Dangerous Affair

Chapter 3

Tessa

I slip in the back door quietly, my steps are barely above a whisper. I can't afford my manager to notice my presence just yet. My body still aches from the long shifts at college. I happen to be a janitor at school even as a student. Other girls laugh at me and sometimes, they intentionally make a mess in the girls' restroom just to have a video of me scrubbing their s**t.

I slip into my uniform, pulling inside the bar without being noticed.

"Babe, you are late," Grace whispers.

She stands in the bar, a rag in one hand and a glass in the other.

"How mad is he?"

"Like a hundred," she answered. "You don't want to get on his nerves. You should really sort out your issues at home. Girl, you need this job. Don't forget that."

"It's not like that, Grace." I sigh. "I tried to make it on time but—" I pause with a deep exhale escaping my lips.

"Let me guess, you had to babysit that boyfriend of yours?" She asked in disgust, rolling her eyes. "You had better get yourself a better man. How do you deal with that s**t? I can't imagine myself with someone like Jake. He is such a jerk, and you keep acting like a stupid lover around him. You f*****g pay his fees, clean up his mess and yet, he puts his hands on you. Grow up, girl!" She nagged without a pause, and it felt like torture.

I rub my forehead, my eyes streaming down tears. I try to hide my emotions but nothing works and Grace freezes the moment she sees me in distress.

"Really?! You think that jerk is worth your tears?!"

"We are not together anymore." I cut her off.

Her smile curled up, but I clearly am not in the mood for this.

"Well… that aside, let's get back to work. Anthony is at the corner, and you know what that means. You are in trouble already."

I inhaled deeply, glancing at Anthony standing in the distance with a cold glare directed at me.

I grab a rag on the counter and clean the table just to escape his blazing gaze.

*

After a long shift, I am left sitting in the silent bar with Grace. No laughter, no clicking of glasses, no rowdy crowds and endless noise from the DJ, just me alone with my thoughts, leaning against the counter.

Buzz!

I take a glance at my cellphone, the exhaustion settles all around me as I read through the notification.

Bills everywhere.

I run my fingers through my hair, biting my lips slightly. I still don't know how I intend to pull this off with my fees and rent. Thinking about it, maybe I can try talking to Anthony to give me my pay cheque on time or possibly ask for a loan.

Slam!

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Tessa…"

"Huh?!" I blink uncontrollably at Anthony's angry expression. "I am so sorry for coming late, sir. I have a lot going on with me right now and it's been hell. I promise it won't happen again."

"You always have a lot going on, Tessa. We run a bar around here and not a therapist session, do you understand? It's either you get this or you can choose to walk out the door. I don't need such incompetence around here. Did you know the strain you put on my business last night? Grace had to cover your shift and hers, customers were going crazy."

"Boss, I am really sorry. It won't happen again."

"It better not happen again," he warns.

As he turns around, slipping his hands inside his pocket and putting up that bossy face he always gives off, I clear my throat and rub the back of my head, not knowing if I should go for it or not. But at this point, Anthony is my only hope.

"Hey boss!"

"What is it?" He asks, his anger quite visible as his gaze dawned on me.

"You see, I was hoping that maybe I could get my cheque today. My school called, and I am slacking behind on my fees and I need the cash to pay off my rent. Even if I can't get the cheque right now, a loan can come in handy."

My body trembles, yet I try to maintain my smile, which I clearly don't have.

His face scrunched and I pulled back. "What did you just say?" His voice suddenly deepens, and I know I am in trouble. He gets that serious when he is pissed. "You want your cheque and yet you can't keep to time? And what the heck were you thinking coming to me? You want a loan too?"

"B-But sir," I stutter. "I am about to be homeless and a drop out. You have to understand, I don't care about the cheque, just the loan. You can take it out of my pay cheque till I completely pay it back."

My eyes streaming down tears as I clutch his trousers.

"What the heck?!" He thunders, his eyes a bit darkened as he bit his lips slightly. "Do I look like I care about your issues? Girl, you aren't getting any pay cheque till I say so and no loans either."

"But I will be homeless." I cry, and he bursts into a creepy laugh that sends chills running down my spine.

"Do I look like I care? You can go look for a shelter under the bridge, Tessa. I don't give a damn about you and if you don't let go right away, you might end up jobless, and I mean every word I say. Look at you…" he pushes me to the ground, his eyes full of hate and my heart bleeds. "You think you're so special. What a joke!"

"Sir please," I sob.

"You know what, I can't deal with this s**t anymore. You are fired Tessa. Take that uniform off and never come back, you lowlife b***h. You obviously don't bring me the most money, and you think you can ask for a favor." He spat on me and slammed the counter.

My heart sank, I can't just lose my job like that.

I will be screwed.

I ran after him as he tried to walk away. I grabbed his legs and sobbed right on them with a heavy heart. You have to understand, boss. I have no one, this job pays me more than my other shifts. I need this job, boss.''

"Get the f**k away from me," he roars and tosses me aside. "Security, get this thing off my property," he orders.

"No!!!" I scream, "You have to understand, boss. You know what, let's forget about my request. I never said anything. I really need this job. You can't do this to me, boss."

He walks away, and the security guards surround me, my head spinning as they try to walk me out. I run to Grace for help, but she shakes her head and looks away. I turn to the DJ for help, but he completely ignores me.

My hands tremble, exhaustion settling around me and my breath shortening,

The world around me spun.

I can't believe I just lost my job.

*

Outside the bar, I slump to the ground, my eyes sulking, I sniffle, everything around me feels mocking at the moment. I know that sometimes I don't meet the day's target, but I have been a good employee and Anthony knows that.

Slowly, I grab my purse, the sight of it makes my skin crawl— the same old purse from four years back.

The weight of bills makes me lose interest in caring for myself.

I hiss, slamming the purse on the ground, but that was stupid of me because I still have to pick it up.

"Damn you!" I scream, snatching the purse with a cold glare plastered on my face.

I rose but suddenly, my vision blurred, a loud honking flooded my ears and I fell to the ground as the car sped in my direction but suddenly stopped a few inches apart.

My heart pounding rapidly as I lay on the ground.

"Watch where you are going, miss," a man shouted, his head sticking out the window. "Move aside."

I tremble, my tongue feels stuck. I watched the convoy of sleek cars move ahead of me, but something was off when the window of the lead car slid down.

Everything paused around me when his gaze cast on me.

His eyes were merely seen, his glasses stole the show and something about his aura made me swallow.

Slowly, the slides went back up and there I lay with trembling hands and a racing heart, not having the slightest idea of what had just happened.