Hakim was back in Montreuil for the first time since he started working for Gigi. He missed this vibrant city, so different from the fancy and quiet neighbourhood where he now worked and lived. Before heading to the money transfer agency, he stopped by his previous apartment to greet his housemates who were glad that he could find a better situation.
And Hakim was glad too. Not only was his job as a housekeeper easier but it also paid better, which is why he could now send more money to his Shan.
He was actually back in Montreuil to transfer her some money. Half of his salary to be exact. As soon as it was done, he quickly texted her the tracking number before giving her a call.
She picked up after a few rings.
"Hey, did you send it ?" She asked.
Hakim loved to hear the sweet voice of his girlfriend but he hated the urgency in it. It wasn't always there. There was a time when Ashantee was carefree and happy all the time. But of course, more issues came her way as she grew up, and slowly, she just lost that sweet serenity.
And of course, her main issue was financial. Ashantee needed money all the time and a lot of it.
"I sent it, Shan." Hakim replied. "I just texted you the number."
"Great. You sent exactly what I asked for ?"
"Well, a little bit less actually."
"Babe, come on-"
"I know, I'm sorry but I sent as much as I could."
"You got a new job, right ? You said it pays well."
"It does and I just sent you half of my salary, Shan. I swear I could not do more than that."
"You understand why I'm asking you this, right ? Grandma is really sick. I wish you were here to see how much her health has deteriorated and the doctors won't even spare her a glance if we don't pay the bills."
"Shan, I'm not there right now but I very much understand what you're going through. I love grandma and I want her to get well soon too, okay ? Believe me, I sent you all I could."
"Can't you ask your boss to-"
"Absolutely not !"
Hakim regretted raising his voice instantly. He quickly apologised:
"I am so sorry, Shan. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. It's just that I can't ask my boss for extra money. I like to deal with my own stuff alone, you know. I will try to see if I can send you more in a week. Please don't be upset."
He could hear her crying and Hakim's heart shattered.
"Shan..."
"Sorry for making it hard for you, babe." She mumbled. "I know you're doing your best. I'm just worried you know..."
"Of course. I understand how you feel and I promise, it will all get better soon."
"Okay...And thank you for the money. I think it should be enough to check grandma into the hospital and then we will see."
"Yes, I hope it will be enough. Please keep me informed if there is anything."
"I will, babe. I love you so much."
"I love you too."
Hakim waited for his girlfriend to hang up first before putting his phone back in his pocket. He sighed loudly, feeling bad for still not being able to cater to her needs. No matter how much he earned, it'd never be enough. He wasn't enough. He didn't deserve to be with someone like her. She was always the one to take him out of the most difficult situations but what did Hakim do to repay her ? Absolutely nothing.
His heart was heavy as he made his way back to the subway station. He considered going home but staring at the tote bag he brought, he decided to just keep up with his plans and go pay a visit to Gigi at her working place.
She didn't seem well when she left that morning. Hakim wanted to bring her lunch and hopefully cheer her up. He guessed she was probably going through a difficult time since her sister-in-law joined her company, three weeks ago.
Hakim had a little trouble situating himself in the overwhelming business district of La Défense where Gigi's company was. Rumours had it that influential people would often conduct satanic rituals around there in order to get wealthier. Hakim shivered at that thought and recited prayers under his breath as he walked down the busy streets.
He finally found the building he was looking for and went in, immediately attracting everyone's attention as he oddly stood out in the crowd of professional individuals who looked nothing like him. In fact, he noticed he was the only black person around and that he barely crossed the path of others when he was outside. Hakim rarely felt nervous but right then, with all those different and colourful pairs of eyes on him, he was this close to running out of the door and never coming back.
"Can I help you, sir ?"
A young man came close to him, his lips stretched in a forced smile.
"Uh...Hello. I'm just looking for Mrs Montagne."
"Sorry ?"
"Gigi Montagne?"
"...Okay. Would you come with me for a second?"
Hakim followed the man to the reception desk where another woman was standing. Both stared at the poor housekeeper in a way that made him feel very self conscious. Maybe it was a mistake to come all the way here.
"May I know the purpose of your visit, sir ?" The male receptionist asked.
"Well, it's just silly. I came to bring her lunch."
He pointed at the tote bag he carried with the lunchboxes inside. The male receptionist widened his eyes. Hakim felt the need to explain more:
"I'm actually her housekeeper."
"Oookay...Just wait a second."
He dialled a number and picked up his desk phone.
"Mmhh...Yes, Sasha. I have someone here looking for Mrs Montagne..."
The man covered the phone and spoke in a muffled tone though Hakim could still clearly hear his words:
"Yeah, it's actually this black dude who claims to be her housekeeper..."
"My name is Hakim." He said with a frown, hating to be referred as "a black dude".
"Mmmh...Okay. Sure, thanks Sasha."
The male gave another cold stare at Hakim.
"You can take the elevator to the 10th floor, sir."
"Thanks."
Hakim quickly left, glad to be away from those judging stares. Little did he know that it was only the beginning because as soon as the elevator's doors opened to the 10th floor, he was welcomed by other people that didn't mind watching him as he walked down the alley, looking for a familiar face.
He sighed in pure relief when he noticed Sasha running towards him, her bright hair bouncing with each step.
"Hey !"
She quickly gave him a hug before asking:
"What are you doing here, Hakim?"
"I don't know. I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't have come...I just wanted to bring lunch for Mrs Montagne and cheer her up a little but people are staring at me like I'm some kind of alien."
"Yeah, sorry about that..."
"Look, just give this to her and I'm gonna go now. Maybe she won't even like that I came all the way here, I don't know what I was thinking."
"No, are you kidding? This is so sweet, you will give it to her yourself. By the way, she's rarely eating lunch nowadays, always locked in her office to work. I think she'll appreciate this cute little attention from you. Come."
Hakim let himself be dragged by Sasha towards Gigi's office and he tried his best to ignore the other employees and their little whispers as he passed them. They soon arrived in front of a door. Before Sasha could say anything, someone called her name. Both turned towards a blonde lady that curiously looked at Hakim.
"Who is this?" She asked.
"Go in."
Sasha quickly opened the door and pushed Hakim inside, before the blonde lady could get to them. He found himself inside a huge office, clearly meant for the big boss. Behind the desk, Gigi was typing furiously on her computer's keyboard but looked up when she heard someone coming in. She gasped.
"Hakim?!"
"Oh. Hey. I...Ugh...I'm sorry that I came to your workplace, Mrs Montagne. It really sounded like a great idea in my mind earlier but now, I realise how stupid it is."
"What ?"
"I came to bring you lunch but I think this is bothering you more than anything."
"Lunch ?"
Gigi stood up from behind her desk and came closer to the housekeeper. She smiled as he handed her the tote bag.
"Are you angry?" The young man asked in a sheepish tone.
"Of course not, why would I be angry at someone who brings me food? I'm grateful, if anything."
"Really?"
She nodded before heading to the little rest area in her office. It was very comfy with three couches over a soft carpet, a glass table, and a wide screen TV on the wall.
"Come sit."
Hakim obeyed, taking place on the couch next to his boss who was busy taking the food he prepared out of the bag. He stared at her side profile, hair tucked behind her ear and her smile widening into a large grin. Gigi wore no makeup and looked exhausted. Yet, for Hakim, she still looked beautiful.
"Two lunchboxes !" Gigi noticed.
"Yes...I thought it would be boring to eat by yourself so I brought one for me too."
"You did well, Hakim."
She handed him one of the lunchboxes and they both started eating, Gigi crossing her long legs and turning her body towards the housekeeper, facing him entirely.
"I heard that you don't eat lunch these days." The housekeeper said. "Why is that? Work is important but so is getting enough nutriments."
"Hm, I know. It's just that I feel so much pressure lately. I need to prove that I'm able to run my company alone and sometimes, I get so obsessed with this task that I forget to take care of myself...That's why I need people like you, who will remember to come and feed me."
Hakim smiled at that. He loved to see that it wasn't so stupid to bring lunch to his boss after all. Though, he wasn't sure he'd do it again anytime soon...
They had a light and pleasing conversation while eating lunch and once they were done, Hakim put the lunchboxes back in the tote bag before getting out the cocktail he'd made especially for Gigi.
"Here it's a coconut and orange energy drink. It should help you go through the day without getting tired, according to the internet."
Gigi had a sip before humming in appreciation. Hakim stood up.
"I will go home now."
"Already?"
"Yes, there's still a lot of things I have to do."
"Thanks for coming today."
"Of course. By the way, I really like your office. It's exactly like I imagined it to be..."
Gigi grinned. They both walked to the door. Hakim was about to open it when he felt his boss wrapping her arms around his waist and giving him a back hug. Like everytime she was being tactile with him, hakim completely froze in his movements:
"Really." She whispered, her eyes closed and head resting against his back. "I'm so grateful."
A few seconds later, Gigi was ready to let go. Hakim awkwardly struggled with the door knob before managing to open it.
"See you later." He said.
Gigi nodded and watched him leave. When she closed the door again, she did everything she could to ignore the incessant beating of her heart.
"Why am I like this ?" She asked herself.
Hakim was way too caring and she was way too deprived of affection, she realised.
She needed to get a hold of herself before making any sort of regrettable mistake.
On the other hand, Hakim found Sasha in the hallway, not too far from the elevators.
"Thanks." He said to her.
"Let's meet for a drink one of these days."
The housekeeper nodded. As soon as he was gone, Sasha screamed in schock when Vanessa appeared in front of her with a blank stare, arms crossed over her chest.
"Oh my god-...What can I do for you, miss ?"
"Who was that, Sasha?"
She'd managed to ignore her the first time but Sasha quickly understood that the other woman was determined to get an answer from her.
"It's just Mrs Montagne's housekeeper."
"Housekeeper, huh." She said, a nasty smirk tugging at her lips. "Quite good-looking, don't you think?"
"Well..."
"I wonder if Gigi only hired him to clean her house or if there's some other reasons behind that. I mean, he's not the most obvious choice for a housekeeper, right ?"
Sasha frowned.
"Gigi didn't choose to hire him, miss. I actually found the housekeeper myself. And I don't believe Mrs Montagne would have any dirty thoughts about him, she's a good woman."
"Who said anything about dirty thoughts or being bad, Sasha?"
The young assistant bit her lower lip, trying to control her fury.
"If you will excuse me..." She said before leaving.
Vanessa leaned against the wall and laughed. She was somehow convinced that the handsome housekeeper could become the key to Gigi's destruction. All she needed was patience and a perfect use of future opportunities that would not fail to come her way...