TWO: MEETING HIM

KIMBERLY

After dressing up, I came downstairs where my parents and siblings were having breakfast. We always ate together in my family and mum would never share food without any of us present except the person is not at home.

"What's with the face? We have been waiting for you," Khloe asked and scowled. "Nobody died, you know."

"Stop being mean to your sister," my dad cautioned.

I didn't say anything, I just went and sat down beside my dad. "Hi, dad."

Mum began to share the food and she put a lot on my plate and my siblings stared at my plate. Jimmy frowned and looked at my mother.

"Why are you giving Kim the largest portion of food?" Jimmy inquired.

"Our Kim needs to eat a lot of food so that she can have enough strength to run around for delivery," my mum smiled and put another share for me.

I didn't say anything, I started to eat slowly and dad looked at me and said nothing. We ate silently for a while. Before Jimmy started talking about working at McGilivary. He always talks about it.

"Khloe, since you are working there now, you can pave way for me to work as a medical personnel."

Mum spanked his head from behind, Jimmy yelled, held his head, and looked at mum.

"What did you do that for?"

"You want her to get fired when she has not even started? Didn't you see what happened with Kim?"

"Kim and I are not the same."

"Enough talking. Talking while eating is a bad habit," dad said.

I didn't get to finish the food mum heaped up for me, because I didn't even have an appetite at first, but usually, I eat largely. I went upstairs to get my bag to begin my job. When I got to the room, I fell on my bed and exhaled deeply, trying not to think of it. My room door open almost immediately and I quickly sat up, thinking it was mum, but my dad came in instead. He lingered by the door for a while before coming to sit by my side.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

"Well, do I look okay?"

Dad shifted closer to me and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. "Hey, listen to me. It's going to be fine alright."

"But Dad, you know I wanted a real job. How am I supposed to hunt for a job when I would be busy riding on bikes? It's risky for me," I began to cry. Dad was the only person I could cry to in his presence, I'm more vulnerable when I'm with him and I don't know why.

He pressed my shoulder with his palm. "It won't be risky if you drive safely. Think about it, it can give you more experience to get a proper job."

I looked at my dad. "I must have foolish written on my forehead for you to think I would buy that right?"

"No, you just need to do this for now instead of staying at home doing nothing."

My problem was not riding a bike to go and deliver food to people, my problem was mum, I can't stand her derogatory statements which she didn't even know how they made me feel.

"Kim! You are taking forever to grab your bag!" mum's voice rang from downstairs.

I stood up quickly. "Dad, I've got to go."

Dad kissed my forehead and I grabbed my bag and started leaving the room. Dad sat there and watched me as I left.

Mum has already packed the meal for me and added a gift box. "Our first customer should have this," mum said to herself.

"Are you planning to go bankrupt?" I asked gazing at the gift box.

"What do you mean bankrupt?"

"Do you plan to give a gift boxes to anyone that places an order?"

"I am giving it to my first few customers. She stays uptown, ain't you happy that we get wealthy people trying out our meal? I have a feeling this is going to go well."

I huffed. "Mum, can I leave now?"

She led me outside to a new motorcycle and put the package in the box behind it, she handed me a helmet. "Make sure you don't screw this up. I won't feed you for days if you do."

I didn't reply, I just took the helmet and wore it, she stood there watching me as I started the motorcycle, it roared into life and I shot off. I drove towards the affluent part of the city, the part where I have always dreamt of living. It was impossible for me, but I have dreamt that one day, I would be living around there. Although we live closer to the upper class, I didn't always have the opportunity to go there, unlike Khloe. She gets to go on dates there, she has rich friends staying there, at least I know one of them, Shierly Gillan and she works at McGillivary too. She was always bulling me with words and always feeling she was more important than me. Khloe goes to her house some weekends and they spend it together.

The only place I always get the chance to go to is the middle-class side, where my two best friends stay. Pat owns a coffee shop, a middle-class coffee shop where even some upper-class citizens come for breakfast because he makes good coffee, the second-best in the city for me, or maybe the best for some people. my favorite coffee place was Coffee Delight, uptown, they make the best coffee and I always drop in there whenever I get the opportunity to go uptown. It was Pat who took me there. Iris works at McGillivary and still lives with her parents, so I don't usually visit her.

I got to the address mum gave me. It was an opulent two-story building, gleaming with fresh white paint. I got down from my motorcycle took the meal package and walked up to the front door. I knocked twice and an old woman with gray hair opened the door a few inches. I raised the breakfast package and smiled.

"Your order has arrived."

"How much?"

"One eighty, five."

She put two notes in my hand and smiled. "Keep the change."

I smiled and in that instant, I suddenly liked the job. I could get tips like this for every delivery I make or for at least half of the deliveries I will make in a day. I left the porch and headed for my motorcycle, thinking about bumping into any of my college mates or high school mate as a delivery person. But that thought soon vanished as I thought of my favorite coffee shop.

A few minutes later, I was across my favorite coffee shop, I jumped down from my motorcycle and put my helmet on it and crossed to the shade in front of the shop. The bell by the door chimed when I went in, indicating a customer. A few people were in the shop having breakfast and discussing in low tunes. I walked up to the counter and the girl there smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Double espresso, please, and plain butter croissant," I said.

"Alright." She went behind and I stood by the counter waiting for my order.

The coffee shop was not as it used to be today, a lot of people were not there and there were many empty seats. usually, it was crowded and there was always a long queue by the counter, especially on work days. A few seconds later, she brought my order, I paid and took it to a seat by the window. I love sitting by the window in restaurants to get a better view of what might be happening outside while I ate.

A white BMW X5 pulled up beside the window where I sat and an older man in a black suit came out and opened the back door. A younger man in a grey wool blazer jacket, a black t-shirt, ripped jeans and a white pair of sneakers. He was casual but very stylish. I don't know if I was exaggerating when I thought he was the hottest man I have ever seen. His brown hair was styled in a quiff, looking neat, I couldn't see his eye because he wore shades, he was not only hot but charming and looked like he had a lot of money, and he looked really familiar. I slowly dragged my eyes away from him. This kind of man won't even see me, they see only people like Khloe or Shirley or even Iris, but not me. I took out my phone and earpiece and put them in my ears and faced the coffee and croissant in front of me.

This hot guy came and sat at the empty table across from me and I couldn't help but glance up quickly. Like I already know, he didn't even glance my way, his eyes were on his phone, and his assistant or whoever the man that had come in with him went over to the counter. I looked at my phone and started browsing through my playlist to find music that suits me.

Someone walked up to my table and tapped on it. I looked up, it was the girl at the counter and the assistant of the hot guy. They were standing there smiling down at me, my brows drew into a frown and I removed my earpiece.

"Ma'am, could you please go to the shade outside and have your coffee?" the girl by the counter said.

"Why?" I inquired.

"Because, my boss paid for two hours," the assistant stepped in.

I looked around the shop, no one was there anymore. I was appalled. Was this what my prince charming was like?

"Excuse me, I paid for my food too."

"We are not talking about the meal, we are talking about the space. You see my boss is a little shy of eating around people..."

"Then he should build his own coffee shop and eat alone!" I snapped.

I might not be smart or fashionable, but I never allowed anyone to trample on me, except family maybe and some of Khloe's friends. I have zero tolerance for arrogance and I won't let this not-so-hot-guy-afterall treat me like I'm trash. The man and the girl stared at me and I heard a seat squawke and the Mr. Who-does-he-think-he is started coming our way.