JACQUELINE
I frowned when I saw the third person today stare at me blankly for a few seconds and then turn away. What the fuck was going on? I had my first shift at the local library by 8am this morning, and ever since we opened up, people who came in kept staring at me like they'd seen a ghost. And it wasn't just the unfamiliar or new faces, even my coworkers kept giving me weird stares, and I just could not fathom why. At some point I began to wonder if I had something stuck in my hair or on my face.
To keep myself at ease, I rushed to the bathroom the first chance I got. I shut the door behind me and faced the mirror. My hair was in perfect place, nothing was stuck in my teeth, I looked great. So why was everyone being so weird? I hated attention, anything at all that made me feel seen. The only time I liked attention was when I wanted to get it. So this staring contest bullshit was definitely not sitting right with me.
Sighing, I decided I would just ignore it. I washed my hands and went back to work. My shift ended at 1:45 pm. As soon as it was over, I literally raced out of the library and into the street. Today was one of those days where I had no breaks whatsoever. My next shift was at the clinic from 2pm to 5pm. After that I would go job hunting. My schedule was packed, and I was already tired. Finally, I got to the clinic, immediately taking my place at the front desk.
"Hey, Em," I greeted my coworker who was packing up her stuff to leave. I was taking over her shift.
She turned to me, a weird expression on her face, and then she murmured a greeting and turned back to what she was doing. I was taken aback. It was the same look I had been getting all day. Now here too? What the actual fuck…
"Um.. how has your day been?" I tried to make conversation again, putting down my things where hers had been.
"Not better than yours, I'm sure," She replied crisply and then grabbed her purse and walked off. I stared after her in shock. It wasn't like we were close friends or anything, but we talked at least. I didn't understand the cold shoulder she was giving me but I shook my head, deciding to ignore it and concentrate on work instead. I did my usual routine, scheduling appointments, attending to patients and visitors, checking people in, checking them out, handing out hospital cards, giving directions to wards.
This job definitely wasn't my dream, but it was all I could get right now. Sometimes it could be annoying, like when senior doctors and nurses would decide to utilize me as a courier or a personal assistant. I would do chores that were definitely not in my job description, ranging from getting and serving coffee to helping janitors unclog toilets. But I couldn't complain. I needed the money. Trying not to think of the mess that was my life, I got back to work.
Three hours later, it was over. I groaned in relief, packing up my stuff. I was about to head out when I saw Rob approaching.
"Hey," I greeted. "I haven't seen you all day. How was work today?"
I tried not to sigh in disappointment when I saw him giving me the same look I had gotten from Em. Okay, I was fed up with this. "You know what? Don't bother answering that. I'm just gonna go."
My cheeks flushed as I turned away, gripping my purse. At the same time I started to think back. Why would everyone keep giving me weird looks? And on the same day at that. My jaw fell open as I suddenly remembered something. The only thing that could alert this many people was viral news. And the only viral news that involved me was…Enzo fucking Hernandez. Shit. It was all over the news. How could I even forget that?
"Jacqueline, wait!" I heard Rob call out. I contemplated on whether to just keep going or stop and listen. Slowly, I turned around to face him. I mentally cringed at the sight of a tabloid in his hand, my face splayed on the front cover.
"Look, I-I'm sorry about all that happened today. But you have to understand, it took us all by surprise. You, the girlfriend of one of the top Billionaire business men in the whole country? I mean, you could've told us."
By the tone of his voice, I know he was more hurt than surprised. Oh, great. "You don't get it. All this is a misunderstanding…"
"Well it doesn't look that way to me," He bit back.
I glared up at him, my cheeks flaring. I could handle people ignoring me. But vet doctor Rob who's too scared to ask me out directly and stuck in the friendzone thinking he can have a say in my personal life? Fuck no.
"Excuse you?" I spat. "First of all, what gives you the right to walk up to me and question me about my love life like I owe you some kind of explanation? Kill that notion immediately, and never try it again. And secondly, even if I were dating a billionaire, what then? You find out from a tabloid and instead of asking me about it directly, you all choose to be cold instead and ignore me the entire day?" I scoffed. "Some friend you are."
With that, I stormed off. I hated confrontations and tried my best to avoid them, but this had just been too much for me. Suddenly I didn't feel like job hunting tonight anymore. I just needed a drink. Down the street from the clinic, there was a small bar there. I walked in, ordering the cheapest drink they had and extracting my laptop from my bag.
I clicked on the Google icon and typed 'Enzo Hernandez' into the search bar. The first few results had pictures of me in the bar attached to it.
Oh my God. I resisted the urge to facepalm.
Here we are. Lorenzo Hernandez.
Slowly, and mostly out of curiosity, I began to read up about the Hernandez family. It turns out that Maxine Enterprises was named after David Hernandez's wife, Enzo's father. They separated about ten years ago. I stopped reading, suddenly remembering my mother. I shut my eyes tightly, willing the memory to go away, and then I continued.
Enzo had joined the family business at the age of twenty one as an assistant to his elder brother. And three years ago, he had taken full control. Hm, quite impressive. I scrolled down for more. Aside from his mother who was currently out of the picture, they were a family of six.
I scrolled down to the list of companies and businesses owned by them. Hotels, shopping malls, automotive industries, you name it. I was wowed to say the least. It turns out Enzo was also a model for two years. No surprise there. As I clicked on the pictures, I nearly spat out my drink. Those blue, blue eyes, muscular arms, sculpted body.
Natalie was right. He was sex on legs.
Gulping, I shut my computer and paid for my drink. I needed some sleep.