"Good morning, sir."
"Sir?" His eyebrows lifted a fraction and the stare was cool. "I might have a short memory but I'm pretty sure I remember the details of our last meeting vividly. Do you need a recap though? I don't mind."
I school my face to not glare at the cheeky bastard. "No, s-." Damn, what was his name again? Ohhhh. "Andre."
His smirk made me frown with slight annoyance. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Oh, it was hard but I still shook my head in denial. "Hope you're good?" What the fuck was going on? A therapy session? That wasn't really boss behavior, at least in WeCare Inc. Regardless, I still nodded my head slowly and his chuckle sounded a lot like mockery to me. "Word on the street is that you're very outspoken. Not friendly in the least, nonetheless, very outspoken. Why are you acting the opposite now?"
"Excuse me?"
He took a step towards me and I took two away from him. His menacing smile made me want to hide behind the marble pillar a few feet away. The smile was beautiful but said unspoken tales of danger. If his smile was so frightening, I wondered how terrifying his frown would be. "Do I make you nervous, Miss Rodriguez?"
A scoff escaped my lips. I wasn't nervous, just cautious. Nelly's deduction wouldn't leave my head, what if he just wanted to have sex with me? "I'm not nervous, just a little out of my element today." That was the moment the stupid Uber came to my damn rescue. "And that'll be all for today. Do have a nice day, Andre." I'd got to give it to myself for not tripping as I flew to the grey Honda.
Safely locked away in the Uber, I looked back at where I was standing a few seconds before and Andre was still there. Our eyes clicked and stayed connected till the car started moving. I shook my head to clear my wandering thoughts. I couldn't let something so trivial trouble me, I had Kayla to worry about and at the moment, Bridgette Cruise.
I arrived at her villa and just like the week before, the lavish house still had me in a chokehold. As I knocked on the gigantic door, I imagined having such a house. Mikayla would definitely love it. Huffing in mild irritation, I continued knocking on the door. I was way too fucking old to daydream.
"Miss Rodriguez." The petite woman pulled me in for a tight hug and I winced. The session wouldn't be any much different from the previous one. I said a silent prayer to mentally prepare myself as I followed her through the grand hallways. "It's quite early. Would you like some breakfast?"
I shook my head and smiled politely. "No, I had quite a big breakfast. I'm still stuffed." A blatant lie but I couldn't conceive the idea of eating at Bridgette's. "Are you ready for our session?" I asked the woman sat across me but in reality, the question was for me.
She nodded and took a sip of whatever was in the flute glass in her dainty hand. "I am. And before you ask, yes, I've been regular with my medications just like you advised last week."
I chuckled softly as I remembered the last session, she had been quite adamant about use of medications. "That's beautiful. Good job."
She beamed at my compliment, like an 8 year old would. Like Mikayla would. "Thank you." Then she let out a deep sigh and I braced myself. "It's just so tough sometimes. Some days, I'm up here." I glanced at the hand she put up and watched her bring it down. "Some days, I'm down low. It's exhausting."
Bipolar disorder would do that to anyone. "How are you feeling today though?"
She looked in the distance for a moment before responding. "I'm yet to decide."
"Fair enough. You said you think it's hereditary? From your mom?"
The chandelier in the room seemed to hold her attention and I couldn't blame her. If I had such a beauty in my house, I'd never pay attention to anything else. "I can't categorically say hers was also bipolar disorder but I just know she was very..... unstable." Her eyes left the elegant light fixture and settled on my face. "I mean she had very hypermanic days and then there were other days she would be so depressed, just crying in her bed for hours. It was terrible."
I jotted down some things in my notepad and urged her on. "And after that?"
Bridgette shrugged and took another sip. "When I grew older, I realized I'd started doing similar things. Those symptoms I watched in mother for years, I was seeing them in myself. It was really terrifying so I went to a hospital and got diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My doctor recommended therapy and here we are." I swallowed my response when she let out her hundredth sigh. She looked like she had more things to say. "Staying with Mother was a torture for me and my brothers. Jason and River kept trying to get away from housesitting with her. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I hated staying with her. Now I'm afraid people might feel the same way about me. Especially my staff."
I didn't try to refute the last statements because I knew they were definitely true. I had only spent 3 hours of my life with her and I knew how I felt about her. She'd been really chill all day and I prayed it'd continue that way. "It's alright. You'll get better."
She waved off my encouragement with a haughty wave and her shoulders lifted in a proud poise. "Of course I will. That's why I pay you major money. For you to make me get better."
I resisted the urge to make a rude comeback and settled for a smile while my heart was boiling with hot anger. "Customers are always right" had never felt more wrong and I struggled in vain to nurse my wounded pride. I did what I had to do and almost jumped for joy when the two-hour mark was up. I quickly ordered a return ride and let out a breath of relief as I closed the front door behind me.
The driver was quite chatty and after a while, I felt the tension in my shoulders rolling away. "You can't be serious."
His chuckle filled the car and engulfed me till I joined in. "Stuffs like that happen everytime. I'd even seen worse."
My gasp made him chuckle for a few more seconds. "How come you still do this job?"
"My son doesn't even want me to keep doing it. He says I'm too old for it but I strongly disagree."
I matched his wink with a flirty smile. "Old? He's trippin' cos you don't look a day above 25."
His eyes furrowed a little at the ends cos of how widely he was grinning. "You flatter me too much, young lady. I'm 64."
Shrugging, I paid him in cash as we arrived at my office building. "Still, you look so young. I would marry you in a heartbeat."
His kind laughter rang in my ears. "You're like a breath of fresh air. Your husband and daughter are so lucky to have you."
I had mentioned Mikayla several times during our transit, so he probably just assumed I had a husband too. There wasn't a need to correct him, I probably wouldn't see him ever again. "Thank you so much for your kind words, sir."
He returned my smile and zoomed off. I didn't have time to think too much about our car conversation because I had another appointment in about 5 minutes. Terrell Williams had been suffering PTSD for a couple years. His traumatic time while serving in the army was the major reason for his condition.
As I walked past the office cafeteria, my stomach growled in complaint and longing. It was already half past 1 yet I hadn't eaten. Oh, what I wouldn't give to go in there and eat some blueberry pancakes. That desire would have to wait though because my client was probably already waiting. Terrell was always prompt to the core, his military training must had had a hand in his punctuality.
Just as I had predicted, the light skinned man was leaning against my door and I picked up my pace. "Terrell, I'm so sorry for delaying you. I went to meet a client and it was a little far."
His warm smile was kind and he shook his head as I tried to unlock my door. "No, it's fine. Waiting a few minutes is no harm."
I ushered him into the office. "Please, make yourself comfortable." We both sat down and stayed in that position for about an hour and the session came to an end. I bade him goodbye and went to the cafeteria a couple minutes after he left.
"A plate of blueberry pancakes, please." The server flinched at my tone and I couldn't blame her. I sounded like a hunting lioness.
I still met with another client before it clocked 5pm. It would have been time to go home but then, it was Friday. By 5pm on Fridays, everybody gathered in the conference room for the staff meeting. Madison beckoned on me to join her when I entered the room, she always kept a seat for me.
Everything was as it was supposed to be, except for one thing. Instead of Amber chairing the meeting, someone else was doing that. Andre. He stood at the end of the table and watched everyone settle down with hawk like attention.
"Hello, everyone." His baritone voice echoed in the room and I looked around to see people's reactions to it. I had to see Madison's claims with my own eyes and indeed, my eyes saw the truth. Infact, they doubled in size after a quick survey, Madison didn't exaggerate. Some people looked like they were getting off to just his voice. Gregory in particular appeared like his soul had left his damn body.
"This is my first staff meeting with everyone and I'm quite happy to be in your midst." He pulled the cufflinks at his wrists for a moment. "My name is Andre Vidal Sánchez and it's a pleasure to meet you all again. The swearing-in ceremony last week was a success and I'm glad that everyone was present." He paused and searched the room and I already knew who those green eyes were looking for. An inconspicuous smirk appeared across his face when his eyes landed on me. "Well, almost everyone."
I ignored Madison's subtle kicks and focused on the message the young CEO was trying to communicate. I caught myself nodding in approval a few times, the man was incredibly smart and proficient. A few minutes after 6, he drew the curtains and everybody dispersed. I gave Madison a hasty goodbye and went to my car.
I drove slowly and just before I got home, something the Uber driver said came back to me.
Your husband and daughter are so lucky to have you.
I scoffed in derision. That statement couldn't have been more wrong because I was the lucky one between I and Mikayla. Being her mother was a privilege I wasn't worthy of. And Diego? He was so unlucky to have met me and he became unluckier the moment he decided to have me.
I was a curse to him.