GRACE

With speed and roughness, I swerved toward the shortcut that led to my workplace. With the way I drove, it was surprising that no police car was on my tail.

But it is a good thing that did not happen. It would have been tedious to have another reason to be held down.

Soon, I arrived at my destination.

With reckless haste, I grabbed my bag and ran into the two-floor building.

I could feel eyes on me as I raced to my station while I hoped within me that my friend was able to cover for me and that my boss wasn’t around.

Many seconds later, I made it to my office but I was breathing so hard that I had to pause for a minute.

With my right hand reaching for the edge of my desk, I leaned against the wall and slid down until I reached the floor.

“Grace is that you?” I heard the voice of my partner, Samantha, calling from her seat.

Unable to speak as I was still trying to achieve normal breathing, I managed to wave my right hand to answer her.

In no time, my blonde workmate was crouched in front of me, and the bottle of water in her hand was placed against my mouth.

I gulped the water so fast that Sam couldn’t help but amusedly watch me.

Once I finished the whole bottle, a satisfied sigh left me and I finally became normal. I then motioned to the boss’s office and asked if he was around.

“Grace, I am afraid the boss won’t be lenient with you this time around. He has been waiting for you since eight.

I tried to stall but he was already threatening to fire you. I want...”

Samantha’s voice soon became very, very distant as I dejectedly went into my little word of thoughts.

The moment I hoped not to witness was finally around. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I get fired. I kind of deserve it.

But it is still scary that the one stable thing in my life is about to crash.

With lumps of emotions stuck in my throat, I came back to reality and glanced at Sam.

With worry etched in her eyes, she placed her hands on my shoulders and said, “Grace, I know the past few years have been rough for you. But the lifestyle you chose to deal with your pain is destroying you.” Her feet adjusted and she shifted closer. “I don’t like seeing you this way, Grace. Grace, please...”

Sam’s pleading words were soon interrupted by the firm voice of my boss who mercilessly screamed my name from his office.

I hurriedly leaped to my feet. If not for Sam, I would have given in to my weak knees and fallen. But her support assured me and I dusted the back of my trousers.

“Miss Sands! Where the fuck is your ass at?”

Ohh. My boss is madly angry. Shit.

I rushed out of my office and headed to the boss’s, jamming into someone in the process.

“Hey! Come on!” Whoever it was said, his hands in the air in protest.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” I kept mumbling as I resumed my rush to the boss’s office. When I made it to his office, I took a moment to catch my breath, then I pushed open the glass doors that were separating him from me.

“Good morning, sir.”

I greeted the figure behind the huge, wooden desk which had paper works arranged at one side, and a laptop in the centre. Two picture frames and his rarely used desktop computer decorated the far end of the furniture.

Adjusting the glasses on the rim of his nose, my boss caused his almond eyes to connect with mine and I just knew that I was screwed. His face displayed calmness but the anger in his silence was of the greatest level.

I read more of that anger when he got up and pushed his chair a bit too hard.

After he swiftly raced his fingers through his hair, he walked towards me. A few seconds later, he stopped and stared at me from that distance as though he was trying to read me.

His stare became so intense that I had to look away and train my sight on the white tiles. Then I began to dread the silence and wished that he would just say something. Anything.

A huge sigh from my boss broke the uncomfortable silence but he didn’t talk until seconds later.

He said, “Look at me, Sands.”

Biting into my lower lip, I lifted my head and urged myself to stand strong. I was starting to feel a slight headache and I didn’t want that feeling to overpower me.

“I am afraid you have taken it too far, Sands.” My boss’s hoarse voice was too calm. “Last time you came late to work, you said it wouldn’t happen again. You have used that statement almost ten times in three weeks and that is not impressive for a top employee like you.”

He blinked furiously and released heavy breaths before continuing, “We had a board meeting today where I was meant to submit the work I assigned you last week but you were nowhere to be found neither was your work.”

As that moment advanced into great suspense, he backed his steps a little more and walked to the grand window behind his desk. He stared out of the window and said, “I am sorry Miss Sands but we can’t condone such an attitude. The board members requested that your...” He sighed and my heart tightened. “... employment should be terminated.”

He whispered the last words, it was almost as though he hated what he just said.

I finally let out the air that I had been keeping in, my body shaking a bit as I did.

Unable to give any reasonable response to his question of whether I would be fine, I just nodded and walked out of his office, unusual heaviness in my chest.

With a fallen face I made it to my office and slumped into my chair like a bag of rice. I heard Samantha approach me and when she made it to my desk, I looked up at her and pouted, my tears threatening to come down.

“I was fired...” I whispered into the room and the pain in my heart filled my voice.

“Oh, Grace. I am so sorry.” Her sort-of-chocolate scent teased my senses as she leaned closer to give me a full hug.

Then, I started to cry. I cried about my life at that moment.

But when I remembered how my life changed nearly two years ago, I began to wail, so much that I began to get cooing voices from Sam who kept running her hand to and fro my left arm.

“I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry,” she said, the tone of her voice appeasing me.

I sniffled, looked up at her through my blurry sight, and asked, “Why are you sorry? I... I brought this u...u...upon myself. I don’t... I don’t...”

Speaking became harder and my crying took over once again.

I cried until my tears refused to come out.

After a while, despite the frequent jerking of my body, I found a way to compose myself.

I wiped the strands of tears off and told Sam I was fine.

Even though her face said that she did not believe me, she released me from her motherly hug.

Then, I grabbed my bag and took out the work I was meant to submit, and dropped it on my desk. Grabbing my phone too, I got up and faced Sam, trying as much as possible to not start another bout of tears.

“Thank you so much for everything, Samantha. But, I should be on my way to fully start my first day of being jobless.”

Her smile was sad and I could tell that she pitied me. “I will help you pack up. So go home and rest.” I nodded and made to walk out of the door but she stopped me by grabbing my hand.

I glanced at our contact and appreciated the warmth I was getting from it.

Sam continued, “I am begging you to stop living a reckless nightlife. Please stop it now. It is killing you, Grace.”

“I know...” I sighed and hoped that my tears wouldn’t come up until I get to my house.

Samantha squeezed my hand to communicate that she was going to be there for me.

Once she eased our contact and reminded me that she would send my office materials over.

Soon, after giving a nod, I walked out of the room and approached my recently changed life while feeling like the zombie I feared that I would see if I had looked into the mirror before leaving my home.

GRACE

Life sucks.

As I parked my car, my lips scrunched into an unpleasant pout and my back slumped into the comfort of my seat.

While holding back a sigh that was threatening to drop, I tilted my head to the left and that was when I noticed that my breakfast was still untouched and shielded from straying eyes.

I lazily reached for it and the smell of fried eggs and fresh bread hit my nose.

As I observed my meal from the plastic packaging it was caged in, the fact that my life has already hit the deepest of bottoms crept into my mind and I finally released the sigh.

Since I left the office, all I did was sigh. I sighed so much that I think my shoulders are tired from taking all the grunt of my emotions.

Soon, I shrugged and told myself that I had to take care of my growing hunger before brooding over the failure of my life.

So, I kicked off my shoes, adjusted the seat till my feet could barely touch the controls, and dragged out a sandwiched pair of my breakfast.

As I munched on the very delicious meal, I started to think about my life. I desisted from such thinking while driving because I didn’t trust myself.

I have proven numerous times to be unstable emotionally. So, I might have gotten into an accident if I had not taken caution while driving.

Crossing my legs, I took another bite of my meal.

′This shit is good.′ I thought and after that, I thought, ’My life is shit!′

Samantha was right.

My recent way of dealing with the ache I have been carrying about is causing me unnecessary pain. In some sense, I was using something harmful to treat the fault in my life.

What could be more dangerous than that?

And, the fact that I keep ignoring the danger I was putting myself in makes things worse.

Just last week, I almost got demoted from my position after I showed up to work at a super early hour. I was half drunk and sort of horny.

According to the staff who stayed overnight that day, I was dry-humping one of the shelves in the library while mumbling words he could not understand.

Aside from the insane humiliation I keep plunging myself into, it is clear that I totally deserved to get fired.

But what do I do with my life now?

With some bread still in my mouth, I groaned like a hungry baby whale. Distress overpowered me and the sides of my eyes wrinkled as I bit into what was left of the meal in my hand.

The anguish in my soul amplified and my eyes started to itch. They started to ache, almost as though telling me that more tears were on their way.

But at this point, I am beyond tired of crying. I have shed so many tears in the past weeks that I can’t just do it anymore.

A knock on the window of the front passenger seat dragged me out of my little drama. I looked up and wiped the oiliness staining my hand on my trousers.

It was Da... yeah, David.

With excitement, the man I almost slept with waved at me so much that the front of his styled hair fell to the side.

I reached for the control and lowered the window.

He popped his head into the car, but his wide smile disappeared when he saw that some tears had managed to fight their way out of the surface of my eyeballs.

I quickly faced the other side and got rid of the evidence that I was deep into the feeling of dejection.

“Rose... why are you back so soon? Why do you look sad?”

Ahh... I guess it’s too late to hide what has been discovered.

I faced him again and David swiped away the little mass of hair blocking his view, a look of concern etched on his pretty face.

While I managed a small smile, I took a second to appreciate my ability to get fine men into my bed when drunk.

′Nice work, Rose!′ I gave myself a sarcastic smile and reminded myself to stop giving myself false names whenever I’m drunk.

I looked away from cute David, grabbed another sandwich, looked ahead at the plain white wall my car was facing and resumed a silent munching.

David opened the door and I felt the impact of him sitting down.

“Rose...” he called.

“Grace,” I corrected him, and his brows queried me. “My name is Grace. Not Rose. Well drunk me apparently is, Rose or whoever she chooses to be.” I replied to him with a lazy tone. Anyone that hears me right now would think that I am fed up with life.

Ha! I am kind of fed up with life.

He nodded as though he understood and continued, “Okay, Grace. Why are you back so early? Did you forget something?”

“I got fired!” I slammed my hands on the steering wheel. I don’t know what irritated me all of a sudden... his questions or the state of my life.

I dragged a shaky breath into my lungs and slowly let it out. That lengthy breath I just took is part of the tears I have been trying to hold back.

My eyes pinched to get rid of the blur that covered them and I glanced at David who was yet to say a word. His worried expression was gone and replaced with an unreadable one.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” His silence was starting to make me regret screaming about my recent life issue.

“Did you murder the boss or something?” I gave him a ‘are you kidding me?’ look and reached for another paired slice of my meal. Well, it was the last one.

David continued, “I mean that question. I mean, you were late. So, what? People go to work late a lot these days. There is this laziness-flu in town and let me let you into a secret...” He pushed his hair to the side again. “This flu has affected more than half of the population. Go and check the stats.”

How can someone say such foolish things with pride?

“Listen, David.” I sighed. “I got fired because I was late. And... I sort of have been doing that for some weeks now. And in addition to that, I have been exhibiting some crazy behaviour thanks to the irresponsible and drunk side of me.”

“Do you need a hug?”

His question instantly turned my soul into jelly. I settled the untouched bread back into the bag. A babyish look landed on my face and I gave a very big nod.

David leaned forward and engulfed me in his chest, his cologne hitting my nose. He smelt very manly and that made me want to stay longer in the hug.

Apart from Sam who hugs me at any given opportunity, I hardly have any other person to hug me.

“Okay, Grace... I think we should go upstairs and watch something that will make you laugh. What do you say?” David asked after releasing me from his very warm hug.

Once I adjusted my position till I was seated well, I looked up thoughtfully for a few seconds.

“I think I want to go for a walk.”

“Well...” He nodded. “... walking does help clear the mind. Let’s go.”

“Whoa, whoa. Wait.” He lifted his brows. And I must say, he looks cuter doing that. “What are you still doing here? I thought you would have left. I mean, you didn’t even get the one-night stand you could have had.”

“Well, I am still here, even after not getting the sex.” My lips pressed into a thin line as I dashed him an apologetic look. “I was leaving already but I saw your car here and I had to check.”

“I can’t believe I am saying this. But I am glad you did not leave.”

“I am glad I did not have sex with you.”

“Huh?” I was confused.

“If we did, I would not be here and you would have probably sat here all day and cried till you couldn’t anymore.”

“Are you a freaking sorcerer? That is some shit I would do,” I replied, feeling a bit happy that I had company. “Let’s go for that walk.”

We got out of the car and I locked it, after ensuring I did not leave my phone behind.

“So, how come you are not at work right now?” I asked a few seconds after we hit the sidewalk.

“Uh...I am a freelance graphic designer. For about six months now, I have been working with only publishing companies.”

“Really? I work... well used to work in a publishing company.” My voice went from excited to way less excited within a very short span. As if sensing the sadness about to set in, David immediately changed the topic.

“Have you ever tried cloud reading?” I looked at him, interest on my face. “It is this silly yet fun thing I do when I am bored. I look at the sky on cloudy days and read cloud shapes. One day, I saw a dinosaur with a camel-like hump and a mermaid tail.”

“Really?” He nodded and I chuckled. “There’s no way that’s true.” It was unbelievable yet exciting to hear.

“I swear, I saw it. And I wasn’t surprised because, on a certain day, I saw a very happy donkey posing beside...” He nudged me. “...guess what it was.”

“Uh... a burrito?” He shook his head in the negative. “Hamburger?”

“Nope. It is a male part.”

“A male part. Is it the sexual...?”

“Yes.” He did not even let me finish the statement.

When it finally dawned on me, my eyes immediately brightened in disbelief.

I glanced at him, gave a short laugh then looked away.

“I don’t believe you,” I said.

“I wish I were lying. And before you say it...” His index fingers pointed in my direction. ” I wasn’t high that day.”

“Oh my God.” I burst into laughter, stopping in my tracks to properly do it. As the image crept into my mind, I laughed some more, gaining looks from people passing us. David just stood still and watched me with a huge smile on his face. “That must have been wild.”

“You should try it,” he offered. “Cloud reading is a great way to have fun and free your mind.”

My mirth came to an end and I caved into his idea.

As I transferred my line of sight to the distant sky, I saw that there were a lot of clouds, some even blocked a great portion of the sun.

I squinted my eyes but a paper flew to my face and blocked my sight.

“Uh... I see nothing but white.” I removed the paper from my face and was about to throw it into a nearby bin when I noticed the word VACANCY written boldly on the top.

That caught my attention.

“What’s that?” David moved closer and looked into the paper. “Do people still make fliers?”

“They need a babysitter.” I looked up at David. “And I need a job. This is good. I can go for the interview or whatever it is called.”

“You want to work as a babysitter?” I shrugged and nodded at his question. “You used to work at a publishing company. Why would you want to become a babysitter?”

“It is not a terrible job.”

“I know it is not. But my point here is that you can choose to walk into any publishing house right now. And I am sure they would... Wait, which position did you hold?”

“Assistant Chief Editor.” I am surprised that I am easily discussing something this important with a man I nearly slept with.

“Seriously? Why would you want to babysit when you have such a qualification? Publishing houses would die to have you work with them. You worked with Elite Publishing, Grace. Elite Publishing.”

Realising I never told him exactly where I worked, I frowned and asked, “How do you know that?”

“I saw a mug in your kitchen.” The man didn’t stutter. “It had the name of the company boldly written on it.”

I nodded in agreement. I did have such a mug. Two actually. They were part of the employee packages we got for the Christmas party we had three years ago.

I was still in my right mind then.

I squared my chin shoulders and said, “Who cares if I worked at Elite? I have been through a lot, David. I need a more decent distraction. And, hooking up with men isn’t exactly that much of a decent distraction. Besides, my reason for being dismissed from my position is not pleasant enough to give me the confidence to stand in front of other employers in the publishing field.”

“Well, if you say so. So when is the interview or whatever?”

I know, right?

I don’t even know if you get interviewed for babysitting jobs.

I checked the paper. “Tomorrow.”

“Do you even know how to take care of a kid?”

“I once helped a kid get on a swing at the park.” I looked up at him again, not sure if that counted.

“Well, if that could happen, I guess babysitting shouldn’t be that hard for you.”

I smiled grandly and said, “This should go well. How hard could it be?”

He shrugged, returned my smile, grabbed my hand, and suggested that we go get something to eat.

GRACE

‘You what now?’ Samantha’s voice reeked of surprise.

I looked out of the fast-moving car as it drove past the Empire State Building, a place that recently causes my heart to ache each time I set my sight on its grandness. I quickly looked elsewhere before my eyes could have a reason to start welling up.

“I am looking at getting a babysitter’s job,” I repeated to Samantha who had initially called to apologise for not making it to my place the previous day.

‘A... A.. Ba... Babysitter?’ It was as though the words were choking her. ‘Grace, you are one hell of a hotcake in the publishing world. But you want to become a babysitter?’

“I don’t want to deal with that life for now. I need a huge break from reading lengthy manuscripts.”

‘And babysitting is your option? If you want, you can decide not to get a job, you are that well-to-do.’

My sigh ran deep, so much that it sank my shoulders. “Samantha, I can’t sit around doing nothing. You know too well that I hate being idle. I want a distraction and babysitting is that distraction. Well, that depends on whether I get the job.”

‘So, if you don’t get the job, are you going to take up working at Mcdonalds’?′

“Samantha, just trust me on this one.” I didn’t appreciate her sarcasm and I failed to understand her way of viewing the issue. Why can’t she be more like David? He didn’t question my decision too much and even called me this morning to wish me luck at the interview.

I have to say that it is cool that David has eased his way into my life in a way that I can’t help but admire. If it were someone else, I doubt I would still be talking to the person.

‘Okay, girl. Whatever you say. So who are you going to babysit?’

“I don’t know. They didn’t exactly specify.”

I could almost see Sam roll her eyes. ‘What if he is an old man?’

“Well, we will see how that works out, won’t we?”

Samantha exhaled loudly into the phone, as though trying to say- I am tired of you, but I love you anyway.

‘Okay, Grace. As long as this distraction guarantees that you don’t spend all night drunk in a bar, it is not so much of a bad idea.’

“We are here, ma’am.” My Uber driver notified me as he sleekly stirred the wheel and found a parking spot just in front of a huge, black gate. After ensuring that my automatic payment was successful, I appreciated the middle-aged man and got out of the car, while I partially listened to Samantha giving orders to one of the new interns at work.

When her attention returned to our call, I said, “Well, I have reached my destination and...” I moved forward to look through the gate bars of the house I was about to enter. My line of sight almost reached the sky and I frowned. “...uh the house looks like a hotel. It is huge as fuck.”

‘Maybe they are just in town for a while and decided to lodge at a hotel. It is obvious they are rich, at least you won’t be getting crappy pay.’

I rolled my eyes at her words.

I was almost cursing my limited sight of the building when a security guard popped out from nowhere and questioned my presence. Once I told him what I was there for, he didn’t hesitate to open the pedestrian gate. I stepped onto the other side and I instantly felt the intensity of the breeze around me change.

That was understandable.

The not-so-distant, enormous building I was staring at made chills wrap my soul so much that my eyes widened while my skin suffered goosebumps for some seconds.

Without a proper grip on my senses, I blindly followed the guard who said something about leading me to my destination.

‘Uh... Grace are you there?’

That voice made me return and I managed to tear my eyes off the almost-glassed skyscraper which simply yet artistically carried the name of the hotel in its middle.

“Sam... You are not going to believe it.” I didn’t give her the chance to question my hushed excitement. With my right hand cupping the air around my phone, I said, “I just walked into the premises of Hotel Pierre.”

‘Girl... Shut up!’

“I wish I could. But I am not lying.”

It was taking me a lot of self-control to hold back the shriek that was itching to jump out of my cords. And thank goodness I was able to hold back, my scream would have ruined the ambience of the hotel.

To explain my excitement, Hotel Pierre is one of the most exclusive hotels in the country.

It is located in an easily accessible area yet it’s not somewhere just anyone can go. It is the kind of hotel that caters to the likes of the one per cent of the rich universe.

I might be well to do, but I would never be able to afford to step into the lobby. The place is that expensive.

‘Grace...’ Sam shared my excitement and that dragged me out of my thoughts. ‘This can only mean that this family is extremely rich. Go get that job, girl!’

“I thought you said the job is not for me.”

‘Well, now it is. You might even make more than you made at Elite.’

Scuffling noises filled the background of our call and I think I deduced a hint of my ex-boss’s voice. As I listened, I saw that the guard was leading me past the main entrance of the hotel where some exotic cars were packed and waiting for their owners.

“Uh... Sam,” There was a need for me to be extra watchful of the path we were taking, “I need to go now. Take care of yourself.”

‘I will. Have a great day and we have to gist about everything when you are back.’

I smiled and ended the call.

And seconds later, the young man leading me faced me to explain our choice of route. “We have to enter from the back doors since you are not here as a guest. Besides, no one would question you so much if you take this route.”

“Oh, I see.” I nodded and appreciated his explanation.

We continued walking and my imagination sprung into action. I started to create images of the exquisiteness I expect to see inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if the use of gold is prominent in the build-up of the structure.