Present timeSatele blinked, squinting her eyes, looking at the man who was being introduced to her.
It was a Sat.u.r.day, and it was her first day at work at her new job in a convenience store. However, she would never have guessed that the person in front of her, the one she was going to replace, was the man who had helped her during that time in the cafeteria.
Eric Phelps.
"Well then, Eric, I"ll leave Miss Risova in your capable hands. Make sure that she takes over all your jobs before you resign." A fat man said at the side before he walked out of the office, leaving the two people behind.
".…."
".…."
Eric slightly smiled. "Miss Risova, right? It"s nice to meet you again," he said all polite.
"ah…" Satele was still a little stunned at the sudden appearance of the guy that her brain couldn"t react yet.
After a moment, she recovered her wits and timidly smiled. "Didn"t expect that you"re working here. It"s comforting to know that I have someone I recognize in here."
Eric just nodded.
"….."
"….."
And the atmosphere turned uncomfortable while the two awkward people who didn"t know how to make small talk just stood there in silence waiting for the other to initiate the conversation.
Eric slightly coughed before he led the girl outside, so he could start instructing her. "We can start by familiarizing yourself with the interior of the place first. Please follow me."
Before Satele could react, Eric had already turned around and walked out of the room. She immediately followed the man.
Eric continued to tour the girl around while initiating a conversation. "Is this your first time working in a convenient store?"
Satele nodded. She hesitated before asking anyway. "Why do you want to resign?"
Eric didn"t answer immediately. He made a side glanced towards the woman before saying, "I found another job that pays highly and it conflicts with my schedule here." He answered simply.
"Oh... what kind of job?" Satele continued to ask, not minding that she was too personal. She couldn"t help it. Hers was a curious soul.
While Eric didn"t mind the girl"s questions and answered again in a calm tone and as short as possible, automatically ending the topic. "It"s just going to be an a.s.sistant to some rich people."
"Oh." Satele slightly knitted her brows. She wanted to ask for more, but the man suddenly attacked first, rendering her unable to question further.
"Do you have any questions so far? If you feel lost, you can always ask me or the others for help. Anyway, I"ll give you a printed layout of the store later and list of products that we have as well as inventories and reports."
Satele tucked a hair behind her ears before arranging her gla.s.ses on the bridge of her nose. "That will be helpful, sorry for the trouble and thank you."
Eric merely nodded. "It"s no trouble. It"s my job after all."
Then they walked towards the counter and Eric explained and thought the woman all the things that needed considering.
Since it was still early on a Sat.u.r.day morning, little customers were present at the moment, but as the day progress, the store gradually turned busy.
At first, Satele was drowning by the amount of information fed to her, and she had to continually ask for help regarding the cashier"s machine and the products that she didn"t know. Luckily, Eric was always by her side to a.s.sist her and she gradually got the hang of it in just one day.
She would never have thought that she would get used to the flow of the work so early, maybe because the work was repet.i.tive and wasn"t that hard to begin with, so it was easy to get used to it. The only thing left now was to familiarized herself with the list of products.
And before she knew it, she found that the sun was already starting to set and the people gradually dimmed down.
"Good work for your first day."
Satele turned around to find Eric walking towards her direction and a smile blossomed on her face. "It"s all thanks to you. Thank you for your guidance."
Eric slightly chuckled and handed a fruit juice to her which made her stunned.
"Consider it as a welcoming gift."
Satele smiled and reached for the juice while saying a low, "thank you."
Eric"s eyes gradually turned soft at the sight of the girl drinking the juice. He couldn"t help but be friendly towards this woman that had almost the same colors as Evangeline"s eyes.
Eric slightly shook his head when his thought started to be distracted again. Then he gazed at the wall clock and muttered. "It"s almost time for our shifts to end. We just have to wait for Jessy and James to come and we can go home."
Satele didn"t answer. She kept on staring at the man, trying to catch his elusive eyes. Those silver irises that reminded her of the moon which she couldn"t help but be drawn to them.
The whole day, even though she was busy familiarizing herself with her new job, her eyes would occasionally fly towards Eric from time to time.
Not because she romantically likes the man. There was just something about the guy that her eyes kept on checking him every now and then.
True that the man, at first glance, wasn"t that much. Yet to her surprise, the more she looked at him, the more he became… handsome in her eyes.
Though Eric appeared nerdy, his posture, however, was dignified.
He was tall. He was about the same height as Asher, and she could barely reach his shoulders. He appeared lanky and weak and yet, he had broad shoulders, tapered waist, long slim legs, and whenever the door opened and the wind blew towards him, those lean muscles formed beneath his shirt and coupled by that straight posture, he excluded masculinity that was a contrast against his nerdy face.
"What?"
Eric asked when he noticed that the woman had been observing him which made him slightly uncomfortable.
While instead of lowering her gaze and be embarra.s.sed that she was caught staring, Satele continued to look at the man as she spoke bluntly.
"You know, the more I look at you, the more handsome you become. If you can just cut your fringe and wear contacts instead of those thick-framed gla.s.ses, I bet you can rival Daniel Richardson as number one hottest in our academy."
"….."
Eric"s lips pursed in one line. He didn"t know what to say, thus he continued to ignore the girl.
And Satele pressed on. "Have you ever thought of becoming a model? With your height alone, you"ll pa.s.s with flying colors. Not to mention the color of your eyes which is unique. And your features are sharp and quite eye-catching the longer I look at you. I bet that the others will agree with me too."
Then her eyes rounded as if she had realized something.
"No wonder Evangeline Heart had taken a liking to you."
At the mention of Evangeline"s name, the calm in Eric"s eyes disappeared while his emotions began to ripple.
On the other hand, Satele didn"t notice the changes on the man"s face as she continued to talk nonstop, her journalist side was kicking in full throttle.
"What"s your relationship with Evangeline Heart by the way? Are you two going out? Are the rumors true about her? Is it true that she—"
"Miss Risova."
Eric snapped while his voice turned harsher, a contrast against his usual calm and even tone. "It"s working time, it"s not the time to gossip about other people"s lives."
Satele was rendered speechless. Caught off guard from the man"s tone of voice and from the way he was looking at her, especially the harsh words he just said. So different from the harmless, nerdy guy she got to know. At this moment, those eyes that had intrigue her to no end constricted that it became just a dot. The calm and indifferent face he was always wearing was still there though a lot colder and piercing.
Due to Eric who had suddenly got angry at her, she didn"t know what to do. She didn"t expect that the nerdy man could also show a face like that. Like it was not Eric she was seeing but an entirely different man.
And oddly enough, at this moment, Eric reminded her of Asher.
Satele lowered her head while her face reddened. Embarra.s.sment and shame took over and she muttered a low, "I"m sorry..."
"….."
Eric was slightly surprised that he had lost his cool. He quickly cleared his throat and explained. Maybe due to the guilt when he saw her sorry face, he answered one of her questions in a gentle tone.
"Evangeline and I aren"t in that kind of relationship that you are thinking."
Then he smiled and gently patted the girl"s head. "It"s almost time for our shifts to end. Why don"t you go and ready your things while I wait for Jessy and James?"
Satele raised her tiny head. When she saw that Eric"s face reverted to one of utter calmness and was holding a gentle smile, she nodded hesitantly.
BAM!