Chapter 7
1322 Words
Dara's first crush! Every girl got infatuated with the wrong man. This would surely pass!
Sighing, she banished the image of Gav Ackers on the screen.
'Work, work, work!' she scolded herself feverishly. She poured her concentration to the documents that needed to be encoded.
Dara was startled when the bell rang. She was deeply engrossed.
"Lunch, Miss Stone." Mr. Lot's head popped by the glass door.
"Oh. I don't have a lunchbox!" she exclaimed. "You go ahead... I'm not hungry!" Her stomach grumbled loudly to her embarrassment.
"Not hungry but starving! Come, let's have lunch!" Mr. Lot was holding his car-keys.
"Um, okay..." Dara said reluctantly. "Just give me a minute, sir. I'll save the file!"
When they reach the elevator, every employee seemed present. All eyes were riveted to Dara. Everybody was interested in her.
"Don't fidget, Miss Stone! Their interest will be a nine-day wonder!" Mr. Lot whispered to her while holding her elbow. "Keep your head up!" he instructed in a low tone.
Dara obeyed silently. She kept her unsmiling face up and her back straight. She looked directly to anyone who stared at her. Her co-employee could not stare back at her.
When the elevator opened, Dara could have run if Mr. Lot did not hold her.
"Walk sedately, Miss Stone," Mr. Lot chided her softly.
"Okay," she whispered.
"Is that the Stone girl you're talking about at the canteen, Miss Bonnie?" The small girl with the tall hairdo spoke suddenly. Her trilling voice was piercing to the ears of everyone around them.
"Who else?" Bonnie replied. "She is just a shabby nobody from the typing pool. Now, she is an assistant to the top floor but still shabby!"
"Oh... I heard she is the new personal assistant to the CEO!"
"Up to when? I am betting the Stone girl shall be thrown downwards again when the CEO came back again from his vacation!"
"Oh? But why, Miss Bonnie?"
"Our handsome CEO doesn't want an eyesore in his vicinity!"
"You mean to say--Miss Stone is an eyesore?"
The fine hairs on Dara's nape stood up as the two women followed them. They were speaking loudly about her!
"Yes! And I won't accept Her Frumpiness in my typing pool!" Bonnie said sharply.
Dara heaved a deep breath. She held the air in her lungs for ten seconds and exhaled through her mouth.
Bonnie had always been a pain to work with. Several times, she took credits from Dara and fellow encoders to build up herself.
"Don't mind them, Miss Stone!" Mr. Lot was speaking steadily. He was holding her elbow very firmly.
Dara's eyes were looking forward but she was not seeing. Her knees were trembling due to repressed anger.
Suddenly, a man in a white suit caught her attention. He was familiar but she could not remember where she had seen him.
He winked at her.
Dara was surprised. He seemed not fresh when he did the winking. He acted as though he was letting her into something mischievous!
Bonnie shrieked behind Dara. Mr. Lot halted and turned to look. Dara stopped and looked, too.
"Miss Bonnie! Your heels are broken!"
"My new shoes!" Bonnie cried dramatically. "I bought them just yesterday!"
Dara eyed the stranger pointedly. She was frowning suspiciously.
The man gave a small salute to her and spun on his feet. He had very long hair that was braided neatly behind his back.
Before her eyes, the strange man vanished without a trace!
"Did--did you see the man, Sir Lot?" Dara asked agitatedly.
"What man? Where?"
"I don't know..." Dara shook her head slowly while she blinked her eyes. "Maybe, I'm really hungry!"
"Okay, let's go now!" Mr. Lot went out of the building speedily.
"Must you walk so fast!" Dara complained. Her shorter legs were almost running to keep up with him.
"I'm sorry! I just want to be out of there!"
"Me, too!" she admitted with feeling.
"Was she your superior?"
"Yes!" Dara slung her bag properly when Mr. Lot released her elbow.
"Was she always so gossipy to you? She sounds bitchy!"
"Maybe, she's resentful because she hankered after the position. She's a big fan of the CEO. She knows more about the CEO and other higher employees," Dara shrugged nonchalantly.
"Our CEO doesn't take kindly to gossips like her," Mr. Lot uttered evenly.
Dara made a beeline towards an informal eating area. People were standing while gobbling out food from paper bowls.
"Where are you going?"
"The food here is hot and cheap," she informed him.
"No, no. We shall eat there!" Mr. Lot seemed scandalized to be seen at eatery. He was very out of place because he was wearing a dark suit. The clientele consisted of teenagers and construction workers mostly.
Dara insisted on the next cheap eating destination. Mr. Lot had his eyes on a nearby restaurant.
"I don't want to eat there, Sir Lot! Let's go here. My treat!" Dara muttered impulsively.
"Okay..." Mr. Lot was texting something on his cellphone.
When they were inside, Dara paused to get her bearings. There were a lot of people lining up the counter.
"It's lunchtime!" she announced sheepishly.
"I know a place where we can sit down and eat in peace! Come!" Mr. Lot held her elbow again and pulled her out of the fast-food restaurant.
Dara glanced around the silent and serene place. She could see the tables were arranged separately with giant plants. She touched a leaf of a nearby plant.
"It is real!" she whispered in a surprised tone.
Mr. Lot just smiled. When he was finished texting, he raised his hand. A balding man in a cream shirt with black tie approached them.
"A reservation is made for you, sir," he said politely. He was accompanied by a waiter in a white shirt and black bow tie. "Show them their table."
"Follow me, sir, madame," the waiter uttered discretely.
The place screamed of money. Dara was sure of that. She began sweating because her food allowance would be busted!
When they were offered the menu book, Dara was correct! She would eat the least expensive entree--a salad and water!
While her head was downcast, somebody approached their table. He pulled a chair beside her. She glanced up.
"Grandpa--um, Mr. Ackers!" Dara stammered.
"I heard you're giving Lot some problems, Dara!" Grandpa Ackers chided her in a booming voice.
"I, um," Dara mumbled inaudibly. "I'm sorry, Sir Lot!" She flushed while she apologized. She realized that Mr. Lot was texting Grandpa Ackers!
"They're nothing, Miss Stone," Mr. Lot accepted graciously.
They were silent when the food arrived. It was sumptuous lunch. Everyone had a plate of tenderloin steak!
"Um, where is my salad?" she asked the waiter in a small voice.
Another waiter was coming. He had a large bowl of greens in his tray. "Here is the salad, madame!" He put the bowl at center of the table with a flourish.
"I didn't order this," she whispered while she lifted her elegant plate.
"Dara, you eat that steak!" Grandpa Ackers murmured to her. He leaned to her direction while mouthing his order.
Dara was hesitating when her stomach growled delicately. She blushed again.
Grandpa Ackers laughed soundlessly. His face became writhed with happy lines.
"You amuse me, Dara!"
Dara was embarrassed but she smiled with pleasure.
"Would you agree if we visited the shops today? We will buy clothes and--"
"No, Mr. Ackers," she replied firmly. Her smile vanished.
Grandpa Ackers' enthusiasm was dampened.
"Um, let's wait when my--um, Mr. Ackers woke up," Dara was forced to add.
"Well, I have good news for you!" The old man's downcast features lightened instantly. "Gav's fingers moved! I saw them. And the nurse saw them, too! The doctor is very positive at the development!" He rubbed his palms together.
"I'm glad to hear that!" Dara could only give a false grin. Her heart began beating fast.
- Writer
