“Did you do all this today?” he asked again, his voice behind her, warm with a hint of skepticism. It further raised her guilt and anxiety but she struggled to control it. She refused to let his imposing presence affect her. She was Andra Anderson. No one scared her.“Yes.” She responded, still surprised that her voice was barely above a whisper. What was happening to her? She cleared her throat. “Yes.” She repeated in a firmer voice that still sounded a bit faint to her ears, but since it sounded better, she would do with that.“Well done.” He said, his voice still mellow. “I’m impressed.”“Thank you.” She replied, satisfied with his response.“I didn't actually believe you’ll see it through.”“I had no choice, D.”He paused, saying nothing and she turned around to ascertain his expression. Then it hit her that she had just given him a nickname. Her face flushed with embarrassment.“D?” he said, his lips curved in amusement.“Your name is too long, so I shortened it.” She replied.“H
Andra didn’t know why her heart began to beat faster. Her gaze fell to his chest so she would not face him. It was as if, a tense feeling that can only arise between people who were falling in love, was in the air. She had to change that immediately before she made a fool of herself before him. Her eyes lifted and met his warm gaze.“I need some cash.” She said reminding him of her recent request.He leaned back against the chair and folded his arms, his eyes observant on hers. She suddenly felt like an employee before a boss who was asking for a raise. It was awkward and raised her nerves.“For what purpose?” he asked, taking her back to where they were before he interrupted her.“The uh…, the month is ending. I usually spend the last three days of the month in a hotel so I can unwind.”“Not happening.”“Why not?” she questioned, her expression, laced with disappointment.“You should know why not.” He responded. He was used to her unreasonable attitude and didn’t bother to wonder abo
She rose at his pronouncement that spoke of doom for her. She was determined to see things favor her.“What? You can’t do that.”He shook his head at her. “The only reason keeping me from taking out my anger on you is because I promised. Do not antagonize me further with your silly protests. Okay?”Andra considered his decision with alarm. It did not bode well for her. There was no way she was going to keep silent about it. She had to try.“Please, okay fine, I made a mistake. I thought you would not mind.”He stared at her for a while, during which she hoped he was giving ear to her words in a positive light. Although she could not read him properly. Eventually, he shook his head.“It’s over, Andra. He said with a note of finality. “Get a job.”Dominic started to walk away, returning to his room and leaving her alone. Andra watched him go and was about to start another series of pleas but she stopped herself. Enough was enough. She was an adult. It was time to earn her living.“You k
Andra shook her head in denial. “Nothing to do with my time.” She lied. “I do this when I’m bored.”“Oh, I thought as much.” The girl replied and Andra was relieved that the girl had bought her story.“What a privilege to be driven around by the likes of you.” The girl remarked in a lively voice.Andra wished the girl would just zip her mouth and stay silent. It was already bad enough that she was lying to explain her current position. She just wanted silence in the vehicle.Andra noticed her passenger retrieving her phone and directing the camera toward her.“Hey, what are you doing?” Andra demanded“I am a blogger. I want to post you working as an Uber driver.”“I don’t need that, please,” Andra said dismissively.“It will inspire some other young people to work instead of sitting around and doing nothing.”“I don’t care,” Andra shouted.The girl clicked a shot with her phone, disregarding Andra’s stand. Noticing this, Andra stopped the car and exited it. Then she walked over to the
"I'm talking to you." the man said, interrupting her calming thoughts.Andra lost her cool."It is the passengers who have no sense of respect for the driver." she snapped and saw the shock on the man's face.He sat back against his seat and stayed silent. Andra realized from his demeanor that he could not wait to give her a bad rating. She immediately tried to win him over."I'm sorry about that..." she began."Don't talk to me." he snapped. "I don't associate myself with rude people."Shaken by his outburst, Andra stayed quiet. She could not wait to drop him off. Maybe he was just another bad customer. Why was she encountering bad customers on her first day of work? she wondered. What was going on?She was still thinking about her predicament when she reached his destination and parked the car. There, she tried to win him over again."Sir, please I'm sorry about our initial encounter but please do not give me a bad rating.""You should have thought about your rating when you were r
“You have no right to talk to me like that.” The woman retorted. “Gosh, I have never met someone so rude in my entire life.” She was appalled, clutching her pearls.Andra hissed and continued driving. It was a few seconds later that she remembered her rating.“Maam, please, I am so sorry, okay?” she began to apologize nicely.The woman was visibly shocked at her apology, her eyes rounding with disbelief. She didn’t believe it was genuine.“Sorry? You disrespected me. Is this how you treat your clients?”“I am sorry.”“I will rate you a zero if it was possible. You are such a rude person.”Andra decided that if the woman would rate her low, what was the point in maintaining politeness?”“Whatever, Maam.” She said unrepentantly. “Do what you want.”“I pity you.” The woman remarked.“You should pity your obese self.” Andra retorted.“God will punish you.” The woman cursed.“Back to sender.” Andra retorted. “Besides, God has better things to do.” She added. “Look at you talking about God
“Yes,” she confirmed.“A service you just joined?” Dominic was trying to wrap his head around what she was saying.“It wasn’t my fault.” Andra defended.She proceeded to rant indignantly about the situation and how it had happened. She began from the first client to the last one.Andra deliberately skipped Fred the businessman all through her report. She didn’t deem him worth mentioning since he gave her five stars and would probably be giving her a job. He was alright in the end, she believed.“The last woman was the worst.” She said bitterly. “You need to see how she insulted me, calling me all sorts of names. She even said I’m lucky I’m married to you. She said I’m useless and rude.”Dominic was initially taken aback by her experience but he remembered who she was and was no longer surprised. The Andra he knew was rebellious and even arrogant. To be honest with himself, he didn’t believe she would succeed in the job with her attitude. And now it had played out.Yet, here she was pl
“I’m sorry.” she said, “I’ll change.”Dominic had never thought he would hear those words from her. He was pleased to hear it.“It’s Okay, Andra. It’s okay.” He consoled. “It pleases me to hear that.” He consoled, encouraging her.Her crying finally came to an end and she reluctantly disengaged from him. Her eyes met his, laced with embarrassment, then dropped. He gently lifted her chin so she could meet his gaze again. He gave her an encouraging smile.“I’m sorry I messed up your shirt.”“It’s fine.” He assured her. He didn’t care that her tears had wet his shirt. He could always wear a new one. He was just glad that she was willing to change her attitude.She smiled at him a little, her face, flushed. “I’m willing to take small steps.” She said to him.“I am glad to hear that.”“I will cut my nails tomorrow.”His eyes dropped to her long nails. “I can help you with that.”“Really?”“Sure. Why not?”She thanked him and he acknowledged it with a nod.“I am also willing to renegotiate