A Change of Heart

Chapter 11

My alarm clock wakes me up. My eyes are burning, thank the Lord it's still dark out. I get up and get ready.

I head downstairs and eat my Cheerios. Once I'm done, I head to the door. My floor mat has a box and an envelope. I take the items and go to my car.

I park in front of the building and open the box. Inside is a really expensive watch. I'm awe struck. I open the envelope and read the letter.

To: Howard Nicholi

I've been enjoying our time together. I decided to get you a gift.

From: Joanna Clieves

I'm not very surprised by how vague the letter is, but the fact that the watch is from Joanna almost makes me faint. I've never seen her give anyone anything except her horrible attitude and fake smile. I can't keep thinking about this, I need to go inside.

I head to my cubicle and start working. I keep looking at the watch. This gift... how much did it cost her? How much did she spend... on me?

I wait for Joanna to call me to her office. She'd obviously want me to thank her. Then I can ask her how much she spent.

About 3 hours, 46 minutes and 32 seconds later (you'd be checking the seconds too if you worked for this long) Joanna's PA comes to my cubicle.

"Howard, Ms. Clieves needs to talk to you," she whispers. I get up and go to Joanna's office. I open her door and walk in.

"I see you're wearing the watch," she says. I stare at the watch.

"Thank you so much Ms. Clieves, I'll never be able to show my gratitude," I smile. She nods.

"Ms. Clieves, may I ask how much this watch cost you?" I ask.

"$3 000," she says calmly. My jaw drops. $3 000 for a watch!? She could've just given me that money as my salary this month!

"Three... thousand? Ms. Clieves, you-you shouldn't have used so much money on me," I stutter.

"Howard, $1 000 to me is just $5," she says. That sentence gets on my nerves. She's bragging about the riches she's gotten from our unfair labour, as if it makes her seem humble for buying me the watch! I silently nod.

"You're excused," she says. I walk out of her office.

I sit back in my chair and continue with work.

$1 000 to me is just $5. Why do the rich have to be so arrogant sometimes!? No wonder it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for them to get to heaven.

I get a notification on my phone. It's Arthur.

What's the progress on Maleficent?

I look around the room. There're too many guards around for me to text him. I feel like a kid trying to use their phone during class. Suddenly, someone's screaming, catching the guard's attention. I use the chance to reply.

Arthur, I'm working. I'll tell you everything after work. I then put my phone away. That was close. What happened anyways?

I spot Anna in the distance. She's too far away for me to go and help her. So, I just work in my cubicle.

7pm hits, we all head out of the building. I drive over to Arthur's shop; I need to do my groceries anyways. I park in front of the place and walk in.

"Finally, I've been waiting," Arthur says.

"I got here as soon as I could," I respond.

"Alright, now how has the plan been going?" he asks.

"Well, I've been throwing your poems away because Joanna said we need to be professional at work," I explain.

"So, I've been writing all those love poems for nothing!?" Arthur shouts. A few customers stare at us. He composes himself.

"Anyways, we went on another date yesterday and... she bought me a gift," I continue. I can tell Arthur's just as surprised as I am.

"Damn. She's that smitten already?" Arthur says.

"I guess, this might go better than expected," I smile. "So, how's Maya?"

"She says she's ok, but I find it hard to believe," Arthur answers.

"Let's just hope this works," I say.

"C'mon, your Howard Nicholi, you've seen how women look at you. You're practically the bad boy of the real world. She'll become obsessed in about two more weeks," Arthur smiles. I chuckle at his joke.

"Thanks man, now I should actually get my groceries," I say. I leave the cash register and start shopping.

The bad boy of the real world. Yeah, right. I will admit though, getting Joanna to like me is a huge achievement. Trapped in my thoughts, I bump into a random woman. She falls flat on her butt, with her groceries scattered.

"I'm so sorry! Let me help you," I lend out my hand to her. She stares at me for a few seconds, like there's some majestic creature in front of her. She shakes her head and takes my hand. I help her up and pick up her groceries, putting them back in her basket.

"Sorry about that," I say again.

"I-it's alright," she stammers. She quickly walks away. Am I the majestic creature? Maybe Arthur's right. It doesn't matter though, because there's only one woman (or snake) I need to focus on, Joanna.