Chapter Five: A Nice Robot Upgrade.
Alexandria's POV
"Go to dinner with me."
That was the last thing I heard before the elevator swallowed me in. When I discovered I was the only person in the elevator, I stared at the confinement of silver colour, impatiently waiting to be out of the hell hole.
I stepped out into the open a minute later, overcome by the buzzing of moving people- their feet shuffling - as they went about their business. I looked around, trying to find the entrance I came in from but got quite lost. The building was like a maze. I went around a few places thinking that I was making progress only for me to realize I was going around in circles.
"Alex!" a raspy voice called out, "Over here!"
I swivelled round and was grateful to see the smiling faces of Mr Hensler and Ms White. "Did you two wait long?" I asked, strolling towards them.
"At all," he said rubbing the bald spot on his head of greyish silver hair. "We were given a tour by one of the staff."
"Oh, nice. Thanks for waiting for me by the way," I smiled. "Are you all ready to leave?" I asked, patting my bun.
"H-h-h I guess," Danielle shrugged.
*+*+*+*+*
I spent the rest of my Friday talking to Layla. I reminded her of the time I told her about this rich guy who came to receive a document two years ago at my old office. After recounting the experience and telling her it was Mr Norman I met. I spent the next two hours, listening to her insult me simply because I hadn't guessed that Mr Norman was Mr Norman.
How would you hear the name Norman, see that face and not connect the dots? She asked me.
When the vexatious vibration of my phone alarm against my skin wore me out, I stood up groggily to prepare for work. Although I wished to lie back in bed, it felt refreshing to have my previous morning routine back.
I remade my bed carefully, dusted the furniture, and then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. While k was doing that, I got hot water ready for bathing. It was quite an irony taking into consideration the fact that I was worried about bills on Friday morning but now, I couldn't care less.
Once I was done having my bath, I took extra care to towel my body dry and massage a moistening lotion onto my skin. Afterwards, I dressed up as decently and none attractive as I could.
I paired the blue cleaning staff t-shirt I had been given as I left the Norman building that Friday with male corduroy trousers, and a pair of brown sandals and tied my hair up in a tight bun, making sure no wisps fell on my face or behind my ears.
The journey to work was the same as the last time only that this time the cab driver was not singing, the three people I was with were not present and I did not bump into any artefact sculpted by Greek gods.
When I got to the precise destination of work— Mr Norman's office, the door swung open when I rose my fist to knock. I was greeted by Mr Norman himself.
"Punctual," he muttered in his one-of-a-kind voice, gesturing for me to come inside. "You don't start work until 5:30."
"Shit," I muttered beneath my breath. If I had known that I would meet him at the office, I'd have come later. "I know, but the earlier the better I guess?"
"We should discuss," he told me, pulling out a chair for me. "Sit."
I rolled my eyes at the authoritarianism in his tone. "Yes sir."
"Do you have a good reason as to why you stood me up?"
I was confused for a second, "How is that even possible?"
"Nevermind," he said. "When it's five thirty, go ahead and resume your work. There are cleaning supplies in there."
I nodded and looked around his office. It was the second time I had been in there and the first time I noticed anything about it. The office was transparent from the inside. One could see how tremendous the mass of land which contained skyscrapers and the further distance, the flow of traffic in the city.
The table was translucent— also glass— and the top of it was filled with almost nothing. A laptop sat at one side, with a small printer nearby. A brown envelope lay carelessly at the centre and a self-portrait at the right end of the table. Directly in front of me, were the words— Mr Norman Jr. - CEO, — Arranged in a letter tray.
A shelf behind Mr Norman had a good number of plaques at the top.
"Have you ever done modelling?" He questioned. "Or acted in a movie?"
"Not at all," I replied. "I could never do modelling. I am not tall."
"There are short models," he remarked. After that, a silence stretched before us.
When the long hand of the analog antique clock on the left wall hit the number six, I stood up lazily and said, "I don't see any door, where's your toilet?"
He stood up and walked to the wall where the clock was placed and placed a palm on the wall. A green light highlighted his palm and the wall slid open, exposing a large restroom. A spotless white toilet sat at one edge of the area. A wash-hand basin— as spotless as the toilet — sparkling white. There was a bathtub there. I looked too new to have ever been used. The walls were opaque glass— a beautiful white colour splashed with sky blue here and there.
The floor was similar, only that it was tiled with marble, the white looked a little bit silver and reflected a blurred image of everything upon it. Us included. It was a little creepy but I had no choice but to get used to it.
The place smelled lowkey like lavender and roses.
"The toilet kind of washes itself once it is used. You just have to wash the body of it and the walls and everything else." He said, not taking a break mid-sentence. I wonder how he did it. I could not talk that long using one breath without panting.
"How?" I asked, curious as to how such a toilet worked. "You're bluffing aren't you?" I chuckled.
"Says the girl that said this is Norman's tech—"
"Hush," I laughed, placing my index finger on his lips. He did not stiffen visibly, but I felt it. The sudden tension and ticking in his jaw and the twitch of his eyebrows declared it all. Embarrassed, I retracted my hand as fast as I could and then said, "Show me."
He walked over to the toilet and showed me the ten buttons on the wall above it and then explained what each one did. "All you have to do is operate it yourself."
"I see," I muttered. "I should uh, get to my job."
"Yes you should," he agreed. He stood where he was, not blinking an eye and watched me intently.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked. "I got it handled."
"What are you waiting for?" He retorted. "Is my presence disturbing your work?"
"Essentially... Yes?" I answered. "I'll need to clean the floor."
"Start with the basin and bathtub, then walls," he commanded. "Then do the floors."
"Yes sir," I mumbled. Looking at how much of the wall I had to wash, I suddenly felt like resigning... But then... The pay was more than worth it. "Do I have to was the walls every day?"
"Ye— no. Just once a week."
"Ah," I sighed in relief. "Thank the Good Lord!" I exclaimed then went to set the items I would use to clean.
"Never in my life did I think I would wait for a woman," he remarked midway into my cleaning. I was already washing the walls.
"Um, okay?" I asked, unsure of what reply to give.
"You stood me up and you're acting..." He trailed off.
"Huh? You asked me out?" I paused then gasped loudly as I recalled Friday events. "In my defence, you did not give me the time and venue!"
"I did. So you would have come if you heard me?"
"I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Most likely."
"How about today? Dark tribe, by six?" He asked. "Or shall we get breakfast together?"
"Neither," I said sharply. "I'll hang out, but not at a restaurant."
"I see," he replied. "I'll see you at your house then."
"What?" I whirled round, modified. "Why would you..."
"Netflix and chill," he winked and walked out— his hands in his pocket.
I can swear my heart melted. It had been so long since I had seen him do that. I wondered why I hadn't noticed how sexy his wink was the first time we met and he did that.
This was a nice upgrade to a robot.
Get yourself together!
Right.