The rest of the week was uneventful. I stayed out of Sebastian's way and he remained busy with several consults. There was an upswing in fall weddings, thus making our dear boss high in demand, and the rest of us scattered around like headless chickens to fill in everything else.
Today, on the other hand, would be another story. It was D-Day. The moment where I had to spend an entire six hours with the man, helping him with god knows what, was upon me. That's the interesting part in this mess, I had zero baking skills. And as you may have picked up, I'm not exactly handy with the baked goods, they always seem to end up airborne. Which meant the most current backed up orders were out of the question. So why was I really here?
Too bad this odd request wasn't enough to stow my anxiety. The entire walk over here my mind kept worrying about how I was going to wile away the time. To distract myself I made a list of things that I could clean, restock, maybe even reorder. Hilarious right? I end up ruining the product with my clumsiness but I'm in charge of keeping tabs on ingredients! Oh, the sweet irony.
Maybe now is a good time to clarify that although I call myself the cleaning lady, I'm kind of a queen of all minuscule-tasks. It didn't start off that way, and to be fair I was warned, but after my first accident, Sebastian started asking me to do other things that were not part of the original job description. I thought Great! Job security and all of that.
The more I messed up, the more he threw my way. I couldn't complain since the alternative was unemployment. At some point, I realized that he expanded my duties so as to keep me from causing too much havoc in any one thing. You'd think more responsibility would mean more disasters, right? Nope, not with me. Funny how that works. I am a conundrum.
I shivered in my thin long-sleeved shirt as I stared at the back door. I was early and yet couldn't will myself into punching in the code. My fingers were turning numb from the chill, fall was definitely coming hard this year. My stomach gurgled in hunger. Quiet you, this is stressful enough, I don't need reminding that we're out of food.
This was stupid, what was I afraid of? I could handle the beast even if it was a solo kamikaze mission. Here I am, freezing my nips off at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am, arguing with my stomach and for what? Overtime, Romanov, think overtime.
Right, here we go.
The pad beeped beneath my fingers with each button I pressed. A quiet click gave me notice that the door was unlocked. I gripped the handle tightly, taking in one final breath. Gird your loins, Gladys, we're going in.
Bracing myself for the onslaught (I'm so dramatic) I pulled the door open and marched in. There was nothing. It was quiet and still. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. I snorted at my silly joke. Of course there are no mice, God the health department would have a field day with us if there were. This isn't Ratatouille, no little chef's here. And yes, I'm aware that was a rat and not a mouse, just follow along.
"Hello?" My voice echoed down the hall, silence greeted me in return.
"Huh." I was alone. Good job, Dalia. There you were freaking out in the cold and he wasn't even here yet. Could have freaked out in the warmth but oh no, you went with melodramatic lamenting in the frosty alley.
"Sorry Ladies, I'll grow bigger balls next time," I muttered as I patted my chest, the ones with the frozen nips of course. It was as I was closing my locker after dumping my bag that I heard the door open. That was a short reprieve.
"Oh good, you're already here."
I looked over at the sound of Sebastian's voice. He was walking toward me carrying... what is that?
Is that... is that a tray of coffee?! He brought coffee. The Devil was late—by his standards—because he stopped to get us coffee. I don't think I'm being presumptuous here since there were two cups in that tray. Count that, TWO. And it smelled heavenly.
I tried to avoid using the break room coffee in some weird effort to keep from costing him more. You know, because of all the flailing limbs and pastry debris. I hadn't had a proper cup of coffee in months. That's hilarious, I haven't had any in months...
But enough of my woe-to-me ways.
"Come on." He called when he passed. He spoke in vain, I was already trailing behind him, my motions completely dictated by my nose. This was the morning nectar from the coffee shop down the street. I could tell by the delightful roast smell. Don't get me wrong, our barista's whip up a great cup of coffee but there was just something about this particular place.
Javva the Hutt was a hidden gem that everyone in this area knew about, in other words not so hidden. It was decorated in records, movie posters, and Star Wars paraphernalia—hello it's named Javva the Hutt, and the bean in the logo looked like that flubbery galactic gangster.
It was a Hipster's wet dream and not one person gave a damn about that, I was certain they put crack in their coffee to keep everyone hooked. I loved every inch of that place, not that I could get it often on my tight budget. But on the occasion, I would indulge and it was worth every penny.
Hence why my schnoz was calling the shots as it followed Sebastian into the office. He handed me a cup before setting the tray on his desk, along with a paper bag I hadn't noticed earlier.
"I didn't know how you like your coffee, so I grabbed some creamer and sugar. Also some cinnamon packets." His hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, tilting his face down. "Seems kind of stupid now that I think about it since we have that here."
He peeked up at me when I remained silent. That was... so thoughtful of him. He gave a tiny nod, pressing his lips together. Shrugging off his light jacket, he walked over to his cabinet. Say something you git!
"Ah... sure we do." Nice, I scoffed internally. "But the packets are a perfect measurement anyway."
"We have measuring spoons if that's a concern."
I took the statement as another one of his dick comments until I saw the smile he shot in my direction. He was teasing me!
'Ha-ha." I scrunched my nose. "But then I'd have to wash those."
Dalia, Dalia, Dalia. Always so witty in front of this man.
Feeling satisfied now that he had his Chef's jacket on, he strolled to the extra chair that sat up against the wall. Dragging it over to his desk, he gestured to it with his hand.
"Please, sit."
I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion, he was busy pulling items from the paper bag. What was this?
"Something wrong?" He asked without glancing up.
"No?" Gah, what was wrong with me. He's being nice, that's what. Was that it? Slowly, and I mean really slowly, I lowered myself to the seat. Clutching the warm cup in both of my hands. I watched him as he pulled out packets and little creamer cups.
Vanilla
Hazelnut
Regular
Irish Cream
"Did you shove the dispensers in there as well?" I asked sweetly. Eyeballing the stash of creamers, he smirked.
"Cute. Like I said, I wasn't sure what you liked." He shrugged and it made me grin. This whole thing was bizarre considering how I had been expecting the worse but it was a good start. Who knew how long it was going to last? This could have just been him trying to break through any awkwardness, either way, I wasn't going to complain.
"Pass the Vanilla, please?" I fingered the lid rim of my cup before adding quickly. "And the cinnamon."
Without batting an eye, Sebastian scooped both and held them out to me. My fingers grazed his palm when I collected them and I'd be a damned liar if I said the brief contact didn't make my skin tingle.
Knock it off, Romanov. But he was being so niiiiccceee. My inner brat whined. Nope, I'm shutting that Bitch down. He wanted you gone and you dreamed about murdering him with a pastry cutter two nights ago. Stow the horny bird and lock that cage tight!
The ruffling of the paper brought me back to the present, a delicious scent wafted in my direction when he pulled out a wrapped cylindrical object. I knew that smell, and if I was right...
"Is that a Fiesta Chewy Breakfast Burrito?" I asked nonchalantly. Stay cool, Dalia.
"That it is." Boom! Who knew their Javva the Hutt goods? This gal! I guess that's what happens when your diet only consists of Ramen; your senses increase and tune into yummy food you long for. Sebastian held it out to me and I stared at it. Blinking several times.
"Go on, take it." He raised his eyebrows.
"On no, I couldn't do that. It's yours, I didn't mean..." I flushed, great did he think I was asking for handouts?
"I got it for you. I'm more of a Sweet Solotato Burrito person myself." The offering hung between us. He bought me food? Was he for real? Take it! Geez you ungrateful-- ah ah ah, that's enough out of you. There's a catch here, I just knew it. Coffee, sitting with me to eat, and buying me breakfast? No way was this coming without a price.
"Thank you," I replied quietly. "But I already ate." Mentally I slapped my forehead. You idiot. He narrowed his eyes in disbelief, and to prove him right my stomach decided to growl loudly. You traitor...
He sighed heavily and took hold of one my hands, his chair groaning from the movement. Prying it from the cup and flipping my palm face-up, he gently placed the burrito in my hand. I willed myself to keep staring down but it was like by sheer force alone his gaze drew my eyes up.
"Lia." I swallowed at the new endearment, no one's ever given me a nickname. What the hell was happening? Better yet, to me?
Accepting help in any form was always difficult for me. When you have nothing it's not surprising that everything came with a price. What I saw in Sebastian's eyes was nothing other than kindness. He didn't expect anything more from me than to simply enjoy the meal. It was the same thoughtfulness from that night when he offered to clean my clothes. It felt the same echos of an ache in my chest.
I finally nodded, prompting him to let go and move back to his spot. We settled into our meals in silence. It was heaven. Unfortunately, several bites in I was already full. Not wanting to give anything away, I forced myself to finish the rest. I knew I was going to pay for it later with a severe stomach ache but he didn't need to know that food was in limited supply on my end.
Releasing a content sigh, I leaned back into my seat, still clutching my coffee. One day this would be an everyday occurrence. Just have to stick to the plan, Dalia. I watched Sebastian finish up his own breakfast. It was oddly endearing the way his jaw flexed as he chewed. His focus lost on some papers in front of him.
Oh no, woman. Get rid of those thoughts right now. Stick to the plan. The Plan. The one that stated I was going to leave this place behind. I felt torn between watching him and the warm feelings that it evoked. On went my internal argument.
Don't even think about it.
But he's being nice.
For how long though?
It could be forever.
You quit, remember? There is no forever.
He could forget.
He's speeding up the payment process, doesn't sound like he wants you around.
I hate you.
Well, I'm you so...
But he looks so adorable.
Stop lying to yourself, adorable is so not the word you were thinking. Now get your mind out of the forbidden land and distance yourself. PRONTO.
You're so bossy.
You can't stay unless you want to keep looking over your shoulder for her for the rest of your life. Remember what she did last time. This was meant to happen.
I hated when I made too much sense. Enough of this weird inner monologue that was making me grumpy.
"So..." I started, trying to break the silence. I sipped more of my coffee just to have something to do. Sebastian looked up at me, questioningly. "Why exactly do you need me here? Don't get me wrong the breakfast and coffee are great." I held my cup in salute. "Thank you for both but I'm sure there's more."
He smiled. "You're welcome and yes there is. I'll get into that more later, right now we're just waiting for the food delivery truck to show up." He glanced down at his phone. "Should be another ten minutes or so."
"Okay." I sipped my drink some more. Not sure what else to do. Silence stretched out between us as he went back to his papers and I looked anywhere but at him.
God this was unbearable. Am I just supposed to sit here in silence for ten minutes? I couldn't do that. Being around him after the last two weeks and now after breakfast is giving me a headache. Not being one to stick around when I became restless, I settled on getting some cleaning done.
Jumping up, I grabbed our trash and shoved them in the paper bag. "Right, so I'm going to go... do some stuff."
I didn't even wait for a response before running out of there. No sooner had I made it to the kitchen, the paper bag and my coffee cup securely in the bin, my stomach clenched in pain.
Ugh, I knew I was going to pay for that. Please don't throw up, please don't throw up. I begged my body to just relish this small meal. It was a no go, I barely made it to the bathroom before I emptied the contents of my stomach into the great porcelain bowl.
One meal, can't I have just one meal? I didn't even get to enjoy not being hungry for five lousy minutes. I knew better. I knew that I hadn't eaten anything in a couple of days and that was too much too soon. But once again my pride urged me to go on, now I didn't have even that.
I had to face Lei today and restock my sad little pantry, no matter how much I dread it. I'll have to go for cans of soup this time to prevent a repeat of this. She'll definitely be suspicious. Not wanting to be discovered, I made quick work of thoroughly rinsing my mouth and cleaning up.
There, it's like it never happened. You're now in the exact same place before he bought you food. Don't get depressed about this, it's not the first time. This is not forever, Dalia. Peeking my head out the door, I noticed he was still in his office based on the direction of his voice.
I ran into the break room for a bottle of water and began cleaning. There wasn't anything to do since I went to town yesterday. It wasn't long before my boredom was cut short.
"Lia!" Sebastian called out. "Truck's here."
Okay, you got this. You go out there, you do what he says, then you can carry on with your day. I paused at the door for a moment. Lia. Twice he's called me that; it made me feel warm. And something else. Something I didn't want to look further into. Biting my lip to keep from smiling, I chastised myself.
I'm being silly. One little nickname isn't going to change anything, but it certainly doesn't mean that I can't enjoy it. All it means is that I have to keep my head in the game. Yea, I could do that. Besides, he'll be back to his brooding ways soon enough. Enjoy it while you can.
With another breath, I pushed out the door and headed toward the place the siren sang.