His lips. They tormented me more than my father. The things I had felt in those few seconds always rattled my heart and made butterflies flutter in my stomach. But then I always remembered, his panic-stricken face after and the fact that he hated me, just like they all did.
“I’m sorry” I said as I detangled myself from him and stood straighter, adjusting my tie in the process. He said nothing. He didn’t even acknowledge the fall or the awkward moment his arms had been wrapped around me. Maybe he did this often, letting his male personal assistants fall into his arms. It hit me then! A scandal, Don involved with his male assistant, a gay relationship. It would ruin a respectable family like his.
The doors dinged when we got to the ground floor. I walked after him making sure to put a decent space between us. I’ll rather fall on my butt than into his hands again.
A black sleek limousine was already waiting when we got out of the building, the other staff glaring daggers at me as we passed. I must have looked like filth in their eyes, dressed so shabbily close to their impeccable boss.
I opened the door for him before getting in through the other door and sat opposite of him. He crossed his legs and stayed that way, unmoving, I had to look hard enough to even see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
He had grown muscular over the years and much taller too. He seemed to be at least 6ft with me barely reaching his shoulders. When we were younger, he was the same height with Drew even though he was the younger brother.
Drew- the name I woke up shouting every night while drenched in sweat and running from my demons. How did he turn out? Did he work at the company too? I didn’t know how I was going to act if I eventually saw him. I didn’t want to know yet.
I looked back at the man in front of me, our gaze meeting across the car. He held my eyes, searching, trapping, like he did every soul when we were younger.
I tore my eyes away from the magnet that held me steadily to him, putting my focus on the buildings we passed, the people, the closed windows blocking out the noisy street. It was quiet here, peaceful almost but I knew otherwise.
We pulled into the driveway and I was opening his door seconds later. He walked past me and into the dimly lit restaurant which was a huge contrast to the clear bright sky outside.
He walked straight to the back. I could tell that he had been here many times before in the past.
“Here Mr. Don” a waiter I hadn’t seen standing there told him. He guided us to the table were an elderly man was already seated. I didn’t recognize the man until I was sitting across from him.
“Mr. Warren” Don said curtly in greeting but made no further move to say anymore. The man’s gaze fell to me, for a moment I thought I saw recognition in his eye but that was impossible.
I recognized him though, one of my father’s closest friends. He had been at my birthday all those years ago and did nothing as the life was snuffed out of me.
“The cargo is on the way” Warren said, pulling me out of my thoughts as I listened.
“What do you intend to do with it? Surely you won’t discard it now that your father’s not around” he asked.
Don was unmoving as what little light the room had danced on his face. “It will be destroyed, that was the plan” he answered, looking at Warren with a steady gaze, warning him to say otherwise. “My father does not run the business anymore, we do things my own way from now”.
“But that brings in half the company’s income, do you intend for the family business to suffer?” the man asked, disbelief lacing his words.
“I’m just doing what my father should have done years ago” he said, “And I’ll be waiting for anyone that wishes to stop me” Don said. Even I could hear the warning and challenge in his voice.
“I’ll let you know when it arrives” Warren said, his voice now detached from the conversation.
“I want to be there myself” Don said but the man replied nothing. They looked at each other for a while, a silent battle that I wasn’t part of going on.
“Okay” Warren said finally giving in “Bring your little boy with you”.
Don nodded once and stood up. I stood up and waited for him to walk past me before following, but not before giving the man still seated a bitter smile. In a couple weeks he will be toast too, Oh! The joy that will dwell in my heart.
“Not one word you heard leaves your mouth for whatever reason” Don told me as we got back in the car to which I nodded.
We drove but not towards the way we’d come. We kept going for a while, the scenery changing from tall rich buildings to smaller abandoned ones. What were we doing in this part of town? I didn’t want to be back here.
Don’s gaze shifted to me when he saw my legs twitch in discomfort, but he said nothing. He reached for his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. The smoke obscured our faces from the other as he blew out the poison that would aid in my death.
I said nothing and tried to make my breathing steady. He didn’t stop, not even when I entered a coughing fit. He only did when the car stopped, he stretched his hand out of his now open window and brought it back in before the car zoomed off again.
Realization hit me. He had been smoking on purpose, he didn’t want me to see what had transpired between him and whatever had been outside the window waiting for him. what I failed to understand was why he didn’t just order me to stay in the office to save himself the trouble.
In a few minutes we were back to the familiar side of town and in no time the company building came into view. I let my gaze wander to appreciate its beauty which would be sent toppling down in a matter of weeks.
Don was holding nothing when he got out of the car, I would have to come back and check the car later for anything I might need as evidence.
Red hair greeted us when we got to the office.
“Oh! Baby, I’ve been waiting” She said as she flung herself on Don who stood there like a statue, his arms glued to his sides, not hugging her back.
“You shouldn’t have” he said and put a lot of space between them “Go home”. He walked around her and entered his office, making a point to slam the door shut.
Five seconds was what it took for the red head to breakdown in tears, breaking the awkward silence that had befallen us all. She didn’t deserve to be treated like this, but this was expected of Don. He hadn’t changed from the hateful, angry kid that I used to know.
I walked slowly towards her, not knowing how to approach. She made the decision for me and threw herself around me. I didn’t notice how taller I was until she was hugging me, I hugged her back, stroking her back to provide comfort. She sniffed, tiny drops of her tears sipping into my shirt.
“I don’t know what I did to him to make him hate me so” she said in between sobs. I hugged her tighter, wondering the relationship they had. Girlfriend?
“He always tries to push me away, but I want to help him, take the pain from him” she said and stood on her feet, drying her tears with a perfumed handkerchief. Take the pain away from yourself first I wanted to tell her.
“He has never been the same since…” she stopped, catching herself from revealing something she shouldn’t but I wanted to know what happened. I had a lot of questions.
“I’m sorry for bothering you” she said, and I smiled to let her know that it was okay.
“Let me get you cab” I said.
She looked longingly at Don’s closed door before nodding. I escorted her to the ground floor and got her a taxi, but I didn’t go up after that. The car we’d left in was right there, so I decided to have a look.
I slipped a pin from my hair and worked on the keys making sure to stay clear of the CCTV camera that was installed in the parking lot. The door finally clicked open, there was still a stench of smoke lingering in the air but that wasn’t my problem.
I reached for under his seat, but nothing was there, I searched the entire car, every corner that I could think of but saw nothing. I closed the door and locked the car before making my way back up.
There was a guy standing in front of my desk when I arrived, he turned to me as he heard my footsteps “These files need to be signed by the boss” he said, dumping them on my table.
“Okay” I said. I waited for him to leave but he stood there still “What?” I asked.
“I and the boys will be going to the café opposite here for lunch. They asked me to invite you” he said, looking at anywhere but at me.
“Sure. I’ll be down once I’m done with this”, I told him and gestured to the files he just dropped for me.
“Cool” he said before finally leaving but not before casting me one last glance. I gathered the files and was about to knock on Don’s door when I heard his voice, so angry and demanding. I opened the door.
The flower vase on his table was now flying across the room when I stepped in. I paid it no mind and dropped the files on his table “These need your signature, I’ll be back to collect them before lunch” I said and left, feeling his piercing eyes on my back even as I closed the door.
I called the cleaner up to take care of the mess before returning to read every single file I could lay my hand on. I didn’t know particularly what I was looking for, but I searched anyway until my alarm went off. I went back to Don’s office and retrieved the files, he didn’t look at me once as his head was bent over a document he was studying.
I left it on my desk before making my way to the ground floor so I could join others for lunch. You never know how much information you can get over lunch tables and a bottle of wine.
“You came” the guy I saw from earlier said once he saw me “The name’s Frank” he shook my hand.
“Car” I told him.
His eyes shone with confusion “As in car?”
I nodded with a smile and he continued “That’s a nice name you’ve got there” he said
I laughed them, calling off his bluff “Thank you very much kind sir” I said, and he laughed.
“The others are waiting” he said as we walked to the café. I spotted them even before Frank did. Huddled in two boots and already shouting out orders. They were regulars.
We walked over to where they were seated, five of them. “Guys this is Car, Car this is guys” Frank said.
We all laughed at his introduction and I sat down beside Frank as a bunch of hellos were exchanged. Only one man kept quiet through it all.
I met his gaze, watching him as he watched me, recognition beginning to show in his eyes before he uttered the words that drained the blood from my body.
“I know you”.
The man whose name I later found out to be Gus looked at me with accusation in his eyes making my heart bump twice as fast. “You’re the one I saw in the elevator with Mr. Don…” he trailed off, seeming to forget exactly what he was trying so hard to remember. “Nice to see you” I said immediately and sat down, avoiding all eye contact. For a moment I thought he had recognized me from the days I had spent in the dark and done things I still dreamed of at night. He was about to say something when his friend nudged him, he huffed but didn’t look away from me. He could swear it wasn’t in the elevator he had first seen me, but I hoped on the big guy upstairs that he didn’t remember. “Order something, they have a really mean lasagna, you’ll love it” Frank said, I smiled and said thanks before picking up the menu casting G
I waited. My heart growing in doubt for a moment. If there was no reaction from him then I was in trouble because the vase was bound to hit him square in the face. I had the perfect aim. It was the split of a second as my heart jumped that he flipped and kicked the vase. His eyes sparkling with a lot of violence before he realized where he was and put his calm exterior back on. He was hiding something. “Seems like my calm assistant has a past of his own that he is trying to hide” I said, unable to hide the sneer from my voice. He said nothing which infuriated me even more. “There’s one thing you should know about me Car if you’re going to keep working here” I said, walking straight to him and keeping eye contact. “I hate fucking puzzles, there’s nothing I can’t figure out” I stood in front of him no
When I woke up the sun was barely up in the sky. But that wasn’t my problem, the pain that had me writhing was. I clutched my chest in pain, hitting it severally like it would automatically stop. The little cupboard by my beside had never seemed that far away until now. I stretched out my hand in agony and tried to get my pills, but my fingers only ended up brushing the edge of the cupboard. I tried to get up but only succeeded in falling back to the bed as something strong pulled at my chest almost suffocating me. This couldn’t be the end of me, I was yet to accomplish all the things that I wanted. Maybe I should’ve listened to Charles and gotten treatment but that would only post-pone the inevitable. I just need a few weeks at the most to get my revenge done and then death could lay its cold hands on me. I didn’t mind.
Something was wrong, even a blind man could see it from miles away. I listened through the entire meeting but barely heard a word. They talked mostly about shares and opening another branch in some city I didn’t catch the name. My eyes shifted to the jot pad Car had left on the table, his handwriting had to be the ugliest thing in the world as I scanned over what he had written. He was my assistant, but it felt like he was more, like I should care for him. The meeting was barely over when I stood up from the meeting and left. I went straight to the restroom, sure that a clue to whatever was wrong with him would be there. I went straight to the waste bin that was at the far end of the restroom. Lying at the bottom was a rumpled toilet paper that was stained with blood, and lots of it. There was a sudden pani
My heart refused to slow down as I downed another pill. Nothing I did seemed to work as I bent over my desk. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Drew come out of Don’s office. When I first learned that Drew didn’t come to the company, I was happy because I wouldn’t have to deal with him and any lingering feelings that might still be there. Clearly today was not on my side. His pale blue eyes as they spared me just a glance before he looked away. It had my heart sprinting like it always did in the past, clearly whatever I felt for him was still there. Not as strong as before but there, nonetheless. The little bottle on my desk fell over making the tablets in them spill over. This was my life saver, my small fingers putting them back into the bottle. I hated being dependent on anything but this one was a necessity. It was clear I had tak
It was an unnerving silence in the car after that that I didn’t ask for. My thoughts going into a spin as I thought of what she just said. The green-eyed girl that should’ve stayed dead. The real color of my eyes were green, and I should’ve definitely stayed dead. I swayed from the road a little as I contemplated the possibility that it could be me she was talking about. If it really was then it meant I was in trouble of Don finding me, but I also couldn’t be the reason Don was having issues with his fiancée. There was no reason my being alive would have such effect on him. I put my attention back to the road, the last thing I needed was a car crash. I tapped the steering wheel nervously as I pulled into a driveway that led to Daisy’s house. It was a mansion that definitely amazed me, not that I had expected less.
With unsteady steps I managed to make it back to my house, my head reeling with more questions than I had in the beginning. I opened the door only to see Charles standing there like he had been waiting for me to come in. “You’re back late” he said, moving to take my bag but I shrugged him off. “I’m sorry, we’ll just have dinner together some other time” I assured him before walking past him but he held me back, his hands enclosing around my elbow. “My least concern is the dinner, I want to know how you’re doing” he felt my temple with the back of his palm. “Seriously I’m fine, you already called me at work, you have nothing to worry about” I told him, beginning to feel irritated. All I wanted now was a warm shower and to bury myself under loads of blanket
I pressed my back to the wall as a lady passed, but not before I get a glimpse of her eyes that startled me. I closed my eyes and counted to ten before I opened them, watching a big bulky man pass. There was no way I was seeing her now in hospital hallways, it just didn’t make any sense to me. making sure that no one else was passing I back into the hallway and enter the office with Dr. Shelby written on top. He looked surprised to see me, his expression startled but he masked it into one of cool indifference. “I wasn’t expecting to see you Mr. Don” he said, motioning for me to sit down which I did. I was too exhausted to do otherwise anyway. I let my eyes wander around the office, the place always neat and arranged. It was easy to see that Dr. Shelby was an organized fellow and that meant