DIANA
Carl asked me multiple questions about my first day at work and I was excited to tell him how stressful my day had been, he listened with full attentiveness and he paid attention to every little detail, I was happy that Carl had taken the information well; I started to feel stupid why I had been worried about his reaction, Carl was such a nice guy and according to the handbook- nice guys don't hurt girls.
The cab stopped at the Grande Lake restaurant that was meant for only the people that received big paychecks.
I did not have this kind of money in my wallet but Carl was already dragging me up the stairs so I assumed that he was the one that was intending to foot the bill when it came.
We sat at a table that was close to the fancy fish tank that was filled with exotic fishes, different colors and different breeds, it was an eye-catching sight to see.
The waitress came and she greeted us with a warm smile and a lot of courtesy.
We looked at the menus and we ordered some seafood and two bottles of sparkling champagne.
I was shocked to see Carl spending this much, it was as if he had just received his salary or something.
"I want to make you feel alright, tonight." he said with a full smile, I could not understand why I was getting mixed feelings about him but I ignored it and I decided to enjoy my evening because it was my evening.
"You are such a darling, I will never forget this." I said with all the sincerity that I could muster up, he adjusted his glasses in his usual fashion as I showered him with sweet words, the waitress brought in our tray of food and she laid it on our table, the food smelt so good that it made my mouth to water, Carl poured the champagne into the two glass cups in front of him and he handed one to me, we both raised our glasses as we made a toast.
"This is for the new job, the promotion, the new paycheck, and overall God's blessings on your life, Toast! To the good life."
We clink our glasses and I gulped down the champagne because it was so bubbly and sweet, I couldn't even taste the alcohol in it though it was more that 20%.
"Now, we feast." I announced as I dug into the food that aid in front of me, the giant red lobster was spicy and the vegetables were added to act like a cooling agent after you take a bite out of the spicy, fleshy lobster, we ate in silence because we did not want to ruin such a wonderful meal by talking, I was enjoying myself too much to even think about anything.
After we finished eating; I figured that it was time to tell Carl about the cons of the job that we were celebrating.
He was baffled at every rule that I had to obey, most especially the part about me living with them.
He did not take that part well.
"Why do you have to be there from Monday till Saturday? Does the CEO need you to change his diapers too?" he asked in a sarcastic tone, I kept my cool and I decided to be patient with him because I had expected this part of his reaction to the bad side of this new job.
"No, that is just part of the conditions that come with this job. At home; I am more like a helping hand to his mother who is my Madame, she is the original owner of the company but her son is the CEO so in other words she is the one that is my original employer and the part about me being a P.A to her son is still part of her order that I am following, she is the one that call the shots and there is nothing I can do about it."
I made my point clear with blunt stated facts, he kept silent for a while after I was done talking and at last he conceded.
"Okay, if you say so. I just don't like the look of the CEO, he looks lost and empty, as if his eyes hold so many dark secrets." he stated in a disgusted tone, I had other thoughts about my boss but I did not tell him about it because I knew how jealous Carl could get about his territory.
"He is a cool guy, he is just depressed because of his father's death." I defended Julian because I could see that he was going through a lot in his head and yet he walks around proudly even though he has a burden on his shoulders, he hid his emotions from everybody else but I could see it, I had a feeling that he knew that as well.
"He is still on that? That guy needs to grow up, I can't believe that a billionaire is such a daddy's crybaby." he remarked with a snicker, I was instantly irritated by his insensitivity.
"Some people grieve differently and even if he is a daddy's boy, does it matter? It is an obvious sign that he was close to his father and he is reacting to the sad reality that he can no longer enjoy that bond anymore."
I spoke as if I was an advocate on Julian's psychological health, I left Carl dumbfounded, he just gaped at me.
"You didn't have to make me look like an uncompassionate creep, you know?" He replied in a serious tone and I just shrugged at his statement.
I had no strength to argue and I was scared of the things that I might say to him because I was feeling tipsy already.
The waitress brought the bill that was over 400$, Carl used his card to pay for our meal and I was actually flattered that Carl had that much money at his disposal, he did not earn that much at his job, I figured that it would have been from his savings stash or something because he paid with a card that I had never seen before, I didn't even know that he had another credit card.
We left the fancy restaurant and we walked a few blocks together before we could find a cab.
"So, what's going to happen to us?" he asked me in a shaky voice, I looked at his eyes that were magnified because of his glasses and I could see fear in them.
I needed to reassure him that the job is not going to have any effect on our relationship.
"I will come and see you anytime that I am free, I usually spend my Sundays at the trailer park with my family, we can link up afterwards I am done with our weekly thanksgiving Sunday dinner." Carl chuckled as he heard me say that word for the umpteenth time, it always sounded funny to him no matter how many times I said it.
Carl hailed a cab for me and I got in after hugging him tightly for one more time because I did not know when I was going to see him next.
"I love you." I told him from the window as my cab drove off, he waved me with the smile that I loved and cherished.
"I love you more!"
He had to shout because I moved farther from him by the second, everybody turned their heads to look at him and I saw him look at the ground out of shyness, I stuck my head back in the cab and I smiled to myself as the cabbie took me back to my new 'quarters'.