Chapter 7 Problems

Emily

Arriving at the hospital, I bid the receptionist good morning before I continued my way to the elevator to go up to my mother's room. Walking in, I saw that she was watching television and was laughing at something that the person said.

“Mom I can see that you’re enjoying yourself,” I said while chuckling.

Taking her eye off the television, she looked at me and smiled. “I don't want to talk about me, I want to talk about you. What happened between you and Mr. handsome last night?” She probed as she sat up in bed.

“It was great. We talked and shared things from our past while we walked to the park that was a block away,” I spoke as I took a seat in the chair that was beside her bed.

“Did you tell him about what happened in high school?”

“No mom, I can never speak of what happened!” I almost shouted.

“I'm sorry sweetheart I didn't mean to upset you. It’s just that I wanted you to tell him before you guys went any further. Who knows what this ‘thing’ you guys got going on can blossom into.”

“No mom is the one who is sorry, I shouldn't have replied in that tone of voice and I don’t think this ‘thing’ that Adam and I have going on will blossom any further, he is just a friend.

Frowning, she looked at me like I was crazy before she replaced the smile with a frown. Beckoning me over, she spoke, “let’s watch Passions together.”

“Mom, didn't that show cancel like a couple of years ago, how did you find it?”

“Well, I was scrolling through and saw that they were bringing back old soap operas.” Stretching over to where she was, I placed my head on her lap and we watched the soap opera together. I must say I was happy to be watching it again, it had been years since I last saw it and watching it again allowed me to reminisce about the good old time when I used to watch it in the living room with my mom, like now but instead of being in the living room, I was in her hospital room.

When we would watch it, my dad would be in the room, grumbling about us watching soap operas and not paying him any attention. We would laugh at him and when it's over we would sit in the kitchen and talk while mom made dinner. Waking up to the sound of the room door opening, I opened my eyes wide to see that Adam was coming through the door with a bouquet. Looking over at my mom, I saw that she had fallen asleep.

I didn't even know when we had dozed off. I knew that this moment we were watching the television and laughing, and the next we were both snoring.

“Hey,” he whispered, “I didn't know you were asleep I had come by to drop off these,” he spoke while lifting the bouquet.

“I thought you were at work, seeing that you are the CEO and all.” I teased.

“Keyword CEO sweetheart which means I can do whatever I want.” Chuckling, I shook my head at him.

“I had left early, so I could give your mom these,” he said.

“You didn't have to but it was sweet of you too though,” I said, while I took them from him and placed them on my lap.

“Aww,” I heard a familiar voice come out. “Fine specimen is back and he has brought me flowers.” Chuckling at my mom's words, he went over to her and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hello Mrs. Martinez I see that you’re looking very beautiful and well,” he complimented her. Blushing, she nodded her head. Looking at them, the way they banter almost made me burst out in laughter. My mom was behaving like a schoolgirl who had just heard the three magic words from her crush while Adam was being the perfect boyfriend complimenting his girlfriend whilst trying to contain his laughter.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Martinez, I came to give you your final check-up before I release you from the hospital.” Everyone turned to the door and we saw the doctor who had informed us about my mom standing in his doctor's shirt and black slacks with black shoes on his feet. He looked around my mother's age. He had jet black hair with streaks of grey in them, he was about a foot taller than my mom's five-foot frame and he was very handsome in the face.

Walking into the room, he went up to my mother's bed and took her blood pressure, checked her pulse, and see if her pupils were properly dilated. While doing that, I could see the doctor and my mother smiling and making small talk and I wondered what happened last night between the both of them. Going into his top pocket he took out his card and handed it to her, smiling she told him she would call him.

Turning back towards us, they both were blushing, “This is Paul, he is an old friend,” my mom explained. Greeting us, he kissed her on the hand, he excused himself before he exited the room.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked her after Paul had left.

“Yes, I am,” she said excitedly. Chuckling, I knew she wanted to go home because she didn’t like hospitals. She didn’t like the smell and she did not like being cooped up in their bed. Helping her off the bed, Adam and I left her inside so she could change out of her hospital gown. About a minute later she had emerged in the clothes that I had bought for her to wear. Walking down the hall, we went into the elevator and pressed ‘one’ for the first floor. Walking up to the receptionist, I collected the bill and saw that we had owed six hundred dollars and it was due in a week. Looking at the figure my eyes almost bulged out of my head. “How was I going to pay this? I can hardly manage her medication and food for us to eat so how was I going to find six hundred dollars. Sighing, I turned to them and I knew they could see the worry on my face and the sadness in my eyes.

“What's wrong?” Adam asked.

“It's nothing,” I lied.

“Emily, what did I tell you about lying to me?” Adam asked.

“It's none of your business,” I shouted angrily. I was frustrated with this bill and the fact that it was embarrassing that I didn’t have the funds to pay the bill plus purchase food for my mom to eat fuel that frustration.

A look of hurt flashed across his face before it disappeared like it wasn’t even there. “I’m sorry for caring,” he spoke calmly before walking out.

“Emily Alessia Martinez!” My mother shouted, “that was rude of you, I thought I raised you better.”

Holding my head down, I mumbled. “Mom, I didn't want to tell him about the bill and our struggles. I didn't want to let him know that we were....”

“Poor?” She asked me to finish my sentence. Nodding my head, yes, she spoke once more. ‘Emily, he doesn't look like the kind of guy who cares about how much money a person has. He was just concerned and you shouted at him for no apparent reason. He was being so kind and you just went off like that. I am sure I thought you better and so did your dad. So, what if the entire world knows that we are poor, I don't care. All I want to know is that my baby girl is happy. Money means nothing to me and neither should it to you. Your dad and I raised you better than this and I'm very much disappointed.” And indeed, she was, I could hear it in her voice.

Walking away leaving me there, I saw she exited the building. A few minutes had passed before I found the strength to walk outside and when I did I saw that she was nowhere to be found. Grabbing a cab, I told the driver my address before he drove off. Arriving home, I walked up into the apartment building to my apartment. Testing the knob, I saw that it was open which meant that my mom was inside. Going inside, I locked the door behind me before I walked up to her door.

“Come in,” she called out. Walking inside, I saw her lying on her bed.

“I'm sorry mom, I never meant to act that way towards Adam and to embarrass or disappoint you,” I apologized to her.

“It's not me you should be apologizing to, you should be apologizing to Adam. I could see that he was hurt when he was driving me home and you did not embarrass me but you did disappoint me though. Your behavior was not called for. You need to go apologize to him.”

Nodding my head, I walked outside of her room, going inside the hall, I took out my phone from outside of my pocket and called Adam. The phone rang four times before he picked up and when he did he sounded irritated.

“Look I might be the last person you want to speak to because of the way I spoke to you earlier but I wanted to say I'm sorry. I was very frustrated and I didn't know where and how to channel it and when you spoke it kind of came out. I am under a lot of stress, I can't afford to pay my mother's medical bill neither can I afford to buy food for the house and her medications. So, you see my dilemma and why I'm so frustrated.”

“Why didn't you say something?”

“Oh, Adam I'm poor and I need money to buy essentials for the house and to take care of my mom. Was that what you wanted me to say?” I asked sarcastically. “Things like those you don’t say to someone, especially someone you just met. A stranger.”

“Point taken. Look, Emily, I have a proposition for you.”

“And what’s that?” I asked curiously.

“Here’s what's going to happen. I am going to buy your mom medications, food for your home and also pay the hospital bill and I want no objections.”

“What's the catch?”

“I want you to work for me, I want you to be my personal assistant.” A moment of silence had passed as I was thinking it over. It wasn’t a bad proposition. I thought he would have asked me to be his sex slave or something kinkier. Not that I wouldn’t probably––most likely––well I would have considered the offer. But luckily it wasn’t that, and it meant that I would be in a better financial position to take care of my mom.

“Fair enough,” I replied.

“When do I start?”

“You start at seven-thirty sharp tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I replied.

“See you tomorrow and Ms. Martinez don’t be late,” he said before hanging up.

Smiling like a loon, I could finally quit my job now that I will be working as a personal assistant for a rich tycoon who will give me a better paying salary and benefits. I can't say how happy and grateful I am towards Adam. I need to take him to a restaurant when I get my first paycheque or the second depending on how much I get to thank him for doing all of this for me. That reminded me that I still needed to think of a day for him to bring me out on a date.

Going back to my mother's room I knocked once again and I could hear her voice telling me to come inside. “Mom, I apologized to Adam and told him my situation and he has asked me to work for him as his personal assistant,” I said happily.

Chuckling at my excitement she said, “I am happy that you have gotten a new job but remember when you're in the office he is not seen as your friend but as your boss and you should treat him as such.”

“Yes mom,” I replied before kissing her on the cheek. Walking out of her room and into mine I laid on my bed and started smiling like a loon once more. Going on my laptop, I emailed my resignation letter to my manager before I settled down comfortably in bed. Taking up my phone, I opened the Kindle app before I began to read one of the books in my kindle library.