"Nelly, you might have to stay overnight."
If looks could kill, I'd had died on the spot. Nelly's glare over the facetime wa deadly.
"The hell you mean overnight?" She whispered furiously.
"I'm sorry, okay? I just realized I have a private appointment with a new client in her house. Said house is about an hour and half away. It's already 3pm."
"The fuck is you tryin' to say?"
"You might have to stay overnight." I winced as I awaited her reaction. Nelly was a spitfire, a fiery dragon, hell, damnation and everything in between. In my opinion, she actually needed anger management classes but of course, I kept those thoughts to myself.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Dee? Hell, I had plans. Plans with Brody. I was really excited, I haven't had dick in a while and Brody's a fucking horse. Ughhhhh. ¡Estoy que exploto!" She fumed and that vein popped out in the middle of her head. I restrained myself from laughing at that because she'd literally behead me.
"Nelly, I'm sorry." I pouted and she scoffed at that.
"Just be back by 9, okay?" She said begrudgingly.
"Sí." I agreed hastily and her eyes narrowed in suspicion on the phone screen.
"You crossed your fingers, didn't you?" She grumbled and I laughed.
"I owe you one seriously."
"You always owe me, you annoying cunt." I've never seen anyone who cursed as much as Nelly does. Being a therapist, that said a lot.
"Stop cursing around her, Nelly." She glared at me one more time before ending the facetime.
I let out a breath of relief. That went quicker than I expected. Looking around and realizing I had nothing else to do here, I decided to get my move on. I wasn't joking, Miss Bridgette Cruise's villa was an hour and half away.
I hated driving long distances so an Uber was my only option right now. I ordered a ride and cleaned up my office while waiting for it. The brown package from ToysRus in my drawer could not be forgotten especially now that I'd be going home late. I took it and headed downstairs to keep it in my car.
As I waited for the elevator to arrive, I spotted my boss walking with somebody. The side profile of the person looked so familiar, my heart dropped to my ass and I shook my head in disbelief. During my mini panic attack, the package in my hands dropped to the floor and the elevator dinged as I bent to pick it.
I shook my head and in turn, my thoughts and went into the elevator. It couldn't have been him, my subconscious was just playing with me. In my self-absorption, I didn't notice the stranger sharing the machine room with me till he cleared his throat.
I jerked at the sound and glared at the beautiful stranger. He however smiled, contrasting my rudeness.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He started off and I raised my brows. The person I'd thought was with my boss was still heavy on my mind and the anxiety made me extra rude than I usually was.
"Oh, you did." He chuckled at my curt tone.
"Maybe. But if it meant I'd be able to hear your beautiful voice, I'd still do it again."
"Seriously, voice? You need new cheesy lines, my dear." And he responded to my quip with a loud laugh.
"Fuck, you're so funny. I'm Andre." He extended his hand and I eyed it for a good minute before shaking my head.
"I don't really like physical contact with strangers. It's not about you really." He shrugged before retracting his hand.
"So what's your name? You already declined the handshake, the least you can do is share your name." He smiled cheekily.
"Deborah Rodriguez"
"That's a beautiful name."
She nodded slowly. "You can lie to yourself as much as you want. Just don't think you're decieving me. Believe me, it's not working." I looked at my chiming phone. My Uber was outside.
He laughed again with his plump lips and pinched his perfectly straight nose. "Unlike you Debbie, I think your name is beautiful. Just like your face."
"Whatever you say, kind sir. And I don't think we're on nicknames basis yet."
"Okay, Miss Deborah Rodriguez." He smiled in an indulging manner that made me want to wring his neck. God, Nelly's aggressiveness must had rubbed off on me. I settled for rolling my eyes as the doors opened to the reception floor.
"Hope to see you around, Miss Rodriguez." He called out as I hurriedly walked towards the revolving door.
"Hopefully not." I called back and his chuckles faded away as I breezed through the door.
Long strides took me to my car and I threw the package on the backseat before running to my ride. I got into the Uber and we were on our way to Shirley Hills.
Times like this made me question my love for my job. When I decided to study psychology, I just wanted a job that offered little or no mobility. The little excursion was destroying that intent and for the umpteenth time in the past hour, I cursed Amber in my head. Amber was my boss and she's normally okay, but right now I was not feeling very generous with compliments. So I cursed her some more in my head as we drive Shirley Hills-wards.
At exactly 5:03pm, I arrived at Miss Bridgette's villa and might I add, it was spectacular. Brilliant white walls, shingles, patio, driveway, the open air jacuzzi, they all highlighted the luxury. This house had to be at least $3.5 million and my yearly income was wallowing in dejection at the moment.
"Hello, you must be Deborah Rodriguez. I'm Bridgette Cruise but please, call me Bridge." A petite, blonde lady with a greyhound at her feet said before engulfing me in a hug.
How did people just touch other people they didn't know? It baffled me.
After releasing me from her death grip, she finally ushered me into her house. Drool threatened to drip from my slightly parted lips. The house was sheer luxury.
"Beautiful home you've got here."
She waved off the compliment. "Ohh, this one's nothing. You should see the one in California. The rugs in that one are Persian." I nodded like I understood the superiority of Persian rugs. I got my own rugs from Ikea.
" Would you like a cup of coffee? Beer? Or maybe whiskey?" She offered refreshments while guiding me through the château.
"A glass of water would be nice, thanks."
After settling in the living room and eventually getting my glass of water, we finally started the therapy session. Bridgette had been an easygoing person up until that moment, I prayed to the Good Lord to make the session just as easy.
Three hours later, I was more than delighted to bolt out of that place. Bridgette was a crackhead without the crack. I'd never seen someone so inebriated while sober, I was almost out of my element. At some point during the session, I wanted to jump over the table and throttle her or at least stuff her mouth with the silk scarf around her neck.
"Debbie, I really loved today's session. It was a pleasure." I winced.
"Of course. See you next week." I sped walk towards the door, I needed to leave this place as soon as possible.
I couldn't believe that was the reason I told Nelly to stay overnight. I shivered in the chilly wind as I waited for my Uber to arrive. I could be waiting inside that warm, beautiful house but Bridgette was like the Plague. No, the bitter wind was definitely the better evil.
Honk!
I scurried towards the red car and got in. There was silence through out the ride except the voices wafting from the radio. I wasn't in the mood for a chatty driver to be honest.
At 10pm, we arrived at WeCare Inc and I picked up my car after paying the Uber driver. No need to hurry, she was probably asleep already. I killed the sprout of guilt immediately, I was doing everything for her anyways. We can't have it all.
So I drove home at a languid pace. A couple jams blasted from the radio and I sang along to them. I used to dream of being a musician, I mean, I wrote a few songs when I was 17. Wrote the lyrics, played complimentary piano chords and recorded them on my phone. Those were the good times. Times when all I had to do was dream. Now I couldn't afford to dream, I had to work.
Often times, I wondered where I went wrong. I was the star child- smart, talented, beautiful, exemplary. Everything was supposed to be easy for me. I imagined so much for myself and sometimes I couldn't help but think about how disappointed 16-year old Deborah would be in the current Deborah.
I shook off the melancholic thoughts as my car came to a stop outside my house. Diego would have hated this place. I scoffed at the memory of the snobby Mexican criticizing similar places.
"Low maintenance slumps." He had always said that with his aquiline nose in the air.
I climbed the steps slowly and knocked on my apartment door. I heard shuffling, then a thud, a groan and finally a muffled "coming". I narrowed my eyes at the door. What was going on?
The door swung open to reveal a short, thin woman with voluminous, black hair on her head and a scowl on her lips.
"Nelly." I shouldered past her into the living area and plopped on the sofa.
"I said 9, cunt." I brushed off her accusation. What was I supposed to say anyways?
"Where's she?
"In her room." She opened a bag of chips and munched loudly, ignoring my disgusted look.
"Sleeping?" I took off the heels that had been crushing my feet for the past 14 hours and stretched my toes.
"Yeah, I mean, I think so. Ughhhhh, I don't fucking know." She pouted.
"What do you mean you don't know? That's why you are babysitting her. To take care of her. Monitor her." I sighed exasperatingly and headed to the room adjacent to the kitchen. I knocked softly and pressed my ear to the door.
"Come in." A barely audible voice responded. Before going in, I glared at Nelly who grins sheepishly.