Scary And Sexy At The Same Time

Elena could only take a deep breath. She took out several brochures from her coat pocket. It was a brochure for the part-time job she would apply for. She decided to find another job that would provide her with an extra income.

All this time she had managed the flower shop, but she was not given any money for her work by Aunt Ursula. These few days, they even began to refuse to feed her.

This made Elena convinced that she had to be able to support herself. Besides the flower shop, she also worked as a part-timer at a convenience store.

"I am going to apply for this job next Monday," Elena muttered after she saw the brochure once again.

She ripped the wrapping of the expired bread that she had picked up from Mrs. Ballerin's store. She chewed the bread with a glass of water.

***

As usual, this morning Elena had woken up earlier than the rest of the people in the house. She cleaned up the living room where her aunt and her daughters had dinner last night. Then, she moved on to the dining room next to the kitchen.

Elena arranged all the dirty dishes on the table in the dishwasher. The dining table was repeatedly rubbed to make it look clean and shiny. The apartment was now tidy. It was time for her to wash the dishes. Elena didn't forget to put the dirty clothes in the basket on the washing machine.

All the cleaning tools moved along with her hand washing the dishes. Before the sun was high in the sky, the house was already clean. Only then did Elena go to work. Today she had a morning shift at Mrs. Ballerin's convenience store.

After she arrived at her workplace, Elena immediately changed into a black uniform and got ready behind the cash register. Today was usually her day off, but because Mrs. Ballerin asked her to fill in, she temporarily took over.

The first customer came in. Elena lowered her face slightly. The man walked with bold and confident steps. He was wearing an all-black suit that made him look mysterious.

When Elena glanced at the man, she immediately recognized that charming but sinister face. Ah, wasn't he the man who bought all her flowers several days ago? She couldn't forget Xavier's appearance because he looked so stiff and terrifying.

He wore an expensive-looking suit that actually looked much better on him than those models on the runway because he gave that imposing and overbearing vibe that no models could have.

He also looked very handsome with his tall pointy nose, angular jaws, and slick black hair. Elena wondered what he looked like without his sunglasses because it seemed the man never took them off.

Elena pulled down her sleeves to cover the mark caused by the man's grip yesterday. She cleared her throat a little, trying to look calm.

Xavier didn't care about anyone. He started taking out things to buy. Starting from canned drinks to ready-to-eat dishes. Xavier tossed the food on the counter, asking the shopkeeper to heat it.

His action made Elena startled. The stuff hit the counter loudly and made her feel as if she heard an explosion. She stuttered a bit because she was scared of Xavier.

"P-please wait fifteen minutes, Sir," said Elena, looking at the microwave. She didn't dare to look at the scary man.

Xavier looked closely at Elena's tense face and the girl began to nervously avoid the tall man's sharp gaze. Xavier's height must be around 1.9m because when she was standing in front of him, Elena barely reached his shoulder. Elena was 1.63m tall.

DING!

There was a sound from the microwave showing that it had done heating the food. Elena took out the food and put it on the counter. Everything had been prepared according to Xavier's request and Elena was now waiting for the man to pay for the things he bought.

Xavier's eyes were still fixed on the girl, while his hand pulled out a credit card from his wallet. After the payment was done, he took all his things from the table and left.

After the man was gone, Elena finally let out a sigh of relief. She was so scared earlier and almost didn't dare to breathe. When Xavier was around, Elena felt as if her knees become boneless. She was scared of the man.

Uff... however, she realized he was not a bad man. Yesterday, he only gripped her arm because he thought she was bothering the man in the wheelchair.

Thinking about the man made Elena wonder… how could a human have a dangerous yet sexy aura at the same time?

DING!

The door to the convenience store was opened again.

"Welcome." Elena's voice returned cheerfully to greet the customers who had just walked in, dispelling her thoughts from Xavier.

There was no time for Elena to think about love or men. What she had to do was look for a part-time job with a higher salary so that she could get into college and pay for it. It was her late mother's dream, to see her get an education.

Two girls came in. They bought some food and took it to the counter.

"Hey, aren't you Elena Neri? You were our valedictorian. Do you remember me? We went to the same school together," asked the girl while pointing at Elena. "You were very smart and had the highest grades in school. But why are you here? Are you not going to college?"

"Oh, I was taking a gap year. I plan to go this year," said Elena. "Anything else you'd like to order?"

The two girls shook their heads and then left after paying. Elena continued her work by tidying up some items as well as adding the ones that were already out of stock.

She touched the pendant that always hung around her neck. There was a photo of little Elena, her mother, and her father. It was the last family picture they had together

DING!

The door to the shop was opened again.

"Welcome."

There seemed to be no time for Elena to ponder about the past. Part-time work was always waiting for her. After this, at 4 pm, she had to sell flowers.

Even though she was tired, Elena always enjoyed working at the flower shop. For her, it was the most pleasant place because she could be close to her mother and father who were buried in the cemetery complex near the shop.