Mysterious Man
Two hours later, the gentleman was still standing with no trace of Adrenaline. He got fed up of waiting and went to look for her.
After ten minutes of searching, he found her with a trolley, answering a video call.
"Excuse me, Miss."
"Oh, hi!" she turned around to face him, "I was just on a video call with my dad to confirm what else we needed."
"Can we go now?" he asked, ignoring whatever she was up to.
He still could not understand why his boss would put him up to the torture of being her mall assistant. He would have preferred running around the whole of California than waiting on her. Plus, she was getting on his nerves by intentionally or unintentionally wasting his time.
He would surely be queried for wasting so much time.
"Let's get out of here." He sounded more like a command.
She had to wrap up quickly. She got her stuff packaged and paid. He helped her carry the bigger packages while he headed out without looking back. After putting everything in the boot of the black SUV, he went over to the driver's side leaving her standing beside the car.
"Is this an Oakland thing, or do the guys here lack manners and chivalry?" she rhetorically asked in disappointment since she was waiting for him to open the car door for her.
"You should be used to that." He said while fondling his keys to open his side of the door.
"Excuse me? No, I can't get used to it. You should learn to treat a lady with respect. I gotta talk to your boss about your attitude..."
Before she could complete her sentence he was already at her side of the door holding it open for her.
"Miss?" he gestured with his hands ushering her in.
***
"Oh, welcome," Mr. Josh gestured excitedly more to the gentleman than to Andrenaline when he saw them climb down the car.
He rushed to help with the packages. As always, the gentleman loaded off the packages bowed slightly to Mr. Josh, and zoomed off.
"He's such a snob, don't you agree?"
"He's just doing his job." Mr. Josh disagreed.
"Even at that. If he is like this, how will his boss be? I bet everyone will be scared of him because he will be unrelatable and mean. He surely must be a lonely and sad man."
Mr. Josh doesn't care one cent how the boss is or relates as long as he keeps sending them money and goodies.
Adrenaline would be turning 21 in two weeks and would be finally able to meet the mysterious man who had refused to unveil himself to her.
"Mr. Josh, why do we keep receiving gifts from this mysterious man? Who is he, and why haven't I met him yet?" she asked him while they unpacked in the kitchen.
"Don't be so fast. He will be your 21st birthday gift."
"Gift? How? Why?"
"Enough of the questions already. Focus on graduating college in two weeks."
"How can I graduate well when I keep missing classes?" she dished out cereal for herself as she had not eaten anything yet.
"You were the one who insisted on working part-time. It is not my fault if you can't balance studies and work. By the way, it's none of my business as long as we don't lack anything from him." He lit a cigar and went back to his study desk.
"Sometimes you talk like I am not your daughter. Are you using me as a tool to get money from the mysterious man? Can you tell me what is going on?" she came to his desk looking down at him with a serious face.
"I need answers, Mr. Josh!"
"Stop yelling, young lady. As long as you continue being a good girl, we both will not suffer."
"Whatever is going on, I refuse to be part of it" She went back to the kitchen to finish her cereals. Talking about the issue with him always yielded no positive result, and she had hoped that he would oblige her.
"It's not like you have a choice." He laughed drily.
Andrenaline could not believe it.
What was he unto?
Was he planning on selling her off?
But he was her father and wouldn't do anything to hurt her, right?
These thoughts ran wildly and freely in her mind. In her deep state of thoughts, she didn't notice when he removed the wad of cash from her handbag which she had dropped on the tiny wooden side table in the living room.
The gentleman had handed her the pocket money for other expenses.
And Mr. Josh was always fond of taking the money, leaving her with little to no cash. He ends up gambling and drinking with the money anyway.
"I'm off to Briggs. See you in the evening." He announced to a half-present Andrenaline and stormed out.
The bang from the door brought her fully back to reality. At that moment, she noticed he had left. As always. She sighed.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She ran to Mr. Josh's room which was opposite the stairs. His large glass window faced the vegetable garden in the backyard – the only thing he seriously dedicated himself to.
She ignored the temptation of looking at a lone white rose growing among the bushes. She opened drawers, cupboards, and his wardrobe in search of any clue as to what he was into with the mystery man.
She found nothing.
She looked under the small bed, which stood carelessly in the center of the room. There it was! A box.
She dragged the wooden box out, and fortunately, the locks had been broken. It seemed like he must have lost the keys and broken the lock instead.
She went through it and only found documents of her birth and her mother's pictures. Also beneath the pictures were her pictures of when she was a baby.
She had never seen these pictures, and Mr. Josh hardly talked about her mom or her growing up. She ran her fingers on her mother's face as if to draw the lines herself.
"Mom..." and she let a tear stray down her left cheek. She wiped it out quickly as if not wanting her mother to see it.
"I'm sorry. I promised to be strong for you and Dad, so I won't cry. But I'm confused. Dad seems to be keeping a secret from me, and I feel like it will affect my life. Do you know what it is?"
She barely knew her mother. She died when she was just three, but from the little Mr. Josh told her, she connected with her mother.
She looked alive and happy in the photograph. The bright red lipstick she wore gave colors to her subtle pretty face. Her curled blonde hair, which fell on her shoulders made her look like a sun goddess. She was indeed a beauty. Unlike Andrenaline, she had a slender figure with very little boobs that were almost lost in the black sleeveless dress she wore.
With her kind of body, she would easily pass for a model.
At that moment, Mr. Josh's phone rang from the living room.
Oh! He forgot his phone.
She hurriedly placed the box back under the bed and rushed out.
It was a mysterious caller saved by 'Moneyman'. Out of curiosity, she picked up the call.
"Hello, Mr. Josh..."
The caller's voice came on.
It was a deep, hoarse voice with a lot of masculinity.
Damn, this man must be sexy, judging from his voice. She let her thoughts drift.
She was suddenly brought back by the caller's voice, which came up again.
"I'm sure you have received all you need. The clock is ticking fast and it is almost due for my package to be sent to me. I also heard her graduation is on the same day as her birthday. Get her ready to be sent over to me on that night. I'll send someone to pick her up. I will be going out of the country for a week; if there is an urgent message you need to pass across, use my mail."
Beep. He hung up.
She must be dreaming. She did not hear all that.
She is the package.