Miss CEO

Chapter 21

I sat behind my computer at work with the AA driving website opened before me.

Things with Miss Rose had pretty much been the same as it was for the past week. Javier was not the only one that had picked up on it, I had heard my other colleagues whispering about it in the Cafeteria during lunch. I felt extremely guilty; I hated the fact that everyone was having to put up with Miss Rose's bad mood because of something that I had caused.

Speaking of Miss Rose, she had ignored me all day. Her passive aggressiveness of yesterday was gone, and now she just pretended like I didn't exist altogether. I was in constant pain and I hated every second of this.

Do you have any experience driving?

I stared back at the computer screen and thought back to the singular driving lesson Miss Rose had given me a few weeks ago. My heart hurt.

I selected 'no' and moved on with the other questions in the AA registration form.

"Muna!"

I looked up to see Javier approaching my table with a huge smile on his face, "you ready?"

I had almost forgotten that Javier and I were meant to be hanging out after work today.

"One moment," I said as I clicked Submit Form, "okay, all set to go."

I took an over the shoulder glance at Miss Rose's closed office door as I walked next to Javier towards the Starlight Industries car park. He was talking throughout the elevator ride down, but my mind was elsewhere. I made sure to nod and smile occasionally to imply that I was listening to what was being said.

"So," Javier said once we were seated in his car, "what movie do you wanna watch? I was thinking either Interstellar or Inception?"

"Inception." I replied without a beat.

"What," Javier said, turning to look at me, "You'd choose Inception over Interstellar?"

"Anyday. Anytime," I replied smiling back at him.

I already felt a lot more relaxed.

"Whatever. I'd let you have that one since you're my guest."

We were now speeding down the highway, and I stared out the window as the wind slapped my face, causing my eyes to water. At some point Javier had turned on the car radio and 'Stereo Heart' by Maroon 5 was blasting. Javier was nodding his head and tapping his fingers against his steering wheel to the beat of the song.

"Here we are!" Javier announced as his car came to a halt. We were in front of a building with soft brown walls and a small porch out front.

The inside of Javier's apartment was a lot bigger and overall much prettier than mine. The rent was probably a lot more expensive, and I found myself thinking that I would not be living in a place like this anytime soon.

"Make yourself at home." Javier said as he guided me towards the sofa in his living room, "I'm gonna get us some snacks."

I took a seat on the far left of the sofa, feeling it's soft material beneath me. The entire living room had a very soft, homey vibe to it. It was decorated in warm tones which matched the warm beige color of the wall.

"I'm back!" Javier announced as he reappeared in the room with a tray of snacks including sweets, popcorn and glazed donuts from Dunkin Donuts. I felt my stomach give a leap of excitement. "But oh wait! That's not all!" Javier said dramatically, dropping the tray on the table in front of me before running out of the room and reappearing with a bottle of wine in each hand.

"Oh Javier," I said laughing at the huge smile on his face, "I don't think I can- I shouldn't..."

"Oh, come on, Muna. You need to unwind, you've been so stressed lately."

"Okay, fine." I said giving in. Maybe he was right, I did need to unwind. He was just trying to look out for me.

"Yes!" Javier said, doing a little fist bump in the air before settling down on the couch next to me. "I still can't believe you chose Inception over Interstellar," he said as he reached for the TV remote.

"Oh shut up," I replied smiling as I reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn before shoving it into my mouth.

Javier put the movie on and I leaned back on the sofa, getting comfortable as the Netflix logo popped up on the screen. A part inside of me couldn't help wishing that it was Miss Rose I was curled up on the couch next to instead, and I found myself suppressing that thought.

For the rest of the movie Javier and I ate snacks and drank wine directly from the bottle, all the while making commentary on the film playing in front of us. Needless to say, I was actually having a really good time and found my heart sinking once the movie rolled to an end.

"Do you wanna watch something else before you go?" Javier asked.

I sighed and looked at the time on my phone, "As much as I want to stay, I need to start heading home. I don't want it to be too dark when I leave."

"Oh, come on," Javier said. Rather, it was more of a slur.

I got a good look at Javier. He was seated with his hair out of his bun and scattered all over his face. He had an empty wine bottle between his legs.

"Nah, Javier, I think I should go home."

"Nooo, don't go," Javier slurred once again. I hadn't realized just how drunk he was until that moment.

He moved towards me on the couch and instantly found myself curling up tighter.

There were a few moments of silence in which Javier just stared at me before smiling sheepishly.

"Come on," Javier said, rubbing his hand over my lap, "lets just have a little fun."

I got up from the sofa so fast and popcorn literally spilled everywhere, but I wasn't really concerned about that.

"Um, I really really have to go, Javier," I said and without waiting for his reply I headed to his apartment door and let myself out.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. That whole instant took a sudden turn that I was not about to get behind, and I was thankful I was able to leave when I did.

The sky had begun to get dark as I walked to the bus stop. It would be really beneficial for me to learn to drive, I was tired of using public transport all the time. But even if I did learn to drive, it's not like I could afford my own car right now. I was still in my work clothes and my feet hurt in my high heels. I suddenly felt really gloomy. I felt so alone and helpless. I was paranoid constantly; I got little to no sleep at night and I overall just felt unsafe all the time. A tear rolled down my face, and I watched as it dropped on the concrete floor.

I arrived at the bus stop. My bus was still a few minutes away, and I took a seat on the bench next to a girl dressed in school uniform and an older man. I couldn't help wondering if any of them were working for Caroline. Were they her spies keeping an eye on me? I stared at them for a little while longer before looking away. Even if they were, what did it matter? It's not like there was much that I could do about it.

Here I was in my twenties, still feeling the exact same as I did in my teenage years. Hopelessness. I wished everything would be better; I had hung on to the hope that everything would be better for me. But yet, here I was, in pain. Still in pain.

Once again, my eyes blurred over as my thoughts darkened. I thought of Miss Rose and how much I missed her. I thought of Miss Rose and wished I would see her smile at me again. I wished I would hear her laugh again.

I watched as my bus approached from a distance till it finally slowed down in front of me. I got up brushing my skirt and got onto the bus smiling at the bus driver, but my smile did not reach my eyes.

How much longer can this go on?

How much longer can I go on?