I bite the tip of my tongue to notice Tom glowering his eyes at me. Everyone else remained silent like a mouse. He put me down right in front of everybody here. Then to think, he took my claim on what I had found. This man made me sick enough that I wanted to barf in his face.
"Understood," was all I could mutter under my breath.
"Aaah! Kill it! Somebody, please kill it!"
Nothing like Susie breaking the awkward suspense between Tom and me. She found that palm-size metallic blue spider. Tom turned around to see her practically climbing on top of her husband. Most of us chuckled while we watched the spider scurry into a crack in the floor. There's likely another hidden chamber underneath us.
Once Susie chilled out, three of our team members came back with a tarp to cover the body of the female. Afterward, everybody left the room. Before abandoning her body, like she never existed, I gazed at the tarp one last time, heartbroken for her. Being so young, her life and her baby's life were taken. Regardless of why the Pharaoh killed her and the baby she carried, I found this mysterious Pharaoh heartless.
"Let's continue our search," Tom's voice lingered somewhere behind me.
Our group parted ways to continue investigating, where the blue-gold canopic jar would be located.
Whereas I followed behind Tom, searching the hallway. I'll admit, after Tom treated me like that in front of everyone, it still had me irritated. I wasn't feeling myself to continue to explore with him.
At about four-forty in the morning, we went back to the hotel. After my shower, I crawled into bed.
~~~
January arrived in a snap of a finger. Today, for the third week of January, I felt disoriented from how sleepy I was. Somehow I sat up and slugged my bare feet across the white carpet to get my shower. I do my usual daily routine. Once that was done, I dressed in a dark gray spaghetti-strap top, dark blue jean shorts, and my cute tan excavating boots. Shortly after breakfast, Tom texted us all to say we were leaving.
Everybody met in the hallway before we took the long ride down the elevator. Today, as we walked outside, a huge heatwave blasted in my face. Holy cow, it was abnormally hot for a January in Egypt! One by one, we loaded into the van, and it took us to the not-so-long drive to the site.
"You know, Tom is only belittling you because he's jealous," Donny leaned into my ear, whispering this to me.
He and I sat together in the far back. Tom was in the passenger seat. Everyone else was too busy chatting to even hear Donny. Although I was puzzled as to why he was telling me this right now. Normally, we talked privately. Yesterday, Tom derided me last night, so Donny and I never had a chance to talk about it because I went to bed. Since I've been here, Donny has been my best buddy and therapist.
"What makes you say he's jealous of me?" I asked in a low whisper, and my eyes never once left Tom in the front seat.
Donny whispered, "Because you are still in college, training to do this job. You have the top highest score over Tom and the rest of us. He's jealous because you're becoming a huge success while you're only a trainee. It's pretty clear why Mr. Collin hired you. Just be warned, Tom's been making stuff up about you to make himself look good."
"You mean like how he takes my credit for finding anything," I whispered bitterly, and for a second Donny chuckled lowly at me.
Then Donny replied softer, "Tom claims you're cheating off other people from different Teams and he said he's been doing all the work."
I was blooming mad to hear what a backstabber Tom was being. This only made me resent the man more. By the time the van stopped at the site, I didn't feel like excavating. Unfortunately, I had a job to do, so I couldn't refuse to work with Tom. Altogether, we got off the van and went into the blistering heat.
The first two hours in, Tom and I dug up this one site outside the palace to see if we could find any jars or pottery to locate the next clue, which was another amphora. Around us, we overheard many teams calling it quits from the high temperature and humidity. A good handful of people were vomiting from heat sickness. Eventually, Tom was given no choice but to call the quits too. At about two-fifty in the afternoon, we made our way back to the hotel.
Once I got out of the van with everyone else, I distinctly heard this broad masculine voice, "Hey, beautiful!"
I turned my head left and saw him. "Orlando!" I squealed like a girly girl before leaping into his arms.
He spins me around two times, and then he kisses me romantically right in the middle of the sidewalk and the busy streets. Even my coworkers and my boss, saw me and Orlando, but I didn't care because I loved this man!
Once I peeled my sticky lips off him, I realized I am covered in dirt and dust. Sweat was on my forehead from the heat, and my blonde long hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.
Meanwhile, Orlando was dressed in a normal short-sleeve button-down shirt and tan khaki shorts. I glanced over and saw he had a limousine, and his bodyguards were dressed in black suits. Now I was blushing to think I looked like a sweaty dirt ball, over him looking like a million bucks.
"Baby, what are you doing here?" I was shocked to even see him here.
Orlando smiled so dreamy-like. "I had to see you."
"Awe, you should've said something," I lectured. "I might have been working and missed you being here."
Orlando laughed. "I knew you wouldn't be working in this heatwave."
"What are you, the weatherman?" I teased, playfully.
Just as I did, Orlando pulled me into his waist with one strong hand. "For you, I could be your weatherman." He flirted, and even winked at me, which caused me to die inside. I couldn't help but peck his lips sweetly.
"Why don't you come up to my room with me?" I offered.
Rather strange, Orlando eyed the hotel I was staying at with a darkly saturnine expression.
Until he looked at me, smiling with his charm, he said. "I'll be in the limousine. Go grab some clothes, you can shower at my hotel suite. I'll sleep on the couch, and you can have the bedroom tonight. Tomorrow, I'll drop you off before work."
At first, I thought his behavior was unorthodox in how he eyed the hotel like something was wrong, but I wasn't sure because his mood seemed a bit mercurial today. Brushing it off, I went inside, and told Tom in the lobby about my plan. There was nothing in the contract saying I couldn't do what I wanted to do or stay where I wished. I only had to be sure I was working at the excavation when Tom made the call.
"Just make sure you are here tomorrow, Ms. Perkins," Tom blatantly expressed.
On that notion, I went up to my room and packed whatever I thought was needed. Then I left with my fiance Orlando. Arriving at his hotel, he had himself an extravagant deluxe suite. His room came with a huge jacuzzi and a balcony pool made out of clear glass. I'd imagine swimming in it would make you feel like you're floating in space.
"You're such a pampered rich boy," I teased him after checking out the room.
Orlando swooped me into his arms and drowned me in kisses.
"Dad wanted us to have the best," he whispered so romantically with his forehead pressed against my sticky-feeling forehead. Feeling dirty was killing the romance for me.
"Let me get a shower, then we'll do something fun," I told him before I went to do just that.
"Wear the outfit that I bought you, I left it on the bed," Orlando said, before I opened the bedroom door.
I giggled going into the room. After shutting the door, I found a beautiful skin-tight, and short-length black cocktail dress. Not only was it sexy, but it was elegant. The dress is so me. Boy, do I ever love this man.
After I prettied myself up, I came out, finding Orlando in a black suit. He came over and dipped me, kissing my lips. The kiss was romantic and tasteful. Until that haunted scene of the Pharaoh involuntarily wondered to my mind. He dipped that young pregnant girl just like this before he killed her. The scene forces itself to replay in my memory from a month ago. Suddenly what was a romantic kiss has now perished for me.
Orlando pulled his lips away, tilting his head as he asked. "What's wrong, babe?"
He slowly lifted us to a straight stance as I faked a smile. "Nothing, it's been a hot day," I sort of lied to him, and yes, I felt guilty.
"Don't worry, my queen, I have a soothing romantic day and night planned for us." Orlando chimed so charmingly before he leaned in, kissing my cheek.
I couldn't help but giggle. "I am so delighted you came here to visit me," I smiled when he lifted his elbow for me to hook onto like a true gentleman.