Don't Ever Interrupt Me

Elena sleepily picked up the alarm clock that was beside their bed, thinking there was still time for her to sleep in; she snoozed it for what seemed like the tenth time; she opened her eyes fully when she saw the time displayed on the clock, 7:50 am, she immediately flew out of bed. She was supposed to be at the Casino by 8 am, and she was still in bed by 7:50 am.

Elena ignored her sleeping sister, who grumbled something about her turning off the light. She made a quick dash for their tiny bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth, showered and got dressed at the speed of light.

"Hey, Ruby, I'm leaving for work. Make sure to take care of yourself; if you need anything, call me," Elena kissed her sister on her cheek before she ran out of their apartment.

After the tragic death of her parents, who were both found dead on their street one morning with bullets in their chests, Ruby was all she had left.

Every investigation to find out who had shot them proved abortive, and until this day, they don't know who killed their parents. It's been five years, but it still feels and hurts like yesterday to Elena. After her parents' death, Elena had to take up the responsibility of taking care of her sister Ruby; at 19, she had to wear so many hats, being a provider, a mother and a father to Ruby, she was only four years older than Ruby, but Ruby was sick, so that made her dependent on Elena.

Elena was pulled out of her thoughts when she got on the bus, and the man sitting beside her tried striking up a conversation with her.

"So what's your name, pretty?" The strange-looking man asked her.

Elena turned to look at the man, who was dressed in a jean jacket and khaki trousers. There was something about him that made the hair on her neck stand; she couldn't understand why she felt that way about him. The man smiled at her, revealing his brown-tinted teeth from tobacco use.

Elena chose to ignore him and gaze out the window instead. When the man tried to touch Elena, she flinched and removed her hand.

"What is it, sweetie? I just want to know you; you're a pretty girl," the man said, giving her a wink.

Elena gave him a look that said, "I'm not interested." She took out her earpiece, inserted it into her phone, and began playing a song, which prompted the man to leave her alone.

She thought of the reason she was going to give Lorenzo for being late to work on her first day. She was well aware that she was in for it with Lorenzo.

When she got to the bus stop where she was to alight, the creepy man said, "sweetie can I get your number? You know we can hang out later," he said with his hideous wink.

Elena hissed as she stepped off the bus; she could feel the man staring at her as she stepped off the bus. Elena's and the man's eyes locked as the bus moved. She wondered who the man was, but she didn't have time to think about it because she had to rush down to the Casino. By the time she stepped out of the elevator on the floor where Lorenzo's office was located, she noticed Jorge conversing with one of the guards stationed at the elevator's door. When Jorge saw her, he looked at his wristwatch, and he slowly shook his head at her. He needn't say a word. Elena knew she was doomed for showing up late on her first day of work.

She got to Lorenzo's office and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Lorenzo's gruff voice.

She made a sign of the cross before she opened the door and walked into the office.

"Good for...."

"What time is it?" Lorenzo asked, not allowing her to finish. He didn't bother to look from his laptop. With the way he sounded and the look on his face, Elena knew he was pissed at her. She looked at her phone screen. 8:30 am, she was thirty minutes late.

"I... Er..." Elena stuttered.

Lorenzo looked up from his laptop, his eyes staring daggers at her. "You don't know how to tell the time, Miss Elena?"

Elena swallowed hard, "the time is 8: 30."

"And what time did I ask you to be here?" Lorenzo asked her.

"8 am," Elena replied, shifting backwards as Lorenzo got up from his chair. He paused.

"If there is something I loath so much, it's tardiness. You...."

"I'm not tardy; I just happened to have woken up late today."

Did she just interrupt him? Lorenzo blinked just to be sure he heard well.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you; I just wanted you to know I overslept because of my lack of sleep the previous night." After all, he was the one who kept her locked up all night.

"Are you making excuses for your tardiness, miss Elena?"

"I just told you I'm not tardy," Elena hated being called tardy; she was anything but tardy. But the moment those words left her lips, she immediately regretted it because Lorenzo stalked toward her. Elena backed up in terror until her back hit the wall, and she had nowhere else to run. Lorenzo stood in front of her, his icy blue eyes pinning her.

"First of all, you show up late and...." Lorenzo paused as if trying to keep his rage under control. He was now staring at her.

Elena's heart was beating fast as he leaned his head closer, she could have sworn he was going to kiss her, but he brought his lips to her ear instead.

"This better be the last time you would interrupt me when I'm talking, and don't dare to ever come to work late." His voice held a deadly threat, and Elena could tell he wasn't bluffing.

Elena couldn't move away from the wall even after Lorenzo had left and returned to his seat; it felt as if he still had her pinned to the wall.

"Jorge will show you to your office," was all Lorenzo said before going back to what he was doing.