Ruby didn't know how far she had walked, from the restaurant to her house, but she did, with the box that was packed at the restaurant in one hand and her bag in the other.
She walked to her apartment and got into the elevator. Thankfully, it was still working. If she had to go up to her apartment through the stairs to the third floor, she would have been exhausted. Finally, she got to the door of her apartment and unlocked the door, the bunch of keys already in hand. As she pushed the door in and walked by it to enter into the apartment, the edge of her dress pocket was caught in the knob, pulling her back and making her fall down flat on her ass. Thankfully, the box of food she was holding wasn't that much affected, but the content of her bag was scattered on the floor. Frustrated, she sat there instead of getting up and letting lose the wail she had been suppressing in her. She began to shake uncontrollably, crying as she remembered everything she had gone through in a day. Her day had started in a nasty way when her boss had started with complaining about how she was dressed and how her clumsiness was irritating, taking a toll on her already stressed brain. After that, he had continued to frustrate her; sending her randomly to get coffees for meetings, picking up his clothes from the dry cleaner, and being an ass about it. Mr. Randal had always done that, and she had always put up with it, but he had never fired her like he did today, and that was what made it a very bad day for her. Now, as if that wasn't enough, she had been humiliated by her boyfriend, well, her ex-boyfriend. Everything he said back at the restaurant kept ringing in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to wail. She hated that she had made herself an object of ridicule because of the way she dressed, and then because she had been so blind she didn't see him for who he was.“Ruby?” she heard someone call and she looked up to see Olivia wrapped in a white towel, her hair wet, telling her that she had just gotten out of the shower. She had a frown on her face as she looked at her, and Ruby swallowed down the lump in her throat. God, she had forgotten all about Olivia telling her that she would be waiting at home. She didn't know whether she should be grateful to her or not for being home right now. She hated people seeing her cry, but Olivia had seen her at her worst, so that want the problem. The fact that she was crying over something like this was what she found pathetic, and she knew Olivia would see that too the moment she told her. She knew she would never judge her, but the "I told you so” in her eyes would kill her even more. “What's going on, Ruby?” she asked and she walked to the front door to close it shut. She turned back to her and crouched in front of her with one knee on the ground. She touched her shoulder and asked again. "Is this about your job?” Ruby shook her head with a bitter smile and then she looked at Olivia. "No, Livy. This is worse.” She said. "It's literally breaking my heart, but I don't even want to talk about it. Talking about it makes it even more real than it was.” She said. Olivia’s frown deepened. "I'm not going to let you keep whatever is making you cry like this in your mind, Ruby, so please, out with it.” Ruby dropped her head and shook her head. "It's Roy, Olivia. He broke up with me over his birthday dinner.” She said at last, after a stretch of silence. Olivia wrapped her hands around her left arm and started to pull her up. "Get up, Ruby. Let's go into the living room.” She said. Ruby blew out a long shaky breath, and then she used the sleeve of her blouse to clean up her face. She would have used it to blow her snort as well, but Roy’s words came back to haunt her. Ruby wasn't a dirty person, she hated dirty and unorganized things with passion, Olivia could testify to it. It was the reason she was the one that did most of the house chores, including washing the toilet and bathroom in their apartment, almost every day. Somehow, Roy had made her doubt herself, which should make her happy that he had broken up with her because she didn't need that sort of person in her life, bringing her down. They sat down on the couch that was facing the small screen television that was on the shelf pushed against the wall. Ruby looked at Olivia and the look that was on her face made her break right down in tears again. Olivia didn't have to say it, but she could see that she was sorry this had happy, but most especially, the look that she had told her so, that she could have avoided her heart shattered like this, was what got to her. There can only ever be the memory of heartbreak when she thought of the first person she had ever dated and kissed.Roy was her first for a lot of things, and he had made the memory a tainted one. He had been so cruel with it that he spoilt even the best ones they had shared as a couple. He might have told her that not having sex wasn't the reason for what he did, but everything he had told her, boiled down to it, right from the way she dressed and what she couldn't give. Although, he was right about that, but what she was sure she gave was her loyalty, her time, her love, and devotion. She had done the things she knew he loved, the things that he cared about, even things she disliked that he loved. This was what she got for all of that. Maybe she might not have been in love with him, but she had loved him, and respected him as well. “You have to stop crying and tell me what exactly happened. What did that asshole say to you?” Olivia said, asking. She looked at her cousin again, and this time, she found the courage to go over everything again, from the insults to the confessions of cheating. He had told her plaining that he had always cheated on her, even though she had no clue. She wondered why he had told her that when she had never suspected anything. She guessed that he just wanted to hurt her even more than he already had by breaking up with her. After she was done narrating everything, and how humiliated she had felt, Olivia shook her head and pulled Ruby into a tight hug. She needed it, as much as she could get, she thought. The poor woman had not only lost her job but she had also lost her boyfriend on the same day. If Olivia was being honest, then she would admit to herself that she was happy the latter happened. Not only was the man an asshole, but there was something about him that smelled evil to her. He was just a very bad person, and even though he had always tried to conceal that, Olivia had seen right through him. She had the knack for seeing people for exactly who they were, it was a gift and she had always used that to choose her friends or partner. But, one thing she couldn't do was tell Ruby that she had always warned her because it would hurt her even more than she already was. She used her right palm to pat her back as calmly as possible to give a calm effect to her, but she wasn't even close to that. If anything, Olivia was feeling so angry she could bust the ass’s nose and hit him for as much as her nurse’s hands would allow before she had to stop so that she could go to work. She wouldn't want to ruin her hand because of some man that doesn't even deserve to breathe the same air as she does.Ruby had her head resting in Olivia’s lap as she cried, while Olivia had her right hand in her hair, massaging her scalp and hoping that would get her to stop crying. She was still burning with fury but she tried to not show it for her dear cousin’s sake. It wasn't easy to go through what Ruby had just in one day, so she would try to stop her from crying. Besides, crying was good, it meant that she wouldn't keep it in and later hurt herself from the compressed emotions she felt. "Do you think that I don't dress well?” Ruby asked Olivia suddenly, turning her body so that she was now facing her. Olivia's hand stopped massaging her scalp and she stared down at her. She sighed, wondering how best she would answer her. She shook her head slowly and said. "No, Ruby. I would say that you can do better if you want, but if you want to go with this, nothing is wrong with it. You're a beautiful woman, and no matter what you wear, including a sack of rice, you'll look good.” Ruby smiled, and
Someone was shaking her awake, but Ruby just wanted to sleep for five more minutes. She didn’t have a job to go to anyway, and it wasn’t as if she had a date she was going for. She seriously just needed her beauty sleep. She was going to sleep more and see if the person would leave her the hell alone. “Wake up you brat. You can't just stay in all day without going out to look for a job.” The voice said and Ruby groaned. She popped one of her eyes open to look at the annoying person and it turned out to be the only person it could be. Olivia!“Leave me alone, for goodness sake. I just want to sleep for five more minutes.” She said. "Well, you've been saying that since six o’clock and this is seven o’clock. I'm going to work in an hour but I sure as hell won't leave you at home to continue your moping around routine.”Ruby rolled her closed eyes and then she opened them to look at her cousin who decided to be annoying today. She had lost her job and her boyfriend a week ago, so why w
"Ms. Hardin?" Ruby heard a voice call and she jerk out of her thought.That meant that it was almost her turn, seeing as the woman they had just called was beside her. Her nervousness increased and she tried taking a deep breath so that she could calm her nerves down a notch. It was just like that, no problem at all, but she was prone to riling herself up like that all the time.It wasn't her fault, it was probably how she was wired, plus it was Olivia’s fault for not hinting to her about the job before this morning. Now, everything was a disaster.It wasn't only her work life that was a disaster though. Her love life was the worst, but she couldn't think about that now. She shook her head and muttered to herself again, wanting for this interview to be over as fast as it could.She had prepared all the way here in the car for the interview and she had even practiced some of the questions she knew they always asked in common. She just hoped that her nerves wouldn't get in the way and
Ruby walked erratically, not sure of what to do. She was left with nothing but the clothes she had worn this morning. Her bag had been stolen, which meant that she had no money for a bus or cab. She walked to the bus stop even though she was sure she couldn't board the bus without any money.The rain was falling so heavily, and it had drenched her to the bone if that was a thing. She wanted to go into an alley and scream her throat out, getting out the fury that she was feeling.She was so angry at herself and if she had a chance or even the courage to do so, she would have taken a blade to her wrist even if it was just to punish and not to kill herself.Why was she so stupid, so much that she had forgotten something so important? She asked herself.Her dress, or rather, Olivia’s dress, clung to her body with the rain that had drenched her. She was starting to feel the cold creep into her body so deep that her teeth were starting to clash.She was beyond a reasonable doubt, hopeless
“I've been calling you all day to know how the interview went.” That was the first thing Olivia told her as she entered their apartment later that night. She dropped her bag on the kitchen counter before coming to sit with her on the couch. Ruby sighed, just at that moment, remembering that she had lost her phone earlier. “I had the craziest day today, Livy.” She said, and then she explained how stupid she had been today at the interview she went for. As she narrated the event, Olivia stared at her with her eyed widened in surprise and her mouth opened as if she had never heard such stupidity before. “What the hell, Ruby?” Olivia asked, frowning. “You don't have to say it, Livy. I definitely know that I had been a fool. I was just so uncollected and nervous that I ruined the interview.” She said. “And you're this calm? You lose your phone and your money but you're this calm? How?” she asked, wondering if she had missed the part where her cousin had cried her eyes out. Her eyes
“That's how I got a job as a nanny.” She said to Olivia. She had a pleased smile on her face, talking to her because she knew that it was something she would be happy about. As she predicted, Olivia smiled, marveled at the way luck had shone on her. "So, what's the name of the people you're supposed to work for?” she asked her. Ruby shrugged her shoulder. "All I have is a name, and nothing more. I also know I have to look after two kids and the house is in the rich neighborhood of New York. I think it's in Hudson Yards.” She said. "You should have asked more questions about who you would be working for, you know.” Ruby nodded. "Yes, I really should have but I was half happy and half nervous about the whole thing. I couldn't even eat the lunch the woman bought for me properly.” She said. Olivia threw her head back and laughed like a crazy person. "Of course, you can't. She bought you a salad and some crazy ass diet person meat that tasted bland.” She said. Rolling her eyes, Ruby a
Slowly, she followed him, looking around the living room as she went. The design of this house must have cost a fortune. She could see that everything smelled of class. The first thing that came to her mind was that this place was made with gold because of the color of everything, including the couchesThere were about six large couches and a single one placed together around to form a large but cozy half circle, and she recognized the designs from one of those sleekly glossy magazines Olivia use to bring home every once in a while. They were part of the ones they had tagged "one in a kind” by a renowned carpenter that made all his furniture by hand and with the most expensive wood Bocote. The couches had been labeled as a little above two hundred thousand dollars, and Ruby was just marveled.The floorboard on the floor looked like a teak wood, which she had also seen somewhere in the magazine. The curtains looked like they had been handmade and shipped from some Turkish village. They
Why didn’t anyone tell her how this man looked? He was insanely hot for a dad. She wasn’t sure was she expected, but here she was now and all she could do was stare. He had intense blue eyes that looked like the color of the sea, and on his chiseled jaw was a five o’clock stubble that made him look sexy as sin. He had a hard stare, but she knew that wasn’t real because he sure wouldn't look at his kids with eyes this cold. There was something about him that called to her, but she wasn’t sure in what way that was. She watched the way his muscles bucked under the white buttoned shirt; with the two top buttons undone of course, and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. It was paired with a well fitted gray pants, shiny black shoes, and a frustrated expression on his face like he wants nothing more than to get the hell out of his office so he could go beat the hell out of whoever was on the other end of the phone moments ago. His hair must have been so tussled up from him raking his fin