Giving him the resignation letter!
Rich.
Everything here in the Riverview restaurant screamed rich. There were men walking in expensive suits and women in model dresses. Even the children here were more disciplined and trained than me. Now, I felt like an outsider. I knew how being rich feels like because I have attended few parties with my dad, but it was all before Sam was born. After his birth, I started spending time with him and stopped going to all those parties. I never liked going to such parties anyways and as Sam came, I got an amazing excuse to not attend such parties.
The tiles, the booths, the tables, even the glasses screamed expensive. There was even a chandelier hanging on top, like which restaurant have a chandelier? Obviously, this one. I shifted nervously from one foot to another and stood behind Mr. Steele in hope that no one would spare a glance at me.
"Reservations under Mr. Steele." He said and the girl behind the reservation desk shot him a flirtatious smile, not her fault, this man is handsome.
She showed us the way to our booth and left, but not before slipping her number beneath the glass, which he threw away in the dustbin.
"What would you like to have?" He asked and squirmed under his gaze. I don't know why, but this guy made me uncomfortable in a very different way.
"I don't know."
"Fine then, I'll order for both of us." I nodded and started playing with my fingers. I was starting to get bored because he was busy looking through the menu and I had nothing better to do other than staring at my phone. A minute or two passed with him looking through the menu and me fidgeting with my fingers. A minute or two after, I heard a 'ping' from my phone, indicating that I have received a message. I opened the message and it was from Matt.
' Standing outside. '
I smiled at the message and stood up from my place. Mr. Steele looked at me weirdly and I gave him a sheepish smile.
"I'll be right back."
Not waiting for his answer, I hopped outside the restaurant, happy to see my baby. Matt was standing leaning against his white BMW, with Sam standing beside him, holding his leg.
"Sammy!" I hugged him tightly and kissed him on his cheek, to which, he gave me a sloppy kiss of his own.
"Mummy! Shammy miss you." He said, making a crying face. I stooped down, so that I match his height and said, "Only for today baby."
"What do you mean by that?" Matt asked, I could see him squinting his eyes from behind his shades.
"I am going to quit the job Mattie." I said, with a small smile. His eyes widened, as if I have told him that I am pregnant or something.
"Enna, No! You cannot quit this job!"
"I know, Mattie, but he is a very uptight person and I am scared to ask him about Sam." He gave me a side hug and gave me a peck on the forehead.
"Enna, we can work something out. Maybe hire a babysitter? Just don't quit, please."
"I don't know, Matt. I really don't know what to do." I was honestly so distressed thinking about this.
"You know that I am with you in all your decisions, right?" He asked and I nodded.
"I have to go." Then I held Sam and adjusted him on my hip. "Mumma will be back in no time, sweetie. Don't cry, okay?" A hiccup escaped his lips and he hugged me tightly. My heart sank deeper and deeper, looking at him like that. He needs me and I cannot do a thing about it.
Such a mother I was!
But then again, I had to provide for both of us.
"If Sammy will be a nice boy, then uncle Mattie would take Sam to the game parlour." A giant smile appeared on his lips and he moved his head up and down.
"Matt—" He cut me off before I could say anything further and said, "Don't worry, Enna. I will make sure that I lose all the games and let him win."
I let Sam stood on his small toes and hugged Matt tightly. I didn't know what will happen, if I would have not met him.
"Thank You, Matt, seriously."
After bidding him goodbye, I walked back to the restaurant and sat across Mr. Steele. He had this cold face and he was angry for some reason. I don't know what made him change his mood all of a sudden. He was okay when I left him.
"Where were you?" His tone was demanding. No words came out of my mouth and I started fidgeting with my hand cuff.
"I asked you something, Ms. Collins!" The anger in his tone was more this time and I knew better than to mess with him.
"I—" Nothing. No words formed. It was like I forgot English and it was now a foreign language to me.
"Where. Were. You?" He said, each word slowly and angrily.
Get yourself together, Sienna! You are not five.
"Out." I managed to choke just one word, but it was better than no answer at all.
"Why?"
Why? What should I say? What should I answer to his question, why? Why was I out there? To meet my son? No! I was not going to tell him that. I know that there's nothing bad about having a son, but what I am afraid of is, those eyes of society. Those judgemental eyes.The way they look at a person after knowing that he or she doesn't have parents. The thing that scares me the most is those sympathetic eyes which follows you, no matter where you are or what you do. I don't want people to look at him with those eyes. For some extent it is okay, but after some time, it becomes dangerous. Our mind couldn't take more of it, but they don't understand it. This is the reason why I don't let anyone know about Sam.
I also know, that at one point or another he will have to face the society, but at that time, he would be grown up and hopefully, he won't let anyone affect him, but right now, his mind is too innocent to be corrupted, too innocent to understand all those judgemental eyes and thoughts.
I was snapped back into reality, when Mr. Steele snapped his fingers before my face. My face flushed in embarrassment and I avoided his gaze. All thanks to that cute looking waiter with black eyes and brown hair, who brought us food, to avoid the tension between us. He gave me a smile and I returned a polite smile towards him. I heard Mr. Steele growl, but maybe it was just my stomach.
I ignore all the glares and looks that he was throwing my way and continue eating my food. I don't know what it was, but whatever it was, it tasted delicious. I chewed the food slowly, enjoying each and every bite of it.
It was that delicious.
"Do you know why are we here?" He asked and I muttered a small 'no'.
"I am here to take your interview." My eyes shot up in surprise, hearing him. And he couldn't just take the interview in the office because?
"Because, then it would be just wasting of time. It's better that I know about you during the lunch time, it will save much of my time and yours too." Looks like, I said it out loud.
"So, tell me about you, Ms. Collins." He said and I scrunched my eyebrows together.
What is there to know about me? Who am I? This is the most difficult question I have been ever asked. What do you say when someone asks you about you?
"What do you want to know?" I asked.
"Anything." Anything, but what?!
"My name is Sienna Collins and I am twenty two. I shifted here two months back with my best friend from USA, Connecticut and yes, I guess, that's it."
"That's it?" He asked, raising one eyebrow and I don't know why, but I find this action of his really hot. He should feel lucky that atleast I manage to form these many sentences.
"Where do you live?" He asked.
"Highscrape towers." Short answers, you can do it, Sienna.
"Why do you need this job?"
"For money?" I didn't know what to answer to that question. My primary and the most necessary need for joining this company was money, so I guess yes.
"Do you know your salary?"
"Uh, no."
"You will be paid 1900 dollars each week, that is 7600 dollars a month. I hope this salary is okay with you."
7600 dollars? Literally, speaking. I would have spit all the water on the table, but thank god, I was not drinking water or eating food for that matter because I would have definitely choked on my own food.
After discussing few more things like timings and all, we were off to the office. I didn't pay much attention to his instructions because it was of no use.
I was out of here by tomorrow anyways.
As we entered the building, he walked towards the private elevator and I stood on my spot, not knowing whether I should go with him in the private elevator or the local elevator. The 'ding' sound of the lift brought me out of my little trance and I saw Mr. Steele entering the elevator. I didn't move an inch from where I was standing.
"Ms. Collins, you have the rest of your day to daydream." He said, motioning me to enter the elevator.
"You will not use the local elevator, Ms. Collins. Am I understood?" I nodded and looked at the ground. This man had those intensity in his eyes, with that cold and straight posture that could make anyone shiver in fear. He was not easy to read like others. He was a closed book, whose key no one had, but him. And for some reason, I wanted to read him, to know him, whether he was really cold and stone hearted like others put him to be or was he different.
But, I won't be able to get my answers, because two hours and I will never be seeing this place or him ever again.
~
It was now time to leave and I fidgeted with the hem of my blouse, not knowing how to give him the resignation letter which was resting in my right hand.
Am I really a quitter?
No. I am not a quitter because I am not going to end my journey here. I would find a new job where I could work with Sam right before my eyes. I know that day when I left him at the ice-cream shop for less than three minutes, because I had gone in the washroom to wash the ice-cream stain on my shirt and when I returned I saw Sam fully covered in ice-cream from head to toe and was smiling at me sheepishly. That was the day when I decided that I won't let him out of my sight ever again, but look at me now.
What am I doing?
But what else was I supposed to do?!
I was not given a journal to live my life in my twenties, but I really wishes that life came with a journal because I was bad at making decisions.
For making sure that he gets what he wants and to give him a better future, I was ruining his childhood. I don't even know if what I was doing was right or wrong, but I could only hope for the best.
With the resignation letter in my hand and a new found confidence, I walked towards Mr. Steele's office and knocked twice. After hearing him say 'come in', I pushed open the door and walked in a beeline towards his desk. He was typing something furiously on his laptop, so I decided to just silently slip the resignation letter on his desk and go. I did as I thought and after slipping the letter, I turned around, only to be stopped by a deep voice.
"What is this?" Anger. It was the only thing I could register from his voice. I turned slowly, not wanting to see his angry side and looked at his desk, like it was the most beautiful thing ever.
"What. Is. This.?" He asked, and this time more slowly and demanding, while waving the letter in the air.
"Re- Resignation Letter."
I met his eyes, but it was the biggest mistake of my life. His eyes told something, his hands were clenched and I could see his knuckles turning white. He stood up abruptly from his chair and in no time he was standing in front of me. He looked into my eyes and this was the first time I noticed, how blue his eyes actually were. They were so deep, like an ocean. An ocean is always calm, but you never realise when it would turn into a storm.
Maybe it was not going to be that easy as I thought it would be.
Maybe this was not the end.
~
Too late? Sorry. Hopefully, I would regular update from now.
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