She walks over to her boss and stands beside her, facing the three. “You seem a bit shaken, perhaps it’s because I haven’t introduced you all yet. My apologies,” Asha explains.
“Yes, I think that’s what it is. She’s just a bit shy, that’s all. It’s cute honestly,” Monroe smiles innocently, yet clearly ironically at Naira. “Cute my ass,” she thinks to herself.
“Let me fix that. The man to the right helping himself to the food is Massimo, the lady on the left is Monroe, I’m sure you already know that though, and the bigger gentleman is Wallace.”
“Hello,” Wallace politely speaks and nods.
Naira loosens up a bit when noticing his attitude is nothing like his coworkers. “Hey.”
“They are potential buyers here to view some of my collection. They will also be attending my event,” Asha explains. She turns back to the trio. “This is Naira, my new employee.” They all look at her before looking back at Asha, their looks indecipherable to her. “This is her first official day. I have quite a hard time keeping employees that I enjoy being around, and I do intend on keeping her happy and healthy. I trust you know what that means,” she says, daringly. “Now, our families have been cordial, to say the least, and Don Huerta has earned my thanks on many occasions. But If I hear you laughing at her expense again, I will put all of your tongues in a blender and make you all drink what remains out of a straw,” she warns, and Naira looks down to see the red in her eyes grow more intense. “Trust me, the twins are good at making those kinds of things taste delightful. I’m sure Massimo can attest to that,” Asha drops a devilish smile, looking at him, his face stuffed.
Monroe and Massimo sit wide-eyed, shifting their stares to Naira, while Wallace keeps his eyes fixed on Asha. If there was anything Naira expected, it wasn’t to be defended by Asha to that extent, and seeing that terrified look on Monroe’s face was exhilarating. “That’s all. You can leave now Naira,” Asha commands as Naira steps out of the room.
“She scared the hell out of those assholes! They're lucky I didn't chop 'em in the heads,” Naira celebrated to herself making chopping motions, followed by laughter at the fact Massimo looked like a kid that’s been caught stealing cookies.
After hours of conferencing, the trio began walking out, none of them even glancing at Naira. She walks into Asha’s office to retrieve the cart, but upon entering, she’s nowhere to be found. She notices the curtains behind her boss’s desk are blowing and sees her silhouette illuminated by a crack of thunder. Naira unconsciously follows her, and finds herself on a balcony, to see Asha leaning over the ledge, watching the trio drive away.
“People like them will never be happy unless they’re making someone feel miserable. Tell me, do you know anyone like that, Naira?” Asha asks while continuing to loom down at them.
“Yeah, I think I do,” Naira begins to think of her parents.
“Would you like to know how to handle people like that?” They both look out into the distance.
“If it involves a flamethrower, I’m in,” Naira jokes, but shutters when she looks over to Asha and sees her stoic expression. “It was a bad joke, I’m sorry,” she adds, rubbing her palms together nervously.
“And a very good one at that,” her boss laughs inwardly. “No need to apologize.” She takes a breath in while turning to her and squinting her eyes. “Actually, I want you to join me and the rest of the staff for dinner tonight. I think it's been a while since we've put the dining area to use.”
“I’d be down, what time will it be?”
“In about an hour, I'm sure Kiran will retrieve you when the time comes. For now, you can go back to your station.” Asha gestures Naira out of her office with her head.
“Naira, food’s almost done. Start your rounds,” Kiran instructs through the walkie-talkie.
“Alrighty!” Naira stands and readies herself to leave. She opens the utility closet, slides on her yellow gloves, and grabs her mop bucket. Humming along to music, she begins dusting and disinfecting the surfaces of the large manor. She wipes down the ebony-marbled doorknobs, and she walks down the stairs wiping the black handrails, making sure not to miss a speck of dust.
As she gets down, she begins sweeping the floors, and comes across a door tucked stealthily under the staircase. She remembers it to be the door Asha warned her away from when she was first given a walkthrough of the house. “Nope,” Naira says quietly as she walks past the door to continue cleaning. She continues to mop the halls, but the door seems to be calling her name. She turns up the volume to her music, but no sound in the world could drown out the aching curiosity that engulfed her very being. “I’ll just… ah… give it a little polish. Thing could use a little TLC. God knows how long since it’s been cleaned,” Naira excuses as she looks to her right and then to her left, confirming that the coast is clear. She ducks into the spandrel and licks her lips, hearing the pounding of her heart with her own ears. The door appears cold, jagged, and incredibly heavy. Slipping off her yellow glove, she looks around once more and steps toward the door, lifting her hand, almost reaching the door’s handle.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” a deep voice advises from behind Naira, causing her to scream and then instinctively cover her mouth.
“I'm sorry, I just thought I’d polish it up since I already cleaned everything else,” Naira replies while smiling nervously.
“It’s fine, Naira. I just saw the bucket in the hall and figured you’d gotten lost. I won't tell Asha.” He looks around. “You’ve just gotta stay away from this door,” Wayra commands with a kind smile.
“I didn't know we kept secrets from one another in this house,” they both turn to see Asha standing behind Wayra.
“We don't. But I figured it wasn’t a major occurrence,” Wayra explains while calming a nervous Naira down with a soft stare.
“I didn't open it or anything… I just thought I’d do some cleaning in here,” she fidgets with the fingertip of her glove stretching it and twisting it.
“While I understand that my statement still stands, Naira, you're a part of the family now. And I don't see any point in keeping secrets from you. It's only natural you’d be curious. Would you like to see what's behind the door?” Asha questions as she steps toward the door and places her hand on the handle.
Naira, hesitant to answer the question, as she couldn’t tell if what Asha said was a test or not, stares at a stern-looking Wayra and back to her boss, who smiles warmly. “Um… Well…” her eyes dart back and forth between the two.
“Go ahead. Would you like to see?” Asha insists.
“I mean, yeah, it looks really…mysterious. What's in there?”
“Something that's sure to change your life. You think outside of the box Naira, and because of that, I'm ready to introduce you to the driving force behind this family’s success.” Asha says as she twists the doorknob. As it clicks, she’s sure the anticipation would kill her.
“This food is gonna go cold if you don't wrap up whatever you guys are doing,” Chae complains through the walkie-talkie.
“Hell,” Wayra says, shrugging his shoulders. “We could show her later. Let’s go eat,” he suggests as he gestures for the two to exit from beneath the staircase.
“Come to think of it, I am famished,” Asha adds while walking away from the door.
“Damn, I really wanna see what’s in there,” Naira admits to Wayra while walking.
“Just some unfinished pieces and a couple of sculptures she’s thinking about presenting at her next showing.” He replies, taking Naira off guard, as she thought he wouldn’t tell her. “I’m sure you can hold out until then, right?” he asks in a hushed tone with a smile while looking down at her.
“Yeah, but it would've been fun to tease Emory about seeing the pieces before her,” Naira says while playfully pouting.
The three arrive at the dining hall, and Asha takes her seat at the head of the table.
“Took you long enough,” Kiran says dryly while texting on her phone.
“Yeah, the food almost went cold,” Dean says while taking off his apron.
“I apologize, I think I might've held us up. I was just about to show Naira the bronze room.” Asha excuses the three.
Kiran rests her phone on her lap and looks from Naira to Asha. “Are you joking? She literally just started. You need to stop being so impatient. Let her work before you start showing her anything.” She complains as she stares at Asha intensely.
“She’s right, there are already so many eyes on you right now, if anyone gets even a hint at what you’re creating, it could kill any hopes of taking this project any further. You’re almost finished, just wait until the showing. All of our livelihoods are in your hands, Asha. I know you’re eager, but you must exercise caution now more than ever,” Wayra adds.
“Mmm,” Asha says mid-thought. “Naira, after working here for a while, you tend to forget who the boss is,” she laughs, her sultry voice echoing around the dining hall. Naira laughs with her but slowly stops upon seeing that her coworkers are less than amused.
Chae clears his throat. “Tonight we’ll be getting a taste of the Philippines, and for blood-based diets, we’ll be serving a Dinuguan,” he introduces as he assists Dean in passing Asha and Kiran their plates, along with cups of blood.
“This dish consists of type B artificial blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar,” Dean adds as he steps back toward the cart.
“Smells good, am I gonna be eating that too?” Naira licks her lips while looking wide-eyed at Kiran's plate.
“No, Naira. For our other guests, we will be serving Inasal with a side of white rice,” Chae laughs as he takes the glass top off of the serving tray, uncovering the delicious aroma of the food placed on ceramic plates, that look so cleverly like leaves, and places it on the bottom shelf of the cart. Dean pushes the cart while Chae places the plates in front of Wayra and Naira, along with cups that they've filled with wine.
“Oh yeah, that's lookin’ real good,” Naira says, licking her lips as she picks up the Inasal and opens her mouth wide, preparing to taste the heavenly food.
“Before we dig in, I’d like to say something” Asha interrupts, and Naira screams internally as she reluctantly puts her food down with a forced smile. “Naira, the thick miasma that once permeated every inch of this home has been washed away upon your arrival. Your childlike wonder and seemingly unending positivity are both valuable assets. Keep up the good work,” she congratulates a smiling Naira. Dean and Chae sit at the table and begin to clap along with everyone else. Kiran opts not to clap and scoffs before continuing to scroll through her phone.
“Thanks a lot. I’ll keep trying my best,” Naira responds.
“Alright, now that that's out of the way, you can all dig in,” Asha allows with raised arms.
After Naira devours her plate, she sparks conversation again, laughing and joking with the others. “Is it alright if I have seconds?” she asks sheepishly, with her hand raised.
“Wayra might have competition,” Chae laughs.
“Nonsense, I’ll have another as well,” Wayra clarifies as he picks his teeth with the small wooden stick used to hold the Inasal.
“Choose your battles, Wayra,” Naira dares before taking a sip of her wine. At this, the table is wide-eyed as Wayra and Naira stare at one another grinning menacingly.
“You boys might want to bring out those plates now,” Asha tells the twins as she points to the kitchen. Seconds later, Dean and Chae rush out with four plates. Naira and Wayra viciously tear away at the Inasal and swallow spoonfuls of rice.
“Another!” They shout before the twins rush back into the kitchen and bring out three more plates.
“You can ta- tap out anytime big boy, I've got room for fifths!” Naira exclaims as she takes a big gulp of her wine.
“When hell freezes over, Greenhorn,” Wayra says, pointing his wooden skewer at Naira. She struggles to lift the spoon into her mouth before dropping it onto the table and placing her head down.
“I surrender,” Naira jokes in defeat.
“It was a valiant effort, the closest I've ever come to being out eaten in a very long time,” Wayra says stoically.
“Well, there's that,” Dean almost whispers as he claps softly.
“I refuse to believe you're human,” Kiran adds as she looks at Naira in disbelief.
“That was exciting, dinner with a show.” Asha closes, making everyone let out quiet chuckles. “Let me restart the conversation, no more plates,” she pleads. “Naira, how are you liking your stay here? Has anything been on your mind?” She asks. Naira doesn't budge.
“I think she’s dead. Nice going, Wayra. You killed the rookie,” Chae says while nodding his head, his lips pressed tightly and his eyebrows raised.
Naira rolls her eyes at Chae. “I like it a lot. It's probably the best job I've had in a while, it's a nice distraction. Takes my mind off everything happening back at home,” she answers honestly, with her head turned to the side, resting on her arm.
“What’s happening back at home? If you don't mind me asking,” Dean asks as he stands up to gather the plates.
She hesitates thinking about how deep of a confession she’s about to make.
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