CHAPTER 9 HE IS MISOGYNISTIC

(RHIO)

Somebody knocked at my car window.

“Sir…” Deo began. I threw him his car keys and instantly got off the vehicle.

Somebody else escorted me to the other Limo that waited beside Elthon’s car. The whole ride was silent and tensed. The protective guns that jutted from my men’s holsters made me feel uncomfortable. Their monotone clothing and expressionless faces made me feel like some action movie star whose life was too important to be compromised.

Security officers stood uptight on parallel lines when we got through the gate of the mansion. I passed through in disregard of their presence and went directly to my somber room. I settled on the mahogany settee and exhaled deeply.

Sya quickly checked on me and told me to show up downstairs where the count of guests had gradually increased. I took a quick shower and wore a mourning suit I was expected to wear.

Everything went like a scripted play; the maids bowed their heads at my presence and the majority of people in black uttered their condolences. Then repeat.

I was like Moses on the isle between divided waves of black. But unlike Moses, I wasn’t expecting salvation or hope as I traversed the other side. I was expecting to meet my nightmare, the finely crafted Poudretteite coffin where my father’s corpse lay.

The people quietly watched me as I gazed at him. He looked more peaceful than he had been on the hospital.

On several occasion, a camera would flash and remind me I was indeed an actor running a script for the public to see. I held back my tears.

Eriez tapped on my shoulder to express a wordless sympathy. I nodded in appreciation and whispered something. “Please take the media out. I want this wake to be kept private. Some people out there were just snickering at my loss and the others…” I paused “I don’t need their sympathy.”

He nodded in understanding then left to settle my request.

I sat beside the guests for a while and passively narrated the answers to their repetitive questions. Then I retreated to the comfort of my room, sunk on the soft comforter, and whispered a little wish in the air.

I was a nobility trapped inside the confines of a palanquin, never to touch the ground as I was carried by servants through the same boring pathway to a lonely castle. I wished my whole life would change a different direction.

Somewhere wonderfully free and fun…

(JASMIN)

The talk about Derick coming in to our house last night has surely spread throughout the slums, ignited by the assumptions of Ma and Nadine. I went to work early to avoid their attention. I least expected it at work but it turned out to be the same. Heartshaped balloons and bouquets littered the place as if someone was holding a Valentine party at the entire premise of the fast food chain.

“What’s with this decoration?” I asked a colleague, Diane, as she cheerfully mopped the floor.

“Go ask the manager,” she chuckled back.   

“An expression of love,” asserted the manager as she leaned in at the counter” from your suitor! You didn’t tell us Mr. Brundon was courting you.”

Diane gently jabbed my side with an elbow to tease me, “If I were you I’d say ‘yes’.”

“I don’t like him,” I replied in disgust.

“So that’s a no?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” she teased again.

“Yes, it’s a no.” How annoying this matchmaking has become.

“Why not? Isn’t his father the governor?” the manager inquired as she reviewed the papers she was holding. “They were also major shareholders at Cryzastic Corporation and I heard Derick’s the Vice President.”

“I know he’s rich alright,” I argued. “At some point I was being a hypocrite since I wished to be rich but I want to marry for love, not for money. I just don’t feel anything for him.”

The manager suddenly lifted her eyes from the paper to mine, “You’re refusing an offer of a lifetime, girl.”

“You’ve set your standard too high that no bachelor would attempt to climb,” Diane reprimanded then smiled mockingly “But if Derick falls in love with me then you suddenly want him back, it wouldn’t be his fault.”  

I averted my attention back to work to avoid being bugged by continuous teasing. My hands were usually full at work all day so my mind was kept clear of other things I worry about. Everything I do, I do it with passion.

After my shift, the manager called me to her office. It was the first time it happened so I was anxious to have done anything wrong. If I lose my job, my family would starve badly.

“Take a seat,” she offered. “Somebody talked to me earlier about you.”

An angry customer who wasn’t satisfied with my service?

“Are you still willing to work here?” she continued.

“Yes I do,” I replied fast. I suddenly felt cold sweat beading all over my face.

“I’m happy to hear that but…”

But? Are they laying off employees? My heart was skipping by twos already.

“I don’t want to lose an employee like you but someone asked me to…” she smiled.

Lose? She has said the magic word. Somebody asked her to fire me and it was certainly someone powerful. Could it be Derick? He must have hated me for rejecting him…

“I was asked to offer you something. And it would help this fast food chain a lot if you accept it,” my eyes widened as she explained. “Apparently, you wouldn’t be coming in here anymore but will still receive your monthly salary.”

“Who could possibly” I was curious “thought of helping me?”

The morose image of Rhion witlessly came to mind. He’s rich after all. But another guess popped in.

“The person came from Cryzastic and I have a hunch it was Derick. Anyway, all you have to do is sign this paper,” the manager took a pen and pushed the file in front of me. I frowned at the thought of Derick so I immediately made a decision. I don’t want to accept anything from him.

“I refuse.”

All the enthusiasm the manager has shown was swiftly wiped off her face. Her expression went from a smile to an ugly grimace. She was surprised by my refusal and was obviously disappointed. “What? Then I can’t let you work here too.”

“Why not? I have worked here diligently every day,” I complained but kept my voice low. She’s still my superior.  

“Sign this or lose your job,” she threatened.

That’s too much!

“I’ll think about it,” I answered skeptically.

“Fifteen minutes.”

I couldn’t bargain anymore as she left me there alone and let my time tick away.

I suddenly thought of food. Then my family.

Lose this job and you’re dead, I reminded myself. I suddenly felt miserable knowing I really has no choice from the start. The only option I was given, without pretense, was to sign this agreement. So I did.

The manager’s smile returned when she saw my signature in the document. She patted me on the shoulder and commended my decision. But she sent me out immediately to keep me from asking any more questions.  

What exactly was the offer about? I asked myself as I left the chain and with a heavy gnawing curiosity, I headed to the chapel.

(RHIO)

“Get the fuck out of my sight,” my voice reverberated through the room as I felt a seductive caress at my shoulder in the middle of work. The woman trembled slightly but kept her finesse intact. The way her bosom was generously showing through the plunging neckline of her dress irritated me. She looked to be up for prostitution rather than office work.

“Deo, get this bitch out!” I ordered and watched him escort her away.

Elthon and Eriez came into view the moment she was gone.

“What a misogynistic young man,” Elthon teased as Eriez clapped his hand in a metronomic fashion. They might have had planned everything that has happened earlier. “Do you even want to marry?”

I narrowed my eyes at Elthon as I removed my coat. He has seen me with that woman yesterday when he followed me all the way through to the chapel. His question felt like a quicksand intended as a trap into making me confess whatever relationship I have with her. I didn’t think Eriez even knew about it.

“You’re in the right age to marry,” Eriez pointed out. “You should have an heir in about two years or less.”

I was about to respond when my phone suddenly rang. It was Deo. I averted my attention to him to avoid the useless talk my fathers has to say.

“Alright, I’ll talk with her,” I replied to Deo’s report.

My temples throbbed when I heard the woman, who I’d just sent out earlier, in the background.

Deo went on and I nodded in understanding. “Okay. Just do the best to help her.”

Sena Mangampo Copyright Property

Votes, Reviews  and Comments are warmly accepted and welcome. Thank you so much!