A Job Offer

"There is a difference between saying "I'm sorry" and Apologizing."

It's been a week since the slap incident happened. Lorenzo is still in a dilemma over whether he should go to Ava's house or not. He couldn't imagine going to the person's house who slapped her. After debating with himself, he decided to go to Ava's house and offer her a job.

***

Meanwhile, Ava has been searching for a job since last week. Somehow, the news of her slapping a big, powerful man has been the hot topic in her neighborhood. Most of the people refused to allow her to do a job at their place, thinking she might create a fuss again. They told her that they didn't want a troublemaker. Ava also went to the place where she previously worked, but soon found out that another lady had already filled her place.

Ava was desperate to do any work given to her. She was only eating once a day, and as a result, she had become even thinner than she already is. Her cheeks had turned pale due to a lack of nutritious food and the nightmares about her past. She'd been getting them a lot since that day. Her final exams were about to begin, and she had been studying all night.

She decided to go to a park today to cheer herself up. Dressed in complete black, she wore a black cap to hide herself. Either she wears a mask or covers her face with a cap. Even after two years have passed, she is still afraid of her father.

She wore black, long boots before heading out. It was the winter season, and the weather was chilly. She locked the main door of her house and started walking.

"Ava!" She heard a familiar voice. It was Lorenzo's. The same Mercedes stopped by, and Lorenzo came out of the car.

"I need to talk to you." Lorenzo said in his deep voice. He was dressed casually in a t-shirt and slacks, with messy hair. His eyes were tired, like he was in some sort of dilemma.

"Oh yeah! Come in, my buddy. Let's do Netflix and chill." Ava said sarcastically and continued, "I have nothing to talk about, and don't ever dare to come to my house again." Ava warned him.

Lorenzo noticed that Ava had become slim. Her face is no longer bright and cheerful. Her shiny eyes had become cold. He knew Ava wasn't able to find a job. He couldn't help but feel guilty. And to cover up the guilt, he decided to offer this job to her. Without wasting time in debate, he decided to get right to the point.

"I have a job offer for you." Lorenzo stated.

"And why do you think I'll accept the offer? Especially from a person like you?" Ava snapped at him.

"Because you need it." Lorenzo said in his monotonous voice. Lorenzo was getting angry, but he knew he had to offer her this job to get rid of Selena's anger.

He was right. Ava needed a job. She thought it would be dumb if she rejected his offer. So she asked him, "What is the job?"

"Can we sit and talk?" Lorenzo asked as if Ava was testing his patience.

"I'm not comfortable talking to a stranger sitting in my house, so that's a no!" Ava said it sassily yet truthfully.

Lorenzo scoffed. He was done with this sh!t. He just gave her a card and said, "I'm not interested in coming to your house either, Miss. Take this. It has information about the job. And when you are inside or at the entrance of the venue, don't forget to show this card to them." He stated. Ava took the card from him and went inside, shutting the door with a loud thud. Lorenzo chuckled unexpectedly. Even in his wildest dreams, he never thought he would find a girl adorable. He shook his head, as if disappointed in himself, and sat in his car and drove back home.

Ava peered through the door and saw that Lorenzo had left. She locked the door and started walking towards the park. When she reached the park, she sat on a bench while looking at the kids playing in the park, a happy family where the parents are playing with their child, a mother wiping the dust off her child's clothes. She never had that kind of childhood. Playing in a park was a dream; she was never even allowed to step out of the house except for school.

She realized that she still had the card with her. She opened the envelope and looked at the card. In the card, it was written that she had to do a waitress's job in a restaurant named "The Royals." She knew restaurants were crowded places, and she hated them. She hoped that the given restaurant wasn't big. She was perfectly fine with working as a waitress and decided to start right away.