“Hello,” the real estate agent said, “My name is Cara, Mr. Santos called and informed me that you were a very important client.”
“Mr. Santos?” Alissa asked, confused.
“Um,” Cara looked at her, “maybe you know him better as Miguel. He is the owner of the real estate office. He is the attorney you work for, correct?”
“Oh,” Alissa replied, smiling, “Yes Miguel is my boss.”
“Well then,” Cara said, walking over to her car, “let’s get started.”
Alissa smiled as she walked to the passenger door of Cara’s car. She had no idea why Miguel had called and talked to Cara about her, but it made her feel special in a way. For the first time in her life she felt respected and it felt good.
As they pulled up to the first house, Alissa looked at Cara confused. This house was far too nice for her to afford. She had told Cara on the phone that she only wanted something cheap like an apartment but this was a small house that had its own yard. The house was a light shade of blue with white trim. The deck was painted white and there were flower gardens all around the house and deck.
Cara just smiled at Alissa as she got out of her car. Quickly Alissa opened her car door and followed, “I’m sorry, but I must not have been clear, there is no way that I can afford this house. I really am looking for something much cheaper.”
“Oh,” Cara said, shaking her head in disappointment, “But this house is on the low end of the price range you gave me.” She winked at Alissa as Alissa stared at her in amazement. “Are you sure you don’t want to have a look around? I mean the other houses we have in your price range are not nearly as nice and this one would even leave you with extra money left over.”
Alissa could not believe what she was hearing. She nodded to Cara and followed her up the stairs to the front door. It was a simple white door with a peep hole and a silver knocker. Alissa knew that she would feel safe behind it if she lived in that house. She was already starting to fall in love with the house, dreaming of flowers she could plant in the gardens and how beautiful an old white rocker would look on the front porch.
As Cara opened the door Alissa could not believe her eyes. She walked into the living room of the house and saw that it had hardwood floors throughout it. The house only consisted of a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small utility room, but it was all that Alissa could have dreamed of. The paint was fresh and the house smelled as if it was brand new.
The lights were bright and the sun flooded the house through all of the windows. Alissa smiled as she imagined coming home to such a peaceful little house each afternoon when she got off of work. She thought about how nice it would be to go into her clean kitchen to prepare meals and to sit at her table doing her school work when she started college.
She looked at Cara with tears in her eyes in complete disbelief that this could be her new home. Cara just smiled and walked into the next room calling Alissa to follow her. The two women spent the next half an hour talking about the house and exploring every nook and cranny of it. They talked about how it could be decorated and what Alissa could do with the outside of the house. Cara even told her that she could have a dog if she wanted and since the backyard was fenced in she would not have to worry about it getting hit by passing cars.
Alissa wanted to scream she was so excited. She has never been allowed to have a pet before and it seemed as if everything in her life was finally falling into place. As Alissa looked around her future home, she knew she had only one person to thank for it. Miguel Santos was responsible for her happiness and she was going to make sure she thanked him first thing Monday morning. Alissa was not naive, she knew that a house like this even if it was small was far out of her price range but she was thankful she had an amazing boss.
As Alissa signed the papers and gave Cara the money for the house she wondered if Miguel knew about her family and where she had come from. She prayed silently that he did not, that he was just being a nice guy or taking care of his employee. Alissa did not want people looking at her with pity anymore, no matter what it got her in life she wanted respect more than anything, respect that she would earn.
Alissa walked to her parents’ house to tell them that she was moving out. Before she made the announcement she went to her room to gather her few possessions that she owned. She was lucky that the house was less than what she had anticipated and she would have enough left out of her check to purchase food for the week and a few small items for the house. As she was packing her bags she was already thinking about all of the things that she would need for her house and although it seemed overwhelming it was exciting as well.
As Alissa made her way back to the front door of her parents' trailer she looked at the two of them. She had a black trash bag in her hand that contained her clothes and a few trinkets from her childhood. “I am moving out,” she said flatly. They both looked up at her. She saw the sadness in her mother’s eyes, then anger.
“Are you moving in with a boy,” she mocked Alissa, “Let me guess you’re pregnant.”
Alissa’s eyes filled with tears. She knew that her parents really had no idea what they had put her through in her life. They seemed to live in a world of their own.
“I am not pregnant,” she responded to her mother, “I have a house of my own and I am not coming back.”
“Good riddance,” her dad said from his run down chair. Alissa had not expected them to care that she was leaving and simply turned and walked out of the front door. She hoped that was the last time she would ever be in that trailer again. She walked all the way to her house and let herself in when she got there. She wanted to wash her clothes in the washer and dryer that had come in the house. She wanted to ensure they were clean before she hung them up in her closet.
She busied herself the rest of the weekend picking up small items for her house. Towels, a plate, a glass, a pan to cook in, and so forth. She knew that she would have to get her furniture one piece at a time, but that did not matter to her. She did not care that she would be sleeping on the floor for a few weeks as long as it was in her house that was all that mattered to her.
The weekend flew by and Alissa was excited to head off to work on Monday morning. She was ready to start earning money that she could use to fix up her house. She had decided that once she had everything in her house, she would look at getting a car. She had never driven before and hoped that she could find someone who would help her learn, but part of her felt like it was just a dream.
When she arrived at work everything was normal. Everyone started their work just as they normally did and Alissa let the dreams of her future be replaced by thoughts of work in her head. That was until Miguel showed up at her desk again.
“Mr. Santos,” Alissa said with a smile on her face, “I wanted to thank you for helping me find my little house.”
“Miguel,” Miguel said, correcting her, “I’m glad you like it. Now tell me what type of furniture do you need.”
Alissa lowered her head part of her felt embarrassed to tell her boss that she had nothing yet. She knew that she would get that same look of pity.
“Actually,” she said, “I need everything, it is kind of a work in progress.”
“Well,” Miguel said, “that will never do. How about I stop by after work tonight and we will see what we can do?”
Alissa looked up, “Why are you being so nice to me?” she blurted out.
Miguel laughed and winked at her then he walked down the hallway to his office. Alissa shook her head. She felt as if she was in a dream as if someone had decided that after years of suffering she finally deserved to have all of the things that she wanted.
She thought about what Miguel had said throughout most of the day. She was not sure if she should take Miguel’s help. She wanted to earn everything she had but she also knew that if she could get the things she needed for less than what she would normally pay or free, she needed to accept the help.
The day went by quickly and Alissa conti
nued to wonder why Miguel was being so nice to her. As she began walking home, she heard a car pull up next to her. “Need a ride?” Miguel called through the passenger window.
“Sure,” Alissa said, smiling. She quickly walked over to the car and jumped in.
“How do you like your house?” Miguel asked as she closed the passenger door.
“I love it,” Alissa said excitedly. Miguel could see the happiness on her face and she could tell that her happiness gave him pleasure. “I thought you would,” he smiled back at her.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked him again.
“What? Can’t a man be nice to a beautiful woman?” he asked smiling.
Alissa giggled, “I guess, but it still does not make sense to me,” she said questioning his motives.
“Don’t ask questions,” he said to her, “just take it for what it is and let it be. Don’t over think it.”
Alissa smiled and decided that he was right. There was no reason for her to worry about why he was being nice to her. The fact was that he was being nice to her and she could either accept it or push him away.
They pulled into Alissa’s driveway and both got out of the car. Miguel led her up the stairs into her house and she opened the door. As they walked into her house Miguel began to look around. She could tell that he was thinking and did not want to interrupt him, but her curiosity got the best of her.
“What are you thinking?” she blurted out.
Miguel laughed, “Well,” he began, “Not that I am trying to take over, but I was thinking about what would look good in your house.”
“Take over all you want,” Alissa said, “I have no idea how to make it look nice.”
Miguel raised an eyebrow and she could tell that giving him the control made him feel good. He pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and began writing things down. As he walked through each room, he took notes. He opened Alissa’s kitchen cabinets and that was when she saw the pity that always came. He looked down at her sadly. She did not understand why he was sad, but knew it had something to do with her food. She did not see a problem with ramen noodles and ravioli, but it was obvious to her that he did.
When he made his way to her bedroom closet she felt like crying. She only had a few pieces of clothing and the embarrassment of what she had was starting to take over. Miguel just wrote in his book and smiled at her.
Once they had walked through the entire house they walked back into the living room. Miguel turned to Alissa and wrapped his arms around her. “I want you to know that I am not doing this because I feel sorry for you,” he said.
Alissa looked up at him. She had always thought that people were only nice to her because they felt sorry for her. She wrapped her arms around Miguel and rested her head on his chest. She felt safe and that was all that mattered right then.
Miguel looked down at Alissa, “Do you want to tell me about it?” he asked gently.
Alissa shook her head, she did not want him to know about her family. She just wanted to feel safe. He did not make her talk and that made her feel that much better. Miguel ordered the two of them a pizza and they sat on the floor eating their dinner. Once they were finished Miguel told Alissa that he would pick her up for work the next morning and to make sure she was ready. He left with a smile and kissed her gently on the forehead.
As Alissa went to sleep that night she wondered just what was taking place between the two of them. She wondered if he was attracted to her or if he was protecting her like he would a daughter. After all, he was 17 years older than her, she wondered if he simply saw her as a child. She knew how she felt about him. He was the man of her dreams. In fact, he was the man of every girls dream. Alissa fell asleep in her quiet house with no screaming or fighting with a smile on her face.
The next morning she rushed to get ready for work. She did not want to be late when Miguel pulled up. She was waiting on the front porch when he arrived and did not waste any time getting into his car. “You look very nice today,” he said to her, “I hope you don’t mind, but when I got home last night I went online and ordered you a bunch of new clothing.”
Alissa turned to him, surprised, “What?”
“I just think that your clothes should be as beautiful as you are,” he said with a smile.
Alissa began to feel a bit uncomfortable, it was if he was taking over every area of her life. He had chosen where she would live, had decided to come to her home and pick out what furniture she would get and now he was ordering her clothes. Alissa started to wonder if she had made the right decision by accepting his help.
On the way to work they talked about the furniture he had been looking at and she began to feel more relaxed. She wanted to sleep in a bed and sit on a couch in her home and she decided that he was just doing what he could to help her. “You know I’m not a charity case,” Alissa said to Miguel as they pulled into the parking lot at his office, “I intend to pay you back for everything that you are doing.”
Miguel let out a light laugh, “That is not necessary. I am not doing this for you as some form of charity,” he said as he turned the car off. He turned to look at Alissa, “I am doing this because I want to,” he continued, “I want to see you smile, I want to spend time with you and get to know you.”
With that, he opened his car door and got out. Alissa followed as her mind whirled with thoughts. He confused her so much she was not sure what was going on. He seemed as if he was controlling every aspect of her life, but he was so gentle and sweet about it. He made it seem as if he was doing it because he genuinely cared about her.
Alissa’s morning started off normally, she went to the breakroom and grabbed her coffee, then made her way to her desk. After about 15 minutes she was approached by her boss. “Mr. Santos has requested that you be moved to his office.”
Alissa looked at her boss stunned, “What?”
“You’re going to be Mr. Santo’s receptionist, we will get someone else to fill your position here,” her boss said, giving her a wink. “Gather your things and I will take you there.”
Alissa quickly gathered her work supplies, her purse and followed her boss to Miguel’s office. Once the two women had reached the office her boss knocked gently on the door and opened it. Miguel was sitting at his desk on the phone he motioned for Alissa to sit down and mouthed thank you to her boss. Alissa’s boss left the room, leaving only Alissa and Miguel.
As Alissa sat down and watched Miguel she began to feel very uncomfortable. She wanted to run out of the office, but knew that now she had no other choice but to work for him. He held her entire future in his hands. Miguel hung up the phone and looked at Alissa.
“You look nervous,” he said, smiling at her.
“Not nervous,” she said. “Just confused.”
Miguel stood, walked over to Alissa and leaned against his desk. “Well,” he began, “it is really simple, I had to let my receptionist go and would rather promote from the inside than hire someone I do not know.”
The smile on his face told Alissa that there was more to it than that and she looked at him with suspicion. “Plus,” he continued, “I don’t mind having you close to me while I am at work.”
“Mr. Santos,” Alissa stood up and clenched her purse, “I think we need to talk. Whatever is going on has to stop.”
Miguel stepped closer to Alissa, “What has to stop Alissa?” he whispered barely grazing his lip across her ear lobe. Alissa’s breath caught in her throat. “I told you to call me Miguel,” he said as he placed his hands around her waist.
Alissa was shaking, she had never been this close to a man before and she was not sure if she should trust Miguel or be afraid of him. He seemed to be placing himself in every area of her life and she did not know if she was comfortable with it.
“What do you want from me?” she asked him sounding a bit harsher than she had wanted to.
Miguel looked at her as if she had hurt him. He sighed, “Why is it so hard for you to accept that I want you
to be happy?” he said, pulling her close to him. “All you have to do is let me take care of you.”
Alissa’s eyes darted from side to side and her mind was spinning. “What does that mean?” she asked him softly.
Miguel nuzzled his face into her neck, “Just follow my lead and everything will be okay.”
“And if I don’t?” Alissa asked in almost a whisper.
Miguel looked up at her and smiled, “Well, that doesn’t matter does it,” he said to her, “Now go be a good girl and put your stuff on the desk outside of my office. I have a lot of work to get done and I am sure you can find something to keep you busy.”
Alissa felt as if she was lost, she felt as if she had awoken in some strange world where nothing was what it seemed. “I’m not finished talking about this,” she said as he removed his hands from her waist.
“But I am,” he said so sternly that it made her jump. Suddenly something clicked in her, causing her to nod and do as she was told. Alissa had never been submissive or dominant, she had never had a relationship and had no idea what role she would play in one. As she walked out of Miguel’s office and to her own desk, she began wondering what type of person she wanted to be.
She thought about the benefits of letting Miguel take control and there were a lot of them. He seemed like the type of man who was going to take care of her, but she had also heard rumors about him and she did not want to be just another notch on his belt.
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