The nighttime meetings, when they happened, were mysterious. Strange men would come, all looking like they were up to no good, and always accompanied by many guards. The floor would be a mess of people, which is why it was always after 6 pm.
Today they ordered drinks at least 200 times, and when they were finishing up, I went to get dressed in the locker room. I took the opportunity to take a good shower since I didn't even know if I could find a hotel today. I looked at the clock, and it was already past 9 pm, I was screwed. I thanked the waiter and went straight to the elevator.
I put on a light dress and let my hair down; if I keep it tied up all day, it gets marked. I sprayed on some perfume and headed for the exit; if I go looking for a hotel smelling bad or in old clothes, they'll think I'm a wretch.
"Damn it, the service elevator is off. I'll take the main one; no one is in the company at this time," or at least that's what I imagined, but I was wrong.
When the elevator stopped and I entered, I was about to close the door when an arm prevented it from closing, and when I saw Mr. Dante enter, I was afraid of being fired. If he complained, I was screwed, and I couldn't be unemployed, especially not now.
I saw him look me up and down. He was big and strong, I had never noticed how good he smelled either, I guess I had never been this close to him to smell it before.
"Good evening, miss," he said, and I looked at him, very afraid that he would yell at me.
"Good evening, Mr. Dante, I didn't have access to the other elevator, so I took this one, I'm sorry," I realized I was already apologizing.
"Calm down, do you work here? Are you new?" he asked, and only then did I realize that he hadn't recognized me. Of course not, he's always hitting on the employees; he wouldn't notice a simple girl who delivers coffee. I started to laugh, and when I was about to answer, the elevator shook and stopped. I accidentally grabbed his arm and quickly let go. Seeing my fear, he immediately reassured me.
"Don't worry, they'll fix it soon, security will see that we are stuck here," he said when I let go of his hand. I was scared, and I didn't need anything else to happen; the first encounter with the feared Dante, and I would be attacked by my claustrophobia.
"Oh my God, I can't be trapped, what if they've already left?" I said, panicking, feeling my throat closing up.
"Are you afraid? It's okay, nothing is going to happen to you," he said and held my hand, what a charmer. I saw him press the emergency button.
I sat on the floor, letting the fear blind me, and he sat in front of me.
"Look at me, everything is okay, hold my hand and tell me now who you are," he was trying to distract me, and with tears in my eyes, I answered:
"I'm Samira, Mr. Fernando calls me Sami, but not many people notice me here in the company; I deliver coffee to everyone, including the arrogant guests." I might have been talking nonsense, but I was terrified and probably going to die anyway, so I'm going to speak my mind.
"And how do you know my brother for him to give you nicknames?" he asked, using his thumb to caress my hand. His touch was warm, and it was really calming me down.
"I've been here for five months, Mr. Dante. Your brother talks to me every day, unlike you, known as a ruthless man. He's a nice and friendly guy." He narrowed his eyes at me and said something I didn't expect.
"Have you slept with him?" Instantly, I slapped his face and covered my mouth, seeing the blunder I had made.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm screwed, I can't lose this job because I don't even have a place to live today. I've never slept with anyone, men only think about that." I was crying like a little kid, and he was watching my every move, seemingly in disbelief that I had slapped him.
"It's okay, you're brave, I have to admit it. You're not going to lose your job, just breathe slowly and calm down." Even after being slapped, he didn't get angry. Could he be as bad as they say? He continued holding my hand, and I closed my eyes. Having not slept all night and working until this hour, sleep overcame me, and I ended up falling asleep.
Dante...
Getting in the elevator and seeing that beautiful and full of life young woman there alone was nice. I immediately thought about ending my night in my hotel room. She had a panic attack when the elevator broke down, and I found out she was my employee. I received a message from the security technician letting me know that they were fixing it, but unfortunately, it would take a few hours. I sat in front of her, making small talk, and discovered that she was the coffee girl. I confess that I had never noticed such beauty; she really got to me, her courage also counted positively. It was the first slap I had ever received in my life. When she said that my brother, unlike me, was a good man, I felt uneasy, I figured she was already one of his conquests, and since I don't beat around the bush, I asked directly. I received a slap in the face and was surprised by her audacity.
"I'm not going to sleep with that disgusting man, Mom, I'm not going to sell myself for money," she spoke in her sleep with her head resting on my shoulder, and I wondered what that story was about.
"No Arnaldo, let me go," she moaned once more, and I thought about waking her up. I made a mental note of that name, Arnaldo, who are you? But I didn't need to; she woke up with a start. Her nightmare was too bad because her eyes showed great despair.
"Are you okay?" I didn't mention what she said in her sleep because I didn't want to embarrass her.
When she was about to answer, the elevator started working again, and she got up relieved.
"I'm sorry for falling asleep, I've been up since last night. I had to leave my house and ended up not sleeping. The boss asked me to stay late, and I really need this job, so I accepted. I'm going to look for a hotel now; it's already a new day, and I can sleep in tomorrow since I'm going to see something here nearby today," she said, and as soon as the door opened, she ran out.
"Who are you, Samira, and why did you get to me like this?" I looked at the security guard and asked him to send me the girl's complete file: where she lived, her parents, her time at the company, school, everything. I asked for discretion, and he nodded. I headed to the garage, and when I left, I saw that it was raining heavily, and my mind went back to that girl.
"I wonder if she managed to find a place," I said out loud inside my car, catching myself thinking about her and, even worse, worrying about her.
I looked around and drove around a bit, but I couldn't find her, so I went home, but my mind was fixed on her.
I got home, and my father and brother were in the living room watching a fight. My brother was obsessed with it.
"Hi, son, come on, the boy is winning." The fighter was a childhood friend of Fernando's, and my father always called him that.
"Yes, Dad." I sat down, and the nurse came to bring his medicine and see if my father needed anything from her. She was pretty, but I wasn't interested in anything today.
"I don't need anything, go, go and leave," he said rudely, and she left.
"Dad, don't treat the girl like that, she takes care of you," my brother said.
"Only in front of you two, she's a bad girl, I like that Sami girl." Instantly, I looked at him.
"I was going to ask you that, Fernando, who is this girl?" He, who was distracted, looked at his cell phone and then back at me.
"Who? Sami?" I was annoyed once again and replied.
"Yes, Fernando, who else?" I answered impatiently.
He leaned forward and questioned me.
"Why do you ask? Until today, you hadn't asked about her." Fernando's beating around the bush stressed me out.
"I got stuck with her in the elevator, and the girl had a panic attack; she said a few things while dozing off, waiting for the elevator to work," I said, wanting more news about her.
"Samira has been working with our company for five months; she started the day she turned 18. She lived four hours away, using the subway. Yesterday, she had a fight with her mother and came here, and yes, she's terrified of elevators; she always feels sick. Don't mess with her, Dante; she's not like the others. The girl is practically alone in the world, she has a self-centered mother and an alcoholic father. Her sister is a bad girl too, ambitious, she's the only good one in the family," my brother answered my questions and left only one unanswered:
"Do you have feelings for her?" I was direct because I definitely would want to sleep with her.
"No, Samira is my friend; I'm fond of her, she's alone. Some days, she wouldn't have lunch, and I wondered if it was a lack of money. She dreams of being a nurse, and I even offered her a scholarship, but she always said she couldn't do it. She had lunch with me a few times in the company kitchen. I would order food and take it there for her; she would only eat if no one was around. She said she hates gossip and confusion and knows that all the girls who passed by our tables ended up with a bad reputation," he answered calmly while fiddling with his cell phone.
"Should we go to the boat? New girls arrived today, and I want to see if anyone is being forced into anything," my brother said, and I refused. My head was stuck on that little body, those lips, and definitely on that slap.
"Son, fire that abusive woman and call Sami to work here; she will take good care of me," my father said, and I replied:
"We'll see, Dad, we'll see," I said, and he looked hopeful.
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Comments
Mohd Shahid Qureshi
it is really good
2024-10-21
2