chapter 9

    “I’m not coming, I reject. I rather stay home than go on a date with someone like you!”

    It was the hundredth time she repeated the same words over and over again. 

    “Then let’s make a bet”he replied with a smug look on his face. Why was he so sure she was going to accept? It seemed like he was either cocky like always or had something planned. She wondered. 

    “Okay!”Carmen exclaimed. Faking excitement was definitely a better option than looking nervous. “What is it?”

    He smirked. He knew well what he was doing. Deciding to play with her nerves more, he took a longer sip of his tea than needed and looked around. It was Ronald’s turn to take his role as Brandon. He was a poor guy who was going to turn into a famous, depressed celebrity. He would be lonely even with all the fans and supporters. Nobody knew about the pain he felt. Carmen hated that the actor playing the role had to be Ronald. She wanted to argue and express her feeling about the matter. Adrian was way more compatible for the role. He was indeed famous and mysterious, she wasn’t sure about the depressed part though. 

    Ronald was better off as Ash which was of course, Adrian’s role. Ash was the villain, he was going to change in the end after losing everything and will even end up with the main character who is Carmen. Even though she would never imagine Ronald as an evil guy but he had an awesome acting skill that would of course efficient him. Who wouldn’t be a good actor after expected and being one all his life? She wondered if the brothers loved their job or if they were seeing it as a forced routine. 

    She got out of her trance upon hearing his voice. 

    “If I win te bet, we’re going. If I don’t, we’re sadly going to bed.”

    He sarcastically acted sad at the last part while she rolled her eyes at the way he expressed the sentence and words he used. Going to bed? What a good way to say it?!

    “What is this bet about?”

    “Right now, something is going to happen to a person in this room”he answered, creeping her out a little. 

    “Umm something like?”

    “Like this”he mentioned, pointing over to where Ronald was running. 

    They both watched as he was running in the green studio. They both recognized the scene as when he was running after a thief in a dark, eerie building. That’s why the whole studio was green. 

    Carmen observed, biting her lips nervously. One moment Ronald was rushing forward, eyes on the man ahead and face sweating. The next, he was flying forwards. His left foot should have extended to take his weight, instead it stumbled across the thrown yellowish banana peels. 

    He hit the ground, sending the peels skyward. His groan was enough to drain the manager’s face and she took off her glasses as she rushed towards him with a weird look in her eyes. 

    Was it guilt? Carmen thought. It could be, she had her lips pressed in a tight line, eyes focused on Charles, wary of his reaction. Was she who carelessly left it in the floor? That was a really careless action. What if he hit himself harder the next time?

    All of the people in there stood up and walked towards him, frowning in worry, including Carmen. 

    “Are you okay? Here, let me help you up.”

    She offered, stretching her arm towards him. He looked up at her. He gave her a small appreciative smile as he took her hand and stood up. He of course, didn’t push down on it forcefully knowing the consequences will be embarrassing as she would fall down too. So, he put half of his weight on his left hand and stood up on his feet. 

    He then took a look on the ground, scowling at the guilty object he had tripped over. 

    Meanwhile, Carmen glanced at the direction the manager was staring at, Charles. His small eyes were looking around, searching for the culprit. It was indeed a culprit in his mind. Who dared be the cause of that interruption and fall of his son? 

    He stopped as his eyes met hers. He squinted them in suspicious. She quickly gasped silently, knowing that he might be suspecting her. She turned her eyes immediately, staring at Ronald. 

    The old man then averted his eyes to the other woman who was looking at him. It was obvious that she was watching him with a trembling gaze, unlike Carmen’s confident one. 

    He closed his eyes for a few seconds. He was frustrated with that manager. Ever since she came here, all she had done was mess up and do mistakes. First, she spilled coffee on Ronald’s shirt. Second, she gave him the wrong script. Then, she dared throw the banana on the ground in his studio! All she did was ruin the work. She did not deserve the job at all. 

    Those were the thoughts roaming inside Charles’ mind as his eyes fluttered open, showing his anger laced irises. 

    His arm raised and his finger popped out. It pointed at her strictly and controllably. 

    “You. Get out!”

    Beneath his voice was a deep authority and a command, attracting all the attention towards him. His stiff tone sent chills down Laura’s back. She gulped down. 

    “You are fired. Clear out your desk, and Ronald will see you out of the building. He will give you your monthly salary.”

****

    Laura didn’t think she could hate him any more, but at that moment, the intensity of her hatred for that man jumped to wanting to see him dead. As she gathered up three years of collected items, and put them into a box, she held her tongue. Every so often, she looked at Ronald. He stood there, hands folded in front of him, slightly smiling. He watched her every move. He was always friendly when she checked in each morning, and left at night. Was he glad to see her go too? That was not possible. 

    Outside, after she had placed the box in the trunk of her car, he came over and slid in her hand a check paper. 

    “Here is your salary. Well... multiplied by three as an apology from me on behalf of my father. Expect to see me at your door next month, I have a surprise”he winked, retreating back and waving at her. 

    She frowned and stared back at him in confusion. Multiplied by three? A surprise? What was he planning? He should have waited for her to speak before going inside. She was fired minutes ago and her dignity wouldn’t let her go inside even though she had questions. She had regretted playing basketball with her trash all the time. Her intention was to get it into the trash can from her desk. 

    She shook her head, trying to get the incident out of her mind. She read the number, checking if he was saying the truth and it was much more than her usual salary. She grinned, getting in the car and driving away happily. She could either find a new job or he would have pleasant news a month later. 

    On the other hand was Carmen. She was staring at Adrian who was standing across of her with a slightly opened mouth. Her eyes showed the deep confusion she was feeling. 

    “How did you know?”

    “I’m a psychic”he wiggled his eyebrows, chuckling. 

    Her eyes rolled as she gave him a stern stare. “Now seriously, were you the one who did this? Who threw the peels and planned to pull this stunt?”She questioned. 

    He sighed, looking away. “Okay, I might have seen the peels on the ground and already saw what was going to happen. Then, I put this and that together and a bet was born. Clink clink!”

    He winked. Carmen was annoyed at how proud he looked that he had won that bet. Did she really have to go on a date with him? It wasn’t fair, he knew he was going to win so he made that bet. She huffed, her lips pouting in frustration. 

    “Okay”she released another breath. “I’m going with you but in one condition.”

    He raised his eyebrow, staring at her like she had no right in making conditions after she had lost. 

    “And it is?”

    “If you keep it a secret from Ronald. I will explain to him that since I’m your ‘fake girlfriend’, I wouldn’t be able to go with him. But you wouldn’t say anything. Okay?”

    ‘Hmm’ Was all that he responded with. He took some time thinking and teasing her a bit by changing his face reactions. She was waiting, shaking her leg up and down in impatience. 

    “Deal!”he replied, spinning his face to her. “I agree to keep it hidden from my brother.”

    “Wait. You agreed so quickly?”Carmen pointed out, stopping her leg movement and focusing her attention on him. 

    He laughed. She neglected that feeling that enjoyed his voice when he was laughing. She shouldn’t be thinking that way. He was not on her good side. 

    Then he spoke. “What matters to me is that we will be together tonight”he smiled, staring right into her eyes. 

    She moved uncomfortably under his gaze. Was he saying that sweetly or was he teasing her? Either way, Carmen enjoyed that feeling. That feeling of someone wanting to be with her. It was indeed enjoyable just like Simba had described lately. She was telling her about how her husband always gave her that warm feeling and how she loved it. 

    “May I know what is going on in here?”

    Both of them grew silent as they heard that loud, booming voice in the quite room. Charles’ voice.