Four days!
"Aaahhh! Freaking four days." Luisa shouted as the cold shower ran through her body. "And damn, these freaking broken water heaters."
That was all it took for her to go insane, making her scream at the top of her lungs, allowing her crazy voice to echo around the tiles of her tiny shower cubicle.
"But I am not quitting." Her voice slightly trembled, but her determination was evident as she toweled herself dry, staring at herself in front of the small mirror with her slightly puffy eyes from the lack of sleep.
She had been awake even before the crack of dawn. Then, she arrived home almost in the middle of the night, barely eating her dinner because she was so tired and only wanted to sleep.
But she was not giving up. A mild discomfort would not scare her away. Her eyes drooped down, demanding sleep, but she pushed through, shaking her head to dispel the fogginess from her mind.
"This is the best job ever." She mumbled like a mantra as she convinced herself, repeating those words but stopped on the third try.
Scratch that. She could not lie to herself.
"The pay is good." She motivated herself. "The money would be all worth it." That was better, uplifting her spirit as she ran the comb on her hair and patted her cheeks to put some color on them.
Besides, she did not have to work for him for good. This job was just a temporary fix while figuring out her next steps. Eventually, she would find what she was looking for through this phase in her life.
"Just hang in there." Extending her hand to her reflection, encouraging her to keep up the fight because she could not quit. It was not in her options.
Almost an hour later, after her quick breakfast of water and a piece of bread, she grabbed a coffee from his boss' favorite coffee shop, which, unfortunately, she had to go out of her way to get and wait till the store opened.
She needed to be the first on the line, then rush back to the office to do her other morning errands before her boss arrived, learning he was strict with his rules.
Although it was slightly frustrating, especially when she saw him throw the cup with his coffee barely touched. She did wake up early for it. Sometimes, she wondered if he only used that excuse to torture her.
"He's your boss." She reminded herself as she passed through the double doors of the spacious lobby, greeting the same guy who had shoved her to the side when she had first stepped foot in this building. "Hey, Steve."
The man smiled at her, probably forgetting their first encounter. Anyway, he seemed friendlier now though he only nodded most of the time.
Soon, she was walking to his office, carrying the hot coffee in one hand and the things she did for him in the other. Usually, Jennifer would leave the list of new schedules she had prepared the night before on her table.
Yes, she had her small table in the corner where no one would notice she existed on the entire floor. Not unless someone would specifically seek her out.
"Good morning, Sir Liam." She had been calling him that for the last three days, yet she still found it awkward.
She would have preferred to call him Sir Ashthorne if he needed formality or Liam if he wanted casual. But Sir Liam kind of negated the entire idea of friendliness and authority.
Anyway, he was the boss. Therefore, she had no choice but to call him how everyone called him. She had no autonomy on that but was a mere soldier hired to follow the rules.
"Coffee, black with no sugar." She placed them on the top of the hardwood table, where he painstakingly instructed her to put the cup in a certain way. But he hardly acknowledged it.
"I will need you to run an errand for me later when Jennifer arrives. For now, fill in for her. She said she might be late. Answer the phone when it rings and take messages." Liam instructed without even looking at her.
His gaze remained glued to the files displayed on the computer screen. He looked fascinated with it as he observed every drop and spike of those lines that moved on the board.
She had a slight glimpse of it, but all she saw were lines and numbers, moving rectangular shapes figures. It did not make sense to her.
"Do you need anything else?" She asked, getting bored standing next to him, like a soldier waiting for his following commands. She did not want to leave unless he dismissed her.
Finally, he glanced her way but quickly returned his attention to his work. "Do you have plans this weekend, Sunday specifically?" He casually asked, occasionally typing on his keyboard.
Did she? Surprised by the question, she could only look at her boss for a few seconds before answering. "I don't think so. Why?" Luisa hesitantly answered and questioned at the same time.
"I have a meeting, and I would need you to work on Sunday." He told her, finally stopping to look at her and wait. He glanced at his watch, which she was beginning to understand was a sign that he was growing impatient.
Under her duties and responsibilities, Saturday was not an official work day, so if she worked during that day, she had additional pay. But, it was not optional.
Sunday was her off day. She had the option to work on her rest day or decline. But this Sunday, did she make any prior arrangements?
Then, she suddenly remembered Mr. Ramon and the Center. She had promised that she would help out with her friends. She did not mind working on a Sunday for the extra pay, but she could not back out on her words.
"I am sorry, Sir. I just remembered that I already had scheduled something for that day. I could not back out on it." She explained, thinking she would have accepted the additional work. She could have used the added pay.
But she could not disappoint Mr. Ramon and their small community. Once she had given her word, she did not like backing out of them unless her reason was life and death.