The Coach

Gabriel Huertas

Sebastian

    It was such a great first day, and an even better day when that cute teacher kissed me. She looked like a shy girl kissing her crush for the first time. I smiled the whole way to the car, and I was sure I looked silly.

    I arrived at the company and greeted Frances before heading up to my office. Laura had a few messages for me, one of them from the construction company who will be building the school. As soon as I saw the message, I hurried to my desk and made a call.

    "What do you mean you are running through some problems?" I didn't even bother greeting him,

    "Sir, we have an issue that you might want to come and see" he said. I didn't have time for problems, so as soon as I hung up, I headed to the construction site. It didn't take me long to get there. I even walked.

    "What seems to be the problem?" I asked, noticing the workers had stopped the labor. I put my helmet on and approached them.

    "One of the pipelines might overlap another pipeline from the building next to us. If we can't redirect the pipe, there is no way we can get the water running for the school" he mentioned, as we walked to the spot where the issue was. I studied the blueprints cautiously and came up with a solution.

    "Why don't we use a different pipe. Instead of the straight one, we can connect L-shaped pipes and just go around the other one, it shouldn't affect it at all and we'll still get it done on time," I said, making them resume the work.

    I walked back to the office, and Martha was already waiting for me, like usual. "Hello, Seb" she called me by my nickname. I walked into the office with her, and she sat on her usual spot.

    "Why aren't you at home with Lilly?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulder, and I looked at her, waiting for an answer.

    "She is not nice, Seb. She is only babysitting me because she finds you attractive. I am sixteen, I don't need a babysitter"

    "I need to put a babysitter for you because you can't take care of yourself, at least not yet. I don't care if you are twenty, I am trying to look out for you"

`She pouted and folded her arms across her chest, as she laid back on the couch, like a little rebellious girl. I could only smile. As I looked at her, I remembered I needed to make an appointment, so I called our family doctor.

    "Hello, Patricia. This is Sebastian, how are you?" I greeted the receptionist as soon as she answered the phone, "I need to make an appointment for Martha, the sooner, the better please"

I was lucky to get an appointment for tomorrow after work. I wanted to find out what her sudden mood swings were. I kept looking at my emails, and there was one specific one that caught my attention.

    It was from Zoey. That was weird. I hit open and there only a few words on there. 'I am sorry for kissing you'.

    She sent me an email apologizing for the kiss. I was actually impressed by the intention, so I decided to reply, 'No worries, the kiss was actually not bad. I enjoyed it'.

    Like two teenagers passing each other love notes. I laughed at the thought. Martha noticed, and she walked to my desk, putting her hands on it as she leaned to try to see what I was looking at.

    "Privacy, little pumpkin" I said, calling her by the nickname she hated the most. She pouted and walked back to the couch.

    "So, Miss Torres accepted to go out with us on Saturday. I am really excited," she mentioned as she was taking her iPad out to do her housework. 

    "She did. I am excited too. We will have a good time" I replied, smiling to myself. I heard a knock on the door, and Laura walked in with a shy smile.

    "What's up Laura?" I asked, curiously. I rarely see her like that.

    "Mr. Bradford, you have a visitor. He says he needs to see you, and he apologizes for the sudden visit"

    I was surprised, but I told her to let him in. I wasn't doing anything anyway, expect for chatting with my little sister. A few seconds later, a man in his best suit walks in and extends his hands to shake. He portrayed a negative aura on him, but I decided to hear what he came to say.

    "Hello, Mr. Bradford. My name is Gabriel Huertas, I am an engineer for Gray's Inc. just down the street. I was told you had positions open here and I am very interested in applying for it"

    I gestured for him to sit down and leaned back in my leather chair. "May I ask, what made you come straight to me, and at this time? Usually Human Resources handle the job applications"

    "I have heard if you go directly to the person in charge, it might be a better chance. I am very ambitious, so I decided to come straight to you"

    This man looked like he had something up his sleeve. I was good at reading body language. And he was not inspiring me any trust. I thought about his words, and rubbing my chin, I looked at him with a serious expression.

    "Okay, I will give you a test run. I will have the HR help you fill an application and do a background check on you. But I am sure you will be a great addition to the team" I lied. I could keep an eye on him and see what was his purpose to suddenly come here and apply for a job. Especially when Gray's Inc. has been the competition since my grandfather owned this building.

    "Thank you, sir. I will come back tomorrow to fill out the application and I appreciate the opportunity" he said, shaking my hand and walking out the door.

    Martha approached me while looking at him as he closed the door. "I don't trust that man. He seems sketchy"

    "Trust me, me neither Martha. Me neither"