I dipped myself in the pool, feeling intense anxiety. What the fck is he doing here? I know that his is his house b-but, ugh!
Rozzean's gaze was still on my mind.
Relax... just relax, Thaliana Tangi. He's on the third floor of the rooftop, and it's dark down here because all the lights are off. It's impossible for him to have seen my face. B-But, I'm a mestiza. My skin is fair; I'm sure he saw my body! And to think I was floating, ugh!
I quickly resurfaced, and when I looked up, he was no longer in his spot. I hurriedly put on my pajamas and t-shirt. I decided to pass through the back to avoid crossing paths with him in the living room!
After putting on my clothes, I grabbed the towel. But then, I remembered my mole and let out a soft scream. My fckng mole!
"Damn! I placed it on my clothes! w-where the hell is it?!" I immediately looked down, but because it was dark, it was hard to find it. I was sure it fell somewhere around here.
This is so annoying! Ahhh, I am an id/ot!
I bent down, searching for my mole on the black tiles.
"Why are the tiles black too?!" I complained softly. Okay, I am panicking, I need to hurry. I needed to find it quickly. It's the only one! You annoying mole!
As I continued to search while bent over, I froze when I heard the deep baritone voice of my boss, Rozzean.
I am dead.
"Tali."
I felt like I couldn't breathe for a few seconds and my soul just left me. My mole was nowhere to be found, and Rozzean was standing right in front of me! What should I do?
"S-Sir? Why?" I asked while still bent over. I couldn't lift my head, even though I was wearing my fake bangs and fake freckles, my mole that Rozzean had noticed twice was missing!
"Why are you not looking at me?"
"S-Sir?" I questioned.
"I said, why aren't you looking at me? I'm talking to you."
I tightly gripped my towel and still didn't look at him. When I felt him taking a step closer to me, I involuntarily stepped back. Huh? My eyebrows furrowed. I glanced down at my feet because I felt like I had stepped on something. Holy sht. I think that's my mole!
"S-Sir, I'm sorry, Manang said it was okay for me to swim in the pool. I-I thought you wouldn't be coming home tonight," I stammered, still avoiding eye contact.
"I'll punish you if you don't look at me now."
P-Punish? I got nervous. I held my towel tightly and tried to come up with an excuse just so I wouldn't have to look at his face. But when I looked at my towel, I came up with an idea.
I put the towel over my head and covered my face with it. Now, only my eyes were visible. I turned to face Rozzean. I held the edge of the towel in front of my nose so he couldn't see my entire face.
"It's not a problem if you go for a swim in the pool. My concern was that you went to the deeper part. When you suddenly sank, I went down immediately. That area is risky because it's very deep. I thought you drowned."
I let out a sigh of relief when I heard what he said. But I raised my eyebrows. Is he indirectly saying that he... got worried?
"Sir, were you worried about me?" I asked, but he remained silent. He cleared his throat and looked away.
"Ayieee... sir, you were worried about me, huh?!" I said. It was not a question anymore. He really has a kind side, huh?
He turned his head to the right.
"Open the lights," he commanded, and suddenly, the lights around the pool came on.
Wow! His house has voice-controlled lights! So high-tech.
"Tali."
I looked at him when he called my name. He had his arms crossed and was staring straight at me. His biceps were impressive. And oh, he looked gorgeous with his dishevelled hair.
"Sir?" I asked.
"You are in my house. If something bad happened to you, like if you drowned and died, who do you think would be held responsible?"
I gasped behind the towel when I heard what he said. This guy is such a pain! He didn't actually worry about me! He was thinking about what to do if I died inside his house! I hoped and smiled for nothing!
Jerk!
"Dead already?! I know how to swim, sir. I told Manang, that's why I took a dip there! And if I ever die inside your house, just throw my body in the sea!"
I saw him sighing and his eyes were still looking at me. Also, he looks like he is reading what's on my mind.
What's this guy thinking right now? I'm sure he saw my body because I was doing the floating style. I have fair skin, and I'm sexy. Did he see it?
"Get inside. Don't stay here longer," suddenly, he ordered, then turned and walked away.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Rozzean disappeared from my sight. Thank goodness he didn't notice anything strange, and thank goodness my brain worked and I thought about covering my face with the towel.
"You almost got caught, Thaliana Tangi," I muttered to myself, and looked down.
I crouched down and picked up the mole that I stepped on.
"You annoying mole, you're the one who's going to get me in trouble! damnit. This is a bad idea. Why did I even think of using a mole as a disguise?!"
I walked to the back of the house. I quickly headed to my room and took a shower. After finishing, I changed into my pajamas and a long-sleeved shirt. I used the hairdryer in my room to dry my hair, then I carefully fixed my fake freckles. I made sure my bangs were in place too.
After returning the hairdryer to its place, I noticed a pair of reading glasses in my drawer. I decided to try them on.
"These might work."
I put on the reading glasses and looked at myself in the mirror. It seemed like a good addition to my disguise. If Rozzean asks, I'll just say my eyes have been getting blurry, hence the glasses.
I needed to come up with plenty of excuses.
"And you, my little mole," I said as I picked up my mole from the table. I applied glue to it.
"Please cooperate. I am begging you!"
I attached it to my left cheek and pressed it firmly, checking if it would stay in place. Thankfully, it held well. I hope this won't get me into trouble again!
I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room and examined my appearance.
"Bangs, check! Freckles, check! Reading glasses, check! And the mole..." I tapped it, and it didn't budge. It was firmly in place.
"Check!"
I went down to the kitchen, still feeling nervous about facing Rozzean. However, based on what he said earlier, it seemed like he didn't notice anything unusual about my appearance. He's quite observant, so maybe he just chose not to mention anything.
I need to be careful.
"Oh, Tali, have you met Sir?" Manang asked.
She was setting the table, and I approached to help her.
"Yes, Manang. It's embarrassing. He was on the rooftop, and he saw me at the pool. We thought he wouldn't be coming home," I replied.
I fetched some juice from the fridge and poured us both a glass.
"Is he going to have dinner, Manang?" I asked.
"He didn't say. But you almost bumped into each other earlier. Just a few minutes after you went to the pool, he arrived. I'm sorry, Tali, I'm just used to him coming home around seven, so I thought he wouldn't be back," Manang explained.
I shook my head, assuring her it was okay. "No worries, Manang. He didn't get mad or anything. He just mentioned that the pool was deep, and he thought I might drown."
Manang served our dinner, and the aroma of her chicken curry made my mouth water. Suddenly, my stomach growled loudly. Manang looked at me and chuckled softly, and I couldn't help but blush as I awkwardly scratched my belly.
"I'm sorry, Manang," I said, embarrassed, while rubbing my tummy.
"It's alright, dear. It's quite late, and we haven't eaten yet," Manang reassured me as she checked the time.
"But, Tali, could you please check on Sir? He didn't say if he'd be having dinner. Just ask if he'd like to eat so we can bring him some food to his room," Manang requested.
I wanted to avoid Rozzean, but here I am.
"Alright, or would it be okay if I brought the food myself?" I asked.
Manang clasped her hands together and nodded, "That would be better!"
Once Manang had prepared the food, I placed it on a tray and made my way to our boss's room.
"This house is such a hassle, it's so huge and the stairs are going to heaven," I muttered to myself as I walked carefully while holding the tray of food.
Ugh... My legs are getting quite the workout!
When I reached the third floor, I took a deep breath, panting from the climb. It was quite a hike. I wonder if I could suggest him to make an elevator since his house is very high-tech?
But my other mind suddenly scolded me," So would you stay that long here?
Of course not!
"Sir."
I didn't lower the tray I was holding and just called out to him.
"Sir, Manang has sent dinner for you. She thought you might want to eat. It's chicken curry very yummy--"
I couldn't finish my words when the door suddenly opened. And as soon as I saw our boss, my eyes widened. My throat suddenly went dry.
Holy smokes! He was shirtless again a-and only wearing just boxer shorts! The h-hotdog-- n-no don't look at that part, Thaliana!
"You are noisy," he said. I swallowed hard upon hearing his baritone voice.
He seemed to have just come out of the shower because I could smell his body wash. His hair was all tousled and wet.
"What? Why are you just looking at me?"
Grumpy!
"Here it is, sir, your food. Manang Selya sent it. She thought you might be hungry," I repeated.
"I don't know why you're talking sarcastically and casually to me even though I am your boss."
I winced.
I remembered what he had said on my first day here at the mansion. He had told me that it was okay to speak that way as long as I didn't develop any liking for him.
I was about to open my mouth to defend myself when he grabbed the tray from me.
"Give me that."
But it wasn't the tray he held. It was my hands holding the tray. I slightly pulled back when I felt something. W-Was that a spark?
After he took the tray from me, I excused myself.
"All right, sir. You can call me on my cellphone when you're done eating so I can pick up your used dishes," I said, "I'll be heading down now."
My heart beat so fast. Why did that skin contact make me feel like this?
As I was turning to leave, he called out to me.
"Wait."
I faced him again, puzzled. "Why, sir?"
He was looking at my face. I gulped and got conscious.
"Your mole."
When I heard that, my evil self shouted annoyingly. What's wrong with my mole again?!
"Why, sir?" I asked calmly and touched my mole. Just take it normally, Thaliana. Maybe he thought your mole was cute. That's why he always notices it. Yes. That's right. Keep calm.
"It moved."
I was taken aback by what he said.
"It's not supposed to be in that spot."
My patience has run out. The calmness suddenly faded away. Fck. Seriously, this was getting ridiculous. He even noticed the position and he looked so curious!
"My mole is alive, sir! And living moles move on their own! Don't you know that, sir?!" I said, trying to just answer his question, but I know I sounded mad.
Rozzean stared at me. His eyes never leave my face.
"Really? I didn't know," his lips twitched as if he was about to smile because he heard something amusing.
"If you didn't know before, sir, now you do!"
When he didn't respond, I lowered my head and took heavy steps away while breathing heavily.
I couldn't believe it! This mole was going to be the death of me! I regret putting one on my face!