CHAPTER 2: THE PROPOSAL

The sun seeping through the window of my room awakened me. I pulled myself up, and a curse fell out of my lips when my head throbbed painfully. When I thought that it was already bad, my stomach growled.

That's when I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since last night.

Without washing my face, I dashed towards the fridge. Fortunately, there are still canned goods left in my small pantry.

While waiting for the rice to cook, I'm drinking the coffee that I made, its warmth helps to at least alleviate the pain.

I rubbed my bleary eyes and walked to the window to open the curtains. There was a pearly glow in the sky. The warm breeze fondled on my face.

I looked at the time on my phone and saw that it's nine in the morning. It's Sunday and I have no work. This is the perfect time to buy groceries.

I looked for my purse, and my face contorted when I saw that I only have a few dollars left. These are just enough for my grocery expenses only, and I still have other expenditure.

Where will I find money for Arch and Mama?

It's still a week before I receive my salary. I don't want to advance this time because I already did that last month. I don't want to take advantage of Callie's kindness.

I took a deep breath and collected my resolve. "You can find a way, Cleo."

After doing my morning rituals, I rode a bus to the mall. As soon as I reached my destination, I went straight to the grocery store. I only bought my necessities that will last for fifteen days. 

I'm silently sitting on one of the benches enjoying the Tayto sandwich that I bought when someone suddenly touches my left arm.

I was surprised when I saw a child looking at me. His rounded eyes were brimming with tears. I would have pinched his cheeks if it weren't for the fact that he's crying uncontrollably.

"M-Madam! Can you please help me?"

I put the sandwich aside and squatted to level our gaze.

"Are you okay?"

I mentally slapped my face because of how stupid my question was.

"Why are you crying, baby? Hmmm?" I asked once again in the gentlest tone. 

"I-I'm lost, Madam." He answered in between his sobs. "P-Please help me find my Uncle Xavier."

I swallowed a lump. I'm not sure who this kid is or what Xavier he's referring to. But I can't just leave him here.

If he falls into the hands of some heinous criminals and something bad happens to him, my conscience will keep me awake at night.

I breathed deeply to gather my thoughts. "Okay. We will find your Uncle Xavier, but you need to stop crying, alright?"

He nodded, and after almost two minutes, he finally stopped crying. I pulled my scarf out and used it to wipe his tears. 

"You're too adorable to cry."

He blushed. "Thank you, madam beautiful!"

My heart fluttered. 

"Just call me Cleo."

He smiled cheekily and fervently nodded his head.

"What about yours? May I know your name?"

"I'm Greyson Dimitri! I'm already seven years old."

Can I take this child home? He's too adorable.

"Your name is really cool."

"Thank you, Cleo!" He answered in full spirits.

I stood up and tousled his slightly long hair. "We're going to find your uncle, but you need to tell me first what he looks like."

Greyson then described his uncle to me. We stroll around, hoping that we can find his uncle.

"So it's your fault?"

He pouted. "Y-Yeah."

I showed a serious face. "Don't do it again next time, alright? There are a lot of bad guys roaming around."

He raised his right hand. "I promise!"

He told me that they were in the department store a while ago because Xavier was looking for a polo shirt. But a toy caught his attention, so he went to see it without telling him, and the next thing he knew, he was lost.

It's been almost twenty minutes since we were walking, but we still couldn't find his uncle.

"Cleo! I want to play there!"

I looked in the direction that Greyson was pointing, it's a claw machine.

"Do you have coins with you?" I asked.

He pouted. "Can I lend money for now? I promise to pay you when Uncle arrives!"

I chuckled. "I'm just kidding. Let's go."

I drew him inside the arcade and purchased a few tokens. Luckily, I have some coins left.

After this, if we still can't find his uncle, then I'm going to ask for help from the security team of the mall.

"This is so frustrating!"

I giggled when he hit the controller of the machine because he couldn't get the SpongeBob plushie even after his third attempt.

"Do you still have tokens?"

"I only have one left."

"Let me try."

He willingly gave it to me, and we switched positions.

"Go, Cleo!"

A flush crept up to my cheeks when he loudly cheered for me, catching the attention of the people near us.

My hands are shaking as I move the controller. I carefully inspected if the claw was already in the right position, and when I was certain-I pressed the button.

I waited with bated breath, and my eyes widened when I successfully got the plushie he wanted.

"Yes! We won!"

Greyson tightly hugged the toy, and it puts a smile on my face.

"Are you happy?"

He smiled brightly. "Thank you, Cleo. You are so good at this."

I shrugged my shoulders and feigned a smug expression.

"Do you want ice cream?"

His eyes sparkled. "Yes! I want the winter melon flavor, please."

I beamed. "Alright. Just wait for me."

I went to the nearest store and bought two cones of ice cream. I asked for extra tissues for Greyson.

"Thank you."

I patted his head. "You're welcome."

We sat on a bench nearby and talked about some random stuff. I'm wiping the spilled ice-cream off the corner of Greyson's mouth when someone comes rushing towards us.

"Uncle!"

He jumped from the chair and rushed towards the newcomer.

"You made me so worried!"

I heard the man say.

Greyson smiled at him. "Don't worry, uncle. Cleo helped me."

His eyes went to me. "Thank you very much for looking after my nephew, Ms. Cleo. Tell me how I can repay you."

I smiled sheepishly. "Just call me Cleo. You don't need to be formal."

He nodded. "Cleo it is, then."

"I'm not expecting anything in return. Just please be more careful next time," I added.

"I will, don't worry." He turned to his nephew. "Come on, bud. Say goodbye to Cleo. We need to go home now."

I felt sad after hearing that. Despite the brief time that I spent with him, I enjoyed Greyson's company.

Perhaps it's because he reminds me of my brother when he was still a child. They are both talkative and vivacious.

"Thank you for helping me and for the ice cream, Cleo."

I feigned a smile and ruffled his hair for the last time. "You're welcome."

I was caught by surprise when he suddenly kissed my cheeks. It eased the sadness that I'm feeling.

"Thank you so much again, Cleo." Xavier said.

I smiled. "Don't mention it."

They turned their backs and started walking away. Greyson looked back and waved a hand at me.

I beamed cordially and did the same thing. I watched them blend among the throng of people and disappear from my line of sight.

I sighed. "Why does this remind me of the day when I left Arranmore?"

I didn't stay longer at the mall, and I went home right away.

••••

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing really special happened to me. I still do the same old boring routine. My life only revolves around the bar and my apartment.

I thought my Wednesday would be like that as well... but I'm wrong.

"Oh, there she is!"

The landlady greeted me as soon as I opened the gate. I just got home from my morning shift on Obsidian.

Like I mentioned, it was a restaurant in the morning and a bar in the evening. For Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I have a morning shift and a night shift for the rest of the week.

Mrs. Evelyn walked towards me. "Someone's looking for you, Cleo."

I frowned. "Who is it?"

"I don't know them either. It's better if you see them yourself."

I was really confused because I wasn't expecting any visitors.

She led me to the receiving area. My bewilderment grew more when I saw a man dressed up in a formal black suite sitting on the couch.

I squinted my eyes at him, and I was taken aback when I finally realized who he was.

It's Greyson's uncle, Xavier! What is he doing here anyway?

"Cleo!"  

As if on cue, someone called me from behind. I turned around, and my jaw fell to the floor when I saw Greyson running towards me.

What in the world is going on?!

"Cleo, your house looks awesome! Mrs. Evelyn said she would tour me around!"

Despite my confusion, I shammed a smile and squatted.

"Really? But this is not my house, though."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

I patted his head. "Mrs. Evelyn will explain it to you."

"Greyson, come here."

Xavier called for his attention. They talked for a while before the child came running inside the apartment along with the landlady, leaving the two of us alone.

"It's nice to meet you again, Cleo." The same air of formality surrounds him.

I flashed an awkward smile as a response.

He beckoned me to sit on the couch across from him, and I reluctantly followed.

"I will not beat around the bush. I have a genuine proposal to make."

I threw him a questioning look.

"I want you to be Greyson's personal nanny. It was a collective decision by him and his father."

I was shocked. That's the least thing I thought of why they are here.

"The latter is the one who should be talking to you right now, but he's too busy. Don't worry, I may not be as good as him on business stuff, but I will clearly explain the terms and conditions."

He didn't even give me a chance to respond and just handed me a folder.

I shook my head, and that halted him.

"Why? Is there any problem?"

I looked at him sternly. "You can't just come here, lay down a bunch of papers, and expect me to process everything, Mr. Xavier."

An expression of embarrassment drew on his face.

"I'm genuinely sorry. Do you have any question?"

"What do you mean when you say that it's their collective decision?"

"Do you still remember the incident that transpired three days ago when you saved my nephew?"

I nodded.

"Well, Greyson really took a liking to you, which is actually commendable because he's often distant to people he just met."

That made me delighted. I thought he had already forgotten me. But that’s beside the point…

"He kept on talking about you and even convinced my brother to hire you as his nanny because the previous one had already retired. To keep the long story short, my brother agreed and searched for your whereabouts."

He got the folder on the table between us and opened it.

"You will be well compensated for this job, don't worry. You will gain a five- thousand euro monthly income aside from the other bonuses."

My jaw dropped to the floor. Did I hear it right? Five fucking thousand?! That’s almost triple my current salary!