Love Does Cost A Thing

Book one: Chapter six

Zuri's POV

Fate in conjunction with my boss decided to mess with me today. I was so happy in the morning, waking up to a hilarious joke from Jason and my mother getting better than before. She can now move her right hand without any help and may soon be up on her feet like before. Nothing will give me so much joy than seeing her getting back to her old self, so full of life and hope.

She's always going to me my role model for sticking with my father through thick and thin and doing her best to bring us up in a way most parents are envious of.

I was at my desk, radiating happiness in my work when Mr Gianni walked in. He asked me to pack my stuffs out of my office. I was confused and heartbroken at first,thinking I was being sacked considering the changes in the administration yesterday. I was relieved when he said he wasn't sacking me but taking me to a new office and guess who my boss is people; the devil himself.

Argh you can imagine my frustration then being asked to work under him. I will prefer being sacked to working for him. He doesn't regard me and only looks at me with disgust, days he sees I exist in his world.

How can I work for him? What guarantees his attitude will change and most especially what guarantees I'll last a minute with him. Sigh this is the time I have to exercise all the patience I've been taught all these years.

I was late to my new office and honestly I didn't care. It wasn't my fault, I didn't know I'll be leaving my safe haven for the devil's lair today.  I already had the files he will be needing for the day so I went into his office to hand them over to him, keeping a professional face and magically acquired an air of confidence I didn't know I had.

Knowing him, though little, he's going to do anything to infuriate me. I went prepared to his office to brush aside any rude comment or behavior towards me and work like no one's business till the day is over.

Imagine the air of arrogance and attitude he threw at me. Asking me to get out of his office and calling me a slut. I didn't expect less from him, his looks says it all. I don't know if he has a past issue with a poor lady that has made him so bitter and who he is towards women of our class.

He then told me to get him his favorite coffee taking the files from me and brushing his fingers against mine and then looking at my face to see a reaction, I remained neutral. I won't give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction from me. The devil himself didn't tell me what his favorite coffee was. How in the world does he expect me to know?  since I can't ask his father and he isn't going to tell me either.

I got him a hot cup of black coffee with no sugar, just the way most men like it, black and strong. He spat the coffee on his table, shouting at me who made the coffee and told me it's his favorite.  I had to clean his stained table, still exercising all the patience I have, not to blow up and tell him a piece of my mind. That's surely going to get me fired but I don't care. I am poor but I'm human, I deserve respect!

He ordered me to get him his favorite coffee and doesn't care the number of times I go, all he needs is his damn coffee. I went in and out of his office to the coffee shop adjacent to the building on more than five occasions till he settled on a cup of espresso, telling me it's not his favorite but he'll consider because he wants me to run an errand for him.

The errand was me to go to the mall far away from the company to buy him a box of chocolate and a bottle of wine. I did so, grumbling under my breath, taking a taxi with my own money after he refused to give me a fare. That devil, does he think I have money to spare and throw around like he does?

I completed my errand, coming back to the office. He was in there with a beautiful slender woman who sized me up, giving me a silent jealous attitude. I mentally rolled my eyes, does she think I care about him? Let alone love him amorously? Smh.

He took the gifts from me and waved his hand dismissing me, going back to sucking faces with the lady on his laps. Ewww who fancies watching their boss do that in front of them. I wanted to gag and show them how disgusting they're looking doing that.

I left going to my office and sat down to learn awhile on the laptop on my desk. I was so engrossed in learning criminal law, I didn't hear him come in, escorting the lady out. He strode leisurely into my office and took out something from his breast pocket, "dispose off this." He threw them on my table.

Ewwwwwwww! It was a bright red net thong that he threw on it. He flickered his eyes to me with a smug smile and stalked off arrogantly. Argh! Who does he think he is? Just because I work for him doesn't mean he can get me to do any disgusting thing.

I didn't get to see what they did but he having her thong in his pocket tells me it was nasty and disgusting. I'm never entering his office till that place is sanctified with holy water and disinfected afterwards. I can imagine the negative air there right now.

Eww, the thong has to get off my desk to allow me have a breathing and working space. I took out a tissue with my left hand, removing it from my table into the bin beside me. I then placed the bin away from me and lucky for me, I had hand sanitizer which I used to wipe the table and my hands before going back to reading on the laptop.

That wasn't enough, he called me into his office and make me sit with him past office hours. Doing nothing but cleaning the wine stains on the walls and wiping those on the floors. When I was done, he made me go to the restaurant around the office and got him a pack of pasta with meatballs.

He ate it, staring at me and not inviting me. He only gave me a bottle of water and a cereal bar to eat if I was hungry. He kept me in the office with him till 10 in the evening, sorting out papers and looking for a file which in the end wasn't relevant.

I stole occasional glances at him, thinking in my head if I should hire a sniper to get rid of him or to frame him in a drug issue to get him off my back. It was weird I had these thoughts knowing I'm not capable and it was the first I had thoughts like that. That clearly shows how much I dislike this man in front of me.

"It's past 9 how are you going to get home?"

"Take the bus."

"It's not safe, let me get you home." I was stunned when those left his mouth little did I know the motive behind it. Luigi made me sit in his car, driving me to the junction of my hood and drove away, telling me he will see me at work tomorrow.

How does he expect to see me at work tomorrow when he has left me at a dangerous point in my hood? I managed to walk to my safe haven, overlooking my shoulders from time to time just to make sure no one was following me till I got home.

Luigi has managed to stir in me an emotion, I never in my life dreamed I'll have for anybody. Hatred, I hate him for all want he's done to me today, the worst part is leaving me at the junction. I cried myself to sleep, thinking what I've done to deserve a boss like him in my life.

What wrong did I ever do? Doesn't he have a heart to care if I was raped or  brutally stabbed by those psychos roaming my hood at night? He has a heart, everyone has. You just don't belong in there.

😥poor Zuri, I was feeling bad writing this chapter especially the last part and the thong issue😂, it's disgusting but funny.