CHAPTER TWO
It was particularly chilly this evening in New York as my dad and I made our way from the airport runway. The flight was a smooth one as I slept almost all through.
“Our ride would be here soon, Princess” my dad announced as he just got off the phone with someone.
“Alright dad”.
Few minutes later, a black BMW 330 model parked few meters from us. A man dressed in a corporate attire stepped out from the passenger’s seat and approached my dad.
“Good evening Mr. Briggs, I’m Blake from DEBRIS CORPS and I’m here to accompany you to your residence” he said all in one breath that I couldn’t help but think that he had been practicing his lines. The thought brought a small smile to my face.
“Evening Blake, it’s nice of you to come get us. Thank you very much” my dad responded casually.
“It’s not a problem sir, I’m just doing my job” he said and my dad just nodded in response.
“This way sir, ma’am”, he gestuted us towards the car.
Am I the one being referred to as ma’am here? That is very weird…. I mean, am just 18 for crying out loud.
I gave Blake a small smile and walked behind my dad to the car.
He immediately opened the door for us but my dad told me to get in first. I pulled my jacket tighter around my front as I took my seat, my dad following suit.
The car was cozy on the inside as the air condition was on full blast.
Blake got the one travelling bag I came with to place it in the trunk.
The driver introduced himself as Mark as he put the car in ignition. My dad and I also exchanged pleasantries with him.
“We’ll be taking you to DEBRIS CORPS sir, the pent house is where you’ll be residing except it’s not to your liking” Blake informed us as soon as he got buckled in.
“That’s alright, let’s be on our way then” came my dad’s response and I looked at him shocked
“A penthouse!” I whispered loud enough for him to hear
“That’s what he said, princess, I don’t know anything about this” my dad said grinning
“Wow!” I muttered to myself and kept quiet for the rest of the journey.
DEBRIS CORPS is a textile company specialized in the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. They convert Fibre into yarn, and yarn into fabric. These fabrics are dyed or printed, fabricated into clothes which are then converted into useful goods such as clothing, household items and various industrial products.
According to what my dad told me, the branch in New York had not been making much profit for quite some time now which is why he was sent here. My dad is really a genius in this business and I’m proud of him.
After a car ride of almost two hours, the car pulled to a stop in front of a gate. I snuck my head outside the window to have a view of the building we were headed, and my jaw was left hanging open.
It was an exact replica of DEBRIS CORPS back in California but it seems to be missing a few floors. The branch in California had fifty floors in total as it was the Headquarters, but this one seems to be around twenty five floors as I immediately counted it.
The car came to a stop in an underground parking lot after going through the security check-in.
Blake got the door for us and ushered us into an elevator that was nearby. He pressed the button and security codes and straight to the pent house we went.
As soon as the doors to the elevator opened, we stepped out and I was in awe of the sight before me.
The interior designer must have put in their very best here. This floor allowed an open view for the kitchen, the dining area, and the sitting room also. The walls were painted white with specs of gold around every corner. It was extremely beautiful. Floor to ceiling windows could be seen around every corner as some curtains in the room were slightly drawn.
Our house back in California was cozy and homey because mom had personally decorated it.
Just as my mind was about to start going down memory lane, dad called out to me
“Princess, why don’t you go to your room and freshen up, so we could have dinner”
I looked at him and smiled, then proceed to search for my room as my dad was discussing with Blake.
The first door I opened was an office which I assumed was my dad’s. I closed it and walked further down the hallway. I opened the door on the left and the first thing I notice was the queen sized bed in the middle of the room.
“This is definitely my room” I muttered quietly to myself as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
I saw my bags and boxes neatly arranged in one corner, closed by the closet.
The room was just like my room in California, from the aqua blue paint on the wall, to my walk-in closet, my reading table, everything was just the same. It’s just that, this room was slightly bigger than my old room. My dad is definitely behind this, I thought.
As I was still trying to get acquainted with my room, I heard a slight knock on the door.
Thinking it was my dad, I told the person to come in. Blake stepped in and pulled in my bag too.
“I just wanted to give you this” he said, handing my bag over to me.
I thanked him politely. He was about to leave when he said “Mr. Briggs said you should be out in twenty, dinner will be served.”
I muttered a quiet okay and he left.
“Wow! Who prepared this?” I asked my dad who was sitting across the dining table.
He smiled at me and said “The housekeeper did. She couldn’t wait for us to arrive as she had to be with her family”
My mouth formed an ‘O’ as I went back to my meal.
Apparently, Blake was assigned as my dad’s personal assistant as he’s been in DEBRIS CORPS for a while now. My dad dismissed him for the day after he came out from my room earlier.
Once we were done with our meal, I cleared the dishes and made my way into the kitchen. I loaded the plates into the dishwasher and in no time, I finished with washing. I dried my hands with a napkin and I went to join my dad on the couch.
He put his phone aside as soon as he felt my presence and faced me
“Hope you enjoyed your flight?” he asked me, avoiding eye contact.
I couldn’t help but notice that my dad was suddenly acting nervous.
I scooted closer to him and took his hands in mine, “I enjoyed the flight, Dad and I’m fine, there’s no need to worry too much about me” I told him looking straight into his eyes.
His body seemed to relax a little after that, he released one of my hand and gave me a slight pat on my hair as he spoke, “I just want everything to be okay princess. I’ll be with you every step of the way; you just need to let me know when anything is bothering you. Promise me you won’t keep anything to yourself”
I gave him a small smile and responded “I promise dad”. He embraced me after that.
I know why my dad is concerned. I’m not quite close with my dad because he was always busy with work. Although, he was always there when I needed him, my mom was there always.
She was my best friend, my gist partner, my everything which is why I mourn her loss every day. A single day does not pass by that I don’t miss her.
My dad has been trying to fill that void in my life ever since my mom passed but it just wasn’t the same. I’ll give my dad the credit though, he’s really been an amazing dad.
After what seemed like forever but was only a few minutes, my dad pulled away from the hug as he started briefing me about college. I’ll be resuming college on Monday, and I was already three weeks late for classes so I had a lot to catch up on.
“Mark, will be here to get your stuffs over there tomorrow evening, so that you can be fully settled in by Monday”
“Okay, thanks dad. I’ll go talk to Brenda now and go to bed” I told him getting up from the couch.
“Alright Princess, good night, I’ll see you in the morning”
I kissed my dad on both cheeks, whispered a good night and went to my bedroom.
I called Brenda as soon as I was settled on my bed, she picked on the first ring.
“El!” she screamed into the phone. I had to distance the phone from my ear a little before placing it back.
“What the hell Bren?!, you almost damaged my eardrum” I scolded her
“Sorry, sorry, I was just so glad to hear from you” she said giggling
“I’m glad to hear from you too B, I miss you so much already” I sounded so sad
“You know what?… let’s skype” Brenda suggested and I jumped at the idea. We hung up and I got my laptop out from my bag.
In five minutes, we connected and continued our discussion from where we left off.
I couldn’t keep up with her as it was almost midnight here while it was just 9:00pm in California. Bren wanted us to keep talking but I told her I was feeling sleepy and I’ll call her in the morning. She wasn’t too happy about that but she agreed anyways.
I shut down my laptop and placed in on the corner of my bed as I was too tired to get up.
I pulled my blanket over my body and drifted off into a much needed sleep.
Sunday morning came and my dad had to come drag me out of bed for breakfast. I sent a quick text to Brenda before going to the dining room, after my morning routine of course. Mom made it mandatory that I brush my teeth before breakfast every morning.
The tantalizing aroma of bacon, waffles and eggs hit my nostrils as I took my seat at the table. Our house keeper- Mrs. Carol introduced herself to me and I did the same.
I dished out my meal and ate with gusto. It was absolutely delicious and I ate it to the last bit.
After our meal, my dad told me to get dressed as he wanted to give me a tour of the company. I was excited and went to get dressed immediately.
Blake came around sometimes later and he joined us.
At around 2:30pm, we were done with the tour so I went to my room to arrange my bags for school. Mark will be taking me there. I was going to be staying on campus as it’s a two-hour journey from here. Going to and fro from here would be quite hectic.
Good news! Dad’s car arrived here earlier and he handed the keys to me!. I was overly excited!
I was overjoyed I finally own a car i can call mine. I thanked him profusely for it and peppered his face with kisses. He was so cute with his emabarassed face.
Mark was driving me to school. It was almost 5:00pm. Dad wanted to drive me down personally but I told him he didn’t have to. We got there faster than I expected and we made our way to the hostels.
I approached my floor, counting numbers on the doors to lacate my room, once I found it, I knocked on the door slightly as I was told I had a roommate.
A voice responded behind the door “I’m coming, just a moment please”.
A moment later, the door opened slightly, I saw a white towel first before a face came up.
My eyes widened as I stared at the lady before me, only one name came to mind at that moment,
“Brenda?”
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