CHAPTER 10

Carmela Gordon put on a sweet smile as she exited the elevator and as always, she looked sophisticated in her outfit. She’s maybe in her fifties but she refused to dress according to her age. As she walked towards Jacob’s office, excitement rose in her chest. One of her friend’s daughter just came back from Europe and she’s excited to introduce her son to Zanetta Matsuda.

            However, the office was empty!

            She walked towards Jacob’s desk and sat on it. She waited but Jacob and his secretary were nowhere to be found. It was a few minutes later when she heard a woman's voice somewhere in the office and wondered if Jacob brought someone inside and gasped.

            As a mother, she wanted her son to settle down as soon as possible but Jacob refused to date anyone she recommended to him. Zanetta was her last hope because she used to be his friend when they were younger. Whoever was inside the comfort room, she wished that it wasn’t someone with a questionable background. She wouldn’t mind having a daughter-in-law from a different background as long as she could make her son happy.

            She wasn’t supposed to do it but she got curious. She tried to push the door and it wasn’t locked. Slowly, she peeked inside and loudly gasped when she saw Stefan holding a sanitary napkin.

            “Mrs. Gordon!” Stephanie exclaimed when Jacob’s mother stared at the sanitary napkin on her hand.

            Carmela stared at Stefan from head to toe and finally, it made sense why his features were too delicate. “You’re a woman!” She concluded and Stefan lost all the color on his face. “Oh my God! You’re a woman!” Carmela covered her mouth in disbelief.

            “Mrs. Gordon,” Stephanie called for the woman’s name when she didn’t know how to deal with her. She shouldn’t have lowered her guard down just because Jacob wasn’t around!

            Carmela paced back and forth as she waited for Jacob’s secretary to come out from the comfort room. She was knocked for six when she saw Stefan holding the sanitary napkin earlier.

            As soon as Stefan got out of the comfort room, she glared at him. “Sit down, Stefan. Or what should I call you as a woman?”

            Stephanie’s knees almost buckled up as she approached the woman who discovered her secret. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Gordon.” She kneeled in front of her and apologized.

            “You don’t have to do this,” Carmela said and tried to help Stefan up.

            Her eyes glistened as Jacob’s mother helped her up. “I was desperate to get a job, Mrs. Gordon. I’m not a bad person, it’s just that no one wants to hire me.” Stephanie explained.

            “You lied from the start! So, what’s your true name?” She asked.

            “Stephanie,” she replied.

            Carmela scrutinized the secretary’s face even more and she couldn’t believe that Stephanie was able to pull up a trick on her and Jacob for several weeks. “What about your tattoo? Is it also fake?” She inquired.

            Stephanie looked down because she was scared to look at Mrs. Gordon’s eyes. She was guilty beyond reasonable doubt and her action deserved the woman’s wrath. The Gordon’s didn’t deserve to be lied to, and she was selfish to involve them with her complicated situation.

            “They’re real, Mrs. Gordon.” She answered.

            “Did you have it to look like a thug? Oh God, what’s wrong with you Stephanie?” Carmela got mad that she had to ruin her flawless skin just to get a job. While it was true that desperate situations needed a desperate measure, it was wrong to go all in just to prove a point.

            “I need this job, Mrs. Gordon. I will do anything for you, please just don’t tell your son about my true gender.” She begged Carmela Gordon to let her keep the job and she promised to do anything for her. However, the woman only laughed at her situation, and she knew she fucked up big time!

            “Anything? Hmmm, why don’t you start by telling me your whole story?” Carmela challenged Stephanie to bare it all.

            Stephanie was having second thoughts to bare it all to the woman but she was desperate to keep the job. The salary she got from working as Jacob’s secretary was more than enough to support her daily needs. “Coffee?” She offered to prepare a cup for the woman because if they’re going to talk about her, it would take so much of her time.

            “No cream and sugar,” Carmela replied and smiled when Stephanie wasn’t looking. She admired the young woman’s guts, and she thought that she’s a perfect match for Jacob.

            There’s an area in Jacob’s office where two large sofas were placed across each other and in between was a wooden coffee table. It was designed to accommodate at least ten people at once. When she returned with the coffee, she was embarrassed to face Jacob’s mother.

            “Can you assure me, Mrs. Gordon, that after I tell you everything you will let me keep this job?” It would be a waste to share her story if the result would be the same, she thought.

            “You’re a calculating woman, Stephanie but you have to take a risk to gain something.” Carmela lectured Stephanie when she hesitated to bare it all.

            By all means, Carmela Gordon was right. She had to take a risk to gain, and she risked it all when she applied for the job in the first place. First, she let out a deep sigh before she began to narrate her story.

            She was in the middle of her story when she needed another cup of coffee to calm her nerves. “How about you, Mrs. Gordon? Do you need a refill?” She asked.

            “No, thank you.” Carmela declined because she had coffee at home and she shouldn’t have more than three cups a day.

            “Okay, I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Stephanie stood up to get a refill for her coffee, and when she returned, she first took a sip before she continued to narrate her story.

            Thirty minutes later, Carmela stared at Stephanie as she made up her mind on how to deal with her. “You committed a crime, Miss Cuizon.” She said and Stephanie paled.

            “Mrs. Gordon, please have mercy on me! Just this once, please?” She begged.

            Carmela sighed and then she said, “Okay, but you have to do something for me. Are you up to the challenge?”

            “Whatever it takes, Mrs. Gordon.” Stephanie replied.

            “Make him fall for you,” Carmela said.

            Stephanie knitted her brows at the woman’s remark because it confused her. “Who?” She asked.

            “Jacob,” Carmela answered.