Miss CEO

Chapter 8

Javier and I arrived at the tent just as Miss Rose stood up from her seat before turning around.

"Okay everybody, listen up."

Pin-drop silence immediately flooded the tent. The respect she demanded sent shivers down my spine.

"You might think these inter-company games don't matter, but you should take it with all seriousness. Think of this as if your life depends on winning."

As a reflex action, I rolled my eyes. Of course Miss Rose was going to be really competitive and make this a much bigger deal than it really was. If you ask me, the inter-company games would only create a heightened competitive environment, which was definitely not going to be good for the so-called "bond" that we were expected to have formed with the other companies that weekend.

"Whoever wins the most activities gets a $2000 bonus this month."

That changed things, and I mentally watched as my plan to flake out of participating flew out of my brain. I immediately sat up straight in my seat, even leaning forward a bit. Everyone around was instantly bustling, and I looked up to see Miss Rose staring straight at me. She smirked, then winked, and I quickly diverted my eyes. She definitely saw me roll my eyes. Wait ... had she purposely added the bonus just to be petty?

Did I want to take part in the games?

Hell no.

Was I going to take part anyway, putting in my all, my blood, sweat and tears in order to win that bonus?

Hell yes.

The games began, and I signed myself up for as many activities as I could. I did well in some activities and completely sucked in others. By the time it was all over, I was drenched in sweat. I had not performed so much physical activity in years. Although I was so exhausted and felt like I was going to pass out at any second, it was kind of fun. I felt exhilarated.

I had won my bean bag race, my three-legged race (which I did with Javier), and had even almost won my egg race, until Miss Rose yelled out my name and told me that I was doing amazing. That caused me to drop my egg, and it splattered everywhere. She laughed so hard and I got the feeling that she did it on purpose.

"Here. You look exhausted. Have some water."

I practically grabbed the bottle out of Miss Rose's hands and began downing it. It was ice cold, and burned my throat, but I happily welcomed the burn. I needed it.

"Woah, that $2000 really got to you, huh?" Miss Rose's voice was soft, and she had a smile on her face. Her freckles were apparent in the sun, and I couldn't help but think about how cute she looked.

In all honesty, I probably was not even close to winning the bonus. So many other people had done way better than me and obviously so, they probably kept active on the regular unlike me. There was no way that I was going to be the one to sweep in out of nowhere and win the bonus. Stuff like that only happened in Wattpad books.

I said nothing but handed her the empty bottle; I tried not to think about her hand that brushed against mine.

"We have some time before dinner. You should wash up," Miss Rose said. "I want to go on a walk with you. I have some things to sort out so I'd be in the cabin in fifteen minutes." At that moment she reached over and took hold of my braid. I just looked at her, feeling like I was in a trance. She was the ventriloquist, and of course, I was the dummy.

"See you soon, Muna." She let go of my braid and began walking towards the other tents.

I stared after Miss Rose for a while before I turned in the opposite direction and headed for the cabin.

Showering was the simple part, picking out what to wear was the challenge.

Why did I care so much?

After an excessive amount of deliberation, I finally settled on shorts, my long blue knee socks and the bright blue Starlight Industries shirt.

"Muna, are you rea-"

A scream erupted from my throat and I grabbed my shirt, using it to protect my boobs that had been on full display for Miss Rose's eyes just mere seconds ago.

"Oh." She said.

Her eyes were fixed on the shirt that was covering up my chest. Her green eyes not even bothering to look away.

"T-Turn around I'm not done yet," I stuttered, still clutching the shirt firmly to my chest.

Silently, Miss Rose turned around so her back was facing me and I got dressed like the speed of light. I took an extra few seconds catching my breath and trying to go through what had just happened.

"We can go now." I said as I walked past Miss Rose and out of the door.

My body was still on fire, and I couldn't bring myself to look at her. For the next few moments we walked in silence in the direction of the woods. The sounds of people faded away the further we walked until all we could hear was the chirping of crickets around us.

"You know," Miss Rose said, breaking the silence between us, "it's pretty impressive you've lasted as my PA this long."

I found myself smiling, and I stared down at my shoes. We came into a clearing with a small pond surrounded by rocks. Miss Rose sat on a large rock and pulled me down next to her.

"Are you comfortable?" She asked.

I nodded my head abruptly, not completely trusting my voice. I don't think I had seen this caring, relaxed side of Miss Rose. This retreat really seemed to have calmed her, she seemed happier in a sense.

"Why did you leave Philadelphia and come to California?"

The question threw me completely off guard.

"Um.. the promotion," I said, turning my head up slightly to look at her. She was already staring at me, her body was turned so it faced mine.

"No Muna, I mean... why did you accept the promotion?"

"Oh." I said silently, looking down at my hands in my lap, "I really need the money. I want to go to Grad school."

Miss Rose nodded, she seemed deep in thought.

"Your parents don't give you any money?"

She was asking so many questions. Any other person, I would have immediately believed they were prying, but not with Miss Rose. Having this conversation with her felt... safe?

"Yeah, they don't. I think it's part of the whole 'we want nothing to do with you' thing." My voice came out harsh, laced with pain. I swallowed the lump forming at the back of my throat as Miss Rose nodded. There was a silence between us for a while.

"Why is Cinderella bad at football?" Miss Rose suddenly asked.

I looked up into her eyes, confusion written all over my face, "what?"

"Why is Cinderella bad at football?" Miss Rose repeated.

Had she finally lost it? Or had I just misheard her?

"Because she ran away from the ball." Miss Rose finally said, grinned at me nervously, and I blinked blankly at her for a few seconds.

What she said finally clicked in my head and I began laughing really hard. I couldn't believe she had just told a joke. The absurdity of the situation made me laugh even harder and before long Miss Rose was laughing as well. I thought about how I didn't often hear her laugh, and it was music to my ears.

"Is that your attempt to lighten the mood?" I asked in between giggles, tears were streaming from my face.

"It seemed to work." Miss Rose replied grinning at me, "nothing like a good old Cinderella joke to cure family disownment."

At this point I slipped off the rock, my back against the grass, and continued laughing. My eyes were closed, but I could feel Miss Rose watching me. I opened my eyes and there were a few moments of silence. Miss Rose suddenly burst out laughing, and then we both were laughing all over again.

Needless to say, I felt warm.