CHAPTER TWELVE
And now came this girl name Crystal who just showed up and was now invading every space in his head.
But wait, what was she still doing in the building? She left the building before him but there he stood in the parking lot and she wasn't there. He was at a loss.
He waited impatiently for over three minutes and whipped out his phone to call her, she finally showed up.
She was sweating and wiping some of the sweat off her face. She had taken the stairs!
Dave sighed in frustration.
"What happened?" he asked
"I'm sorry, sir. I went back to get my purse" she replied
"Then why didn't you use the elevator?" he asked curiously
"Uhm, I... I..." she stammered
'yeah, Crystal, why didn't you use the elevator?' she said to herself.
"Get in the car" he ordered.
She got in and sat straight, alert. She had a can of pepper spray in her purse and she wouldn't hesitate to use it if the need ever arose. She was thought to go everywhere with the can by her mom.
She'd been attacked a lot in high school and back then, she was just a petite defenseless girl.
The can of pepper spray helped during those times and she prayed it was still potent.
They drove for about thirty minutes till they arrived at his parent's estate, the Moonshine Estate. It looked magnificent and she felt intimidated and out of place.
He halted the car and opened his side of the door.
"You know, if I wanted to do something to you, I'd have done so a long time ago. You think I can't see you clutching that can of pepper spray?" he looked at her with eyes filled with amusement.
She felt embarrassed but didn't utter a word.
"Come meet my family before we go," he said
"What?", she panicked, "I don't think that's a good idea. It's not necessary, sir"
What did he want her to meet his family for? It wasn't like they were getting married or something. Why meet his family?
She looked at the clothes she had on... She wasn't dressed for any official function or meeting.
She wasn't dressed to meet Anderson!!!
"They won't bite," he said and chuckled, then sat back to study her face. She looked tense and confused.
"I...", she tried to argue again.
"Come on" he alighted, opened her door, and offered her his hand. She declined his offer and stepped out.
They walked briskly to the house. She had a hard time keeping up with his pace.
Just as they got to the rose bush that led to the front door of the main building, a very beautiful woman in her mid-fifties stepped out of the house and walked up to them.
She hugged Dave and gave him a smacking kiss on both cheeks.
"Hey mom" he greeted
"Hey baby", she smiled and patted his cheek. She looked at him with dotting eyes.
"What are you doing here and who is the lady with you?" she asked curiously, sizing up Crystal from head to toe.
Crystal felt so uncomfortable. She shifted her weight from one leg to another.
"Mom, this is Crystal Adams, the new staff", then he turned to Crystal, "meet my mom, Mrs. Anderson"
"It's so nice to meet you ma'am" Crystal stepped forward, extending her hand for a handshake.
"Oh", Mrs. Anderson mumbled, completely ignoring the hand in front of her, "So you're the one who thinks my son's company doesn't have nice doors and paints and art?"
When Crystal didn't respond, she turned to Dave, "She's the same Crystal you mentioned, right?"
"Mom... Come on... It's..." Dave stammered, at a loss for words. He felt embarrassed and he could tell that Crystal was feeling worse.
"My dear lady, I think you should keep your opinions to yourself and leave the decision-making to people with class," She said to Crystal and went back into the house.
If looks could kill, Dave would have dropped dead...
After his mom humiliated Crystal, she just bowed her head and walked back to the car.
"I'll wait in the car sir" she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
"I don't like her" she heard Mrs. Anderson say. Oh, what did she care?!
She was working for Dave and not his mother. But the two were birds of a feather.
How dare he put her on the spot! He snitched!!!
They drove for almost thirty minutes in silence. She played with her phone for a little while and when she began to feel sick, she put it down and faced the window.
He was driving too fast and she was supposed to tell him to slow down, but she didn't care. She was mad at him and she longed to speak to Jason.
Her boss was an asshole, the biggest asshole she'd ever come across in her entire life.
* * * *
Dave was stealing glances at Crystal as she sat quietly. Her eyes were teary and her ears had turned red. She was really angry and was trying so hard to control it.
"You can call me anything you want. I deserve it" he finally broke the silence. She didn't respond, not even a blink or a movement of any part of her body.
He hated this. He'd told his mom about the new staff who he thinks was capable of bringing about a positive change. Then he told her about Crystal's ideas.
If he'd known she'd use it against him one day...
"I'm sorry," he said again. Mr. Anderson never apologized but he was trying to make a difference, he was trying to be different from Crystal and he expected her to respond. She still didn't budge.
"I'm talking to you, dammit!" He hit the steering wheel so hard she flinched. Finally, a reaction from her. She was listening.
"Look I'm sorry about that shit. It wasn't supposed to happen. Believe me, what I told my mom is different from what she said to you"
"Oh really?" Crystal snapped.
"I'm sorry" he apologized
"Hell no, you're not sorry" she was fuming.
"Okay. Okay. You have sixty seconds to call me all the names you want to"
"Oh?! You're a selfish, proud, stupid snitch! I shared something with you and you just went ahead blabbing about it. Do you even know how to keep secrets? Do you have any friends?! Why did your PA resign?!" She was panting.
The day was going from bad to worse. This was never how she pictured her first day at work.
What was she doing? What was happening? Everything just got intensely bad as the day was progressing.
Emotional Crystal... She bent her head into her lap and cried shamelessly.
Crystal never cried unless she was deeply hurt.
Dave didn't know this but he felt terrible. How did they get here? He shouldn't have brought her along. Truth be told, he didn't even need her assistance. He just had a stupid feeling and wanted to keep her with him most of the time.
"I'm sorry," he said again as he looked for a nice spot to stop the car. She had to calm down before they could continue their journey.
She was right. He was a selfish asshole, a stupid jerk. His mom was lashing out at her and he didn't stop her, he didn't say a word. Words could be very hurtful and Mrs. Anderson had a way with them. Her tongue was like a sharp knife that could press into and penetrate your skin.
After she was calm, he offered her a bottle of water which she declined by easily ignoring him and staring out the window again.
"I want to go home" she finally spoke.
"Excuse me? What did you say?" He asked.
"I said I want to go home. I won't be humiliated just because I need a job" she sniffed.
"I'll drive you home" he sighed deeply. Who could blame her?
He became sober. Maybe he should just tell her how much he wanted her to stay. How much he'd wanted her to be by his side since he set his eyes on her?
But he couldn't because she would think that that was the reason why she was given the job and not because she earned it. She would hate him.
He would just apologize to her... Plead with her to stay.
"Crystal, I'm so so—" he began to say but she cut him off.