dinner to her.

“I need to get me another job. Maybe this time I should try something different” She dragged a hungry bite from the chicken wing in her solid grip, making the man bellow in laughter at her unsightly eating habit.

“Finish eating that and we’ll talk about it” He told her, using a napkin to wipe the sauce from her chin. Bloom only nodded and focused on her dinner while he watched. In the long years they’ve been together and he had been watching over her, he couldn’t help the fact that she was becoming more a woman each day. She wasn’t so social and often never wanted to have anything to do with people but she knew that would mean she would never get a job to look after her son and herself.

“Okay, I’m done now” She placed the empty glass cup on the tray and folded her legs like a priest. “I spoke to Stefano and he’s got something for you” Benjamin spoke, studying her reaction. Bloom paused for a moment and with the look creeping into her face, he knew he had caught her interest.

“Can you tell me about it and stop placing me in suspense” She whined like a child and he pulled her cheek. “Now…it’s something you’ve always been running away from Bloom. But this time I won’t let you back out of it so easily”. Now he was really beating around the bush and this woman wasn’t in the brightest mood for it.

“It’s a job interview at ‘W.M Companies’ in search of a new secretary. The CEO’s current secretary is about to take her maternity leave and so he needs someone capable to fill in for the duration of her absence. Perform your job well and you could be retained”. It was such a juicy offer but even Bloom had to ponder over it.

There was no doubt that the pay would be good and she could get to buy all those things she had circled in the countless magazines she kept. But she was in a dilemma. Bloom was quite skeptical that she would create a dent in the CEO’s expectation of her when she would sit across from him and the interrogation would commence. She had deliberately never gone for those kind of job offers for a reason. And that was her anti-social nature.

“Ben…” She wanted to dissuade him but Benjamin had been prepared for that. He knew his sister wouldn’t give in that easily so he quickly interrupted her with a wave of his index in her face.

“Not this time Bloom. You will go for it. I already got you a formal wear for it tomorrow and if I have to bundle you over there, I will gladly do so”.

“Tomorrow?” Bloom's eyes grew wide in bewilder. It was happening tomorrow already? That was too soon.

Benjamin simply chuckled at her comical expression and patted her head gently, “You can do this Bloom. Just calm down and only speak when you’re spoken to. You’ll be fine”.

He knew he had to be convincing enough or she wouldn’t agree to it. Well, not like Bloom agreed completely either. Left to her, she wished it wasn’t so close so she could hunt for another job and avoid having to go there but, she couldn’t let her brother down.

And so she gave in with a pout, “Fine”.

The next day, an anxious Bloom was up and about. She hurriedly bathed Mario and got him ready for school. Stefano was going to come pick him up and drop him off at school so she could focus on the interview and prepare herself for battle.

“Bye mommy!” Little Mario waved happily at her before running over to the black SUV at the driveway and getting picked up a man clad in a black business suit.

Stefano was like a big brother to Bloom and a father figure to little Mario. He was her brother’s best friend and colleague at work. The Mexican was a strikingly handsome man and was as tall as her brother, always with a killer smile that had women tripping for him like domino tiles.

He was very fond of Mario that the kid never bothered to know if he was his father or not. Bloom was always pleased to have him around. She watched them get into the van and held her breath at the thought of what today really meant for her. She instantly turned on her heels and ran back into the house where Benjamin was descending from the stairs and walking towards her.

“Ready?” He asked and she deflated with a lazy nod. He stepped back to observe what she wore and he smiled in content. “Let’s get going then”.