Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Noah's pov;

"Did she arrive?" Asked one of the butlers while I was checking the location of Mr Martinez.

"No, Sir."

I let out a sigh and stepped out of the house. The car which was supposed to get her here hasn't come back yet. I phoned the driver to know what was happening on the other side.

The driver answered the phone.

"Where are you now? Why are you taking so long to come here? Come quickly before Mr Martinez shows up!"

"S-Sir... Ms Garcia..."

"What happened to her?"

"Ms Garcia hasn't arrived yet, Sir."

"Go and ask someone in her school."

"Yes, sir."

I ended the call and got more irritated at her. Why was Mr Martinez employed like this girl? Doesn't she know how to be precise? A person who isn't timely usually isn't a decent person. I don't know how I am going to deal with this kind of girl till the contract ends.

While I was waiting for Ms Garcia, Mr Martinez's car entered at the entrance of the gate.

I don't think I can handle this pressure anymore. I hope this contract ends soon.

Mr Martinez got out of the car and walked towards me and inquired, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I was waiting for you, Sir."

"The stuttering implies that you're lying." He made his way into the house.

I let out a sigh that he didn't ask about Ms Garcia.

After seeing him walking into the house, I called the driver again to know the condition there.

I dialled the driver again and asked him, "What's going on? Did she come?"

"When I asked about Ms Garcia, they said that she had already left, sir."

"Left? What do you mean left? Okay. I'll give you an address. Go and check that address and report me when you're done."

"Yes, sir."

I ended the call and sent Ms Garcia's home address to the driver.

She left the school then why didn't she show up yet? Did she forget that she has to come here or is she voluntarily ignoring coming here?

"Sir, Mr Martinez is asking for you." The butler informed me which left me in horror.

I nodded and walked into the house. I climbed the stairs and strode to Mr Martinez's room. He was working on his laptop while I was coming into the room. He was still wearing the coat. Why is he in his coat? Didn't he take a shower yet?

"Sir, you asked for me."

"Where's Isabella?"

He asked the question for which I hoped he wouldn't inquire of.

"She's on the way, Sir."

He gave a single nod and returned to look at his laptop.

I came out of the room and called the driver.

"Where are you right now?"

"I came to the address you sent, Sir. But the house is locked, sir. It seems like no one's inside the house. Can I ask around, Sir?"

"No need. Return."

I ended the call. Isabella, Where are you right now?

Isabella's pov;

I thought I could finish my work quickly and get to Mr Martinez's house before six but looking at the number of customers flooding in the cafe, it seems like I'm loaded here. What am I supposed to do now? Thinking about the rules that he contained in the contract, I hope there's no compensation for being late. I wish there wasn't any like that.

"This wasn't the order I asked for." The customer, who is a middle-aged guy, said.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll get the right order for you."

I ran quickly to the counter and came back with the right menu and apologised to him.

While I was serving the customers, I was so concentrated on the clock more than the order I was taking so I got a lot of yellow cards from the barista.

"Here's your cappuccino and muffins, Sir."

Finally, the number of customers became less over time.

I walked to the barista and asked him, "Hey Charlie, Don't you find it hard working both morning and evening shifts in here?"

"It's not some random cafe to get tired by working. This cafe is owned by my family so it doesn't feel hard. I like it to be here."

"Family business, heh... Who owns this cafe? Is it your father's or grandfather's?"

"It's my grandmother's. She bought this place when it was about to get smashed down and turned it into a cafe to court my grandfather."

"Woah! This cafe has a pretty good back story. So Becky is your..."

"Sister."

While I was having a conversation with Charlie, who is also the grandson of this cafe owner, a customer arrived.

I went to welcome her but before that, she waved her hand to Charlie. Does she know the barista beforehand? She gave a nod and walked to him and talked.

"Bella, you can leave now since the one who is supposed to work has arrived, finally." Becky said while looking at the girl who arrived some minutes ago and continued, "She's Charlotte, she's the one who does the evening shifts."

I shook hands with Charlotte while greeting her.

Becky introduced me to her saying, "And she's Isabella who's working in the morning shifts."

Charlotte, "Oh, yeah! The girl that Brian sent. Are you two in the same class? Because I've never seen you with him before."

"About that, We're in different classes but we practice basketball together."

"You play that sport? Woah! Couldn't tell it by looking at you."

"What?"

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it that way. I mean the basketball players look all hulky and stiff but you look cute."

"What?"

She gave a burst of nervous laughter and continued, "I'm so sorry. I'm blurting a lot... I don't know..."

"It's fine."

Becky, "Aren't you leaving?"

Oops! I forgot! I have to get to Mr Martinez's house.

I left the cafe after asking about my absence to Becky and others and headed to Mr Martinez's house.

After some time, I came to Mr Martinez's house.

At the entrance of the gate, I was seized by two guards.

"I know Mr Martinez. Why aren't you believing me?"

"Mam, under certain criteria we can't let you inside the house. So please leave the premises immediately."

Another guy in a black suit took a glance at me and said, "People like you aren't supposed to graze around here, so vacate by yourself for your safety."

Graze? Does he think of me as a goat or something?

"What, what are you speaking? I don't understand a thing from your mouth. Anyways, I don't need your permission to go inside the house because the owner of the house had already permitted me into his bedroom. So you two-step away and I'll go into the house."

They two didn't let me inside and guarded the house like some high tech secret mansion.

I walked away from the gate... Ah! I have seen the windows in the kitchen before. And there's a door in the backyard to enter from outside. I've seen it while helping Mr Martinez. Let's try that!

I arrived at the back gate of the backyard. Dumb mind. Who would let the gate open? What a stupid idea to get inside the house through the gate in the backyard? I let out a sigh and saw some spaces between the wooden gate nozzle. I tried to turn it a little and to my surprise, it opened! It seems like my luck is playing well today. I entered the backyard and no one was around. I sneaked into the backyard and came to the backside of the house. I peeked through the window and saw the kitchen. I looked close to know if someone was inside. I saw Rose!!

I knocked on the window and waved to make her see me but it all went in vain. I knocked, again and again, to make her notice me. Ah! She saw me! I waved at her and jumped where I was standing and shouted her name.

She opened the window while asking, "What are you doing here? In the backyard?"

"The guards didn't allow me to come inside the house."

"Then how did you end up here?"

"Before that, can you open the front door for me? Actually, the mosquitoes are sucking my blood."

"Sorry, mam."

She ran away from the window. I walked around the house and came to the front door and waited for her.

While I was waiting, the guards spotted me and ran towards me.

"How did you come inside?"

Another guy came to me and held my hand saying, "Let's get you out of here."

I held the doorknob saying, "I don't want to come with you."

"Don't make me restrain you!"

"Well, go on! Try it!"

Finally, the door opened.

"Leave her, she's the guest of Mr Martinez."

The two guards asked for an apology and left.

I shouted while they were leaving, "YEAH! GO ON! LEAVE! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO LEAVE! NOT ME!"

I turned to Rose saying, "Those two guys are rude. How can you hire someone like them? Did you know how they talked to me? I was pissed at the way they talked to me. They sounded like I'm some garbage who hauled the way here."

Rose let out a chuckle which made me stop talking.

I continued, "Did you just laugh at me, seriously?"

"I'm sorry, mam."

"Argh! Again with the mam thing. How many times have I told you to call me Bella? Why aren't you calling my name? Is it that bad to even call out, huh?"

"Why are you late?"

Noah is here. He looked so tense. What's with him?

"Hi, Noah! How are you doing? It feels like days since we met..."

"Did you finish with blabbering? Shall we go?" And left.

I turned to Rose and said, "I'll get back to you later." And walked after Noah.

While climbing the steps I asked Noah, "Why do you sound like you're mad at me? Is something wrong? Is it because I came late?"

He remained silent and continued walking to Mr Martinez's room.

I pulled Noah's shirt while saying, "Don't get mad at me please."

"There you are." I heard Mr Martinez's voice.

I let go of Noah's coat when I heard Mr Martinez's voice. I looked at Noah, he avoided my eyes and left after bowing to Mr Martinez. Noah closed the doors behind me while leaving.

I walked into Mr Martinez's room and saw him working with his laptop. I went closer to him and sat on the couch beside the bed.

He didn't utter a single word and remained silent like I never existed.

"Stop tapping."

"Huh?"

"Stop tapping your feet on the floor. I couldn't concentrate."

"Okay."

When I looked at Mr Martinez, his hair looked messy and a little bit wet, like he hadn't properly dried his hair after a shower. He was wearing his mask. Dude? Who the hell wears a mask to sleep? I let out a chuckle and looked at the outfit he was in. It's a robe which is exposing some of his chest portions.He was typing really fast. Woah! His hands are really quick. What was he doing on his laptop? Is it related to work? I let out a sigh and leaned back on my seat.

"It's weird not hearing you talk."

I sat straight and said, "You were working so seriously on your laptop. How can I talk and distract you? That's bad."

He gave a nod and continued doing his work.

The room filled with silence again. I leaned back on the seat and saw a mirror on my left-hand side. I don't think I've seen this mirror here before or did I miss it?

I stood from my place and stood in front of the mirror. It's a human-sized mirror. I've never seen one of these mirrors this close. I posed in different styles to check out how I look. Pretty good. While I was looking at the mirror, I saw Mr Martinez's image on the mirror, he was peeking at me secretly. I smiled to myself and didn't show that I noticed him peeking at me.

"Aren't you mad that I came late?"

He remained silent. I know he wouldn't answer many of his questions but still, I asked him, "Is there any rule regarding being late in the contract? Because I didn't give a proper read at that time, I wonder about the rules you mentioned in the contract. Um... Do you have a contract with you? I would like to have a look at them."

"Mr Johnson has it."

"Mr Johnson? Oh! Noah. Okay. I'll ask him when I leave. It's going to be eight in some more minutes. Aren't you going to sleep?"

He closed his laptop and kept it aside and laid on the bed saying, "Give me your hand."

I sat beside him and held his hand while saying, "Hey, did you get mad? Are you mad at me for asking about going to sleep? I didn't mean it that way. You can go back to work, I'll wait right beside you. It's fine."

"I finished it."

"Really? Or are you saying that to not make me worried? Did you really finish it?"

Suddenly he sat on the bed and took the laptop and showed me his mail log pointing to the recent mail he sent while saying, "I sent it because I finished it."

I gave a nod.

He laid on the bed and held my hand again.

I bent towards him and whispered in his ears, "Are you going to wear a mask to sleep?"

He gave a little nod while his eyes were closed.

"Wasn't it uncomfortable? What if you move around and feel something on your face or what if you cannot breathe properly in the middle of the night while you're sleeping?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me. Our faces were closer to each other. I backed away from him and sat on the chair still.

He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

After a while, I waved my other hand over his face to check if he was asleep. No response. He slept. I wonder how he can sleep so quickly. It always takes me so long to fall asleep.

I came out of Mr Martinez's room and closed the door behind quitely.

I walked into the hallway and asked one of the maids about Noah's whereabouts. She directed me towards one of the rooms on the first floor.

I came to Noah's room and knocked on his door. After hearing approval from him, I opened the door to get in.

I entered Noah's room.

"Did Mr Martinez fall asleep?" Asked me while he was unpacking something.

I gave a nod and asked, "Are you still mad for being late?"

He gave me a box saying, "Take this if you don't want me to get mad at you again."

"What is this?"

"Open and see for yourself."

I opened the box and found a luxurious phone inside it.

Noah, "I got mad since I couldn't contact you so take the phone."

"I don't want it."

"What?"

I kept the phone inside the box and closed it and gave it back to Noah saying, "I don't want this phone. I don't like getting free stuff from people. It's not like I didn't have one since I got no money. It's because the phone was an unnecessary accessory for me so I didn't buy it."

"Phones are used to contact people. That's what Phones are made for. Did you hear me? Communication. So take it along with you."

I kept the box on the table and said, "I don't want it."

He placed the box in my palms saying, "Why are you being so stubborn? Well, It's a rule that every employee in this house should carry a phone so take it."

I took the money I earned last week through working in the cafe and gave it to him saying, "Then I'll buy it. I don't want free stuff."

He gave me a piece of paper which had a number on it and said, "Save this number after you turn on the phone. It's mine."

I fled from the house immediately after receiving that paper from him.

I came home. It's dark. I think mom hasn't come home yet.

I entered home and turned on the lights. The house looked messy. I placed the box in front of me and looked at it.

Mom always wanted me to have a phone but I never showed interest in those things since I go to school in the morning. After school, I go to basketball practice and do some hourly jobs before coming to the house and before going to sleep, I do my homework and spend some time with my mom. Since I joined the Sundown Cafe, my weekends are also packed, leaving me with a tight schedule. I never had time for phones nor wanted to have one.

I heard knocking on the door. It's mom. I took the box and hid it behind the television and walked to the door to open it.

"What did you make for dinner?"

"Um... I just came home so I didn't prepare any."

"Great! I bought pigtails for you so grab the plates, I'll set it up."

"Okay."

I have to tell mom about the phone but how should I say it? Should I say that I bought it with my savings? Or should I say one of my friends gave it in advance for my birthday? I'm really bad at lying. What if she found out that I lied?

"Don't you like it?"

"Huh, mom?"

She pointed to the plate and said, "Why aren't you eating? Don't you like it?" And continued eating the food.

I stood from my place and walked to the television, took the box from behind the television and walked to her. I placed it in front of her.

"What is it?" She turned the box here and there and opened it. "A phone? You bought a phone?"

I gave a nod.

She gave a smile and continued, "Finally! Congratulations on your new phone. Wait, I'll add my contact information or do you want to save someone else's phone number in your phone first?"

"Mom! Stop teasing me. I don't have anyone like that. Go on and save your number on the phone." Said and started eating the food on my plate. "Wow! It tastes delicious. Where did you buy it?"

"In the twelfth Avenue. They opened a new shop yesterday. When I tried to buy it, it was already sold out so I bought it today. I'm glad that you liked it."

"How can I not like pigtails? It's one of my favourite street foods."

We talked about the shop and completely forgot about the phone.

When I got out of a shower, mom was already asleep. I bet she's tired from working all day long.

I dabbed my face with the towel and looked at the phone on the table. I took the phone and sat on the other side of the bed from where my mom was sleeping. I turned on the phone and found a cute wallpaper and smiled. It was a picture of me and my mom during my first dance in kindergarten where I was dressed as a sunflower. When I opened my contact list, there was my mother's number on the top and the only number on my phone too.

I placed the phone on the table and looked at my mom who was sleeping. Why didn't you ask me how I bought the phone? Aren't you curious to know about it?

I lay on the bed and closed my eyes to sleep.