"Good morning, ma." She looked up, and it was her secretary who had just come in.
"I didn't ask you to come in yet," She replied almost frantically, trying to search for her shades.
But Lori had seen her black eye already.
She acted ignorant too, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry," leaving the room as soon as she had seen it to wait downstairs for Calah.
After almost an hour of waiting, Calah showed up downstairs.
"Which car are we taking today, ma'am?"
She glanced around and said, "I don't know". There was no car warmed up already for her, and all were still in the garage. "What will I ever do with Shedrach? "You think he needs a replacement?" She looked at Lori with a little disappointment.
"I think something might be wrong with him; still be a little patient with him," she replied calmly. We might as well find out what's wrong with him."
"Uh, I don't have time for that. Ring for the keys to this one!"
On their way to work, Lori reminded her of all of her meetings and schedules for the day.
"You're going for supervision also at the new gym, and a board of directors for the opening of your first company sent a message."
"Oh, which of the gyms is that?" She picked up her phone to check for something. "And I thought I already told Mom I was no longer interested in her own company."
"There's a catch, Calah," Lori replied, grinning.
"What catch?"
"I don't know, but they request your presence."
She merely sighed. "Which of the gyms am I supervising today?"
"Oh, 35th Avenue, the third one in that area."
"The third? So why did we put it there?"
"You did, ma'am."
Calah sighed again. She was really not up to date on a lot of things, and she needed to get her sh*t together.
They got to the office and took the first elevator. Calah was hoping not to find any other employees on her way so she wouldn't have to respond to their greetings; she wanted to hide her face as much as possible.
Things went smoothly as she got to her office without having to stop by. Lori got her a coffee and left her alone.
For the first time that morning, she took off her shades to examine the discoloration on her face. She found the other end of her face much redder. She silently prayed not to have any visitors that morning.
At exactly 12 p.m., Lori came into her office to remind her about the supervision. Calah had forgotten to put on her shades after she was done examining her face. Lori was about to leave her office when she called her back.
"You saw this in the morning?" She asked her calmly, pointing to her face.
"Yeah, I did," she said with a smile. "But if you ask me," she continued, rushing to grab a seat.
"Lori, before you assume anything, I just had a bang on the wall."
"A bang, Calah," she scoffed. "That's not a bang, and we both know it's that monster."
"Don't speak of Zach like that."
"Sorry, but you should have moved past that guy, Calah," she replied soothingly.
"He wasn't like this, Lori."
"You keep making excuses for him. Your league is way beyond what he could even dream of. Who could think that an inspiration to a lot of women out there keeps getting beaten up by a guy that's not even married to her in the very least!? And as a matter of fact, people see you in the papers and assume you have the perfect body and life. A boss that has men sucking their lips at your sight Have you ever taken a good look at yourself, Calah? You're everything! So get everything and stop settling for him."
Calah just sat calm. " Lori, I still believe he'll change. He wasn't like this, and maybe it's something I'm not doing right. "
"Calah, can I ask you something? Take your time to think well."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Do you still love him?"
" Yes! I do; she snapped rather quickly.
" I said, Think about it, Calah. Maybe a night or two. Be certain that this is what you want. And think of ladies like myself looking up to you."
She stood up, gave a smile, and headed for the door. "Don't forget the supervision later today."
Calah sank in her chair as she left. She knew there were a hundred truths in her words, and she knew she didn't love Zach. But she couldn't bring herself to let go.
She arranged her things to get ready for the supervision at a new gym she had given an order to build. She had a lot of gymnasiums all over the city and outside, too. She also invested in ballet classes and general fitness. That was her specialization.
She had grown up plus-sized as a child and wanted to move so elegantly and gracefully. By 20, she was fully obese. And she was just another trust fund baby who was nothing but a sack that fed on her parents' money. She rose to change. And she got her perfect body before 25. And in her mid-twenties, she had her first ballet class. She moved further to expand a gym on the other side of her building.
Soon, she had started buying gymnastics equipment from a different company and reselling it. In her late twenties, she started her own company, and as the years went by, she built more gyms and ballet classes.
She got downstairs, and the car was already being warmed up. Lori opened her door and sat down, staring out the window.
They got to the place and found all the workers resting.
"Why are they so relaxed?"
Lori glanced around. I think it's lunch."
"Lunch? It's way past twelve."
She took a walk around, examining everything, until she got to the other section of the hall, which was spared for the ballet.
"Lori, Look out if anybody is coming."
"Why?"
"Hurry, shut the door behind you."
Lori did as instructed, looking around like something was amiss.
"The door's shut, Calah, why?"
Here, hold this, She replied, taking off her shoes in the empty ballroom. The floors had been polished,and it looked set,save for some equipment.
She took out her phone from her pocket, played the common interstellar, placed it on its loudest volume, and gave it to Lori again.
And soon she was moving gracefully on the polished floorboards. Even though it had been a while since she danced, her elevation was still good.
She kept sprinting and twirling with her hands in motion and on her tippy toes without a pointe shoe or tutu.
She felt happiness ripple through her blood, and she was giving all her heart to it. Like she wouldn't again.
For a moment, she forgot all her issues and what she might likely deal with when she got home.
She forgot all of the tension on her as a senator's only daughter and also the pressure from her fans wanting to be like her.
She danced it all out like her life depended on it.
The song ended, and she made her bow, breathing slightly hard and feeling accomplished.
From within, an applause erupted, which faded at first until the sound drew nearer and got clearer. "That was beautiful," He said as soon as he was visible, still clapping, thrilled, and confident.
Calah looked at him in shock and asked, "What are you doing here? And how long have you been there watching?"
The realization hit her at that point that she wasn't wearing her shades. She rushed over to grab it, hoping he wouldn't notice.
She put it on and turned back to him. "I ask you again, what were you doing here? Do you work here, mister?"
"Oh no, I don't," he said, raising his hand in surrender. "My brother does, and I'm keeping him company."
She took off the shades again in astonishment, giving the guy a full view of her face he hadn't paid attention to earlier. It was already a black eye, and some parts still remained red.
"You're here to keep your brother company for the work I pay him to do?"
He smiled. "Think of it like I came to leave a message for him and just stalled on this side unconsciously."
She scoffed out of desperation. "The building isn't open yet, and I'd appreciate you not moping around. I could sue you for trespassing, literally!"
He smiled wider. "I was just on my way out," he said, walking out. Almost close to the door where Lori stood, he turned back. "And oh, I forgot, you're very beautiful without the shades." He winked, still with a smile, and left.
Calah was basically lost for words. She felt naked instantly.
Such a nuisance," Lori said in her voice after he left. Calah turned to her in surprise. "You could have done me a favor by checking if the room was clear!"
"I wouldn't have known, ma'am; I'm sorry."
She threw a disappointed glance at her for a long time.
"You know what? It's fine, Lori. Can I have my shoes back?"
We'll check the yoga room and the new imported equipment, and then we'll leave.
Yes, ma'am," she replied from where she bent, buckling Calah's shoes.
They continued their supervision, with Calah remaining very distant until they finished. They got back to the car and were set to go.
"Lori, Could you run me a background check on that guy?"
"What guy?" She barely even remembered.
Calah threw her a dead glance.
"Oh, oh, him. I could. Um, but it might be impossible. We don't even know whose brother he is."
"I know. He could have actually been a thief, a spy, or something! I have a foreman here, and people walk in as they like!"
"I'll do my best, ma'am." She said she was typing out someth
ing.
"And I'll let you know what I come up with."
"Good". She replied curtly and turned out to the window.