Her Wilted Flowers

~~~CAT'S POV~~~

The next day, I am determined to go back to work. So, I had a tough conversation with Alvin last night. I dropped the formality a long time ago, as he wished, so instead of calling him Doc Alvin, I call him Alvin. I don't see anything wrong with it since we are friends as well.

"Even if I discharge you tomorrow, you cannot get back to work yet," Alvin said with a stern face.

"Urgh...this is my life at stake Alvin. If I don't go back to work tomorrow I might lose it. You know how much I needed that work." I know I might have overstated it, but I just have to in the hopes of convincing him.

His eyes narrowed at me. And I know he might bring up that offer again so I immediately beat him into it.

"And don't bring up that offer again because my answer would still be the same." And that did it. I wish I didn't say that after looking at his expression.

He looked...pained? And I felt guilty.

Then after a moment of silence, his face becomes emotionless. This is bad. How I wish he would look at me with anger or a stern face. I hate it when he looks at me with that impassiveness.

"Alvin..."

"Fine." I was startled when he spoke again.

"You'll be discharged early tomorrow." Then he turned his back on me and left.

Great! I got what I wanted but not the way I wanted it to.

He is mad at me.

I knew he was not angry at me earlier. He was just concerned about my condition and he was angry at my stubbornness.

But this time, he is really mad at me.

Alvin is not the bad-tempered person that other people say about him. He has always been soft and gentle towards me. But every time that I am being stubborn and hospitalized he would always become resentful towards me which I don't take to heart.

Because I know why he is being like that. As my doctor, he has been working hard to treat and help me so that I won't go back to the hospital again.

But I've always been stubborn, not that I wanted to. It just can't be helped.

And that always makes him irritated at me.

Today I am finally discharged from the hospital and I never got the chance to even have a glance at Alvin. He is still mad at me I presume. I made a mental note to make it up to him next time.

I will be having a follow-up check-up next week, so I will seize the chance. I will be a good and obedient patient this time.

I packed up all the clothes that Aunt Molly brought yesterday which I wasn't able to use. Aunt Molly has a tendency to be overpacked. She says that it is better to be prepared. Is she expecting me to live in the hospital?

After I made sure that I packed everything and that nothing was left in the cabinet and the drawer, I went down to settle my bill and get my prescription.

Soon, I am walking out of the hospital feeling a sense of deja vu.

I hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of my apartment. I looked at my wristwatch. It's already eight o'clock in the morning. My work will start at nine.

The walk to my apartment from the hospital would take about fifteen minutes. I'll just take a quick change, take my things, and head to the office. My apartment is just a five minutes drive to my office. Though I don't drive because I don't have a car, I take a taxi instead. I used to have a car before but since Alvin advised me to not drive, I sold it.

I reached my apartment at exactly eight-fifteen. My apartment is small but complete with a bedroom, living area, kitchen and dining, a bathroom, and a laundry area. I do not need a bigger apartment since I will only be staying here to sleep.

My life revolves around the office. It was like my primary home and this apartment is just my secondary home.

I ran-walked to my bedroom which could only fit a full bed, a wardrobe cabinet, and my desk. I threw the duffel back in my bed and scavenged my wardrobe to find a corporate attire that I am required to wear at the office.

I found a pearl button frill sleeve collared blouse and then I paired it with a lace knee-length pencil skirt. I just bought it recently and planned to wear it on the day that my new boss will arrive. Unfortunately, I hadn't had a chance to wear it. So I am wearing it now.

I didn't bother to take a shower because I already had one back at the hospital before I was discharged.

Finding shoes is not that hard because I don't wear heels or pointed shoes. I used to but not anymore. Although those are most suited for corporate attire, it is not for me.

I choose a beige closed-back office shoe that looks good with my attire even though it is flat.

Using a couple of hairpins, I pull up my hair in a loose bun. Lastly, I put on light lipstick and a blush on. I already have thick and long lashes that made Grace jealous of me because I don't have to put on eye makeup. She even jokes around about donating some of my lashes to her.

I look in the mirror one last time to make sure that I look presentable and feel comfortable before I grab the white mini satchel that I always use. I don't have the habit of changing bags every day to get that OOTD vibe in the fear that I might leave something important in the other bag. I make my life as less complicated as possible. I am comfortable that way.

To me, comfort is life.

So, I opted for a white bag that goes with any color of my attire.

Five minutes is all I needed to get prepared, then after another five minutes, I am already in front of our building. Fortunately, I was able to get a taxi easily and there was no traffic because I had to arrive at the office before my new boss.

I reached the top floor and smiled. Luck is on my side because I am the first one to arrive on our floor and I am sure that my new boss hasn't arrived yet. I asked the guard at the entrance earlier.

When I reached my desk, my smile quickly faded. Damn! How could I forget to throw these flowers? Now they are all wilted. Didn't anyone bother to throw them away? Gosh! I almost forgot that I instructed the janitors to keep their hands off my desk. If there is anything to throw out, I should be the one doing it to make sure that nothing important will be thrown out accidentally.

That's why the janitors probably didn't throw the wilted flowers.

Every Monday morning, I would always arrive at my desk with fresh flowers. Not just one but three bouquets. And they all came from the same person. Even though I already told him to stop it, he is still persistent.

I forgot to throw them last Monday night and decided to throw them the next morning but unfortunately, I was hospitalized that night so I wasn't able to throw them the next morning.

I thought about my new boss. Damn! Did he see these flowers yesterday? He has every right to have bad impressions of me. First, I was absent that day that I was supposed to be here. Second, my desk is a total mess with wilted flowers sitting on it. Third, receiving flowers in the office is not good, well at least for me.

Words have probably reached my boss that I always receive flowers every Monday. Although my former boss didn't mind it, in fact, he always teases me with that and even encourages the sender more, I am not sure if my new boss would mind it.

If I were the boss, I wouldn't want my employees to be wooed into the office and during working hours. I believe that personal stuff like this should be taken at home or in other places except for the working place.

I was so preoccupied that I didn't notice or hear the heavy footsteps that were coming my way until I felt goosebumps on my back and arms.

I was startled when someone clears their throat on my right side.

I raised my head to look at where the sound came from and a lump eventually formed in my throat.

Damn! Grace is right! My new boss carries the whole continent of Antarctica with him!