A danger foreseen Is half-avoided.
—Unknown

A week came and went in Ramona’s job, and to her delight, the daily tasks Mrs. Aleric assigned to her shifted from menial and repetitive, to things that actually felt important on a broader scale. By the end of that week, the two had finally cleaned up the rest of the literal and figurative mess Mr. Beaumont had left in his wake, which pleased Mrs. Aleric greatly. She even treated Ramona to an extravagant lunch and granted her the privilege of speaking on a first-name basis. “Mrs. Aleric” felt more comfortable on Ramona’s tongue than “Donna”, but the honor remained. 

The next several days ushered in a shift in Ramona’s workflow. Where many of her days had been spent either working in Mrs. Aleric’s office or taking frequent trips there for instructions, now she worked almost exclusively at her own desk. It was Mrs. Aleric who visited her secretary when needed, not the other way around. 

One of the more entertaining items on her to-do list lately had been the Alerics’ quest to coax Bolivar Ortega to visit Steelfort. The couple had met with Ramona and agreed that Bolivar would less likely reject them if the correspondence came from Donna instead of her husband. 

That said, Donna vehemently declared she was no writer, and so it became Ramona’s responsibility to handle correspondence, albeit with heavy supervision. Both Alerics would submit notes on the content they wished included in the next email to Bolivar, and then Ramona would assimilate it into a cohesive whole that conveyed both respect and goodwill. 

So one typical morning found Ramona perched in front of her computer, scouring her email inbox for any sign of a reply from Bolivar. They’d left the correspondence yesterday at a confirmation that he would indeed visit, but so far, no agreement on when. And as many times as Ramona refreshed the feed, nothing from Bolivar. 

With a sigh, Ramona let her gaze fall from the computer screen and to a stack of calendars on her desk. Mrs. Aleric had a bad habit of buying new calendars whenever she lost the old one, but then she would also lose track of all her appointments inside. Now that she’d found them all, she had yet another new one for Ramona to transfer all the dates into. 

Then a broad form appeared in her peripheral. She instantly recognized the figure in the doorway to be Mrs. Aleric’s, so she looked up with a kind smile. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Al—I mean Donna.” Ramona said, “How may I help you?” 

“You heard the news, didn’t you?” 

“The news? I don’t think I have.” 

Mrs. Aleric clomped over to the guest chair opposite her secretary. The impact of her weight hitting the armchair sent a rumble through Ramona’s feet. Then she folded her hands with a conspiratorial smirk on her face. 

“Today’s the day, didn’t you hear?” 

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” 

“The trap’s been sprung!” Mrs. Aleric’s grin only widened. “Bolivar’s agreed to visit.” 

“Oh! I was just checking and didn’t get anything back from him. Did he get your email somehow?” 

“No, he called. It’s adorable how hard he tried to pretend he actually does anything for Newhill; he was only dragging his feet because he doesn’t like us.” 

Ramona adjusted the collar of her shirt. “Time to change that today, I guess. What time?” 

“That, he wouldn’t say. ‘I have no idea how long it will take me to leave my considerable engagements behind, but it will be sometime today’. Those were his words." She shook her head.

“Oh, of course,” Ramona managed through her laughter at Mrs. Aleric’s mocking tone, “such a sacrifice.” 

“He has to get out of bed for once, poor soul.” 

“Is there anything you’d like me to do to prepare for him coming?” 

“Nothing, really. Just keep an ear out for when we call the staff together.” 

* * *

The next few hours contained little of note. A regular day of work buzzed by until about an hour before lunch, when voices began echoing down the hallways of the government house, summoning everybody outside to prepare for the arrival of Bolivar Ortega. 

Ramona did her best to follow the orders of the important men in suits as they strove to shepherd the staff where they were wanted. People seemed nervous for one reason or another, which led to many being sloppy. Jostling against each other and colliding elbows out of carelessness, Ramona wondered to herself how many would wake up the next morning with bruises and such. 

Outside, the leadership transferred from the men in suits to just one man, Sebastian Aleric. Decked out in bright purple, almost pink tuxedo that would have looked ridiculous if he didn’t wear it with such confidence, he barked out orders and sorted the staff as he wanted them. The staff formed two rows lining a path up to the front steps, and Ramona got put in the group actually on the stairs themselves. Extending right up to the curb that dropped into the parking lot, the line of men and women would certainly provide an impressive display. 

From there, all they had to do was wait. As with his correspondence, Bolivar took his time, but eventually, a black sports car spun into the parking lot, took a spot, and he emerged. 

Despite the distance, Ramona could clearly make out Bolivar’s features in the sunlight. He sported hair as black as his car, with a crooked nose and an overall thin face. He wore clothes less like those of a mayor and more like any other young man dressed to impress. Suede jacket, matching shoes, and some well-fitted jeans. 

Bolivar strode up to the curb where Sebastian waited to meet him. The two men exchanged a handshake and some words Ramona couldn’t hear from so far back, and then they headed down the line of people. Sebastian chattered the entire time, but Bolivar hardly seemed to pay him any mind. Instead, he studied the staff as he passed each one, occasionally nodding at Sebastian as if he were really listening. 

Ramona had constructed her theories over the past couple of weeks as to which ones among the female workers would catch their visitor’s attention, and currently, she watched his reactions to them, finding that for many of them, she’d been quite right. Bolivar gave a toothy grin to Valentine, Sebastian’s secretary, and she immediately began squirming and shooting a bashful smile back. But it was all a show, Ramona knew. Valentine knew exactly how to handle herself around a man, but pretending innocence lured in the type she liked. 

And then there was blonde Cara, who caught Bolivar’s eye as well, just as Ramona had expected. She lacked all subtlety, though. Blowing a kiss at him seemed so direct that it turned Bolivar off, and he actually paid attention to Sebastian for a moment rather than continue interacting with her. 

Soon enough, Bolivar began ascending the steps, and Ramona felt her chest tighten in anticipation of him studying her. In this case, she would have much preferred he simply not notice her and conduct his business inside. His reputation preceded him, and she would rather have nothing to do with that. 

But of course, his ocean blue eyes fixated on Ramona, and she composed herself just enough to not shudder. A smirk slowly snaked across his face as his gaze lingered, and he made the slightest dip of his head in acknowledgement. Frozen in place, Ramona didn’t reciprocate in any way. And then with a final wink, Bolivar entered the government house while matching strides with Sebastian. 

Ramona let go of her breath and relaxed her shoulders, thoughts whirling about what had just happened. His gaze had been intense, like he somehow saw through her to her very soul and liked what he saw. Whatever he’d been thinking while smirking like that…no, Ramona didn’t want to know. 

Worst of all was when Ramona glanced across to one of the women standing across from her. Her stomach sank at what she saw. Mrs. Aleric nodded her head slowly with a scheming grin plastered on her face. 

                          ★★★★★

Oh boy, who felt the tension in the air? 

Poor Ramona 😢

What do you think is going to happen next?

Let your imagination run wild and fill the comments section with your thoughts.

Anyway, on a lighter note, it's the first day of May! 🎉

Happy New Month! May this month bring you grace and favor ❤

Also, don't forget to 👇

Vote⭐

Comment

And mostly especially Share

Until next time, have a blissful month 😁❤