Chapter Ten: Couch

Chapter Ten: Couch

Sean saw Thera went out of the villa as he stood at the veranda that connects the master suite and the guestroom where he was staying. His gaze followed her as she walked towards the porch going to the poolside. She sat on a rattan lounge chair and leaned her back against its backrest. She looked up. The night sky was full of stars. It was past ten in the evening. Maybe just like him, she found it hard to sleep too.

Sean doubted that Thera has amnesia when she asked him about his mother. But what happened hours ago made him think otherwise. He saw the guilt, disbelief, and pain in her eyes. Those emotions were real and genuine. Thera could not believe she could hurt someone just like what she did in the video.

He let out a deep breath when he saw Thera hugging herself. When she rubbed her arms using the palm of her hands, Sean wanted to jump out of the veranda to hug the woman and make her feel his warmth. Sean decided to leave the veranda to get her a cup of coffee. He was already holding the doorknob when he realized something. He turned around and went back to the veranda.

How could he think of making her coffee after insulting her earlier? He sighed, frustrated with himself. Sean looked again to check on Thera, but she was no longer there. He was about to go inside the guestroom when the master suite lit up. From there, he saw Thera’s shadow pacing back and forth inside the room.

She was looking at the bed, then her gaze transfers to the couch, and vice versa. He saw her take the pillow from the bed and place it on the couch and settled there instead of using the comfortable, soft bed.

After a few minutes, Thera was no longer moving. But Sean stayed at the veranda watched her from there.

Then he noticed that she left the lights on. He smiled a little without a bit of humor. As far as he could remember, she could not sleep with the lights on...

November 15, 2009

Baguio City, Philippines

Sean quickly put the last box of books in the backseat of his car. The car was parked in front of Sean and Tan’s. He bought the books a week ago. Now he thought of taking them home and adding them to his collection in the villa library where he stays whenever he is in Baguio.

Some of the books got wet. The rain was pouring non-stop since yesterday evening. He told Miguel, the store manager, that he would go home early. He still has to pack his bag for his flight in the evening. Mr Hernandez called a sudden board meeting.

Sean ran back inside the Tea Caf to get his things. He was brushing off the droplets of water on his coat when his gaze suddenly reverted to the counter. He saw Thera looking pale as she speaks to the two female customers who were arguing with her. Some customers' attention is already focused on them.

Their faces looked familiar, but he could not remember their names. All he knew was they were DM University students, who frequented Sean and Tan’s.

“I said grande, yet you punched the small-sized one. God, what kind of service is this? Should I expect a latte on my table later instead of americano? You have done this twice this week. I don’t know if you are doing this intentionally or you're just plain stupid."

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Thera said apologetically. “I thought when you changed your order it was already final..”

“It is not my fault that your brain works so slow you can't catch up.” she snapped, irritated.

“I-I'm sorry I got a little confused…” Thera cut her sentence mid-way upon seeing him at the entrance. She lowered her head. “I'll just replace it with grande. I'm sorry again, Ma'am...”

“Is that all you can say? Sorry? I’ve been hearing that from you since day one. You have been working here for a week yet you can’t still do your job properly,” the customer said.

How many times Sean heard Thera apologized to them, he already lost count. But the customer remained stubborn, determined to humiliate Thera in front of everyone inside the cafe.

“I want to talk to your manager. My God, he should bring back those male cashiers. They were easy to talk to than a girl who's as dumb as you. Where is Sean, anyway?”

Biting her lip, Thera turned to him. Guilt was written all over her face. Sean motioned for Miguel to guide the customers to his office. Miguel gave him a nod. The two women exchanged meaningful glances in a way only they could understand.

Sean headed to his office first. After a few seconds, Miguel followed.

“They’re at the restroom," he said. "Mara has a huge crush on you.” He shook his head. “Everyone would think Tea Caf is an extension of her house. She’s here almost every single day,”

Sean did not respond to that. After a few minutes, he heard consecutive knocks at the door. The customer who humiliated Thera came to his office alone. She looked at him from head to toe before looking at him straight in the face.

“I’ll leave you two,” said Miguel.

“Stay for a moment, Miguel.”

His friend shrugged and stayed with them. The woman had a disappointed look on her face. She glanced at Miguel before turning to face him again. Sean stared back, studying her face. He noticed that she retouched her makeup before coming to his office.

The woman smiled sweetly at him.

“Hi. I am Mara. I know you remember me.” She stretched out a hand. Out of politeness, Sean accepted it.

He pointed to the visitor’s chair in front of her. Mara sat there crossing her long shapely legs. Sean on the other hand sat on his swivel chair.

“You do not need to apologize on behalf of your employee. She really stressed me out earlier. But maybe my disappointment and stress would go away if you go on a date with me. Anytime and anywhere you want is fine with me.”

“The apology you were talking about I believe my employee deserves to hear that from you, Mara,” he said frankly.

The seductive smile on Mara's lips quickly faded. She stared at him with disbelief.

“Wha---? You want me to apologize to her instead? Will you favor the incompetence of your employee rather than the complaints of your customers?

You gotta be kidding me, Sean. Where is the customer is always right policy?”

“Ten hours a day, hundreds of customers walk in,” Sean said calmly. “Sometimes my employees make mistakes, but none of those customers humiliated my staff in front of everybody.”

“She deserved it for being stupid. This won’t happen in the first place if she didn’t do anything wrong. You should fire her, suspend her, or give her a memo perhaps--”

Sean smiled sarcastically. “I want to actually send her an official reprimand memo for being too nice.”

Miguel coughed.

The woman’s nose flared. “Look, I am the customer here.”

Sean brought out the checkbook from his drawer. “How much do you want me to give you in exchange for not coming here anymore?”

The woman’s face turned red. Dumbfounded. “You’re too much, Sean. All I want is—”

“To talk to me?” he cut her off.

He did not get a response.

He wrote on the check and ripped it from the booklet afterward. He laid it down on the table.

“You got what you wish for with a hundred thousand pesos bonus check. Can you leave my office now and apologize to my employee?”