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“Oh, and one other thing,” I’m impressed by the casualness in my voice. It’s certainly not how I feel inside. “There was a call for you this morning from, um, Lillian Camden. She said it was urgent.”
When his mother’s name slips past my lips, Leo freezes. Then he looks up and his green eyes have gone completely flat. There’s nothing there. Complete indifference and void of all life.
“Tell Lillian that if she has something critical to talk about, she should make an appointment.”
His voice is icy enough to freeze a volcano. Honestly, I’m used to his passive voice, and even his angry voice. This is something… different. To say I’m taken aback by his reaction is an understatement.
“B – But Leo, she’s yourmother,” I hear myself say before I can stop the words from tumbling out.
Leo turns his attention to me and I wish more than anything I had just nodded and left the room. He firmly places, no, slams the pen on the wood with a loud thud. I flinch slightly and my breath hitches as a new fire starts to fill his lifeless eyes.
“I know who she is, Isa. And my message stays the same.” Gone is the iciness in his tone, and it’s replaced by pure rage.
I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out as I see his stare intensifying. Knives don’t cut it in describing how deadly his eyes are. They feel like they tear through the fabric of space and time itself, and it makes me even more depressed thinking that someone so successful and renowned would have such a strained relationship with his mother. But I keep repeating in my head that it’s not my place, and trying to say something about it has already clearly burned me to dust.
“I understand, Leo. My apologies,” I finally concede, but my heart still shatters as a million thoughts race through my head.
Without another word, I walk back to my desk with the critically important documents. I can hear him typing angrily on his keyboard, but I can’t quite see him as I sit down on my office chair. I put the folder neatly on the side of my desk, and then I just go back to work. Checking emails, taking calls, tracking expenses, making schedules for Leo, but I can’t shake the sad feeling away.
Personally, I can’t imagine being on such bad terms with my own mother. I owe everything to her, but I guess I don’t know Leo’s life story to pass any form of judgment, so I try to forget about it. It’s times like these that I kind of internally scold myself for prying into other people’s personal life. I shouldn’t really let my emotions get the best of me, and I know that, but it’s just so hard to not do anything when Ican. I take a deep breath, hoping he won’t fire me over this.
My head starts to ache as I remember that I haven’t told Leo that I’m literally two months away from leaving the United States.
“Oh, what a clusterfuck– ” I mutter, rubbing my eyes with my fingers in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing in my head.
“What’s a clusterfuck? Is there something else I should know about?” I practically fly from my chair in shock when I hear Leo’s voice right behind me.
I shake my head, ignoring his question.
He looks at his watch impatiently.
“Well, we still have a couple of hours.” Surprisingly, he sounds a little calmer than he did back in his office.
My optimistic self likes to think that he’s being apologetic, but that’s just my wishful thinking speaking because he has zero reasons to apologize to me right now.
“Leo, I’m sorry. I was just – “
“All I’m saying is we still have some work to do today, so if you’re ready, please join me over at Studio Six,” Leo cuts me off, and as if on cue, the elevator opens and he swiftly walks inside.
I don’t even think about it. I’m immediately on my feet and I sprint inside, trying to hide a smile forming on my lips. I can’t help but look over Leo’s defined jaw and his sculpted shoulder as I stand behind him. His cologne immediately fills the elevator, and I would go as far as to describe it as intoxicating.
I may not be here in two months' time, but nobody in the government’s preventing me from enjoying these last few moments of working as the assistant of one of the biggest film studios in Hollywood. Maybe if I close my eyes and just relish this feeling, it would hurt less once I board that plane back to the Philippines.
But goddamn it,I want to stay.
Chapter 5
Leo
It’sbeenaratherroutine week for me. Besides the fact that there is something clearly going on with Isa. She’s usually so on top of her game, but she’s been… off.
The rest of production and corporate matters are all still in line, so I guess she technically is doing her job. I say that, but when I hear her talk while she’s taking calls, I can easily tell that there’s something bothering her. She’s usually upbeat and chirpy when talking to anyone who would call my office, but now she’s rather timid and unenthused.
“Leo Camden’s office. How may I help you?” I can hear Isa speak with a lack of energy, and I try not to care how she does her job as long as she’s doing it, but I’m not going to be naïve and think that hearing her lethargic tone isn’t affecting me. In fact, I kind of find it distracting. “This is noted, sir. Please wait for me by the studio to pick up the script revisions for approval,” she continues. Thankfully, this means that she’s going to be out of the office for a while, and I can focus on my work without any outside distractions.
I vaguely see Isa walk in the elevator, and before it closes, I can see the dark bags underneath her brown eyes. Not to mention her hair is a bit all over the place instead of its usual sleek waterfall. Her shoulders are slightly slumped and her brightness has dimmed.
I understand that she might have some issues or disinterest, but I can’t really have someone who represents me walk around my own company looking like that. I’ll have to have a talk with her later, but for now, I enjoy the quiet peace of my office now that her low energy voice is gone. It doesn’t last as long as the elevator dings and opens again, and I let out an annoyed sigh, thinking she’s suddenly fast and efficient again.
