Love Outside my Reach

Chapter 10: Hope and Defiance

"Good morning, Mrs Cavanaugh. I... Uhm, came to see you."

"Drop the money on the table and get out," Lina said coldly, walking towards her favorite seating position.

"I don't have the money for the dress ma'am, " Chloe said.

Lina stopped in her tracks and turned to her.

"Are you playing with me?" she asked.

"No ma'am," Chloe went closer. "Please, I have come to beg you to give me a chance to work for you. I don't have any other means of paying for that dress."

Lina took a seat, just as Jordan took a seat too. "Jordan, I thought you said you were running late already."

"When did I ever say that?" he crossed his legs.

"You could give me a two weeks trial, if you are displeased with my service, then you can go ahead and fire me," Chloe pleaded, cutting off any exchange of words that may have ensued between mother and son.

"Are you telling me what to do? I gave you more than enough time to pay for the damage done, and you are here asking for what exactly?"

Chloe sighed, exasperated. "I can't cover the cost even in a year without no job. With a job, one month still won't be enough. I will need some months".

Lina flared, "Are you crazy? What exactly are you scheming? You won't pay for the damage if I don't give you the job? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"You are misunderstanding me, Madam Cavanaugh," Chloe was getting frustrated. "I am just pleading with you to be lenient with me. You never even got to listen to my side of the story. I'm asking you to consider me, please. I wouldn't be here if I had such an amount in my bank account in the first place. Then give me more time to pay installmentally, please," she clasped her hands in penitence.

Lina seemed to consider for a while, but her tone bore indifference. "The manner in which that gown was ruined is beyond me. Like you left the iron sitting on it on purpose. I mean, I have never seen such damage to a cloth done as a mistake. Carelessness of the highest order. Incompetence of the highest level."

Chloe's countenance changed, her tolerance at it's peak already. She would never pay for the damn dress. Why should she? The perpetrator of the stupid act was there with them, sitting like a king. His driver must be waiting patiently outside. But he chose to sit here, watching her like she was a movie. She glared at him. Surely there was no proof that SHE ruined the dress, but there must be some CCTV camera somewhere there that must have captured him. Of course, he may not need to go through the stress of deleting the clip. It wouldn't be a big deal if he was found out. So why carry an unnecessary burden?

Squaring her shoulders, she cleared her throat and spoke, "I understand your grievances, Madam Cavanaugh. I wouldn't do such a thing as ruin such a luxury on purpose. What do I stand to gain? It's not fair to judge me without knowing what really happened ma'am. I was not the one who ..."

"Alright mum," Jordan cut her off, springing from his seat, " I have to go now. I don't know when the heck you both will come to a conclusion, but I really need my room cleaned up before I get back from work," he turned to Chloe, "You really have to prove your competence. Damn, I didn't see what work you did on Saturday asides spoiling my sister's mood. You did not even clean up my room. You sure have the guts to show your face here again. Hurry up, I'll unlock my room for you so you clean it up and get it locked back", he started walking towards his room.

"Jordan!" Lina called, but he didn't answer. She sighed and sank back into her seat, ignoring Chloe, who then decided to go up with him.

She stood at the door after he went in. He turned to her, his eyes fiery, "Get in or get out"

Chloe hesitated. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in forcefully, slamming the door shut.

"Ouch!", she winced.

Jordan walked around the room, like he was contemplating. He stopped in front of his walk-in closet.

"Nothing must be missing from this room. I like my items arranged as they are, and I like meticulous cleaning. Don't let me have a single complaint whatsoever when I get here." He turned to her, "Now, about the appointment I gave you for yesterday. I expected that if you had a reason not to show up you could have freaking called me. Do you think I don't have other things to do than to watch your wretched ugly face?" His eyes were icy cold.

Chloe took a step back. "I didn't have your number." Even though she did, she wasn't sure she could call him.

"Are you an illiterate or something? My call line was on the business card I gave you, you dunce."

Chloe gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Being called names was never on the job description. Why do they always do that? Does it hurt to be nice?

"You never gave me your card," she retorted.

"What?" Jordan raised a brow.

"You threw it on the road and I left it there."

Jordan was taken aback, his lips parted as he gasped in surprise.

"You left my card on the road? My business card? Where the heck are you from? Do you think that was your regular business card? Do you have any idea what that was worth?" He snickered, his hands ruffling his hair unconsciously.

Chloe sighed, "Is there any other special cleaning you want in the room besides the normal regular cleaning?" she asked coolly.

Jordan stared at her in disbelief. Her indifference stung him. Did she just ignore what he was saying? He waited three hours for her the day before. Of course, he can never tell her that. He had been worried, thinking of what to do, feeling guilty, regretting his actions. He was mad at himself for having such feelings. Right now, he couldn't be any madder.

But the girl just stood there, looking so nonchalant, carefree, unconcerned. His business card was a big treasure to any hands that lay hold of it, but she? She had trashed it. He clenched his jaw. For once, he was at a loss for what to say.

Chloe spoke up, "I will get to work then."

She turned to leave.

"Hey!" Jordan bellowed.

Chloe stopped. Why was he so mad? She thought.

"You will get to work, doing what? Telling everyone it wasn't you who ruined the dress? Was that not what you were about to say to my mother?"

Chloe put on a perplexed look, "But that's the truth. We both know I wasn't the perpetrator. What exactly are you scared of, Mister Cavanaugh? Will you get s*****d if she found out it was you? Why should it be a big deal? If your sister wants a refund, it is not hard for you to do so. I don't understand why you are putting me in this shit." She wanted to tell him and his mother that she would never pay a dime for the ruined dress. But it was too early. She hoped that Jordan would come to his right senses and spare her the stress. If he didn't do that soon, she may just have to do or say something before she gets to pay for someone else's sins.

"So are you going out there to tell me?" he gave a low laugh.

"No. Not really. I think I have my job back for the meantime. Thank you. I will face that and hope you don't play such pranks on me again."

Jordan came closer to her, frowning, "Are you threatening me?"

Chloe wanted to place her hands on his broad chest and push him away. He smelt so good, "Threatening you? Hell no, that's not a threat. I was just soliciting for peace. I didn't do anything wrong to you or your family. YOU wronged me, you ought to apologize. But I'm not even asking you to".

Jordan moved closer, step by step, until her back hit the door. His face hovered inches from hers, his breath warm, his eyes dark and unreadable. Chloe’s chest tightened, as she began to panic.