Roxanne

Chapter 4

After a couple of drives and stops, I was finally able to locate the estate. The estate was one of a kind and it's little wonder why it was ranked as one of the best estates in London, it lived up to its standards.

The security at the main entrance was damn tight in that occupants would need a pass card to enter upon successful registration. This means that the system had the names of all its occupants including the workers or their housekeepers.

So here I was, standing outside the security house admiring the scenery the estate portrayed senerity. After making sure that all was clear and I had successfully collected my pass card, I left the security house strolling, trying to pinpoint the exact building where I was supposed to work as all the buildings were alike in both structure and design.

During my search, I discovered that the estate had a gym centre, a mini-mall and an outdoor sporting complex. It was cool how occupants didn't need to search too far for certain things well except for school. Most of the buildings were storied with each having its uniqueness.

The owner of this estate sure makes a whole lot of money. I mused.

Okay enough with the admiration, I had to look for my workplace and it didn't seem like I was doing a good job finding it and that in itself was frustrating. After wandering around for quite some time, I checked the address card that Erika gave me Cheval Three Quays, 40 lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6AG, but it just didn't seem to help alleviate my frustrations.

Just when I was about to give up on locating the house, a building caught my attention. This particular one stood out -I mean, it was different from the others, it was a high-rise building that could be mistaken for a five-star hotel. I suddenly had an inkling feeling that it was the building.

I glanced around and found a little board with an address similar to the one I had with me. Despite that, I still needed some form of confirmation and at that moment I regretted not asking questions at the security house and as if nature felt my frustration, I heard someone approaching and not wanting to take chances, I waited for the person to draw near before I stopped the person.

"Hello, good morning." I smiled and moved closer to her, wringing my hands together.

She looked up from her phone, staring at me with narrowed eyes. I had to give her the credit, she had a nice figure, a cute face and a good sense of fashion. Overall, she was beautiful in a cute way. She was dressed rather informal so I just assumed that she might probably be one of the occupants.

"Good morning." She smiled graciously placing her phone in her pocket. "You look confused, can I help you?" She asked.

Ooh, she does seem nice.

"Yeah, I'm kinda lost. I'm looking for this address." I said and showed her the card.

After a while, she looked at me tucking her hair behind her ear, she pointed to the same building I was standing in front of. "This is the building."

"Oh," I smiled. "Thank you." I mumbled and kept the card back in my purse. She gave me a nod and walked into the building. I trailed behind her quietly as we walked into a wide-span area which held a reception desk and on the left, a place that looked like a lounge, more like a waiting area.

The interiors were top notch and they screamed expensive, this I knew because mom was an interior designer. I was beginning to wonder what the interiors of each of the apartments would look like -this was only the reception and waiting area. The place actually was lit and something I could only dream of owning.

I shook my head sighing and continued walking but immediately came to a halt. I blinked at the human block in front of me and realized that she was the lady from before.

She stared at me, her head tilted to the left with a smirk on her cute face giving her a badass look. I didn't know why but the way she looked at me left me confused, it seemed like she knew something I didn't and so, I did the one thing my brain could muster at that moment, smile. If she'd noticed my unease she didn't let on but instead returned my smile and I realized she had dimples.

"You seem new, are you an occupant or something else?" She asked, putting her hands in her pocket.

"Something else." I answered. She nodded, walking towards the elevator. "I'm a house manager." I said, falling in step with her.

"Really." She glanced at me before entering the elevator. "I've never seen one before." I looked at her to know if she was serious but she shrugged smiling. "I'm serious." She pressed the button to the tenth floor. "Which floor are you heading to?" She asked over her shoulder.

"12th floor." I answered upon confirmation and she pressed it on the elevator.

"I think there's a celebrity on that floor." She mumbled reaching to plug her left ear with a Bluetooth earphone. "I'm an occupant here by the way and a fashion stylist by profession." She beamed brightly seeming proud of her job.

Her smile was contagious and her being a professional stylist explained her style of dressing which was cool. "I'm Roxanne." She flipped her hair out of her face and stretched her hand out for a handshake which I gladly took. She laughed gently and somewhat found myself laughing too.

She was so easy and cool, this made it possible for me to be comfortable with her. "Sorry if you find me weird, I'm not usually like this. I just find you captivating and comfortable, I hope you don't mind."

Captivating and comfortable. It's been a while since I heard that. My inner mind mused.

I smiled. "You're not weird if anything you're cool and you made it quite easy for me to calm down." I clasped my hands together. "I was kinda nervous before." I revealed.

"Aww, I'm such a blessing." She laughed. "You know, it's okay to be nervous most particular when you have something important to deliver or fulfil but don't let it consume you, okay."

I nodded. "I'm Kiara by the way." I said, quietly.

"Such a beautiful name, it's nice meeting you." She beamed.

"Same." I replied. She shook her head and plugged her other ear with the other piece of the Bluetooth earphone and we eventually fell into quietness.

The only sound I could hear was that of the elevator and her occasional giggles. She was truly beautiful even with the less makeup she wore -she could be mistaken for a model. She had purple-coloured hair which was braided on the left side and then clipped midway leaving the rest to fall over her shoulders. She wore a black high-heeled Nike sneaker, blue Jean trousers, a cream-coloured camisole and a black leather jacket all of which screamed quality but in a subtle way. In all, she was cool and friendly even though I'm just meeting her for the first time.

I looked at my wristwatch and discovered that it was ten minutes past eight which meant that I was officially late for work.

Such a bad impression. I sighed.

"Ding." I jumped a little at the sound of the elevator opening because I had been so caught up in my thoughts of leaving a bad impression on my employer and it was only my first day. I was running through the different kinds of excuses I could come up with when I heard Roxanne's quiet voice.

"Hey, Kiara." She called, a concerned expression on her face. Her voice was nice and soothing like a drug. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." I nodded more like I was trying to convince myself.

She smiled and took a single step so she was standing before me but not enough to invade my personal space, she placed both hands on my shoulders. "It's okay to be nervous but don't let it consume you." She whispered peering at me. "Take a deep breath in and relax, you can do it. You'll be fine." She smiled and that did the magic.

There wasn't any need for her to help me considering we were strangers but she did, those words were all I needed at that moment. I wasn't much of a hugger but I pulled her in for a hug mumbling a thank you.

She beamed at me when I released her. "I've got this feeling that we'll meet again." She said stepping out of the elevator and I nodded. "And until then, good luck girl and see you around." She waved at me smiling just as the doors of the elevator closed.

I sighed remembering her words, just then my phone started to ring and it was from Erika. "Good morning, Kiara." She greeted, hastily.

"Good morning, how are you doing?" I replied.

"I'm fine. Were you able to locate the place?" She asked, raising her voice a little because of the noise in the background.

"Yes, though it was kinda difficult." I stepped out of the elevator having reached my destination.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience that it may have caused you." She apologized. "I was supposed to take you there or if possible allocate a driver or someone to do that but I didn't and for that, I'm truly sorry."

"It's okay." I sighed. "How's work?" I asked, staring at the two doors before me.

"It's good but stressful. Are you already in the building?" She inquired. She sounded so formal and I could hear her giving out orders through the phone so I waited quietly for her to finish whatever she was doing. "Kiara, can you still hear me?" She asked, apologetically.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm on the 12th floor already and there are two doors before me one on my left and the other on my right and I don't know which is the exact apartment."

"Okay, the door number is 1201. I once again apologize for the inconvenience and I'll try to make it up to you. I wish you the best of luck. Have a nice day." Erika replied and ended the call.

I nodded.

I think I'm gonna need a lot of luck. Even my subconscious agreed with me on that.

I took a deep breath in, arranged myself before walking to the said apartment and pressed the door bell while taking some time to survey the passage. After about few seconds, the door opened revealing the most handsome guy I'd ever imagined in my life.

To be sincere, I was already fuming from lack of answer but somehow it just disappeared. The scent of his Cologne hit me with a full blast and worst still he looked familiar but I couldn't pinpoint the exact place where I'd seen him. He looked like he walked straight out of a magazine, he was beautiful.

The guy standing before me appeared to be a southeast Asian but I couldn't tell the country he came from -though I was suspecting it to be Korea.

I am k-drama fan and I admire their actors and actresses. Me seeing one, live and direct was totally awesome but the straight and stern face that was looking at me combined with an hollow expression wasn't exactly a nice combo.

"Hi, I'm Kiara Michaelson." I said in a soft, low voice. "I am the new house manager and was appointed to resume work here." I smiled nervously, hoping to appease him.

"Well, hello to you," He leaned against the door frame and glanced at his extremely expensive wristwatch. "You're thirty minutes late for work on your first day and what does that say about your attitude to work?" He asked, folding his arms on his chest.

Damn, that voice is calling and nice.

His accent was freaking polished and it some how gave me goose bumps in a good way though. A girl can only dream.

"Hello, Miss Kiara, can you hear me?" He peered quizzically at me while trying to stifle a smile.

Damn, he called my name like seriously. I think I'm gonna need a breather.

Kiara get your acts together you're already embarrassing yourself.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." I whispered. I was already dying from embarrassment instead of nervous. For just how long had I spaced out, could my day get any worse.

I summoned a little courage and glanced at him but chickened out in the last minute. "I couldn't locate this place on time and I was given little information." I tried explaining with my head lowered.

When I didn't get a reply, I raised my head up to see him smiling. This time I openly gawk at him.

WHAT THE HECK