Sweet Treats for My Love

Chapter 9

ADAM'S POINT OF VIEW

I spent my entire day at the farm familiarizing myself with the organization of tasks and reviewing financial documents. I also go through the sales of goods and profits. The farm is definitely losing money faster than it can make it. I can also sense the frustration among the farm workers. How can they be expected to feel motivated to work hard when their salary is barely able to support them and their families?

Majority of the farmworkers are also in their late 50s and early 60s. Sad to say but the reason most of them stayed all these years isn't because of loyalty but because of a lack of opportunities. This town is unfortunately ageist. Once you reach the ripe age of 50 and up, the chances of getting a new job or pursuing a new career is much slimmer. The years of experience and wisdom is often overshadowed by the perception that you're older so you're more likely to fall ill or work less.

I find myself feeling clueless to be honest. The college degree arms you with the theoretical aspects and strategies about business. It makes you feel credible and capable on paper but it does not make up for lack of experience. This is technically my first legitimate job - if it can even be called that. I really want to make this right so my mother's legacy does not shatter in vain.

It was around 7pm when my Uncle walked into the records room and called for me. "Adam, you've been here the whole day. You should get some rest. We can go through the rest of them tomorrow and you can also meet the other farmworkers."

"Thank you, Uncle Louis. I'll get going then. I really hope I can help you revive this place." I say to him as I stand up preparing to leave.

Uncle Sam reassured me. "I know you love this place, Adam. And don't worry, we won't give up this place without a fight."

I realized how costly it is to keep getting a cab to get home. This time I walked 2 blocks and waited for the bus. Taking the bus will make the journey twice as long but I need to be thrifty. I might need to put some of my personal money into the farm if I'm gonna try some new marketing strategies.

During the bus ride, I no longer thought about the farm. I kept thinking about Victoria. I wonder how she is? I hope her talk with Sam went well.

After about 30 minutes, I am almost home. I walked towards my apartment building. The brightness of the street lights seemed excessively bright to me. Oh no, this means my migraine is about to act up. The amount of dust covered, termite eaten documents I had to read at the farm probably triggered it. I need to take some painkillers before it becomes debilitating.

Upon reaching my door, I noticed a handwritten note taped on the door.

Adam,

I'm not feeling well today.

I'll continue helping you

unpack tomorrow.

Your favorite neighbor,

Tori ;)

I remove the note and take it with me as I enter my apartment. I suddenly began to feel more worried about Victoria than my own impending migraine attack. I began to debate internally if I should knock on her door and check on her.

After a few minutes, the right side of my head began to throb. I took a painkiller and began making myself a sandwich for dinner. I should just give her some space. Hopefully, she'll feel better tomorrow. I'm not in the best state to talk either. I need to sleep off this headache.

The next morning, I feel so much better. I also looked forward to seeing Victoria again tonight. Or maybe I could see her this morning. I'll walk with her to the café so I can buy some coffee before I go back to the farm. Perfect!

Oh wait, didn't she tell Sam that she has her day off today? Wow, I am a creep, I even remember her work schedule now. That means she probably won't be coming to the coffee shop. Damn it! I guess I'll just have to wait to see her tonight. I'll just have coffee from home, then.

After a few minutes, I walk out of the apartment building determined as ever to finish checking the farm documents and talking to the rest of the farmworkers.

The first step to business revival is a thorough evaluation. Can't fix something without knowing what is broken in the first place. That's why it's so important that I familiarize myself with everything before asking Uncle Louis for a meeting to talk about possible changes we can do to boost earnings.

As I take a deep breath and walk towards the bus stop. I see her. Victoria was out jogging and heading towards my direction. She had her hair up in a high ponytail. She wore a white sleeveless top, there were black straps on her shoulder which I guessed meant she wore a sports bra underneath. She also wore black shorts that highlighted her pale white shapely legs.

It takes me a while to recover from what I was seeing. When we first met, I acknowledged that she was pretty and very cute when she smiles. Now all I can think about is how hot she is. I felt embarrassed when I realized I stood there for several seconds as she approached me. Stop checking her out like a maniac, you jerk!

She has earphones on and did not seem to notice me at first as she focused on maintaining her pace as she jogged. When she was about 5 steps away from me, I waved my hand like an idiot so she would notice me.

My waving hand caught her attention and she looked at me. She smiled and removed the earphones from her ear. She greeted me. "Hi, Adam! Heading out to the farm today?"

Now she was close enough for me to notice the droplets for sweat on her face and neck. I also noticed her cheeks were flushed from  running. She looked hot. I was not prepared for this.

I managed to respond. "Yes, I'm still trying to study farm documents and get to know everyone. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

She took a deep breath and smiled again. "Oh umm yeah, I guess so. I was able to get some good sleep last night and thought I'd start my morning with a run. I'm not really a fan of moping around and lying in bed all day."

"Good for you. Well, I've got to get to the farm. See you tonight, Victoria. Have a great day!" I smiled and walked away slowly from my beautiful and hot neighbor.

She waves goodbye. "See you, Adam. Have a great day!" With that she puts on her earphones again and continues jogging.