Her Playboy Boss

Chapter 5: Grocery Shopping

I woke up in the middle of night with my stomach growling uncontrollably. I was worried that Cass might hear it and wake up. She was fussing and changed her diapers. Thankfully, I was able to do it without waking her up.

I decided to go to the kitchen. I don’t think I can go back to sleep on an empty stomach. I glanced at Cass before making my way out of her bedroom. I walked slowly towards the kitchen and let out a huge breath when I found that the kitchen was now empty. 

I opened the lights and looked around. There doesn’t seem to be any food left, not even rice. I wanted to cry as I was really hungry. Not even the omelet I cooked was there. There weren’t any more raw eggs as well and there’s nothing else I could cook. I decided to cook some rice. When it was done, I poured some rice on a bowl and poured some soy sauce on top of the rice and started eating.

I ate as fast as I could as I didn’t want to risk anyone finding me in the kitchen. When I was done, I cleaned up and went back to my room right away. How did my life end up like this? We might have been poor but we always have food on the table. My mom always made sure of that.

I went to the bathroom and cleaned up before returning to my room and going to sleep. I checked on Cass first and brought the receiver for the baby monitor to my room. I was tempted to sleep in the couch once more, but I was afraid Ms. Vera might not like it when she finds me in Cass’ room.

I set the alarm for 5am and fell asleep as soon as my body hit the bed.

-----------------------------------

When I woke up the next day, I took a quick shower and checked on Cass right away. She’s starting to get fussy and when I checked on her diaper, I saw that she needed changing. She stayed asleep after I finished changing her, so I went to the house to start cleaning.

I started sweeping the floors then wiping the counters in the kitchen. I really need some cleaning supplies. I felt limited and I don’t feel like I am able to clean the house satisfactorily because all I use is soap and water. The rag I have been using needs replacing too.

I finished cleaning the kitchen, and moved to the dining area. I wiped the dining table and swept the floors.I was about to move to the living area when I saw a man wearing just a towel around his waist walking towards me. I squealed and dropped the broom I was holding.

After picking it up, I noticed that the almost naked man was just a few feet away from me. I backed away as I kept a firm grip on the broom in my hand.

Almost Naked Man: “Good morning, pretty lady. Who might you be?”

Luisa: “Uhm, I’m the babysitter, sir.”

Almost Naked Man: “Hi babysitter. What’s your name?”

Luisa: “Lu-luisa sir.”

Almost Naked Man: “Luisa. Nice name. How old are you, pretty lady?

Luisa: “I’m 19 sir.”

Almost Naked Man: “Nineteen. Nice. Very nice.”

I kept my head bowed as he talked to me. He’s starting to scare me, and his voice is really husky. When I looked up, I saw that he’s moved closer to me so I excused myself and decided to just go back to my room.

I was still holding the broom as I got into my room. I leaned on my door and tried to catch my breath. I put the broom down and decided to check on baby Cass. She’s already awake, so I picked her up and talked to her.

Luisa: “Good morning, baby Cass. How was your sleep?”

She gave me the cutest smile and giggled. I immediately felt better as she did. I started cleaning her up and changed her onesie. I was playing with Cass when I heard her mother shouting “Maid? Maid? Where are you?”

I can’t believe she still doesn’t remember my name. Although I have a feeling that she’s just not calling me by my name intentionally. I got up carrying the baby in my arms and got out of the room.

Luisa: “Good morning, miss.”

Ms. Vera: “Where have you been? I’ve been here all morning looking for you? Didn’t I tell you you were supposed to be awake by 5 am.”

Luisa: “I was just cleaning up the baby, miss. I was awake before 5 am and cooked some rice for breakfast. I also cleaned the kitchen and dining area. Uhm, I ran into your friend, so I went to check on the baby because I didn’t want to disturb him.”

Ms. Vera looked at me contemptuously as if I did something wrong. She seems to always find a reason to be mad at me. I don’t know how else to appease her.

Thankfully, she didn’t say anything and just took the baby from me before saying “I need you to go to the market and get some groceries. Make sure to buy enough to last for the week. I want chicken and pork adobo for lunch today.”

I nodded and Ms. Vera proceeded to play with the baby. I took a pen and paper and wrote down what I needed to buy from the market. There’s still plenty of rice to last us for the month, but everything else is gone.

After writing down the kitchen and home supplies I needed to buy, I also took note of some personal stuff that I would need for myself. I would like some pillows and maybe a mattress for the bed. I would also need a bedsheet and a blanket. I know that the mattress would cost a lot of money, but I can probably find one that’s not too thick and affordable. I just wanted to at least be able to rest comfortably after a long day at work.

At 9 am, I left the house to go to the market. Before I left, I asked Ms. Vera if there’s anything in particular she wanted me to get for her. She said no, and handed me the money. She said that she needs to see the receipt and return her change. She said I could use no more than 50 pesos for the fare.

I wasn’t sure how far away the market was, so I didn’t know how much I would spend for the fare. It’s fine, though. I could just walk as long as the market is not too far.

I asked Manny, the guard at the lobby where the nearest market was. He said that the market is quite far, but there’s a grocery store nearby. I asked if it was near enough to walk, and he said that it’s better to ride a jeep.

I thanked Manny and proceeded to leave. Thankfully, I found the jeepney terminal not far from the condominium building. There were a few passengers waiting at the terminal and I asked a young lady what jeep I needed to ride to get to the nearest grocery store. She told me that she’s going to the same place and I can ride the same jeep she will be getting on.

When we got to the grocery store, I thanked the girl and got off the jeep promptly. I looked at the grocery store and it looked pretty impressive. I went inside the store and got a cart. I whipped out my phone. I need to calculate what I will be buying to make sure that it will be within the budget.

I was done buying the things for the house. Aside from the food, I bought some cleaning supplies. I was looking through the mattresses and trying to find one that is reasonably priced when I heard someone say “Hey, elevator girl.”

I looked up and saw the man I met at the elevator when I first arrived at Ms. Vera apartment building. I just looked at him and wasn’t able to talk.

Elevator Man: “You’re ogling me again. I’m Jax, by the way.”

I looked at the hand he was extending and was frozen once more. I willed myself to say something, but my body just won’t cooperate.