9
1703 Words
Nicole couldn't sit still in the passenger seat of her boss's car. She was unsure whether to voice her concern or not.
There were so many clothes, shoes, and other things that the CEO had bought for her—enough to fill an entire closet. She couldn't understand why. Yes, he had mentioned their business trip tomorrow, but did she really need this many outfits?
Another thing bothering her was that it was Saturday. That meant her three mean cousins would be home. She couldn't take these new things there—they'd surely get ruined or stolen.
Nicole let out a deep sigh and stared out the car window. Her boss insisted on driving her home so he’d know where to pick her up tomorrow. He had refused to just meet at the office.
"Do you have something to say?"
His annoyed voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He must have noticed how restless she was, practically squirming in her seat.
"Uhh… um, sir, t-thank you for everything you bought for me. But… I really don’t have any money to pay for all of this yet."
Nicole glanced nervously at the pile of paper bags in the backseat. Her boss rolled his eyes in irritation.
"If I were going to charge you, don’t you think I would have said so already? I told you—it’s on me. You need those clothes for our business trip."
Even with his reassurance, Nicole still felt uneasy. She couldn't shake the feeling that she owed him something.
"What else, Lorenzo?"
His irritation seemed to have lessened slightly. Since he wasn’t looking at her—his eyes fixed on the road—Nicole gathered the courage to bring up her other problem.
"Uh… um, sir… could you keep these things for now? I-I can’t bring them home with me."
Nicole shut her eyes tightly as she said it, bracing herself. When her boss didn’t respond after a few moments, she hesitantly opened one eye—only to regret it immediately.
He was glaring at her.
Since she couldn’t just shut her eyes again, she forced an awkward smile, though she was sure it looked more like a grimace.
"Can you tell me what is going on?"
His voice was laced with irritation, his sharp gaze still fixed on her. Nicole swallowed hard, struggling to find the right words.
What was she supposed to say? That she couldn’t take the expensive things home because of her nasty cousins? That would only complicate things, and he probably wouldn’t understand anyway.
Nicole let out a deep breath before speaking.
"Sir, you wouldn’t understand. It’s hard to explain, but please, I’m asking you—I just really can’t take these things home yet."
She spoke quickly, hoping he wouldn’t press further. But her response only seemed to confuse him more.
Nicole wanted to bang her head against the window. Why was it so hard to explain something so simple? And why did her boss have to be so nosy? Couldn’t he just agree to her request without asking questions? If he was worried about where she’d put the clothes for their trip tomorrow, she’d figure something out.
"Are you on drugs?"
His expression was dead serious, his brows furrowed deeply.
Nicole stared at him, stunned. Her mouth even fell open in shock.
"What?! No, sir! Just because you don’t get what I’m saying, you assume I’m on drugs? That’s a wild accusation!"
She practically yelled, only realizing her mistake when she saw him wince and cover his ears.
"Lower your voice, will you? I’m not deaf!"
He scolded her.
Nicole bit her lip and held up a peace sign.
"Ah, sorry, sir. But come on, you jumped to conclusions! I’m not an addict. I just don’t want those expensive clothes you bought for me to get ruined or… disappear."
She tried to explain again, though she wasn’t sure if her CEO boss even understood her casual slang. Maybe she was just confusing him more.
"What do you mean by 'ma dadali'? What the hell are you talking about?"
If earlier her boss only spoke with a furrowed brow, now he seemed outright angry. Nicole sighed deeply. She fell silent for a moment, trying to think of a simpler explanation—one her boss could understand immediately.
"It's because at the house where I stay, I live with my three cousins. They're siblings, and they're basically the children of Judas. And since they’re the children of Judas, that means they have terrible personalities. That’s why I can’t bring these things home—they’ll either ruin them or steal them."
Nicole deliberately spoke softly and slowly. If her boss still didn’t understand after this, then she didn’t know what else to do.
Her boss was silent for a moment. Nicole was relieved—maybe he finally understood the reason behind her concern. A few seconds later, he nodded, and Nicole couldn't help but smile.
It was almost six in the evening when her boss dropped her off near her aunt’s house. As usual, there were plenty of people hanging around the nearby convenience store.
Nicole didn’t want the car to stop right in front of the store, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. She knew her boss was already annoyed with her.
As soon as the car stopped, the bystanders near the store immediately turned their attention toward them. Nicole couldn’t blame them—fancy cars rarely passed through this area, let alone stopped. And now, one had just parked right in front of them.
"This is where you live?"
Her boss asked in astonishment, his brows furrowed again. Nicole forced a small smile and nodded. This was probably his first time in such a chaotic place. Well, he was rich—he probably didn't even know places like this existed.
"Wait before you go. Give me your phone. I need you to save my number and call me tomorrow when you’re ready to leave. I don’t like waiting, so don’t be late."
His tone was strict as he held out his hand expectantly.
Nicole hesitated before pulling out her battered old phone from her pocket. She knew her boss hated waiting, so she had no choice but to hand it over.
Her boss raised an eyebrow, looking at the phone as if he were debating whether to touch it or not.
"Your phone is ugly."
He said seriously. Nicole frowned, about to glare at him, but she managed to stop herself.
"Ah, I’m sorry. I can’t afford an expensive phone yet."
She couldn’t help but respond sarcastically. Her boss rolled his eyes and handed her phone back with obvious disgust.
Nicole grabbed it and ignored him as he dug into his pocket.
Seconds later, he suddenly shoved a brand-new phone at her—an iPhone, the latest model.
"Here. Use this instead. It’s new, and my number is already saved. Just call me tomorrow."
Nicole stared at him, dumbfounded, her eyes locked on the phone in disbelief.
She was about to refuse, but her boss spoke first.
"Don’t worry about it, Lorenzo. Just think of it as your company phone."
Embarrassed, Nicole simply nodded.
Her boss gave her a few more instructions about tomorrow before finally allowing her to get out of the car.
And as luck would have it, her three awful cousins were at the store.
They were glaring at her as she stepped out of the fancy car, each holding a bottle of beer.
Trouble was brewing.
Nicole knew they were in a bad mood over something, and she knew even more that her peaceful life was once again at risk.
She hadn’t even taken a few steps before the three of them began walking toward her.
She tightly shut her eyes as she felt the sting of a bottle being slammed against her head.
"You slut. What guy did you trick this time to get a ride home?"
Her cousin Lucy shouted, her voice loud and slurred from alcohol. But Nicole knew she was deliberately raising her voice—to humiliate her in front of the bystanders.
The worst part?
Her boss was still there.
He was probably watching as she got insulted and beaten by her own relatives.
Nicole didn’t even get a chance to speak in her defense before another cousin grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the house.
She didn’t even bother looking to see which cousin it was. The pain from her scalp and the spot where the bottle had hit her was too much to focus on anything else.
"What’s happening now?!"
Her aunt, Norma, snapped the moment they entered the house. She didn’t even wait for an answer—her furious glare was already on Nicole.
Her eldest cousin spoke up first, claiming that she was out seducing men, which was why she was home so late from work.
And just like that, before Nicole could even defend herself, she was slapped—hard.
Her vision spun. She could taste blood in her mouth.
She could barely move. Two of her cousins held her firmly by the arms, preventing her from fighting back.
"Auntie, please… have mercy. I wasn’t fooling around. I was just with my boss for work-related matters."
Nicole couldn’t stop herself from crying as she pleaded.
But before she could say more, someone yanked her hair again.
Then another harsh slap landed on her already swollen cheek.
Like always, when her relatives ganged up on her, there was nothing she could do but endure.
It was past midnight, but Nicole was still awake.
She stared at her bruised face through a cracked mirror, using the flashlight on the phone her boss had given her.
There was no electricity in the storage room she called home.
She let out a deep sigh, forcing herself to stop crying.
All this just because she got home late.
What would have happened if she had brought home those expensive shopping bags?
She probably wouldn’t just be bruised—she might not have survived the night.
Nicole forced herself to calm down before weakly lying down on the tattered mat.
Exhaustion and tears finally lulled her to sleep.
- Writer
