Desmond had said he was going to send a car to pick her up before, but here he was in the back of the car. Two of his favorite bodyguards were in the front, just like the last time. They were the most skilful fighters he knew. People he had met during his days in Japan. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud horn.
"What was that for, Gord?" Terry, who was driving, yelled at his partner.
"I wanted to make sure it was still working," he said. "You did that at the garage! Twice!" Terry yelled again.
"Well, you can't be too careful when dealing with people's lives."
"Shut up!"
Desmond snapped in frustration, making the two men mute up. Left on their own, they'd continue throwing remarks back and forth. Each wanted to be the last to say something. Terry and Gord could as well be the only people on earth who could be both stupid and smart at the same time.
The car finally came to a stop at the spot where they'd dropped the girl yesterday. She wasn't there yet, so the trio waited in the car. Desmond was about to get on his phone when the corner of his eyes caught a bright color. It was her in a red dress, running towards them. He subconsciously leaned forward towards the glass to get a better look. Time seemed to slow down as he focused on her face and the way her hair flowed behind her. There was someone behind her. Was she being chased? The two front doors burst open as the two bodyguards ran out. They had noticed the big man running after the lady, too. Sitting in the car, Desmond watched the bodyguards approach the man menacingly with one hand hovering over their pockets in case they needed their arms. As they approached, the man pulled Sam behind him and waited. The two men stopped about twelve feet away.
"Let her through! Or I..." Gord growled.
"We have guns!" Terry chipped in. "Big guns!"
"And we are itching to use..." Gord started but was interrupted again.
"Giant guns!" Terry cut in.
"Can you at least let me finish?" Gord yelled in frustration.
"I didn't know you weren't finished," Terry spoke calmly.
"Well, I wasn't!" Gord snapped.
"No big deal. Go ahead and finish," Terry agreed.
The two turned their attention back to the man. Gord opened his mouth to speak but froze with a lost face.
"I've forgotten where I had stopped earlier. Now, I must start all over." He sighed, then held his chin up with a frown and growled.
"Let her through! What are you fools doing?" Desmond scolded from inside the car. He couldn't help but wind down the glass and save time. Before they could respond, he commanded, "Let them through!"
"Them?" The two chorused and turned to look at the pair. They were now glaring at them. The girl was clutching the man's arm. They were together. The bodyguards were just realizing it. Their hands dropped from their pockets immediately. Mickey held Sam's hand and would have run right through the men if they hadn't moved away. They went to Desmond's side of the car.
"I would like to have a word with you. Get out of the car," Mickey demanded.
Desmond's brow cocked in wonder. It was not an everyday thing for a commoner to use such a tone with him. He came out of the car nonetheless.
"Say what you have to say. I have work to do," he said impatiently.
"Sam is going nowhere without me," Mickey hit the nail on the head.
Desmond directed a frown at Sam who stood beside Mickey with crossed arms. He noticed her hair looked better. The red hue of her hair looked more obvious because of the dress.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Mickey interrupted his thoughts. The man's tone almost sounded like a growl.
"Watch your tone, Mr.," Desmond bit out threateningly. "I don't usually do well condoning disrespect."
He turned to Sam.
"Miss Denis! I asked to take you to lunch, not your..." Desmond sized up the man with his eyes. Though Mickey was in his mid-thirties, the beard he insisted on keeping lent him the extra years.
"Is he your father?" Desmond spat. Aside from the beard, Mickey was wearing a denim overall with a white shirt inside. He almost looked like a gardener.
"He's not my father." He is..."
"I am her bodyguard," Mickey interrupted rudely while stepping into Desmond's view.
He needn't bother. Desmond was already turning to look at him. So were the guards. Outwardly, the pair looked like wolves ready to bounce, but inside, they were swelling with laughter. The fact that their boss's date was involved was enough to keep them from exploding.
After Desmond had finished sizing him up, he chuckled.
"Where did you get this guy from, Miss Denis?" He asked Sam.
There was a chorus of laughter behind him shortly after that. When he turned around, the two guards were leaning on each other as they laughed uncontrollably. It took a while before they noticed how their boss frowned. They quickly got a hold of themselves and stood at attention.
"Get into the car," he said and calmly headed for the car.
Gord hurried ahead and opened the door for him. He turned back to see Sam and the man still standing.
"Are you coming in or do you intend to trek again?"
Sam and Mickey hurried to the car. Desmond took her hand tenderly and helped her in and shut the door in Mickey's face.
"Go join them in the front," he told him dismissively.
Mickey went to the front and angrily pulled the door open, almost snatching Gord out of his seat.
"Your boss said to sit in the front. Do you mind?" Before they could respond, Mickey literally carried Gord and placed him on the gear and sat in his place.
"You can sit on my lap if you want." Gord had to press heavily on him to avoid sitting on the gear switch. The two bodyguards glared at him. Terry ground his teeth and started the car.
The drive was tough for Gord. He couldn't sit with Terry as they were both hefty men themselves, and someone had to do the driving.
While tension was building in the front, it was relatively peaceful in the back. Immediately after the car started moving, Desmond had brought out his phone and had been typing into it for the last two minutes. Sam contented herself with looking through the window. One thing she noticed was that the farther they went from her neighborhood, the prettier it became. She couldn't help but gush at tall buildings, parks, glass structures that displayed elegant dresses, and billboards with beautiful girls. She never knew this place existed around here.
"Keep your mouth closed, Sam," she heard Desmond say it from behind her. Her mouth snapped shut. She hadn't realized that her mouth was open. She turned and sat properly.
"You are behaving like a fish that got out of water," he said quietly.
He was still on his phone.
She was a fish that got out of the water, but she wasn't going to tell him that.
"I love to enjoy things as if they are new," she said.
He gave her a side look. She was lying. The way she reacted had nothing to do with enjoying things anew. This one just didn't get out much.
"So, where is your favorite spot here?" Sam almost choked on her breath.
"Don't bother. This is your first time here," Dismissively he said, and went back to his phone.
She should have been honest from the start. She peered at him shyly and saw that he wasn't even looking at her.
"Are we almost at the restaurant?" She asked.
"We are here." The car stopped immediately. How did he know when he had been on his phone throughout the day? There was a commotion at the front, and it took a while before both back doors were opened by the bodyguards. Desmond immediately noticed Gord's sullen mood. He imagined how stuffed Gord was in there.
"Take a ride and go home, Gord." He told him quietly.
Desmond took Sam's hand and walked into the building. Mickey started following them, but the guards at the entrance stopped him. He was going to cause a ruckus, but Sam intervened and told him she would be fine.
* * * *
As they proceeded inside, Sam gasped aloud at the sight before her. The inside was packed with clothes of different kinds. Desmond came closer and gasped aloud at the sight before her. The inside was packed with clothes of different kinds. She failed to recall that the plan was to go for lunch. Desmond came closer and said in her ear,
"Learn to keep your reaction subtle. I'm a popular man, Miss Denis. Don't embarrass me."
She looked around and noticed how the other shoppers stared at them.
The pressure just went up. Then she only had to worry about embarrassing herself. She panicked internally, now realizing that embarrassing herself meant embarrassing him. Desmond led her away by the hand. She could hear people whispering. After going through several bends, Desmond stopped at a door and pressed a button. The door was opened by a woman dressed formally in white and black. She ushered them in. The room looked like a sitting room with couches and dim lights. Desmond flopped on a couch before addressing the woman.
"Is Stella here?" he asked.
"Yes, but she's attending to a customer at the moment." The woman said politely.
"Call her. Tell her it's urgent," Desmond demanded.
The woman nodded and hurried out.
Sam wondered who Stella was and what was so urgent that he had her called off her duty. Stella entered shortly, in a noisy manner. Aside from the loud clanging of her heels, Stella had a weird way of talking where she tended to yell and swag every word.
"Des!" She yelled as she entered and kissed Desmond on the cheek. "I wasn't expecting you."
"We want to get clothes for Samantha," Desmond said lamely.
"Samantha!" Stella gasped.
She startled Sam. Sam wondered if the woman knew her before she shrieked her name so loudly.
Stella pulled her up, gave her a tight hug, and stared intently into her face.
"She's so cute, Des. You've always had a good eye for women," Stella complimented.
She realized she had said too much and peeked at Desmond guiltily.
"Get to work," he said this calmly, not bothered in the least about what she said.
"Follow me, doll!" She told Sam sweetly and led her away by the hand.
The next room Stella took her was like a mini version of the general shopping hall. But things were much more VIP here. She could tell from the uniqueness of the fabrics, the styles, and the colors.
"I'm sorry you had to abandon your work and attend to me." Sam hurriedly squeezed out, as Stella had been killing her with stories of business.
"Ain't you sweet? I don't mind. Come! Come try on these first." Stella was being really nice.
And while Sam went about trying on any garment Stella thought would look nice on her, In the end, they both came out with several shopping bags.
"Isn't this too much?" Sam asked when she saw the bags. Stella laughed.
"I bet Desmond didn't introduce himself properly."
After the payments were completed, Desmond held her hand and walked her out of the place.
When they came outside, Sam realized it was late noon. She hadn't made lunch, and she had to return the dress to Diane's closet before she came home.
"Please, take us home immediately," she pleaded. "My parents will be home soon."
Desmond noticed the panic in her tone and complied without any argument. The four of them got into the car and zoomed to Sam's house. This time, it was to her front door. Immediately, the car stopped. Sam reached for the door, but Desmond held her wrist.
"What is it going to be, Miss Denis?"
"I'll think about it. I need to go now," Sam responded.
She opened the car and ran out towards the front door before realizing the front door was wide open. She froze in mid-stride at the sight of Fred and Diane coming out. When they saw her, Diane noticed the new dress immediately.
"Thief! You bloody thief!" She screamed as she approached menacingly. Sam knew she was in big trouble. Diane and Fred would use her as a punching bag for the rest of the day. Imagine experiencing luxury and getting thrown back into such a cruel reality. No way. Not when she had an option.
She spun on her heels and ran back to the car, which was yet to leave. Terry, who had stepped down to close the door, opened it to let her in and shut it immediately. She then turned to face the advancing duo threateningly. Fred and Diane pause on seeing this. Diane itched to hit Sam, but the very sight of the man before her terrified her. An action caught her eyes, and she turned to see Mickey. That giant piece of shit. How dare he think he can protect Sam from them? Her fear suddenly vanished. Mickey wasn't dangerous. But he surely wouldn't let that man harm her. She took a step forward.
"Take another step and both of you will be visiting your ancestors," Mickey threatened.
Looking up, she came face-to-face with a gun. Her blood ran cold. She barely felt her father's hand pulling her back with him.
"Get into the car!" Someone said from inside the car.
Mickey and the other guard went into the car and drove off.