The Arrogant Mrs. CEO

Chapter 8

Cindy blushed and looked at Peter's face. He was taller than her, and despite her heels, she was unable to reach his shoulders.

"Wait, aren't you the same lady I met yesterday who gave me $100 to go and freshen up?" Peter asked as he now remembered Cindy's pretty face. She smiled at him and replied, "Yes, you're right."

Cindy's cheeks flamed red as her blue sparkling eyes met Peter's black ones.

"Yes. But that's not why I am here today," Cindy lied nervously. Peter gulped as he smiled back at her, wondering what she wanted—perhaps she was interested in a one-night stand with him too, considering he had spent her money.

"Okay... So why are you here? Did you buy something and need me to help you carry it?" Peter asked her, their eyes meeting again. Cindy smiled and replied, "No. I.."

Cindy hesitated to share her thoughts, watching as night was fast approaching. She shrugged and played with her little fingers like a young lady in love, unsure of how to express her feelings to the handsome yellow man.

She fumbled to say, "Actually, I don't know... but what's your name?"

"My name?" Peter looked at her in surprise, and she nodded.

"Yes, your name. Or don’t you have a name?" Cindy asked him nervously. Peter smiled and replied, "Of course I have a name."

Peter knew that Cindy was charmed by his handsomeness, but he wouldn’t admit that he had been hoping to meet her again. He said, "My name is Peter Richards, and you can call me Peter."

Cindy blushed and repeated, "Peter Richards..."

"Yes," Peter responded, and the way Cindy said his name made his heart flutter, so he ended up smiling at her too.

"So how may I help you, Miss Cindy?" Peter finally asked, wanting to get away from her, as he had other work to do before late night.

Cindy smiled at him, unsure how to express her feelings. She shook her head first and tried to speak but ended up swallowing her words nervously, continuing to blush.

"Hello..." Peter raised a brow at her, prompting Cindy to finally say, "Can I have your phone number? I like you, and I don’t know if we can be friends. I'm sorry for how I spoke to you yesterday."

Peter gulped and met Cindy's gaze. He replied, "I admire you too. But the truth is, I don't have a phone yet."

Cindy calmed her nervousness and asked, "Why?" Peter sighed and replied, "Nothing. I don’t have the money to get a new phone, and my old one is faulty, so I don’t use it often."

"Hmm... What if I buy you one?" Cindy asked, and Peter stared at her in shock. He gulped before asking, "Why? That won't be necessary. I really appreciate your kind gesture from yesterday, and I didn’t take your insult to heart at all. I have to go now."

Peter wanted to walk away, still wearing the new clothes he had bought the previous day. He had already had at least six different women shamelessly asking him out, not including Cindy who was standing in front of him now.

Peter honestly admired Cindy, but he knew she was out of his league with how rich and classy she looked; he figured she was the daughter of a wealthy man and that she appeared single.

"Wait... I know you might not like me, but I don’t do this often. If you don’t want me to buy you a new phone, where do you live so that I can come visit you if I want to see you, please?" Cindy begged Peter. He paused and stared at her again in shock for asking where he lived. He wondered if he wasn't dreaming.

[Am I dreaming?] Peter silently wondered, but it wasn’t a dream.

"No... I don’t have a home either, Miss... I mean Cindy, right? I'm sorry, but we cannot be friends. I have to run along now and continue my job for today before it gets dark. Thank you for the other day, and have a nice day," Peter said to her. Just as he was about to walk away, Cindy stopped him with an authoritative voice, screaming, "Wait!"

Peter was puzzled and stared back at her apologetically.

"I have to go now, madam, please. Maybe some other time," Peter said to her, and he immediately ran away, wanting to help more people before night completely fell.

Cindy walked back to her car sadly, where she had parked it. She got in and almost cried out, unable to believe that he had rejected her too.

Cindy sobbed and sniffed as she asked herself, "What has gotten into me? Why did I even tell him that I like him? Hmph!"

Cindy frowned as she slowly walked to her car door, unlocked it, and entered. She said, "I haven't done this before—asking a man out. Seriously, Cindy... Gosh! A dirty man for that matter. He's handsome, no doubt, but he's not my type."

Cindy hooked her seatbelt, saying, "Why me? No serious relationship, no boyfriend, and I will soon be 24 next month. Gosh! I really need to calm down. But how come he speaks such fluent English? He doesn't sound like an illiterate to me. Or is he just lying and pretending about his status so I won't find out where he lives?"

Cindy shrugged and took out her white handkerchief. She slowly sobbed, wiped her eyes and nose, discarded the handkerchief in a nylon bag, and dipped it back into her purse before starting her car engine and driving home.

Peter noticed when Cindy walked back to her car as he followed another shortcut route to help someone carry their load. He sighed.

"She's a rich lady too. Why can't these rich ladies just leave me alone? She's young and pretty, unlike those married women and some single ladies who can't help but openly gawk at me. Hmph..." Peter sighed as he walked away to help the last person carry their load. After that, he returned to the underbridge where he stayed with a few others.

Sitting alone on the bench, Peter stared out at the road. Tom arrived late at night and found him sitting there unhappy.

"Peter, Peter... How's today, man?" Tom asked.

"Fine," Peter silently replied as Tom sat down beside him.

"How's it going? You haven't given me any contract jobs yet. How about the hot women asking you out today? Didn't you recommend me to any of them?" Tom asked. Peter stared at Tom in silence while Tom noticed the worried look on Peter's face.

"What happened, Peter? Did anyone die in your village?" Tom asked.

"No," Peter replied sadly as he looked away. "I'm just stressed, that's all. And yeah, I recommended you to some ladies, but they refused and said it's me they want, not just any man," Peter added.

"Hmph, I see," Tom frowned. Peter stood up to arrange where he would sleep for the night before others did.

Tom did not question Peter again when he saw that Peter looked unhappy. He understood that some women wouldn’t just accept him; it was obvious that it was Peter they wanted, not just any random guy with a member.

Tom shrugged and after a while walked back to join Peter. They lay in silence until night fell and they finally fell asleep.

******

Cindy arrived home late, having gone to the market area to search for her heartthrob.

Upon arriving, the security gatekeeper opened the huge gate for her. She drove in, parked her car in the garage, and switched off the engine, sitting in her car without wanting to step out yet, feeling unhappy.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bola walked up to the balcony on the top floor and stared down at her daughter's red car. She sighed in relief, glad that Cindy was finally home, as she had not expected the birthday celebration to last until late at night.

Mrs. Bola walked back into the sitting room upstairs and made her way downstairs to welcome Cindy since she hadn't even eaten her dinner yet and was waiting for her only child to return home.

Cindy composed herself, unlocked her car door, pushed it open, and stepped out. She locked the car door properly while clutching tightly to her red purse, then turned to go into the house.

As she stepped into the living room, Cindy saw her mother descending the living room stairs, and her mother walked up to welcome her.

"Good evening, Mom," Cindy greeted her mother as she approached and hugged her.

"Welcome home, Cindy. What took you so long to arrive home? You got me worried," Mrs. Bola asked, staring into her daughter's face under the dim light of the living room.

"I'm sorry, Mom. There was a little traffic jam," Cindy apologized as she hugged her mother back, suppressing her hidden sadness over the rejection from the handsome, dirty man named Peter Richards.

"Hmm, welcome home, my dear. So how did the birthday celebration go?" Mrs. Bola asked as she finally pulled away from the hug. Cindy forced a fake smile and replied, "Fine, Mother. It went well. I have to go freshen up now."

"Okay, dear. Be quick, as I haven't eaten dinner yet. I was waiting for you to return home."

"Okay, Mom, I will." Cindy quickly walked upstairs, her black high-heeled shoes clicking on the tiles as she carefully ascended the stairs, and went to her room, not wanting to slip and fall.