New Hotel

"What's wrong with Emily?" I tried to sound like I don't know a thing.

They looked at each other which made me assume that they don't like her.

"Alice didn't tell you?" Laura asked, furrowing her brows.

Oh, Alice told them.

"Ah, yeah. She did," I honestly answered.

Alice didn't tell me that Laura and Elle are her friends. I also realized that she's not hanging out with them.

"Before Alice saw everything, we saw it first," Elle said.

So, it wasn't just Alice who knew about Emily.

"Did she know that you have your eyes on her?" I asked curiously.

I'm starting to feel so weird. It's like knows about it already and yet, she wasn't fired by Mr. Parker.

"She doesn't care about anyone. She cares about what she can get from our bosses," Elle explained. That's the exact thing that Alice told me.

"What else did you see?" I leaned my elbow on the table, trying to focus and listen more.

Oh, God. I feel like an expert gossip girl.

"When some of the supplies in the office run out, she asks for a lot of money. Mr. Parker doesn't even notice that because he thought she's doing her job better than any other secretaries he had."

So, she's saying that Mr. Parker had a lot of secretaries already. Neither of them stayed for a long time?

"The seducing part is the most interesting one. Sometimes, Emily's staying at her cabin until 8 or 9 PM just have an exclusive moment with Mr. Parker. I didn't want to believe it but I saw the whole thing. That explains everything," Laura added.

Our work is only until 7 PM. Most of us leave before 7:30 because we needed fix some stuffs.

"I don't understand why Mr. Parker didn't seem to notice everything," I said before getting my chopsticks to eat.

"We think that he's being manipulated," Elle said.

I don't think that Mr. Parker is the type of guy who can easily be manipulated.

"You must have been mistaken. I don't think Mr. Parker can be easily manipulated. Especially by his secretary," I said to make everything clear.

"Correct. But," Laura pointed. "He has a soft spot for people who are in need."

Is that why he hired me?

"Oh and by the way, she does that to all." Elle took a sip of her drink.

"She does what?" I asked.

"She acts nice around people even she's not," Laura answered.

…

We went back to the building. I was about to sit when I saw the device blinked on my table. It means that Mr. Parker is calling me. I walked directly inside his office.

"You called, Mr. Parker?" I asked politely.

He was leaning against his chair and then he looked at me.

"You'll come with me in New Jersey tomorrow. I'll be talking to the landowner," he calmly said.

…

I woke up early because Mr. Parker said that we will be leaving at 8 AM, sharp.

I took a bath before going downstairs to cook breakfast. I was startled when I saw Summer downstairs reading a book, studying probably.

"Why so early?" I asked while fixing my hair into a ponytail.

She looked up to me because I was still walking down the stairs.

"Why so early?" She asked back.

"My boss asked me to come with him in New Jersey. He'll be talking to the owner of the land which he plans to buy soon." I yawned.

"Does your boss treats you well?" She asked again.

"Well, yeah. At first, he was a little intimidating but I got used to it. He's also nice in his own way," I answered before turning the lights on in the kitchen.

I got some eggs to make omelettes for our breakfast. I heated the pan before beating the eggs.

"You got a test today?" I asked.

"Uhm, kinda. I didn't have enough time last night to study," she answered before flipping pages.

I put some butter in the pan before pouring the beaten egg. I put butter again as soon as the first one is done then I poured everything from the bowl to make another one for me. I got us both some milk before I called her to eat with me.

"Who is it?" I asked out of the nowhere.

"Who's who?" She asked before sitting down.

"The one you're texting everyday. You seem so happy and joyful. Care to share?" I tried not to sound like an overprotective sister.

"Oh, that. Just to make things clear, I'm not dating him-"

"Him?" I cut her off. "So, it's a boy."

"Well, yeah. He is. His name is Dylan Henderson. Again, I'm not dating him. So, I suggest you should stop suspecting him like he's gonna take out my virginity."

She's not sure about that!

"So, why are you texting with him twenty-four seven?" I asked just to make sure.

"You're exaggerating. He's just asking me for help in math problems," she then shook her head in annoyance.

"Does math make you happy?" I feel like I'm actually being the 'overprotective' sister I just thought.

She rolled her eyes. "He's my friend. And friends make each other happy. Besides, he's a funny guy," she hardly explained.

I just shut my mouth to avoid arguing. It's not that I don't want her to have a normal teenage life. I just want her to focus more on her studies.

Love can wait.

"Okay, I believe you."

"Thank you," she proudly said before wiping her mouth with a clean cloth.

I went back to my room to get dressed. I wore a white long-sleeved blouse and a beige pencil skirt. I also wore a white closed shoes with average heels.

I put a light makeup on my face to hide my eyebags because they look so bad. I'm not into facial treatments.

I walked downstairs and it's already 7 AM.

"Don't forget to lock the door before you leave. Good luck on your exams, by the way." I walked towards the door to go to work.

"Thanks," she said using a bored voice.

My eyes widened when I saw Mr. Parker in front of my door. His one hand is up like he's about to knock.

"Mr. Parker," I said while I'm still in shock.

He put his hand down before walking closer towards me.

"So you woke up very early, huh. God, I would sue your landlord for not having a house number," he said.

"W-what brings you here, sir?" I tried not to stutter but I still did. I closed the door before standing straight in front of him.

Remember, Liv. He hates it when people look bored when talking to him.

"Well, I certainly wish that I didn't wake a wrong person." He looked at Alice's apartment beside mine.

He did not just knock on the wrong door, did he?

"You knocked on that door?" My eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. No one responded so I thought maybe I could ask a neighbor," he answered.

I was about to laugh when I realized how I just talked to him.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Parker. I didn't mean to talk to you that way," I nervously said.

"What?" He looked confused.

Oh, he didn't realize.

"Nothing, sir. Let's go?" I smiled to get away with my sin.

"Okay," he said, still thinking what I might have mentioned.

He walked towards his car and I was about to open the door for him but I remembered what he told me last time.

He didn't want to be treated like a baby.

I went to the front seat and Rowan greeted me.

"Good morning, Miss Olivia."

"Good morning," I greeted back.

Rowan is actually a nice guy. He's making everyone feel comfortable around him. My colleagues said that he works for Mr. Parker longer than anyone in the whole company. Laura also said that he acts as everyone's big brother. I think he's in his late 30s.

I thought I was gonna fall asleep in the car because I slept at 12 AM. Insomnia hits me all the time. But the view was too eye-catching for me to fall asleep.

We've been in a trip for two hours. It's nearer than I expected.

Rowan dropped us at the site before finding a place to park the car.

He walked towards the people whom I think he's associated with while I'm walking behind him.

I didn't expect that this place is filled with soil. It's a bad idea that I wore high heels. Luckily, he isn't walking too fast which made me walk carefully.

"Shi-" I almost cursed because I thought I was gonna fall down.

He looked at me with confusion and I acted like nothing happened.

I was just smiling at him until he continued walking.

"You're getting a little weird." He almost whispered.

"Good day, Mr. Deckard Parker. We're glad that you're here." The one who's wearing a suit shook his hand.

"Good to see you too, Mr. Davis." Mr. Parker smiled.

"And to you, Miss."

They all looked at me which made me a little uncomfortable. This is my first time being greeted by his business partners.

"Uhm, hi. Good day," I said before I shook Mr. Davis's hand.

I think I should practice being able to act properly around people.