Thirteen

On Sunday morning, all dressed up, Faith entered into the house of her master and Ed for him. When she received no answer, she walked up the stairs to his bedroom and knocked before calling his name.

"Faith, is that you? Come in," Desmond said from his room in a husky voice.

"I can't go in, sir. I will just stay here till you finished," Faith persisted.

After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing her boss in his pyjamas. "Why? Are you perhaps having injury in your legs that is preventing you from coming in?" he asked but not with concern.  "Well, that's none of my business. Why are you all dressed up on a Sunday morning? Going somewhere?"

"Yes, sir. I am going to church," Faith answered.

"Church? What for?"

Amazed, she asked, "What do you mean what for, sir? Don't you attend Sunday services? Or aren't you a Christian?"

"I'm not sure if I can call myself a Christian,but don't get me wrong, I believe in God. Like, I..." he was saying, but suddenly remembered something and laughed. "You keep forgetting the rules. Mind your business, Faith."

"I am sorry," she muttered. "So, does this mean I can't..."

"You are free to go. Just make sure you get back before two pm. We're going somewhere. I'm meeting up with a client," he said and went in, shutting the door in her face. Seconds later, the door opened as Faith turned to leave.  "You can take this car. And listen, I am only giving it to you because I don't want you to give me any excuses about being late when you return," he said, giving her a car key and went inside again.

"Wow!" She cooed.  "Thank you, sir," she shouted happily walked down the stairs.  'I will cancel rude from your name. You're now a nicely cold fish,' she thought. 

———

"Where are we going, sir?" Faith asked in the car on their way to the address that had been given to her by her boss. 

"I already gave you the address," Desmond answered. "Is there a problem?" 

"No... No, sir. Do you have a blind date?" she asked. 

"What does that have to do with you?" he said rudely. 

'Nicely-rude cold fish' 

"What kind of a woman is this? Didn't she remove 'rude' from the nasty nickname this morning?" he cooed to himself. 

Faith kept mute and drove silently to their destination. She sat in the car as her employer alighted and went into an eatery and sat before a young woman. She watched intently through the transparent glass as they both shook hands in exchange of pleasantries. 

"He is too much of a workaholic. He even worked on Sundays," Faith said to herself in pity of the man who she watched smiling at the woman before him in a business-like way. 

She suddenly wondered if he had a wife or kids, or perhaps a fiancée. Well, that was none of her business. He had made it his first rule for her to 'stick' her nose out of his business. She should not make a breach of the contract she had agreed on. 

After a few hours, Desmond emerged with his client from the eatery and then said their goodbyes. 

Faith alighted from the car fast enough to open the door for her boss to go in. He said nothing when he got to her and sat comfortably in the car as Faith returned to the driver's seat, took a U-turn and drove home. 

———

Later that night, Faith was in his kitchen making him a cup of latte he had requested for. She finished and took the coffee to him in the living room. 

"Thank you," he said politely and took a sip of his drink before placing the cup on the table before him. 

"You are welcome, sir," Faith said with a broad smile at him which he did not seem to notice. He was focused on his portable computer which sat on the table beside which was the cup of latte. 

"You can have your seat. Why do you stand?" Desmond asked with no emotional expression or concern on his face. 

"Thanks a lot, sir," Faith appreciated and took her seat before him. "I have something to ask you," she said and he looked up at her. 

"What is it?" he asked, sipping his latte again. 

"Do you mind if I cook in your kitchen?" she asked, not averting her gaze from his. 

"Why? Are you having trouble with yours?" Desmond queried. 

"Hum... No. I just thought – that you might be hungry. You missed lunch, so —" 

Desmond laughed. 

"So, you're concerned about me?" he said sardonically and Faith could tell he rarely laughed like that. But —was that funny? "See Faith, you don't need to. I know I skipped lunch, but I'm okay. Aren't you hungry? You missed lunch as well, didn't you?" he pointed out. 

"Yes, but I have eaten dinner. I cooked some rice in my quarter before coming here," Faith answered. "But you see, Desmond, I really don't like going to bed on an empty stomach. If you were living with my mum, she would not take it easy with you," she added. 

"My mum, either," he said, his expression glum now. His mother would always force him to eat whenever he didn't feel like.. But he was not ready to think about that now. That was a long time ago and a sore spot for him. Those memories were all in his past. 

Faith, sensing his sudden change of mood, rose up from her seat and went to sit beside him. "Why are you sad? Is this about your mum? Do you mind sharing?" 

Desmond forced a smile. "Share? Didn't you say you wanted to cook? I am hungry all of a sudden," he said, switching his mood back to the normal Anderson Desmond's serious look. 

"Okay, then. Give me some minutes," Faith said and rose. 

"Rule number four," he quickly said before she walked into the kitchen. 

Faith turned to him and urged him on with a tilt of her head to the right. 

"You must not be less than five steps away," he said, more like a warning. 

———

Faith watched her boss devoured the rice she had served him. How could he claim not to be hungry at first when he was famishing? 

"Is the food o..kay? I mean, is it delicious?" Faith asked from behind the couch at the sitting room. His fourth rule made her do so. She would have to be watching from afar. Not really from afar, though. The dining room he was was just some steps away. 

" If you took after your mum,she must be a great cook," Desmond praised indirectly and smiled. 

"You are correct. My mum is a great cook," she said. 

Finishing his food, he asked after gulping down two glasses of water, "Why are you standing there? Come closer."

"Your fourth rule deprived me of that. Have you forgotten?" 

"Oh! That rule is for your good, actually. I don't want you to get fired real soon," he replied. 

"Get fired? What do you mean?" He had said something about that before,but she wanted him to explain better. 

"Every lady that gets that close to me as you did earlier will end up falling in love with me which I hate the most," he explained. "That was what happened to Cici, my former cook, my former secretary and many more like that," he added. 

'He's weird,' Faith thought. 

"I am not weird, Faith. My charm is just too luring that they could not resist loving me which ended up being their doom," he said in reply to her thought, but she was too occupied to realize what he had replied to. 

'Charm my foot! You're handsome, though.'  Faith raised a brow. "You have quite a lot of confidence in yourself, huh? Well, for your information, I am not like them. But wait — Couldn't you just find a better excuse if you want to fire someone than that?" 

"I can forgive anything except you loving me. If you steal my money, my clothes, gold watches or even embezzle my funds, I can forgive you. But, if you love me? Oh, no, that's out of it. Love is so dumb, stupid - Hugh! Disgusting," he said and rose to his feet and went to the living room. 

Turning to him, she asked," But, why? I believe love is beautiful and —"

Desmond glared at her and the rest of her words did not dare come out. He shook his head and leaned back on the couch he was sitting on.  "It seems I became more of a talkative just now. Oh, wait, how could I not expect to be a talkative after eating food prepared by  one?" he said and rose to his feet. "You can go to your quarter now, it is late," he added, carried his laptop, but not his latte, and went up the stairs. 

She was speechless with many questions popping up in her mind. How could someone who preached love to live to people be a love hater? She could not wrap her fingers around it. She had been working with him for two months now but tonight was the first time he talked to her that way and even ate her food. He would always decline whenever she offered to cook for him.

And how could 'Love's dumb, stupid' come out of his mouth? He was a strange man who did not live up to his teachings. He made the world believe in love, but he didn't. 

Faith walked sluggishly out of the room to her quarters. She went in and locked the door from behind, then sat on a couch in her sitting room. Everywhere was silent with no sound at all. 

Could his loneliness be his reason for what he had said? Or could it be because of his parents? He never mentioned them until tonight when he mentioned his mother. He had even fired several workers just because he found out they loved him? That was strange, of course. 

"Then, what made him become someone who cures and counsels the love-sick people and singles?" Faith pondered aloud. 

Something must be really wrong somewhere. Nothing would happen without a cause, right? 

Her boss was the loveliest man when dealing with his clients at or outside the office, but the hater of what he had made his source of livelihood at home. How could that be? She had to find out and do something about it. 

But how? 

She had to make him understand what love was before she could get to make him open up to her. She wanted to let him feel it and make him irresistible to the feeling. She would turn him into a lover — a great lover of love. 

Though, that could cost her her job if he found out.