The Contracts

Who Is He?

Valerie's POV

"Good morning, Mrs. Jade. Did you sleep well last night?" I greeted my employer happily, Mrs Priyanka Jade, a 50 year old widow. I was concerned because she often had several headache and couldn't sleep well at night.

Mrs. Jade owned the small coffee shop, in Manhattan beach , where I got my family bread and butter. I worked from 9 a.m. till 10 p.m. Monday to Friday as a cashier.

The place was understaffed, so I often worked all around. I did the waitressing, coffee preparation, and sometimes cleaning the place after work. I couldn't complain, since Mrs Jade was paying me well. Actually not so well, but enough for my family to eat a decent meal everyday and pay off the bills.

"Hi Val, yes,I did. The pain reliever I took last night finally worked," she smiled adoringly at me.

"That's good. what did the doctor say?" I asked while putting my worn out leather bag and old knitted coat inside a closet, and then I adjusted my brown wig and took off my eye glasses, to clean the lenses.

"it's just a migraine, nothing serious."

I was relieved that finally she listened to me. I told her several times to seek medical attention, but she wouldn't. she had a phobia of hospitals , medical clinics, syringes,, and doctor. she probably had a traumatic experience when she was a kid.

"Dave's wife had a normal delivery last night."

"Really? I am so happy for them,finally after seven years of trying, they finally have a baby. it's a boy,right?" I instantly became happy for Dave,the lawyer.

"Yes,it is. Anyways, he can't report today. could you fill in for him?"

OH. That would mean doing two job at the same time. Whew!

"okay, no problem about that Mrs. Jade, I can manage."I smiled at her assuredly and fixed my crumbled purple floral vintage dress. Actually, it was my favourite dress and I love wearing it often. it belonged to my grand mother, as well as most of the dresses in my closet.

it was already nine o'clock, and time for the coffee shop to open. I wondered why the other employees, Jasmine and Jeremy hadn't arrived yet. Jasmine was the waitress, who took the order and serve the food. Jeremy cleaned the floor, the table and the bathroom.

Recently,I found out that Jasmine and Jeremy were lovers. I caught them making out inside the bathroom. They forgot to lock the door.

You retard! Don't tell Mrs. Jade about this or I am going to break your bones." Jeremy whispered and threatened me. He even twisted my arms behind my back. A tear suddenly fell of my cheek cause of the burning pain.

"I won't. I promise, let me go, please." I pleaded and finally he let go of my arm.

"Good. Remember that." His eyes were glaring at me angrily.

I rubbed my arm, it was so sore and my flesh turned red.

"Now,go, ugly chimpanzee. you are not wanted here. Jasmine laughed and pushed me out of the bathroom.

Yup,they often bullied me, calling me names and I was used to it. I pretended not to hear their hurtful words. I just avoided messing up with them. I needed my job so badly, and my family relied on me, besides Mrs. Jade was a good employer.

" Valerie, I will be in the kitchen,just call me if you need help,"

"sure Mrs. Jade." I smiled, I put on a pink apron, getting ready for the first customer. I went inside the bar counter and turned on, the electronic cash register, as well as the coffee machines.

I learned how to prepare coffee from Dave, the lawyer. for almost a year that I'd been working on the coffee shop, he thought me how to do coffee artworks and the techniques for preparing a very good espresso. I learnt the lawyer's complete guide to coffee and embraced the knowledge whole heatedly.

I was cleaning the bar counter, when the first customer came inside. Two men wearing black suites and dark glasses entered the coffee shop. They reminded me of the movie, 'Men in Black.' and I chuckled within me.

I looked at the tall,black clad figure of the man who came in first. He was younger than the other man. He halted at the front door and his eyes scanned the room. He stood there, tall,devilishly handsome, with a beautiful proportioned body.

I froze. My mind stopped working and my body turned numb. something about his appearance disturbed me. He looked vaguely familiar.

is he a movie star,a model,or a celebrity? He was probably into sports , because of his athletic physique.

His dark glasses his his eyes. it was impossible to find out where his eyes was focusing on. But I was certain that he was not looking at me. He carried him self with commanding air of self confidence. He looked powerful and extremely rich.

He said some thing to the other man, and then they strode in the room. They took their seat in the center of the room.

I grabbed a pen and the other slip pad, I hurriedly went towards them to take their order.

"Good morning,what's your order,sir?," I stood in front of the two men and smiled in front of them. I wrote C#1, shortcut for ' customer number one' in the other slip.

"Good morning, can we have a cup of espresso and a café latte?" The other man removed his dark glasses and smiled at me. He was probably at his mid forties.

my hands were trembling when I wrote their order. I don't know why, Perhaps because of the younger man's appearance. He looked like a very important man. His face was bronzed by wind and sun. The set of his chin suggested a stubborn streak and his lips were firm and sensual.

He made do edgy and nervous as hell,and he didn't even seems to notice me. He was very busy talking on the phone. I couldn't help listening to his voice. It was so deep, with a velvet edge, and strong.

"Is there any other thing,sir?" My eyes shifted from one man to another.

"That's all, Mrs," the other man replied, then nodded at me, a sign of dismissal.

I served their coffee with five minutes. I stared at the younger man again. He seems really familiar. I was sure I'd seen him before. I wish he could take off his dark glasses so that I could see his face, and figure out where I saw him before. Then I noticed, he drank his coffee. The cup of espresso was his.

A few customers came in. I became so busy taking their orders and preparing their coffee. But I couldn't help glancing at the two men sitting in the center of the room, from time to time. I tried to ignore them and focus on my job.

After a while ,I saw two girls approached the two men. The girls were giggling flirtatiously at them. The younger man looked at them and said something that made their faces turn sour. He probably said some thing very insulting, since the girls immediately went out of the coffee shop with stony faces. Well, he was rude.

The men left without asking for their bill. I went to the table,they earlier occupied and saw a one hundred dollar bill under the espresso cup.

What! A hundred dollar bill? I couldn't believe it. I was over the moon! They left too much tip for the coffee.

Later that morning, Jasmine and Jeremy simultaneously called in that they were sick. so I was with Mrs. Jade in the coffee shop the whole day. she took my place on the cash register. I did the rest of the job. I tried to serve the customers so fast,so they would stop complaining about the slow service.

Before I went home,I mopped the floor and scrubbed the bathroom. I was so tired, but I don't have a choice.

It was already ten thirty when I left the coffee shop. I took a bus to the south of the city, where my family rented a small one bedroom apartment. The moment I was seated on the bus, I ate the burger that I grabbed near the bus shop. After eating, I took a powder nap until I got home.

"Guess what mom. I got a very big tip today. Two rich looking men left a hundred dollar bill for their coffee."

"What?" That's too much." My mother, Zendaya Watson, narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. I told Mrs. Jade that we could split the tip, but she said that it was all mine."

"Aww..she is so sweet."

"Yeah, very sweet. I am lucky to have her as my employer." I took my wig off and pulled the rubber band that hold my hair in a bun. My long silky brown hair instantly cascaded down to my waist. I took a hair brush and combed my hair until it shone.

"How is baby Matilda?" I asked about our neighbours baby. Mom worked as a baby sitter for almost a year now and also do the laundry for the wealthy men and women that resides close to us, washing their dirty clothes almost every day and getting paid for it. At other times, I assisted her in putting a helping hand and joining her in washing the clothes whenever I am less busy.

"She is still very adorable, but getting heavier. I don't think I can handle her any more." mom rubbed her chest. she has a mild coronary heart disease. it started six month ago. she was advised by her physician not to do strenuous work, so since then I had made sure she never stress her self with any hard work or carry any thing heavy at home. She was the reason why I was struggling hard and working at the coffee shop with Mrs. Jade. The fact I was really struggling to raise enough money was to bring a comfortable life for her and my siblings. Well, my dad was already dead a long term ago,when I was still twenty and my sweet mum had to take the responsibilities of taking care of me ,my elder brother and my younger two sisters. So I was bend on taking them all from our poverty state.

"Then stop babysitting. I don't really want you to work. You are risking your health. Don't worry, I have a job. I will work during weekends too, to have extra money. we can manage."

"You are working too hard for us, Valerie. I am so sorry for being a burden to you."

"Mom, please don't say that again. I love you and I will take care of you and my siblings. I promise Dad that I will." I hugged my mum, with moisture in my eyes.

Dad died of stage four lung cancer three years ago. I was twenty at that time. He got it when he worked in an asbestos manufacturing company. A year before he died was the most traumatic year in our lives. We fought for his life. We lost our little savings and our cottage, just to keep up the medical expenses. It was like a night mare,seeing Dad's health deteriorate. He was a good man without vices, a God fearing, jolly person ,and full of vitality, a very loving husband and a caring father to us. I couldn't help but wounded why the good and goodly people passed away earlier than their time.

The day when we finally lost dad, our world collapsed. we were so dependent on him. we looked up to him and solely relied on him financially.

I could recall that morning when Dad died, the light spark had also died within us, and I could not feel any butterflies in my belly as I always did when he was still alive and strong. He was some one I looked up to ,always giving me hopes that all was going to be just alright and fine one day. I got wind that dad had been once a wealthy man, living a comfortable life with my mum in a big house and had a nice car, but then I wasn't born yet neither was my two younger sisters. I only knew my elder brother was born by then and maybe he could have experience a better life back then with all the wealth dad had, but immediately i was born, it seems like that was the time dad lost everything, and I and my younger siblings had to face the bitter and other side of life. We grew up in poverty, gotten used to that kind of life and prayed for a better life. I was told by mum that our house and Dad's only car got burned by accident which we still found strange and that made us to move out to a smaller place where pile of burnt rubble spread across the place.

"What's wrong?" my sister Sophia came out of the bedroom. she shrieked with panic seeing me and mum hugging. she thought something bad happened again.

"Nothing really, we just want to hug each others. We miss dad." I smiled at her, showing my braced teeth.

"Oh I thought something bad happened. Anyways, Valerie , I have news for you."

"What is it?"

"I was chatting with Joseph an hour ago."

"Joseph?"

"Yup. your one and only love!"

"What?"

"He asked for your f*******: account, and I told him you didn't have any social media account anymore. Then he asked for your phone number."

"Did you give him?"

"No, you said not to give your phone number to any one right?"

"Right."

"But he gave me his number. He asked you to call him, any time. He will be waiting."

I heaved a sign. Joseph.

It has been two years since I last saw him. I totally cut our communication.

No. I can't face him anymore. I'm not the same girl that he used to know. I'm different, totally different now. The old Valerie was gone, dead and buried.

A flash of wild grief ripped inside me.