25
1040 Words
Jocelyn's POV
I still don't feel comfortable sharing this table with my boss. It doesn't feel right to me but I don't say anything. Instead, I try to act like I am enjoying this breakfast even if I am not.
Leela is smiling at me while she's eating and for a moment, I start to think that she might be attracted to me but what she says next proves otherwise.
"You're going to be a great hostess for this dinner I want to hold this weekend."
I honestly don't expect that from her so soon so when she says it, I blank for a while before finally getting what she says. Smiling, I nod. "I've always thought about hosting a small dinner night when I finally have my own home. You know, one of those thoughts women have."
"What if you can do it this weekend?" Leela says as she bites off a small chunk of meat from her fork.
"Huh? You mean I should host your dinner?"
Leela shrugs. "I'd love for you to. You'd be able to entertain them well."
I stop for a moment. This doesn't feel right. I'm just coming here for the first time and she's treating me like I own this place and not the other way round. It doesn't sit right with me.
"But you're supposed to be the hostess, not me. You own this place. I'm sure your friends will find it strange that your maid is hosting a dinner party instead of me."
"I know, honey," Leela says as she relaxes back in her chair. She picks up her glass of pineapple juice and takes a few gulps before dropping it back on the table.
"They never end well. Something bad always happens. There's either a fight or the food is not too good because I didn't pick out the room with the right menu choices or the theme is absolutely useless or it's just plain boring. What people want these days is excitement. Something to boost their adrenaline. After working nonstop for the whole week, a boring party isn't what they'd be thinking of attending. One time, a woman said she'd have stayed home to watch cartoons with her kids instead of coming for the party. You should have seen how embarrassed I was, Jocelyn."
I kind of get where she's coming from but it still doesn't feel right. "Why don't I plan it for you instead of hosting it? You'd be the hostess while I plan it for you." I say while wondering why a woman as rich as influential as she can't do the task of employing an event planner to do the planning work.
But Leela shakes her head. "No. I think I have a thing for ruining parties. Once I have that sense of being a hostess, I tend to be in charge of things and I always end up ruining things. You won't understand but I want you to trust me."
"You can hire an event planner, you know?" I offered it to her. Leela gives me a look and I immediately apologize to her.
"I know why I stopped hiring event planners." Leela said calmly.
"May I ask why?"
"My son." She says in a stiff tone. "He always ends up having an affair with one of them. It always happens and because he's a virile male, he always makes them lose focus and boom, the party is back to being a disaster. That's why I'm counting on you, Jocelyn. You look like the right woman for it."
I let my spoon drop gently on the plate. "I have never done this before."
"There's always a first time for everyone and I trust you not to mess things up," Leela says and touches my hand from her side of the table.
I nod. This might be my first quite big project and I think I want to put my all into this. What if it ends up going really well and people begin to ask who? I can be introduced to influential people and from there, I can pitch myself. That idea sounds quite nice in my head.
I should take this.
"Alright. I'll start making plans tonight and tomorrow, I'll show you what I've got."
There's a satisfactory smile on Leela's face and I know that she's happy that I have finally yielded but she has no idea what's on my mind. "Well, we'd have to discuss it before you start making any plans. Once you're done with whatever you're doing, you can meet me in the drawing room so we can talk about it over a couple of drinks."
I nod. "Alright, ma'am."
Leela shakes her head. "No, call me Leela. We're officially friends."
"Friends?" I mutter. Leela nods in agreement.
Immediately after I'm done with dinner, I stand on my feet and begin to stack up plates before Rosá and Tiffany find me here. I'm sure they're wondering where I am right now. Leela tries to stop me but I act like I do not hear what she says and immediately hurry out of the dining area.
Getting to the sink, I dump in the plates and sigh in relief with my eyes closed. I'm glad that the women are still in the pantry and not aware that I've been away for almost thirty minutes.
But when I open my eyes to continue washing the plates, I notice that the only plates in the sink are the ones I brought from the dining room. Frowning, I try to remember if I washed these plates before leaving for the dining or did these women do the dishes.
I don't think I did and immediately I turn with the intent of finding the women and asking if they washed the dishes, of I find Tiffany standing by the dining.
"Dining with the lady, huh?"
I shake my head. "Not really."
"But you just did," Rosá says and appears from behind Tiffany. They're both unsmiling and right now, I know I can't deny it.
"She asked me to join her."
"You're not a maid here, are you?" Rosá asks, looking extremely suspicious.
"She's probably a spy."
"Of course not!"
"We do not believe you."
- Writer
