Wonderful Unknown

Chapter 2

A/N: Here's more Pablo and Roxy goodness! :)

***

Roxy was gasping for breath by the time she reached the club’s employee entrance. She knew that traffic in Manila sucked in general, but it was always worse during Fridays.

She had no choice, though. She couldn’t leave until she had secured a trustworthy babysitter for Aiden. While Tanya offered to look after her son again, which would make it the second Friday in a row, Roxy couldn’t accept the offer upon learning that her best friend’s mom was pregnant with baby number two, and that said pregnancy was risky. Without Brandon, who had to fly to Bacolod for an uncle’s funeral, Tanya would be overwhelmed with having two toddlers in the house.

She rushed past two men who were carrying empty liquor cases in the hallway and headed straight for the employee lounge. She had one hand around the black door knob when she heard his voice.

“Running late, Ms. Cristobal?”

She winced before turning around. By sheer luck, Roxy successfully evaded the young club owner during the past few nights that she worked in the club. Unfortunately, it seemed that said luck had already ran out.

Without a college degree, she was fortunate to land a part-time job online that gave her a flexible schedule, only requiring her to work Mondays ‘til Wednesdays. The second half of the week was now spent in the club serving drinks. 

But Sundays are for her and Aiden only. She intentionally blocked that day of the week for family time, so she and her son could have an entire day to do whatever they want. 

Back to the problem at hand - her boss was on the other end of the bar signing papers attached to a blue clipboard, while a short man wearing the same shirt as the two delivery guys she saw in the hallway patiently waited beside him.

The club was blissfully empty, and it won’t open until 7 PM. The first hour of their shift was always dedicated to preparations - making sure that all’s set for a night of debauchery.

“Thank you,” he said, handing the pen back. Then he turned to face her and raised an eyebrow, demanding a response.

“No, Mr. Caballero. May four minutes pa po ko,” she replied politely, keeping in mind how rudely she treated her employer a week ago, right on her first day on the job. “About last week -” 

“How far do you live?” He asked while pouring himself a glass, ignoring what she was about to say. “And don’t bother lying. I can always pull up your application from my laptop.”

“Mga 35 minutes away po.”

“Then you should have left around, say 5 PM? That way, hindi ka mala-late.”

She made a show of checking her wristwatch and growled, “May three minutes pa ko.” Then belatedly she added quietly, “Sir.”

“You have a mouth on you, don’t you?” He said, moving closer to her end of the bar.

She sighed defeatedly. Something about the young club owner raised her hackles, and she couldn’t find a way to keep her mouth shut. 

Let me guess. You don’t tolerate insubordination?

“That, too,” he chuckled. “Aside from tardiness.” 

Her eyes grew wide when she realized that she said the last part aloud, instead of keeping it inside her head.

“Yeah, I heard that,” he said, leaning a tiny bit closer before gazing at her eyes. “Was I not supposed to?” 

“I heard that!”