10

Chapter 10

I took a glance at Richard's office which is located in front of my desk. Not a word was spoken between us from the moment we got out of the car and until now. It's a good thing his line never rang so I never have to answer any calls that I have to forward to him.

"Everything alright with you two?" Janet asked in between my glances. She was also an executive assistant whose workstation is adjacent mine.

"Huh?" I involuntary muttered. My mind was already preoccupied with things that didn't matter.

"I sense some tension. Did something happen between the two of you?" she probed.

Actually a lot has happened since this morning. The thing is, I doubt anybody in this office knows I'm working as a full time butler for the Preston family.

"What? No. Nothing happened." I tried denying her suspicions but her eyes tells me she's not buying any of it.

"Then explain to me why you're boss is fiercely glaring at us."

I turned around and true enough, Richard was staring at us for I don't know how long. He must have been waiting for us to notice him because when our eyes met, he immediately closed his office blinds like a lunatic.

"Okay. That was weird." she said.

"Yes. Very weird." I agreed. If he's worried about me sharing what happened this morning, he shouldn't be since I would rather keep that story to the grave.

She slumped down on my desk, resting her chin on her arms as she observed me. "So you're the new guy's assistant. Is this your first job?" she inquired.

I thought about it for a minute. Does being a butler count as an official occupation?

"I think so?" I replied.

"You think so?" she repeated.

"I mean, I wasn't really sure if I can treat what I did as an experience. This is not my first time working but I think it's a more relevant experience to my degree."

"Yeah I got you. I started out as an unpaid intern in another company before being stuck in a dead end job with no possibility of being promoted."

"And why do say that?"

"I mean look at it, your new boss was promoted to a  VP even without years of experience. In the new corporate world, hardwork and contribution is no longer a factor for a career advancement but rather your social class and heritage will be the deciding factor. The rich is getting richer while the poor remains poor so I say, eat the rich!" her voice got a little bit loud during the end because a handful of people emerged from their cubicle to glance at us.

I sank into my chair, painfully aware that we had disturbed the silent atmosphere of the whole floor but my companion seems unfazed about her sudden outburst. Good thing her telephone rang and she was compelled to answer it.

I went back to personalizing my executive calendar which I took over from the previous EA. Once done, I began sorting my generic email after reading all their contents. Most of it was corporate wide memos including the appointment of Richard as the new VP for Sales.

Speaking of my boss, they will be having their closed door meeting in a while and I am obligated to remind him of his schedules or else I'll take the blame if ever he misses it. However, his door remains closed and I'm not sure if he's open to someone entering his office so I just called him.

"Yes, Carl?" he answered the second I dialed his number.

"This is just to remind you of your scheduled meeting with the board of directors later at 10 a.m. Please don't be late. You need to make a good impression."

He chuckled sarcastically. "Oh I know that Carl. No need to remind me."

"Just saying. Anyway, since that will take more than a couple of hours. I was thinking, I'll take my lunch too even if the meeting is still on-going."

"Fine." was his laconic reply.

"Okay. Thank you." and I hung up the phone.

A few minutes later, Richard went out of his office and he didn't endorse anything to me. We just stared at each other until he went out of view.

"I wish your boss was my boss." Janet blurted out of the blue. "Ooops! Did I say that out loud?" she giggled.

"And what' were you saying about eating the rich?"

"You can't deny the fact that he's hot. I bet he's hiding some six pack abs underneath that suit. But yeah, I'll eat him. Just in a different way though." then she laughed again at her own joke.

Oh if only she knew. We continued to chat since I don't have much to do but once in a while her boss would call her through the intercom. A couple of unproductive hours later, I decided to have my lunch.

"I'm taking my break. Care to join me?" I asked Janet who's currently busy typing something on her computer.

"Thanks for the invitation but I have to finish this first." she declined as she points to her monitor.

I nodded and made my way into the corporate cafeteria. I scanned the offered menu of the day but I decided to settle for a simple salad since the other options doesn't look appetizing at all when I tried to compare what the others have ordered. Maybe it's just me adjusting to eating fast-foods again because I'm used to preparing my own lunch using the highest quality of ingredients in the Preston manor. The last time I was eating so much garbage was when I was in college and I was conserving the monthly allowance that Mr. Preston granted me.

I took a spoonful of the salad to have a taste and I really did try to like it but my palate isn't the same anymore. I chewed the vegetable; tasting the flavor and thinking about the things that went wrong in preparing this dish but I really think the main culprit was the sauce. I scooped again for the second time hoping things would get better but still my verdict remains the same.

"Enjoying your lunch?" I almost jumped from my seat when I heard Richard's voice. I looked up and I saw him standing beside me. When did he get here?

"Sure." I faked a smile as I gulp the last bit of what they called a salad.

"It doesn't look like you're having the best meal right now."

I did not react. If I'll oppose him, he will not believe me. If I'll agree with him, it would be an ego boost for him because once in his life I'll admit he's right. So I'm going to go with the third route which is pretending I didn't heard his question. "Why are you here anyway?" I asked.

"I'm dining out. Would you like to join me?" he said.

I thought about his offer for a moment but without waiting for my answer, he started to walk away. "Whatever. It's your choice if you wanted to finish that stale salad anyway." said Richard.

I looked down on my plate and to Richard who continued to exit the dining hall. Darn it! I put down my fork and followed my boss. I haven't got no things to do anyway once I'm done eating with that awful mixed greens. I saw Richard leaning on the wall while grinning once I reached the corridor, as if he was anticipating that I would follow him.

"Would you let me drive this time?" I requested because it really feels unnatural that my boss is the one driving when I should be the one on the steering wheel since I'm the assistant.

"Nope." was his firm answer. I didn't press further because I have to respect his decision no matter how odd the arrangement is. Because after all, he's the boss.

Same routine. I sat on the passenger's seat as we drive in silence. Again. Thankfully, the drive wasn't that long until we reached the restaurant. A doorman opened the door for me while Richard was giving the keys to the valet. We both got out of the car and we were led inside a luxurious looking restaurant. The interior alone is intimidating for a commoner like me.

A waiter assisted us in sitting down and we were both handed a menu.

"What would you like to order?" Richard asked.

I opened the menu and browsed the food offering. Although it's not my first time attending a fancy dinner meeting, the pricing of these fancy restaurants still surprises me. Like how can a single meal costs a week of wage?

"What do you suggest?" I asked. I'm still busy reading the footnotes of every meal because everything in the menu is named too extravagant that it almost look like some made-up French words. Richard took over and ordered for the both of us, which I'm glad he did, because I wouldn't have to think about anything.

After the waiter left, I immediately started a conversation to avoid the awkward silence. "So, what's the occasion?"

"What?" clarified Richard.

"We're eating in a very fancy restaurant. Surely there must be a reason why you chose to dine in here."

"Does everything need to have a reason?" he opposed. " What if I just like to try the food here?"

I tilted my head and stared into his eyes. "I don't think that's the reason"

He looked away to the side and he started to get flustered. "Fine... I just wanted to take you out." he muttered.

I let out an involuntary 'huh?'.

"I mean, I'm not sure if anybody ever really supports me in the board.  Everybody in the office thinks I only got the job because I am the son of the company's CEO." he followed-up.

Whew! I almost got nervous for a second there.

"Do you also think that I'm not qualified for the job?" he asked me.

"Well.." I thought about it for a moment on how to answer his question. "It's not a secret that you really got  your job because of your family legacy. Life is unfair, that's true. But the answer to the question whether your unqualified for the job? That's where you're going to prove yourself whether are you worthy of the title or not. We can only know the answer once the results are in. For now, it's too early to make a conclusion."

"How about you? I want to know what you think?"

"I think they're wrong. Those people never really knew you. You're smart and hardworking. I've witnessed that. You graduated to one of the most prestigious college with high honors. You have been exposed to the business since you were a child. Sure, you took a short cut to the top but unqualified? I don't think so." I responded before I took a sip on the glass of water. I hope he liked my answer.

A smile formed on his face. "Thank you. I really need that." he replied with sincerity.

And just like that, I felt all reservations and tension between us evaporate into thin air. It was like we were the same old kids defying the unwritten rules of the world. Never mind that we almost went to jail for public indecency this morning. The important thing is that, we were no longer enemies. It's now us against the world.