Episode 8

Episode 8.
If I wasn't just mistaking then Trevor is being overly nice. He has this strong aura around him,always so selfless and very easy to relate with. Having lunch breaks with him has become such a big norm that today,I'm the one who walked into his office to ask if he wasn't having lunch out today. He'd smiled that same smile before shutting off his laptop and walking out after me. It was a Friday,which meant less work and an earlier closing hour. Katie talked about making a picnic meal for a little day out at the park and she couldn't wait to have me back home. After calling to tell me that Luca wouldn't keep his hormonal little fingers" off her mixed flour paste,I could hardly wait to join the fun happening over there.
"We should probably eat before the cafeteria runs out of food" Trevor said as he opened then door for me.
"Why is that?" I replied,throwing him a small smile before walking out with him following.
"You know,Mona eats a lot these days," he shrugs,his statement causing me to laugh "and that girl on the second floor's desk"
"You mean Lizzie?"
"Oh,so you know her name already" we enter the eatery.
We spent the next twenty minutes talking until we returned to the office.
The minute I sat back behind my desk,my phone rang to life again. It's Mr Marcello's cell. I picked it immediately.
"Get into my office" he said,disconnecting the call as soon as it came in.
Quickly rising to my feet,I checked myself out before walking into his office.
Mr Marcello is sitting behind his desk,a grim look on his face,as if hastily waiting for me to enter. His eyes threw strange disgust,coated with anger that got me wondering what was going on in his mind,especially with the way he looked at me. I walked further nevertheless, stopping right in his front,hands clamped forward.
"You called me sir?"
"Yes," his eyes barely left mine for a second as he glanced over a pile of papers on his desk "I want you to rewrite all those names for me. And find me a name,James Albert"
My eyes glanced over the papers. They were old and dusty,it's once white texture now colored brown from all the dusts,evidence that it's probably been tossed away for a long time. My eyes move back to his eyes,his eyes watching me intensely.
"You have a problem with doing this?" He speaks again,his voice edged with anger,with so much hatred I wanted to cower in fear. What the hell was wrong with him,I wonder what's got him this upset. This is him alright, but it just feels like he's never been this angry and it feels like there's a different reason for his anger today.
"I want them done before the end of the day"
"Today? But....it's a lot of pages and it's Friday,I can't...."
"Finish it today?," he cuts me off,leaning forward "I don't care what you have to do,Ashley. I want that names before the end of the day,I don't care if you sleep here okay?! Now get out of my office"
I watched him with twitching eyes,anger building inside me. His eyes spoke a more stronger anger and I even felt worse because I didn't know the reason behind his anger. After watching him for a few seconds,I hurried back out,my body shaking for no particular reason. But I felt hurt. Not because of his anger, hell I've seen him more angry than I could count but because he actually yelled at me. What the hell was wrong with him? He thinks he can yell at anybody just because they work for him? Angrily, I sat back and decided to start typing the names until I reached the James Albert.
I spent the next hour typing it out,my fingers aching and in desperate need of a massage. At exactly 12p.m,his office door pulled open but I don't look up to see him walk away,if anything, my anger deepened.
After two hours of finishing seven of twenty papers,I was exhausted and needed a break. I didn't even find any James Albert name. When I checked my time,I realized it was time to leave. I didn't care about Mr Marcello or his stupid names,I'm having my picnic with my friends and I'm getting out of here right now whether he liked it or not. I can't afford to lose this job but I didn't know how much I could continue typing this thing. My fingers were numb at this point and I myself was more than exhausted.
The knock on my office cubicle makes me look up to see Trevor leaning against it,his suit bag in one hand.
"Hey,Ash. Ready to leave?"
"Ahh....yeah! But I can't let you drive me today,I'll take a cab"
"Why not?"
"Because.....I can't keep letting you do that,Trevor"
"Hey,I'm not complaining okay? So get your stuff,it's Friday, you know Friday night? There's a lot to do"
I gave him a smile and picked up my bag "you're right. I'm having a picnic with a couple of friends down the park" I walked out and he followed.
"Oh...I was gonna ask if you wanna go see the movies?"
I looked back to see him,my smile longing before I replied "well...really? Too bad. Got other plans for tonight?"
"You mean me in my apartment wearing socks and watching the Looney toons while eating the pizza? Yeah,pretty much"
I suppress a laughter,"that's not bad at all"
"Yeah,right" he mutters before entering the elevator with me.
When he pulled up in front of my driveway,he turned to face me,one arm circling the steering wheel,I myself watching him,expecting him to say something. He is about to say something right?
"Um.....Ashley, I don't mean to sound like some wired scumbag but ah......can we have dinner tomorrow night?"
If I wasn't surprised by this then I must be really used to him to laugh at this. I shouldn't laugh but I just did. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"Well.....yes,I am......is.....that bad?"
"No,no,'course not."
"Is that a yes?"
I watched his eyes for a split second, they way they watched me,the way his eyes dilated in the early evening's sun rays, the way his lips smiled and I realized,hell yes,I wanna go on a date with him.
"Yes" I nod and he smiled.
"Okay. I'll pick you at 7?"
"Sure. Good night then"
I watched his car pull out before I walked in and took the elevator to my room. The moment the door slid open,hands grabbed me,yanking me further inside. Uh,Katie!
"Who in the world is that,Ashley?! You just got dropped off by some handsome guy and I think I deserve some good explanations!" Katie screamed,causing me to sigh exhaustedly.
"Katie! First,you have got to stop scaring me like that! Second,he's not some handsome guy,he's Trevor,from work. You know him"
I walk past her,past Luca who sat on the mini bar stool just before the kitchen exit.
"Hey,Ash"he throws me a quick hey which I had no strength to reply but instead hurried into my room and slumped down,face buried deep inside my pillow.
" Ashley?,"I hear Katie's voice on the background "are you okay?"
I manage to look up at her,flipping over my side to lay back and puffed air before replying "I am not okay,Katie"
"What happened? Did you get fired?" She had a dreadful look on her face,the one that made me give her the 'seriously?' Kind of look.
"Of course not but I think that's an option to put into consideration, Katie. Why did I have to have a boss like Mr Marcello?!"
"What did he do this time,Ashley?"
"My fingers feels so numb,Kay. He asked me to type some old papers all over again and he was so angry for some reason unknown to me and he yelled at me!"
"He did? That is so cruel of him! I think you should confront him"
"And tell him what?"
"I don't know......anything. He may be your boss but you've got your own life too and he has no right to treat you like trash!"
I remained silent for a while,thinking about what Katie said. Maybe she's right. It's high time I talked to him. Obviously, he shouldn't be this mean to me because of our little encounter at that café from day one. If that's the reason then he must be more stupid than he let on.
Riccardo's POV.
"You're fired,Trevor"
First thing I'm gonna tell him tomorrow. That shouldn't be hard to do. Even though I couldn't afford to lose him at this crucial moment,I can't put up with his 'up for the rescue' attitude he puts up for Ashley.
I can't believe I actually thought of bringing her into my office permanently, anything to get her away from Trevor.I'm not against their highschool friendship, I just don't entertain that in my office.
I felt my chest tighten for no reason when I asked her to retype the names. I didn't need those stupid names and there was no James Albert in there,but that would keep her so busy and off Trevor for a while. He even drives her home? Isn't that just worth laughing at? And look at me thinking she's so plain. Plain looking girls are the bad asses these days,the kind any man would wanna explore. I cursed myself immediately for thinking that. She is not two things. She's not my class and definitely not my type. She's nothing but a rude assistant who may be kissing her job goodbye soon if she continued to disobey my orders. Or it could be his job.
I'd walked out of my office,my eyes glancing over just to the side to see her face buried down,my anger subsiding before walking out. But when I walked back up through the elevator, with an intention to tell her to leave the work and go home but I froze in place at the sound of her laughter and her clicking heels. Then Trevor's voice "I was gonna ask if you wanna go see the movies"
The movies? God,that's the best he could offer? Go see the movies? No girl would dig that. But I'm proved wrong when she laughed out loud in response. And I knew that was my cue to leave. I punched on the elevator before they reached it,going back down, angry. Angry at myself for even eavesdropping. What was wrong with me?
By 5p.m,I knew the perfect way of keeping her from going to the movies with Trevor. Ask her to come work at my house. The movies don't start till seven.
Her phone starts to ring as soon as I dialed it,listening carefully for her voice. The moment her voice broke in,I almost lost my will to speak. How can she do that?
"Hello sir?" Her voice came in again.
"I need the files I asked you to work on today"
"I left them at the office"
"I need you to go get them and be at my house as soon as possible"
"I'm sorry but I can't be there right now"
"And why is that?"
She doesn't say anything for a while,her slow breath the only thing I could hear. Why wasn't she saying anything?
"I....I have a thing...."
"What thing?"
"I'm sorry but it's my privacy"
I suppress a laughter before replying "a secret I can't know of?"
"Fine! I'm going on a date and I can't be at your house right now! That's not even part of my job"
She disconnects the call before I could say anything,a new anger surging inside me. A date? With Trevor? I wanted to laugh at this but suddenly, this didn't sound so funny. It sounded rather too real for me. Why the hell are you angry,man? She dares to defy my command,that's why I'm angry. I'm not goanna take this any easier.
Trevor it is. He'll have to kiss his job goodbye.
I dial his number and heard it ring.
Yes, I'm gonna show you what I can do when I'm defied.