CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (Eleanor's POV)



ELEANOR'S POINT OF VIEW

On Sunday morning, after talking to my dad, an important message comes in from work. According to Mr. Elias, a team of journalists will be going to HR's hotel tomorrow to cover a press conference called by the management of the hotel, and Cale is going alongside. Yeah, obnoxious Cale aka the boss of me.

I wonder what's going on within HR hotel right now concerning Saturday's drama. Yesterday, this week Eagle Eye's magazine hit market, and it sold-out pretty well specifically because of the issue about the hotel. With the survey I received, the public seemed particularly interested in Cale's report about the woman's suicide, how unfortunate.
What I find suspicious is that no other media firm covered this news except us and the law enforcers couldn't conduct an investigation yet because no one has identified as a family member of the deceased, then I realized, just after I got my copy, Cale didn't claim credit for the written report.

Douche, he'll be looking at a bonus cheque right in the eye if he did. You know what they say, every good story will meet its end in due time and Cale's own came way fast, as it's a forgotten thing as of today.
Thinking about Cale, well, I thought he'll feel remorse and will actually apologize like a gentleman for the incident that happened on Friday, but last night, before Leo came over, I saw Cale at the foyer.
He was dressed in a golf suit in all glory wearing his trademark slicked black hair to an end, If he were pretending not to see me, he did a good job at it and the more I stared at him, the more stupid I felt because this man just ignored the shit out of me and the worst thing is, I stared all the way even though it hurt being neglected once again.

At first, I wanted to hold on to the reality that he didn't actually see me because as soon as I saw him approaching, I hid at the side of Yul's desk which holds its distance from the elevator that Cale was walking towards. There's a high chance he really didn't see me run across to hide, but then there's no way to justify him, cause all this while as close door neighbors, he could just walk over and do what is necessary, knock and apologize.

It's a shame poor Mrs. Bells has an uncultured person for a son.
Now, my mind is occupied with the dinner date Leo has invited me to. It felt surreal, it's been so long since I've been on a dinner date with a man. On multiple times now, I have to remind myself he called it a dinner party, so, Eleanor, for the fourth time, it's not an actual date. And if we didn't make this bargain, he wouldn't have thought of inviting me anywhere. So, it's just a favor to fix my sorry life.

Despite all, especially his short temper which he has shown me twice now, Leo is a nice dude that I really appreciate, a lot. Imagine, I talked to him about Malone, I thought it was the influence of the alcohol that made me so confident all along, but when I still went further to mention my mother, I sensed I generated this good camaraderie whenever I'm with Leo, in mere words he makes me feel safe.
At the moment when he told me about the dinner, my proper reaction should have been  a wide eye then a warm smile and butterflies erupting inside me, but I didn't get it. The whole situation was so weird I can bet it has to do with my senses being shut at minimal level because of the alcohol, I just didn't feel what I should have felt, fireworks or better yet excitement.

"What is wrong with me?" I grab Glenda who's beside me by both arm.
"Oh! My, Eleanor!!!" she's confused by my recent theatrics.
"I think something is wrong with me" I clarify for her while releasing the sudden grip.
"You know you can tell me whatever it is" she shifts in the four-seat sofa, facing my direction, coincidentally Carolyn joins us in the living room at the perfect time to hear my story.
"I really don't know. You see, I have a boss at work who is my new neighbor" I begin, but I'm cut off still at the beginning.
"Oh! That should be nice, shouldn't it?" asked Glenda to Carolyn, who responded with a slight nod.
"No it's not. He annoys me and affects me at the same damn time, it's complicated, really. You see, the issue is solely about—" I start my confession with Cale first, but as I'm about going into the main point of discussion, Glen cuts me off to say something so unrelated.

"-Oh! El-"
"-Maybe you should stop starting everything you say with oh!, Glenda" I snap
"Oh!" She exclaims again. That's it, I'm leaving.
"Eleanor, how does he affect you?" Carol, the more reasonable one, asked the best question for tonight.
"Who?, my boss. Eh! You wouldn't understand. For the record, I don't like him, we are enemies and I hate him because I get this overwhelming feeling whenever he ignores me. It's weird and believe me, it's nothing personal, or better still, it's not what you're thinking".

"Oh! But that's what it is, what you know we're thinking"
"Glenda, zip it" I threaten
"Wow, talking about him truly affects you, it's rubbing off on you. That's deep girl" Carolyn occupies a space on the same seat.
I lean back to allow my head rest, these people are blabbing rubbish talk.

Me and Cale?
Ew! gross, he's a freak.
Just be truthful to yourself, El, you know you like his touch.
No, I don't
What about his pristine appearance?
It's no big deal
He cooks, at least it'll save you
That's considera...no, no, no.

"Look, he has a girlfriend, okay. They did it in the hallway, she's bitchy, he's rude, he hurt me and didn't feel remorse enough to apologize, he acts suspicious, a flirt, a player and not to talk of how arrogantly proud he is" l blurt out to no one in particular only correcting my inner voice which is being stubborn right now.

At both my right and left, I see Carolyn and Glenda intently watching me display madness, their facial expressions aren't what to behold.
Ugh! I groan internally.
"See you girls later" I bid before grabbing my belongings and car keys to leave Glenda's home. I will figure this out on my own, it's my mind anyway, not theirs.

I just need to speak with Leo to sort things out, everything will be fine. It's funny how someone I just met can comfort me, render advice and a good listening ear better than the people I've known for years.
On my way home, I branch by a mall that's near Glenda's estate to get foodstuff, if I don't, I'll practically starve tonight cause my fridge is empty, empty.

At Ma'am Trina's supermarket, I get the usual, eggs, bread, juice boxes and other comfort foods I've taken interest in. As I push my half empty trolley to the books section, I notice two ladies talking, for them not to notice me shuffling through books and magazine, they must be serious with whatever they're discussing. Eh!, I mentally shrug, proceeding to the magazine aspect.
Facing the book rack, I pore over each one that catches my interest until I hear something more captivating from the ladies at the opposite side, the tall one with a purple blouse on said to her companion.

"Yaaay, I cannot wait to see HR's new manager tomorrow, I'm so prepared to make a vlog about it, you just watch Sheila, this will be my breakout".
The girl's companion giggle in pure excitement, then reply seconds later "attagirl" with the energy of a running horse, they quickly move to another topic concerning food.

Did I hear that right? HR will have a manager?well, they certainly do have one, one who has decided to remain secretive which I find intriguing but a new one? what happened to the old one?
Or they are just using this strategy to clear their name from the recent problems coming their way, then again, why use something like this to shift the public's eye.
Then it hit me, so, this is the real reason behind Mr. Elias message this morning but what does Cale have to do with this? he's a high up who doesn't need to do a reporter's job.
Why is he so obsessed with this hotel?

=========

Thank you for reading this far.
Darasimiwrites

Comment