13 13 The Visitor

Did I put them in a bad situation? Did my Genie get mad at them because I didn't stop by the restaurant? I felt a bit embarrassed with the message. It is not their fault that I decided to leave immediately from the hotel. I hope that doesn't put them in trouble. And the roses, should I ask him to send them to me? And how does he know my address? Did my Genie give all my details to the staff as well? I brushed off all the questions and started replying.

"You don't need to worry about it. I have food at home, and I didn't want it to get spoiled, so I decided to go home immediately. And about the roses, I think it is okay for you to display them in any part of the hotel. My place is quite small, and I am sure it cannot accommodate all the roses. Thank you, that was so sweet of you to send me a message."

End of message.

Actually, it was a lie that I had food at home. I just don't have the confidence to eat in a fine dining restaurant with my clothes. I will make sure next time that I won't put Michael and others in trouble. My phone beeped again.

"That is my part of my job, Miss Myers. We were happy that you spent the weekend here. It was a pleasure serving you."

End of message.

I decided not to reply anymore since I think it is not necessary. I hope I can talk to my Genie. It doesn't matter if I don't see his face as long as I am able to talk to him and thank him. Maybe I can also share my thoughts to him. I hope he is single. What if I would end up having a relationship with him? I don't want to expect too much. I hope this is not the same with what happened to me and Lance. I know myself and I know that I fall in love easily especially to people who make me feel special. I kind of like this guy now even without seeing him yet. I wish I will not fall in love so deeply and get disappointed at the end.

I started watching Korean drama, hoping that the character in the story is me and the leading man is my Genie. Just thinking about it makes me happy and excited. I am really looking forward for the next surprises. I was imagining when my phone beeped. I checked for the message and it is from an unregistered phone number again.

"Why didn't you eat in the hotel? I prepared something special for you. I hope you really have food at home. – Your Genie"

End of message.

I read the message over and over again. I now have his phone number! I can talk to him when I want to but all I did was to stare at my phone and read the message. I don't have the courage to reply. I am scared that if we start talking, the mystery will be gone. I'm scared that he will finally realize how boring I am, how unattractive I am and he would decide to stop everything that he is doing for me. I am scared to find out who he is. I'm sure it is not Lance. I don't think he is that rich. What if he is a very old man? Can I still like him like how I liked Lance? I am scared to ruin everything. I decided not to do anything. I shouldn't do anything.

I was thinking of my fears and how my life would change until I fell asleep.

I woke up early the next day remembering the fears I had last night. I hope I can forget about them today and pretend like nothing happened.

I went directly to the bathroom to take a shower and prepared to go to work. I chose pants today with a pastel colored blouse, put earrings and necklace on which is not common for me to do, applied a light make up and pink lipstick. I feel satisfied looking at myself in the mirror.

"You are pretty. Don't let other people tell you otherwise. Today will be a good day." I told the girl in the mirror, then got my bag and left.

As usual, I took the bus going to work. I was listening to music while thinking about what I want my Genie to look like. I hope he is not that old, he has black, silky hair, shaven beard and mustache, kissable lips and pointed nose. I hope he is tall and always smells good. He is rich so I think he has the most expensive and famous perfume for men. But whatever he may look like, I hope he would like me. I tried to erase what I was thinking. I am super advance again.

I got off the bus and was heading to the company building when my phone rang. It is Mr. Smith. I picked the call up immediately.

"Where are you?" He asked immediately when I picked the call.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith. I am already in front of the company building."

"Good. Please come in my office immediately. We have an urgent situation and we need to prepare a presentation ASAP."

"Yes, sir. I will be there in 5 minutes."

My pace became faster than usual. What is something so urgent on a Monday morning? I asked myself. I reached the office fast and everyone seems busy, everyone who came in early was facing their computers and the maintenance staff were also busy cleaning the floors and tables.

I faced Annie in her desk and whispered, "What's happening?"

She just shrugged signaling she doesn't know.

I went to Mr. Smith's office immediately.

"Finally!" He said. "Today is a very important day, Miss Myers. If we succeed today, then it will bring a lot of revenue to our company." He sounds very excited and tense at the same time.

"Could you be more specific sir?" I asked.

"This is not the time for us to discuss about the details. You will find out about it later. What I want you to do now is check your presentation material about our company. Try to rehearse on how you would present it to our important client. After that, kindly help other staff in preparing the conference room for the meeting set at 11 a.m. today. Everything should be ready by that time. Can I count on you, Jessica?" He asked, looking determined and serious.

"Sure, sir. I will see to it that everything is ready by 11." I head out to start my work. I went directly to my working station and look for the PPT file I always use in presenting about the company. I updated some information in some slides and started rehearsing. Mr. Smith said today is a special day so I have to make sure that everything will be flawless.

After making sure that my PPT is ready, I headed towards the conference room where some of the staff are. Some are checking the equipment, some putting drinks on the table and some are laying down copies of paper for the presentation. Annie is in the corner, checking the computer to be used in the presentation.

"Who is coming? Do you know?" I asked her.

"I don't know but I heard from the PR team that someone who is very rich is planning to close a deal with our advertising firm. I heard he is planning to hire our company to manage their adverts for all their companies. I suspect it is the owner of Liberty Hotel, they are the richest in this state!" She explained.

Liberty Hotel? Can it be my Genie? Will he be the one coming here? Will I get to meet him in person today?

"Hey! Are you still there? Are you okay? I know the news is shocking but calm down okay? You will be the first to give a presentation, right? You can do it. Don't be so nervous. Whoever these people are, they are also human." She assured me.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I said and headed outside the conference room immediately. My heart beats really fast. I think I will hyperventilate soon if I don't calm down. My legs are shaking, and it seems I cannot stand for a long time. I was holding on the walls going to the bathroom.

When I reached the bathroom, I locked myself in one of the cubicles and started breathing heavily but slowly. I need to relax. I am here to work and today is an important day. I cannot ruin this day just because I am nervous. It can't be him. I'm sure it is not him. I am not even sure whether my Genie is the owner of that hotel. Wake up, Jez. It cannot be him. It will never be him. Stop acting weird.

I got out from the cubicle feeling a bit relieved. I should focus on my work and not expect too much. I should be professional. I checked my watch, it is already 10:10 a.m. 50 minutes left before the visitor arrives.

I went back to the conference room and helped other people clean the room and prepare the things needed for the presentation. I tried my best to divert my attention to other things.

10:35 a.m. when everything is already ready. I went back to my desk, got my flash drive and uttered a short prayer. I reapplied lipstick and put some powder and blush on. I can do this! I told myself.

10:45 am I am starting to feel nervous again. Why is time so fast? Can we just stop here?

10:50 am. No sign of the visitors yet. What can you expect? They are VIPs.

10:55 am when a man carrying a bouquet of flowers arrived. He walked straight to my desk and I can see from my peripheral vision that everyone in the office was staring at him while he goes to my direction.

"Miss Myers?" He said while looking at me.

"Yes?" I replied.