EVE
There's nothing more perfect than having a glass of cappuccino on a cold morning. With my chair pulled a little backwards so I may lean comfortably and with the view of the city through clear glass wall, my 9 am in the office looked promising. It has been raining outside and the steam forming on the glass made the city look like being inside a dream. Nostalgic for some reason, like dreaming of the life I always wanted, and now mine.
I turned the chair around to face the table. Two more chairs were placed in front, facing each other. On my desk was an open laptop with a picture of me cutting the ribbon on my school's first day. On the right side was a tall mahogany cabinet, with drawers for student files and other school documents. On my left were frames of motivational quotes about success and hardwork. My personal favorites, really.
A smile crept at the side of my lips. A sense of pride. All of these are mine. I made this happen.
How did I get here, anyway? Everything still feels like a dream I don't want to wake up from.
At 19, I managed to build my small business with the money I loaned from my parents. I knew it was a big leap, but I know nothing good comes from the comfortable. I knew I had to do it and I'm glad I did. I started a small music school with only three teachers as part of the faculty. Until three became five, and the small apartment unit I used as classroom now became a five-stories building with sixty students. On this exact moment, 8 years after, I have no regrets. It has been a tough road then, but now the reap justified it all. And I am not finished yet.
My office telephone rang and I quickly reached it, almost spilling my coffee on the hardwood floor.
"yes? this is Eve."
"Miss Eve? There's someone here asking for you."
I frowned. At this early? As far as I can remember, I have no meeting nor appointment set for this morning.
"who is it?"
My assistant, Jane, didn't respond. I heard her talk to a third person before coming back to the line. What they talked about was indistinct. To me, it only sounded like a nonsense blabber.
"he says you just have to see."
He? A man?
"fine. Tell the visitor I'll be there in five minutes."
I have no guesses in my mind on who the visitor is but I hope it's only one of the parents asking for our enrollment process. You see, our music school has been recognized lately as one of the best schools by a survey and that increased our number of students for this school year. Hopefully, this person's a parent.
After a quick powder touch up and hair fix, I stepped out of my office and saw Jane. She was holding a small folder, looking like about to knock on my door.
"where is he?" – I asked, scanning the alley and realizing that the seats placed on the side were empty.
"he's in the clinic, miss."
"clinic?!"
"well, he said he needed to talk to you in private."
"and the first place you thought of was the clinic?"
Jane bit her rose-colored lips. I exhaled.
"no, I'm not mad at you Jane. Wait here, I'll go and meet him. Please lock my office, thank you."
I handed her the key to my office while I walked towards the clinic. When I was face to face with the door, I cleared my throat and turned the knob.
The light was on, and there was a man sitting on one of the beds. He looked up and smiled. I looked closer and my eyes dilated. Oh, God.
"I hope you still remember me, Genevieve." – he said
I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Rusty Alister, my godfather and my father's best friend. And yes, I still do remember him. We don't meet a lot since I was 21 but I know everything about him. He's one of the most successful businessmen in the country. It's kind of a pleasure to know him and be his goddaughter.
"of course, Tito. How have you been? You look like you haven't aged!"
I meant what I just said. I'm not certain what's his exact age was but he still looked like he's in his forties. Those pictures published on business magazines and his interview at Tycoons' Channel didn't justify what he look like in person… in only a foot away.
He gave me a quick hug, followed by a chuckle.
"oh, you really have your dad's eyes. very expressive. How is he, anyway?"
I sat on the bed across him, leaving the question in the air for a moment.
"he's doing fine. Just enjoying his retirement. He and mom has been really busy with their travel plans these days." – I rolled my eyes jokingly
"classic Antonio. I'm glad he can enjoy his retirement like that."
"I do to, Tito… he deserves that very much."
And then more talks about how I've been and how the school is doing. I discreetly glanced at the red wall clock behind him and realized that I had been talking to him for at least 20 minutes and I still didn't have an inkling on why he's here. I am aware that all of these "catching up" were only sales talk. The real deal's still in the bag.
"I'm glad that we have this talk, Tito… is there something you'd like to tell me? I'm afraid I have something waiting for me in the office."
His friendly chuckles turned into worried smiles. For a moment, I thought I had offended him. But then he reached for my hand in the gentlest way possible.
"Genevieve… I actually came here to request something."
I suddenly had my heart stuck on my throat.
"what is it, Tito?"
"do you remember Xenon?"
And then my heart skipped a beat. I nodded.
Of course, I remember Xenon. Very, very well.
To be honest, he stayed on my mind all the time.