I looked at the time on my watch; it was fifteen minutes past nine in the morning, and I was sitting on the bed in my room. Normally, at this time of the day, I would have been with Lucy on my way to Doña Esperanza for a work assignment.
It was either I was finishing up someone's leftover job assignment, or I was assigned to somewhere remote that was hardly seen. I had always assumed the reason for the latter was because of my outburst at Mr. Montoya's weekly party I first attended.
Anyways, since my rough attempt to satisfy my curiosity the previous day, I had been quite jumpy and nervous. It was also because of the call I got last night. Lucy had reached out and passed on Doña Esperanza's message. Doña Esperanza instructed that I was to stay in my room until I was summoned.
That was the last I heard from Lucy up until now. I had assumed we had forged a friendly relationship, but I was clearly wrong.
Since I received the instruction last night, I had been wondering what I had done wrong. Or had the knowledge of my snooping in the East Wing study managed to reach Doña Esperanza's ears? If that was the case, I was screwed. I could just as well kiss Tía Elena's surgery money goodbye.
I exhaled and felt bad. I recalled how much my Tía had done for me and how often she had been there for me. Sadly, all I could give her in exchange was broken hope. I hadn't even called home since I started working here.
Instant shame washed over me as I stood and approached the only window. Just then, my breath caught at the sight I beheld.
Mr. Montoya, in a charcoal shirt so tight it was like a second skin mapping out every ridge of his chest and the dangerous power in his arms, also wore layered black shorts that highlighted the muscles underneath. But he was not alone; he was stretching with several men, but one stood out.
He was only an inch or so taller, with very similar facial features and expressions. He had a deeper shade of black hair falling over his shoulders compared to Mr. Montoya's hair. Mr. Montoya and the man, whom I concluded was his relative, were in a deep conversation.
I stared at them from the window, wondering what they might be discussing. Business, most probably. He could be the Sergio Mr. Montoya phoned yesterday in the study.
As the previous day's memory came back, chills went through me when I remembered Mr. Montoya had a personal sicaria. I don't understand the basis of my surprise, though. In Mr. Montoya's world, sicarias existed, even though they didn't in my world.
Just then, the door opened, and I jumped. My roommate, Ashley, walked in and waved at me. I waved back and calmed myself down. Ashley motioned that she was going to take a bath. When she went into the bathroom, my thoughts shifted from Mr. Montoya to my sweet roommate.
Ashley was a nice and lovely roommate. Being of American-Asian background, she possessed long blonde hair, smooth and soft, baby-milky skin, and saucer-like eyes.
When we became a bit closer, she explained her reason for working for Mr. Montoya. She said her dad had sought financial assistance from Mr. Montoya to pay her college fees, surgery fees, and some other bills. But on the allotted day to pay back, her father was unable to pay up. She was working off her father's debt.
Just then, Ashley came out of the bathroom holding her yellow uniform. When she had rushed in, I noticed stains on her uniform. I was about to ask what had happened, but she quickly covered the distance to show me her phone.
"Why were you so jumpy when I entered?" I read aloud from her phone. She beamed at me while she waited for a response. "Well, I was looking out the window, and I hadn't expected you. Not until twelve, that is," I replied. Her face fell.
"What happened? Why did you come back before twelve?" I touched her chin with the tip of my finger and lifted her face as I asked. She typed her response into her phone and showed me.
"I had an episode with Nina. I was in the kitchen with Nina and some people from her group. She was being her nasty and usual self, and she was asking about you. I didn't tell her anything, so I ended up getting flour and dust all over my uniform. Her superior gave me the rest of the day off," I read aloud.
Nina was a bully, according to what I've heard, and a gossip, according to Lucy. Unfortunately, she was Lucy's roommate. Poor Lucy.
Ashley collected her phone from me and typed into it for a while before handing it back to me to read.
"It's a frequent occurrence, and even though she's annoying, I should be used to it by now. I don't want to talk about it," I read aloud.
She moved past me and looked out of the window. I followed her gaze and saw Mr. Montoya and the man I assumed was Sergio jog away. I looked on until they were out of sight before I returned my gaze to Ashley. I found her looking at me in a strange way. She took her phone and typed into it before shoving it back into my hand.
"So this is what you've been up to, huh? Ogling the boss from the window?"
I looked at her in feigned shock.
"Oh no. It's nothing like that. I had a lot of time on my hands," I said, but I sounded like I was agreeing with her, so I added, "You forgot I was restricted to this room by Doña Esperanza."
She collected her phone, typed again, and handed it to me.
"Not forgotten that detail. What did you do, though? You're barely a week in, and you've managed to get yourself in trouble. How?" I read aloud. I didn't know how much to tell her, even though I wasn't certain if my snooping was the cause of my current problem.
I was about to deny knowing the cause of my punishment when a knock sounded on the door at the same moment. Ashley and I exchanged looks before I walked to the door to open it. Three ladies stood as straight as a rule at the door when I opened it. The girl in the middle was taller and thinner than the other two on either side. The girl in the middle had a nasty smirk.
"You must be Alice, right? That's if I'm not mistaken. I'm Nina, that's Jojo, and this is Gracey," she said, gesturing to the girl on her right and then to her left. If Nina was here, it wasn't on official business. I wondered why I should fascinate her, though.
"Can we come in?" she requested with forced nicety. I looked at Ashley to get a go-ahead and to be sure it was okay to let them in. She nodded slightly.
"Sure, come on in. Is there a particular reason you're here?" I asked while I opened the door wider to let them in.
"Oh, not really. You'll have to forgive me, though, for not coming to say hello sooner," she said breezily. Her companions looked around the room as if they expected something unusual to be here.
"It took me a while to find out that you were Ashley's roommate. She wouldn't tell or speak to me about you… not like she could," she snickered along with her friends. "And," she continued, "Lucy's your guide. Oh, and Marisol Ortega's your supervisor. She rarely brought anyone in, so I thought to myself, oh well, let me get to know you. How have you been? You enjoying your stay so far?" she asked.
So this was 'the Nina.' She sure fit the description of a bully. Ashley had made me aware that she had always been picked on by Nina because she was unable to speak. Ashley's inability to speak was a result of an accident that happened a few months ago. She had undergone surgery and, in the process, lost her speaking ability.
When I was introduced to Ashley, it took me a while to understand her predicament because she was always quiet. When I eventually found out she was unable to speak, I searched for courses online to learn sign language to ease her consistent typing on her phone and make communication between us faster. However, because of work, I haven't been able to keep up.
I looked at Nina. An enemy of my friend was my enemy.
"Nina, right? Sweetheart, this isn't a hotel or a guest house, and you sure as hell ain't the housekeeper. I'd advise you to avoid problems by—" I was cut off mid-sentence by my ringing phone. It was Lucy.
"Hey, girl, what's up? A cab was sent to pick you up if you're at our quarters. Doña Esperanza summons you for a word at her house."
With that, the line went dead along with my hopes.