The Unlikely Love

7

ADAM

I furrowed my brows upon meeting the door open. It was strange.

Who could possibly be on the rooftop at this time of the night?

I walked in and looked around. I hadn’t been there in a while, so everything looked new. I’m sure my mom had some things changed here, but it looked extremely new to me.

As I walked towards the seating area, I saw someone and halted. I tiptoed backwards quietly and began observing the person. I was surprised that my footsteps weren’t heard because the person didn’t see me. Thankfully, the lights were sort of bright, so I could tell it was a lady.

Wait a damn minute.

I knew who the person was.

Valeria? What were the odds?

And why was she there instead of her work station??

I observed her more; she looked like she was crying because I watched her clean her face angrily. To my amazement, she started weeping, but she was quiet about it; she didn’t want anyone to hear her. I don’t know why I suddenly felt bad for her. I didn’t know what to do; I couldn’t possibly walk up to her because there was a reason she came up to the rooftop—to be alone.

While crying, she opened a bottle of what seemed like liquor and took three gulps at ones.

Damn.

I squinted my eyes and imagined that it was a bottle of Jack Daniels. At that moment, I was intrigued. Why was she drinking? Was she heartbroken? But who would do that to this perfect-faced being?

It certainly didn’t look like a happy drinking session, and she was definitely drunk; she looked it. Her head wasn’t stable anymore.

She picked up her phone, scrolled through it or whatever for about a minute, dropped it on the table in front of her, and got up with her bottle. Getting up was so difficult for her because she was already under the influence, but she succeeded. She made her way—no, she staggered to the edge of the rooftop, leaning her elbows on the parapet.

I don’t know what it was, but I actually did enjoy watching her at that moment.

I folded my arms and leaned on the wall, watching what she would do next. I didn’t want her jumping down, you know.

While observing the whole thing, I took the time to admire her body. I only saw her face earlier that day, but her body was just as perfect as her face, if not better. I shook my head immediately to avoid any thoughts.

She took another gulp again. At that moment, I wanted to walk up to her and grab the bottle because she had had enough, but I stood there and watched.

At least I was watching; I didn’t want any bad news whatsoever.

“Hey! Rich people! Who has fifty to seventy thousand dollars to give out? Huh? I mean, that’s nothing compared to how much you purchase those designers’. What do you say??” She shouted at the top of her lungs.

What the hell?

She had clearly had enough.

“Hey!” I said, walking towards her. She turned around and saw me, then turned back and started cleaning her face again.

“Give me that.” I yanked the bottle from her hand. “You’ve clearly had enough.”

“No, I haven’t. Give it to me!” She shouted, trying to take it out of my grasp.

She looked so drunk, as I could tell from her flushed cheeks and dreamy eyes.

“Look, as your boss, I shouldn’t even see you like this. You are supposed to be working, aren’t you?”

“Well, ‘boss’” She air-quoted. “I don’t feel like working; I need to drink.”

“I’m not going to take this personally because you’re drunk.”

“I’m not. Look at me, do I look drunk?” She leaned towards me, widening her eyes.

“Yes, you do.” I said, pushing her back to her initial position because the alcohol breath was astronomical.

“I’m going to act like I didn’t see you here; we are going to forget that we saw each other here. Just go downstairs and get yourself sober. I pay you; don’t forget that.”

She looked at me and burst into laughter. She laughed like she was insane. I guess perfection doesn’t exist.

“Of course you do.” She said this, catching her breath. “I mean, how else would I have been able to pay for my sister’s cancer drugs till this very moment?”

What?

“How else would I have done that? Huh?”

Well, this took a huge turn.

She looked up at the sky, down at the cars driving by, and then at me.

“I don’t think you understand how lucky you are, Mr. Adam. You are rich, and I’m sure you don’t have cancer. I mean, if you did, you would have been able to afford any treatment or surgery required.”

I massaged my neck, utterly confused and comfortable. What was she blabbing on about?

“I may wish to take back my words but what are you talking about?” I asked.

She sighed. “I know I’m not going to remember this tomorrow, so I don’t care.” She paused. “My younger sister has cancer; we’ve been treating it well with this God-awful salary given to us, no offense.”

My heart sank upon hearing the news about her sister. It was devastating. So devastating.

She sighed again. “Today, the doctor told me that her cancer has worsened, meaning she would need to undergo surgery, or else I would lose her.”

Her eyes welled up. “I can’t lose Vanessa; she’s the only family I have. I can’t lose her after losing my parents, but there’s nothing I can do. I have no money, and I have no one to help me. I feel so useless.”

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she proceeded to wipe it off. I could see the pain in her eyes; I could feel her pain. I felt this sudden pity for her, something I haven’t felt in a long long time.

She sniffed, “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have dumped that on my boss. I am really sorry.” She apologized.

“I’m just so tired, you know. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared. I can do anything to save her; she’s only 18 years old and going through that much pain. I need to find a way to save her. I really do.”

“That’s why you need that amount of money, right?” I asked.

“If I had just one wish, I would wish for some kind of Savior to help me out of this.” She slurred.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” I offered.

“No, I’m okay. I’m going to regain myself and return to work.” She paused. “I’m so sorry, boss; you should not have seen me this way.” She slurred. She looked at me, and I could tell that she was feeling sleepy.

“Are you sure you are going to be okay?” I asked with concern.

She smiled. God, she was ethereal.

“You know, you aren’t as bad as my colleagues think you are.”

Then she whispered, “Don’t tell them I told you.”

I stifled a laugh, and I honestly didn’t care about what their view of me.

“Take care of yourself, Valeria. Let’s pretend this never happened.”

“Thank you.” She mentioned it before I walked away. I turned to look at her again. I certainly wasn’t going to leave her there all alone; she was drunk; anything could happen. There was a pool; what if she drowned?

Instead, I stood by the pool and watched her.

As soon as she saw that I was out of sight, she sat on the ground. On her left was the bottle of alcohol. I left hers on purpose because I knew she would take it again, and I knew I wasn’t going to leave her there.

She took three gulps of the alcohol and closed it shut. She then looked up at the sky, covered her mouth with her palms, and began to cry even more. I just stood there and watched because I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to walk up to her because I knew she needed privacy, so I watched.

She slowly laid on the ground and kept crying silently, wiping her tears as they fell. I felt so much pity for her. This was so devastating. Her sister was her only family, and she was on the verge of losing her.

In less than 5 minutes, she dozed off. Just as I thought.

That was my cue.

I took the two bottles, hid them underneath one of the chairs, and grabbed her phone from the seat. Then, I walked up to her and carried her in my arms. She stirred a little, and her eyes fluttered open, but she closed them immediately, making herself comfortable in my arms. I smiled as I walked off the rooftop. I didn’t want anyone to know this occurred, so I made sure I hid her face perfectly as we walked into the elevator and into my office.

I then laid her on the sofa, but she didn’t look comfortable, so I took out my hotel room card from the desk drawer, carried her in my arms again, and took her into my room. The moment I laid her on the bed, she opened her eyes again, looked at me, and smiled.

“Boss.” She slurred and slowly shut her eyes.

“Please don’t fire me.” She muttered and turned to her side to continue her sleep, she was snoring again.

As I sat beside her, I tucked some of her hair blocking her face to her ear and watched her snore peacefully.

It was at that moment that I had the most insane idea.