"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
Andra’s phone rang with Molly’s call. She promptly accepted the call. Then she lowered the music.“Hello.”“Tell me you’re not going ahead with this Friday night out of yours.”“Of course, I am. I am dressed as we speak.”“Andra, don’t do it.”“Why waste a free chance?”“He will be mad if he finds out.”“He is not my father. Besides, he is out of town.”“Andra, things have been going well to a large extent. Don’t do this.”“Goodnight, Sis. Talk later.” Andra said dismissively and ended the call. “Kill joy.” She murmured. Then she killed the music, adjusted her hair, hung her bag, and exited the bedroom.There, she met Dominic entering the house in a business suit, a portable traveling backpack on one hand.At the sight of him, Andra’s heart thundered with disappointment.She was not expecting him to be home until the following day. Gosh. What was happening?His eyes swept over her outfit and rested on her eyes. She looked a bit nervous but he could see her regaining her composure, rea
Andra did not particularly like the idea of him being there. She wanted to be free. She opened her mouth to protest but second thoughts hit her, so she clamped her mouth shut.If that was the only condition, he was offering her, then her refusal will leave her where she was.“Do you have a problem with my offer?” he asked.“No. But why must you come with me?”“Because I need to keep an eye on you.”She considered his obvious reason for a moment. “Don’t you trust me?” she asked finally.“Frankly, I don’t,” he answered. “The fact that you tried to sneak out to a party because I wasn’t around is reason enough.”Her gaze dropped to her lap as she listened to him go on.“So, if you must go, then I have to come with you.”Andra looked at him and tried to dissuade him. “Are you not tired from your journey?” she asked.“I will be fine.” He replied. “So how badly do you want to go?”“I’m hundred percent ready to go.” She answered.“Then give me a few minutes to get ready. Is that okay?”She no
Upon reaching them, Andra was surprised as Dominic reached for her arm and pulled her off her dancing partner.She was caught off balance because of his sudden move but he steadied her by pulling her against his chest.Her gaze met his livid ones as she breathed unevenly with anxiety that steadily began to rise. She didn’t think he would make a scene. And now he was doing just that.She was aware of people seemingly minding their business, nevertheless, more eyes were now directed at them.“Hey” her dance partner addressed Dominic in a challenging tone. He was shorter than Dominic but was not intimidated.Dominic directed a fierce gaze at him. “Stay away from my wife.” He half growled bitingly, freezing the man.He looked from a flushed-faced Andra to a furious Dominic and threw his hands up in surrender. “Oh, sorry.” He said apologetically and immediately stepped away, finding a new female dance partner.The brief attention on them ended and everyone went about their business.Domini
“Really?” she asked.“Yeah.” He responded.Andra was surprised at his taste in women. She was sophisticated.“Wow. She is classy.”Dominic was bemused by her comment. “You know, that’s funny.”“Why? She is so classy looking like all these magazine ladies.”“Yeah. Now you know my taste.”Andra didn’t know why she was jealous. She examined her feelings and decided she was not jealous. She was just offended that she was not his type. But then she remembered that he had said he liked her. He had said that more than twice if she recalled correctly.“I remember you said you liked me.” She said.Dominic was bemused again and smirked at her. “I guess tastes can change.” He responded, causing her to smile.Then she noticed his countenance change to a solemn expression. His eyes were fixated on the road. She could tell it had to do with his ex.“I don’t understand how your ex is here.” She said. “Because you don’t even live here. I’m guessing you were both staying abroad.”“Your guess is correc