...a little bed of roses

..."XOXO, bunny"

He replied prepared to have a good night sleep and he did.

...

It was 10 days till Christmas but today was one of those Mondays and there wasn't any merry feeling around the corner, but working in a church meant there was going to be days off... and she couldn't wait, she enjoyed the joy of Christmas and her family usually celebrated in their own little way. Cooking for their neighbors, it was now a tradition.

The Ire family loved to share the little they have and be thankful for how the year had gone by. Her siblings would be coming back that weekend which means she had four days to shop for everyone, including Su Yan. What could she get? Maybe...

"Tale, what are you doing? We have a job to do at the bank and you are up." her boss popped into her tiny corner in her office as he called for her. In fact she had many bosses.

It was 3.20pm and the bank closes at 4.00pm, she had only 40 minutes to literally get there, the traffic or worse, no taxi, seeing that people were coming back from work therefore making getting a Taxi a survival of the fittest.

On a good day she would be buried under work in the office till closing time, on a less good day she would have a pile of work and errands to the bank or two banks or three banks. On a bad day, she would have a pile of work, errands to banks and a bag full of judgment and questions concerning her salvation.

Today was a less good day... She needed a break so badly but how does one do that when spending money is an everyday situation.

Quit? She couldn't do that, not now.

She sighed as she went out to the main office to pick up the cheques and letters to release the church statement of accounts for that month.

I hope Precious and Su Yan are having a better day as she plugged in her headphone and walked out of the church premises.

Somewhere in Port Harcourt...

Su Yan was occupied with work. The hardest part was over, he had won the bid for the construction, and they had involved him in the planning stage because they trusted his opinion and judgments, he wasn't just a civil Engineer, and he was a construction expert.

The lead land surveyor that was to be part of his team was female. She had been highly recommended and when Woo Jin had done some checks on her, what she could do was OK with him. The government had requested that some citizens were let in on the job which he knew was normal, It wouldn't affect the quality of his job and he knew it, he was still in charge.

Miss Susan didn't see it that way, she saw only him.

He didn't have time to have a lady or any lady swooning over him, he would never mix pleasure with business, especially pleasure he didn't care for.

"Madam we can't go any further, the road is blocked and out of use." the taxi driver called out.

Tale lifted her head to see that there was a road block that wasn't there before; the government seems to be serious about transforming all the roads in the city and it seem they were going to be fast about it this time. She didn't have the time to ponder as a good twenty five minutes had already passed. She paid the driver and jumped down from the taxi, walking as fast as she could to the bank. It was one of those days where the air was cold but the sun shone like it was a contest and it had to win.

She hit her leg against a stone that had been kept carelessly and she cursed badly! The road leading to the bank was also going to be redone therefore making commute to it difficult.

She was a sight for sore eyes. She was moving fast but he could catch up with her if he wanted but he wasn't sure that was a good idea. She walked like demons were on her heels and any minute now they will catch up with her. Besides he hadn't seen her since the near kiss incident. And what better way to ease her into their next meeting than giving her a good night.

Woo Jin saw his friend lost for a minute, getting panicked when the person he was looking at almost fell. He wasn't sure why he was staring at an old lady like that, not to mention a not too attractive one. Her skirts were almost at her ankle and quite a bit loose fitted and that blouse looked like something from the less than a dollar store.

"How many women are you trying to conquer?"

Su Yan looked confused for a minute until he understood why his friend had asked.

"Let's get back to work."

"Are you trying to be a player now?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

"And you had me worried over nothing thinking you were head over heels in with Tale"

Su Yan tried to shoot him a warning glance. It didn't work.

"Maybe I should join your charade. What do you say we go out tonight and have a little fun, I'm liking this new side of you."

Su Yan walked away from his friend knowing that trying to intimidate him wouldn't work. He got out his phone and called a new friend.

"Hello Mr Su, how are you? What can I do for you today?"

This was going to be one of those nights where she goes to bed crying. She knew it and prepared for it. She had gotten to the bank before their doors were shut but it took a long time for them to attend to her, it wasn't new but it wasn't something to get used to, it tires her feet, her legs and as much as tried to eat well, the pain in her chest kept paying her visits.

She walked slowly into her estate with the posture of a defeated warrior. She turned the corner to her apartment and stopped as she adjusted her glasses.

She walked back to be sure she was at the right apartment and came back again to the same scene.

The first one might have been enough for her for a life time. But he had done it again.

It was a little bed of roses.

It seemed it had been arranged to welcome her home.