Amanda sat still in front of the mirror, trying to undress and wipe off what was left of the ugly makeup she had on earlier.
Then she remembered the popular Rowan Xi and how he tried to hold her down, insisting that she was supposed to be at his house.
"What madness?" She asked herself and kept wiping off the makeup.
"Who are you speaking to?" her mother asked with concern.
She jerked at the sight of her mother.
"You scared me Mum. It is nothing. I was just soliloquizing. Something a bit strange happened today."
Her mother looked at her, her gaze filled with concern.
"What might that be?"
"I met someone very important; Rowan Xi. You know him, right?"
Her mother's mouth was agape with shock.
"Wow… that is some interesting stuff!" She exclaimed. "Please tell me you got along fine?"
"That is the point, mother. You know I had this ugly makeup on, so he thought I was ugly…"
Her mother's face squeezed in a frown.
"You see? Did I not warn you about that ugly makeup you had on?" She cut in angrily.
"That is not the point, Mother. Allow me to finish telling my story first."
"Be fast, I need to know the end of this sad tale. I can already tell the end from here anyway."
Amanda grinned at her mother and continued her tale.
"Well, when I was done singing and my makeup was washed off, he seemed to think I was someone he knew from four years ago. We bumped into each other and he kept insisting I was supposed to be at his villa."
Her mother got closer to her and leaned in to her.
"And what did you do with that information? Did you follow him home or not? Wait a minute, if you did, you wouldn't be here!"
Her mother's voice was becoming loud and aggressive.
"Mother, Was I supposed to follow a man I have had nothing to do with in my life to his home?" Amanda asked with frustration evident in her voice.
Her mother hissed heavily.
"I consider you an unreasonable child. So, in spite of how difficult life has become for you and your children, a man of that caliber shows up and are you concerned about etiquette? You are probably going to die broke!"
"Stop it mother!" Amanda yelled, tears gathering in her eyes. "I was doing what I thought was best for me. But you are coming now and telling me I should have followed a stranger who was behaving queerly; that's a first. Do not forget my history and how I got raped four years ago. Do we want repetition?"
Her voice cracked as she sobbed gently.
Her mother became softened and felt pity for her daughter.
"I do not particularly enjoy taunting you, my child, but your situation is nearly pitiable. Just look at the stress you had to go through yesterday just to raise less than $200. It is painful that you have to do all this just to take care of the children."
"I am not complaining, mother!" Amanda retorted. "Whatever I do for my children, I do with my heart."
Her mother kept quiet for a while, unsure of what to say.
Amanda's sobs had reduced and now she was preparing herself for bed.
"I am sorry, daughter, that once again, I have said meanful things to you, hurting your emotions."
"But this man, you said he kept insisting on knowing you from four years ago? What if it is the man who got you pregnant? Did you consider the possibility of this?"
Amanda swallowed hard and looked at her mother again, wondering if perhaps her mother's words were true. Maybe he was the same man, but how could she have known that?
"You might be right, mother, because his voice did sound familiar and his touch seemed like I had felt it before. But I was not sure when and how."
"Do you now see why you should have been calm and allowed him to have a chat with you?" Her mother asked, trying to get through to her emotions.
"But he was not friendly either," Amanda replied sharply, trying to shrug off the sense of regret that was beginning to overtake her.
"You should be more attentive, Amanda. The man who got you pregnant is out there enjoying his life while you are here suffering beyond description. I just want you to find the happiness that you deserve."
Amanda listened to her mother attentively. She was right. She should have listened longer to the fellow, Mr Rowan Xi, but she allowed her fear and panic to get the most of her.
"Well, I keep hoping that I get to see him again. If I do, then maybe I will sit down and have a chat with him this time."
Her mother cast a doleful glance at her and started leaving her bedroom. Then she stopped and turned back to her:
"I hope it won't be too late by that time," she muttered and walked out of the bedroom, banging the door slightly.
Amanda was almost depressed but at a second thought, she shrugged it off.
It was not Rowan Xi, she thought to herself. There is no way in hell that that man was responsible for my pregnancy. How can it be? Besides, since he is that rich, why would he leave a wrist watch that is too cheap for me?
She undressed and got into bed, proposing in her heart not to let the situation get to her.
*****************************************
Rowan Xi sat on his balcony, puffing on a cigarette.
He was in deep thoughts, wondering why the lady was being mysterious. He could not seem to understand why she did not want to meet him after spending so much of his family's fortune in the last four years.
He pressed the alarm and one of the housekeepers rushed up to the balcony to answer the call.
"Do you need anything sir?" She asked.
Rowan's face was formed in a frown and he was not happy with the situation with the lady.
"For how long has that lady been in my house?" He asked with a mean gaze.
"I am new here," the housekeeper stuttered. "Maybe I should bring Ma'am Anna, she would be in the best position to answer that."
"Go on already and bring me Anna," Rowan yelled at the housekeeper. She was fidgeting at his rants and she scurried out of his presence.
He sipped his cigarette some more and blew out the air.
Anna came up to the balcony, wiping her wet hands on her apron and her face showing that she was panicking.
"You sent for me sir," she said almost in a whisper.
"Yes," Rowan replied with a stern look. "I would like to know a few things about that lady who has been here in my place."
"Alright Sir. I am here to answer that," Anna responded with a more composed voice.
"For how long has she been here?"
"For four years, sir. Shortly before you travel on your business trip."
"How much is her monthly maintenance allowance?"
Anna swallowed hard and then answered:
"About 10000 dollars sir," Anna said with panic.
"Ten thousand what?" Rowan exclaimed angrily. "Who has been signing those cheques? What expensive garbage!"
>>>Rowan was sitting in his office, addressing his father's employees.One of the employees, the company's head of financial unit, raised her hands."Go ahead Annette, make your contributions snappy." He instructed her and leaned back in his chair."Thank you sir. I'd like to point out that we made some good profit in the last four years; however, the company's net expenditures are toppling over the profit per season. I would suggest that some unnecessary frivolities be cut down on."Rowan bit his lower lip. He knew where her conversation was headed and he was definitely going to address it."What are the components of this net expenditure? Can you give me a run down?""I can mail you the comprehensive list of all that the company has funded for the past four years.""Send me that mail before midday, Annette. I would like to address the situation immediately."Annette nodded and thanked him."You can all get back to work, there is a lot to do," Rowan inst
Mrs Roberts was at the hair salon with her friends, they were trying to get a makeover."You look damn good , girl." Katherine exclaimed excitedly."Been a while, you know. You do not seem to get a lot of time these days because of the babies," Angela added.Mrs Roberts was a bit uncomfortable about having those conversations but she had no choice."Yes. It has been a while. Thank God you know that I am very busy. The kids do not allow me to get some breathing space," Mrs Roberts replied, trying to stay composed and unashamed. "Yeah…right?" They both echoed."Yeah," she replied sternly, trying to move away from the conversation. She did not want to last too long on conversations about her daughter's children."What does Amanda do now?" Angela asked with curiosity etched on her face.Mrs Roberts shifted to her seat. She was becoming uncomfortable."She works with a big company now," she replied with a whisper, hoping they would not ask her the name of the company because the truth was
"Hey mama," Amanda called out to her mother.Mrs Roberts turned around to see her daughter looking sad."Is everything okay?" She asked with panic. "Did anyone hurt you?"Amanda shook her head. She did not want to tell her mother about her travails at the restaurant."I am fine, mother," she replied in a whisper."I am glad those nosy friends of mine had left earlier because it would have been bad if they met you in this state. You did not even try to put a brush on your hair. Look at how disheveled your hair looks."Amanda took a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror and let out a sigh of exhaustion."I am sorry mum. I had a pretty rough day.""It is alright honey. We need to fix you up because I have found just the perfect job for you. They are calling for submissions and interviews and the deadline is in two days. All thanks to your children, I came across the advert just in time."The excitement in her mother's voice was making her enticed and she wanted to know more about
>>>>"It was fun catching those unplanned photos of you. I am going to have your handler put them up on your Instagram. How does one go from week to week without pictures? Do you not know that you are a celebrity?"Rowan was angry but he was trying to remain calm."My life, my choices!" He retorted to Jack.Jack laughed hysterically at his cousin."Well, if you feel offended, I am sorry. However, I am not sorry that I got pictures of you taken; I am only sorry that it was done like an ambush."Rowan threw him a cold stare and shook his head."You're a terrible human, you know. I will have my pound of flesh. Just watch."Jack laughed again."I am a jolly good fellow, if you throw lemons at me, I will make a huge basin of lemonade from them. You need not worry."At this point, Rowan found his anger dissipating and his heart lightened a bit. He smiled slightly at Jack and his smile got Jack almost reeling on the floor with laughter."You know you want to laugh s
"You even look better than you sounded over the phone," Jack complimented her and she blushed evidently."Thank you Sir," she whispered with an intriguing smile.Jack found himself craving time with her. There was something enchanting about her presence and her carriage. She was too poised for a waitress.She placed his order carefully on the table and stood beside him."I will take my leave now, sir. If there's anything else, please use my number.""I will use this number from now henceforth and I will make sure all my friends use it as well. You deserve all the points in the world; with your striking features and your sonorous voice.""Thank you Sir," Rosemary chuckled. "I do appreciate these nice comments. I will keep your promise in mind."Jack smiled at her."Would you like to have lunch with me? Different location, at your convenience?"Rosemary thought for a while and then nodded."This is against our employee policy here. But, we can.""I promise I won't get you into any kind
"Oh…Look at my daughter," Mrs Roberts chuckled.Amanda giggled and looked at herself again in the mirror."You look breathtakingly beautiful, sweetheart. If they do not accept you for your experience and certificates, your beauty and delicate nature would take a toll on them," Mrs Roberts complimented."Oh, there you go again mother, making it about my physical appearance. I get bothered if it all comes down to my looks. I will change into something less show-offy. I don't want to be seen as attractive." Amanda had a frown on her crease."Stop it Amanda!" Mrs Roberts cautioned sternly. "You seem to forget that just because you had babies does not mean you are less beautiful. The reality is, men would still want you. They will crave you and there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can do is to empower yourself, especially financially, to avoid them using you recklessly."Even though her mother's tone was harsh, Amanda got the message clearly. She was becoming too scared
The other applicants also showed up and were waiting within the conference room.The panel was set. It consisted of Mr Kenny; the hotel Manager, Miss Kira Mason (his Assistant) and Miss Joan Rivers, (The head of maids and room service unit).Nondon was also present at her meeting to take important notes for Mr Kenny.Amanda was seated across from Mr. Kenny and occasionally, their gazes would lock and Mr. Kenny would smile as though he had known her before that day.She found her heart beating so fast at his facial expressions towards her which were not present in his dealings with other applicants.The first applicant, a young man who looked like he was in his early thirties, walked up to the table where the panel was. Although they were all in the same room, no one could hear the conversation between the panel and the applicants."Mr Jacob Whiteley, you are welcome to The Xi Hotel," Mr. Kenny said with an expressionless face."Thank you sir," Jacob replied.Mr Kenny glanced towards
"I see no point in us picking someone who has no experience over someone who does." Mrs Joan was fuming at Mr Kenny and Miss Kira. "How do we even explain this madness to the board? Especially to Mr Rowan Xi?"Mr Kenny's impatience was wearing out. It was obvious in the way his voice was down."Mrs Joan, I believe I have the right to make decisions regarding whom I choose to partner with. It works for us. Why are we even turning this into an argument?""Because it does not make any sense to me. Amanda has absolutely no experience! She was just a cleaner for multiple restaurants and different hotels…""But she got a course from a prestigious institution for hospitality and management," Kira cut in, her frustration evident in her cracked voice. " I just think you do not like her, Mrs Joan. You are judging her from your emotions.""If anyone is using emotions here, it must be you. You feel like you should take her probably because you two share a uni experience. I feel that is a very unp