365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 39 - Apologies Again

Leon woke up with a slight tipsiness. Glancing at the clock on his bedside table, he realised he had slept past the time into the afternoon. He forced himself out of bed and took a hot shower before changing into his casual wear. Heading to the kitchen for his late breakfast, Leon found no food on the table, not even a bowl of hot soup and freshly squeezed juice for his hangover that Ariel usually made for him. She was nowhere in sight.

"Ariel?" He called out, but there was no answer. He walked to her room and knocked on her door, "Ariel, are you in there?"

No answer. Two, then five minutes passed. Still no answer. He knocked again and was answered with further silence. He checked the date on his watch but it was not her off-day. His empty stomach could bear it no longer.

"Ariel!" He banged her door with his fist until the door creaked open. She was nowhere in sight. Even her bathroom door was opened but no one was in there.

Boy, is she gonna get it from me!

"Ariel? Where are you?" He looked everywhere for her. "ARIEL!" He screamed, scanning the house for any sign of her.

Just then, Andy's door creaked open ajar. Leon turned to see Ariel bearing a light squint and still in her night T-shirt and pants. Her hair was dishevelled and her expression weary and drained.

"What are you doing in Andy's room?" he eyed at her with discontent. Ariel backed away a bit before answering, "W-well, he needed me and I-"

"Okay, enough of your sloppy reasons," Leon snorted with palms raised and flashed his watch up to her face. "Do you know what time it is now? Where's my food?"

Noticing she was hesitating, Leon got more agitated, "Don't try to concoct up some excuse. Back to work!"

"S-sorry, I will go prepare now," she stammered and hurried to the kitchen. As she scrambled for the ingredients in the fridge and for the utensils, Leon sat on the dining chair, shaking his head in sore displeasure at what he thought was the worst work performance he had seen in her. He rubbed his temples to massage the leftover grogginess in his head.

"Hurry up, will you? So slow!"

"Coming right up," she went on full speed, hastily cracking the eggs on the pan and flipping the bacon strips at the same time. She could hear the frustration in his voice.

"How long do I need to wait!" he banged his fists on the table. The sound of the banging startled Ariel so much that her hand accidentally released its grip on the pan, causing it to slide down the stove and fall with a large thud and splatter all the hot food on the marble floor. Some of the burning oil splashed against her left foot upon impact, causing her to yelp.

"Careless!" Leon criticised with rolling eyes, without regard for her hurting foot.

Ariel tried hard to contain her welling eyes. Feeling dazed and trapped by the fuming boss micro-scoping her every move, she reached for a towel and knelt down to clean up the mess, sucking in her breath to resist the pain on her foot.

Leon's impatience grew, "Don't be stupid! Sweep the whole damn thing up first!"

She bit her tongue at his insult.

"This is how it's done," Leon brought the broom and span over and swept up the mess. Once he was done demonstrating, he noticed that Ariel did not move from her squatting position, looking downcast and almost to the brink of tears. It made him even more infuriated. "Do you expect me to clear up all your mess, princess?"

Ariel looked at him for while forcing herself up despite the pain on her foot. Without a reply, she took the broom and dustpan from him. She yelped once more as the searing pain on her foot gave way. Leon's gaze trailed to the cause of her limping with each step she took. His eyes widened at the angry patch of bright red loose skin that was almost blistering.