3- "Getting even."
2065 Words
(Dahlia’s POV)
“I want to eat fries, Mom! It’s my favorite!” Yohann excitedly said after I asked him where he wanted to go next.
We just got out of the Montessori school where I enrolled him.
He is already five and preparing to attend kindergarten classes.
“Alright then. Let’s eat some ice cream and fries!” I happily nodded.
“Yeah, hey! You’re the best person in the world, Mom!”
“Hmmn! I know, right!”
He chuckled.
I continued driving on the way to his favorite snack house.
As a mom, I sometimes give my son his cravings and what he wants to eat, especially when he deserves it, and he becomes a good boy. But at the same time, we always remember the essence of eating healthy and good food.
After we ate, we went shopping for his things. Bags, crayons, pencils, and all that. I let him choose whatever design and color he picked for his school stuff, and we paid for them on the counter.
We were already inside the car and were about to drive home when his Auntie Jannah called.
“Hi, Jaja! Hey Yohann, this is Auntie Jaja. Say hi.”
I handed him the camera.
He waved at her. “Hi, Auntie Jaja! How are you?”
“Hello there, pretty little boy! I’m“ just so fine! How are you too? Did you go shopping with your mom today, huh, lucky man?”
“Yes, Auntie. We bought so many things for my schooling.”
“Wow, that’s cool!”
“I just enrolled him in school, so after we ate at the snack house, we bought his stuff,” I told my friend.
I’m genuinely thankful to Jannah because all through these years, especially when I was pregnant with Yohann, she was always there and never left me. She’s such a true friend—an angel. And so I chose her to be one of my son’s godparents.
“Wow! I love the mother-and-son bonding!”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s nice, and you also get to spend time with him, Dahlia.”
“I agree, Ja. Anyway, why did you call? Is there anything?”
“Uhm, yeah. And my apologies if I have disturbed your quality time with Yohann.”
“No problem. We’re going home, by the way. So, what’s the matter?”
“Can you come to the office now? If only you could, Dal. It’s a bit urgent.”
“Sure. I’ll take Yohann home, and his nanny, Ising, will take care of him. I’ll be right there in a minute.”
“Thanks, my friend!”
That was it. I sent Yohann home first, had his nanny look after him, and said goodbye immediately because I had to go to the office. It was urgent because my boss, who happened to be my best friend too, was calling me.
“Take care, mom. I love you!”
“Oh, Yohann, how sweet of you, darling! I love you, too!” I hugged him tight and kissed him before returning to the car.
As I was driving my way to the building, I called Jannah to inform her that I was already coming.
“Alright, my friend. See you.”
“See you!”
I was already in front of the building. I immediately saw that a car had just left, so I was about to park my car in that parking space, but to my surprise, I was preceded by a rushing vehicle that, as far as I remembered, was just behind me a while back!
Yes, he shamelessly parked his car right where I was supposed to park mine!
I was so annoyed that I got out to confront him. But he didn’t open the window of his car, no matter how I knocked on it!
Until the door opened, and I had to move aside because I was going to get hit and might even scratch his expensive car!
I immediately smelled his masculine perfume when he came out. And oh, he was dashing with that gorgeous suit and tie! He was even wearing sunglasses.
But on top of it all, I didn’t give a damn at how he appeared to be celebrity-looking because I didn’t come here to praise him or glorify him just because he was handsome! He had to know that I arrived first, so the space was supposed to be mine!
“Hey! Didn’t you see it, or were you blind? I arrived at this place first, and you were driving next to my car, so basically, this parking space where you shamelessly got your car in was supposedly my space!”
“Look, Miss, I have no time for this. I am in a hurry.”
That was just it, and he left like nothing happened! The nerve! I was so pissed off!
Fortunately, it didn’t take long, and another car left so I could park my car. However, I was very annoyed with what happened!
I told Jannah about it as soon as I reached her office.
“What?! He dared to do that?” she asked, almost in disbelief.
“Yeah! People nowadays!”
“And you just let him get away with it?”
“Well, what else could I do? He was rushing, Jannah.”
“Still! He shouldn’t have done that! It’s never an excuse that you’re in a hurry to be unfair to others!”
“Yeah, right. Unfortunately, some people are shameless and insensitive like that!”
She sighed in irritation.
“I can’t help but be as annoyed as you with the person you’re referring to. You know, if it were me, I would be so upset, and I won’t let it go like that! The person must learn to respect others!”
“Let’s just forget about it—”
“Forget? Just let it go, and then what? He’ll do it again next time to someone else, and when he’s used to it, he’ll repeat it as if it’s normal even though it’s not, right?!”
I released a sigh. She had a point. It made me think, too.
Later on, I nodded as I had made up my mind. I’m going to make a move. The action was unruly, and therefore, he needs to know that! Jannah is right.
“You’re right, Jannah. I must talk to him and confront him again and make him see that it’s never okay to disrespect people like he did to me.”
“As you should! So, do you need my help? I can call the security to back you up—”
I peeked through the window of the tall building and saw that the car was still there.
I shook my head confidently. I know what I will do. “Not anymore. I can do it.”
“Are you sure? That person must learn his lesson, Dahlia!”
I nodded, making sure of it. “Yes. Don’t worry. I already have a plan in my mind.”
After we talked about that encounter, we talked about work. She said she’s prospecting for a big-time person in the business who will invest in the company. Since that is one of my tasks as her secretary, especially when she is out of town or out of the country, I primarily handle her transactions on her behalf. I have memorized how to convince these wealthy investors to put their money in us.
I’ve been doing that for several years, so my specialization is talking to potential investors and eventually convincing them to invest. After all, we have a good reputation, and we haven’t had any complaints that they didn’t get back double the amount of their money after a year or two since they invested.
Jannah told me that she had something important to go to on the day when the billionaire tycoon was available to meet for a business discussion about the investment, so, instead of her, she wanted me to come there, meet him on her behalf, and of course, use my persuasion skills to make him invest in our company. I agreed, and it was no problem for me. As I said, that’s one of my areas of specialization, one of the things I’ve already memorized, and I’m good at it, so I can handle it.
I grinned as I left the building and saw that the car that grabbed my space was still there. The owner hadn’t left yet. But I was patient enough to wait for him until a few minutes passed, and finally, I could see him returning to his car.
I undoubtedly blocked his path.
“Excuse me, but do I know you?” He approached me with a raised brow.
Even though he was still wearing his high-end branded sunglasses, the lenses didn’t cover his eyebrows, so I could see his facial expressions except his eyes.
“I was the one you deliberately robbed the parking space from earlier!”
“So?”
“So? Was that it? Wouldn’t you take responsibility for your inappropriate action? You know what you did was wrong, right? That’s very unfair to your fellow drivers.”
The edges of his lips curved, showing he was starting to get pretty annoyed.
“Look, I don’t have interest in your lectures. I’m a busy person. I have a lot to do and think about. Also, is it my fault if I got ahead of you? If you had sped up to the park, there wouldn’t have been any problem, and you would have been ahead of mine.”
What? The nerve to reason out and even put the blame back on me!
I was about to talk, but I was taken back when he took his wallet out of his pocket and took a few dollars from it to hand to me.
“Here. Just for this to be settled and for you to be quiet finally, take this. I know that this is what you want, after all.”
I couldn’t believe it! He was such an asshole! How dare he insult me like this!
He smirked as he walked past me and continued to his car. I could watch him, dumbfounded, while he went back inside and acted like nothing happened! Like he had never been unfair and never insulted me with his money!
I decided to come back to my car, too, and get in. I maneuvered it.
I watched him as he started his engine, and he also began to maneuver his car out of the parking space, but it was cut short as something from his wheel blew up.
Bingo! I smiled in satisfaction.
He quickly went out to check what it was. He even removed the sunglasses he was wearing to look at it with his bare eyes and then saw the sharp object I had placed there that he had not noticed earlier. And that was the reason his tire went flat! Served him just right!
I rolled down my window and waved at him teasingly. I don’t care if he’s very handsome, and his face seems familiar to me now that I can see it better because he removed the sunglasses he was wearing.
It was like I’d seen him before, but I couldn’t remember where or when. I didn’t think about it thoroughly because I didn’t care anymore! The most important thing is that he knows that someone like him cannot easily bully me!
“f**k! Don’t tell me you did this! What did you do, you woman?!” He was mad and could curse almost endlessly.
“Yes! It was to get even with you and to teach you a lesson that it’s never okay to disrespect others just because you are in a hurry! We are all busy with our schedules, but you must not forget that you aren’t the only man facing a hectic time in your life! Now, you got what you deserved!”
I grinned at him for the last time before I drove my car away.
I was so satisfied, especially when I saw in the rearview mirror that he was still cursing, and he almost kicked his flat tire because he was so mad about what I did! Fair enough.
- Writer
