I slept the entire day away after the long night I had. I did not leave my room until almost eleven in the morning and by then, everyone had gone out. I saw a note from Chris saying he had borrowed my car but would bring it back before I had to leave for work.
I fought the urge to find him and strangle him and instead decided to focus my energy on finding actual food to eat. Yesterday, I made the mistake of not eating before going to work and the only thing that kept me satiated was the fact that so much happened and I was not able to think of how hungry I was.
I found some pasta in the microwave and I warmed it. By the time I was done eating, Chris pulled up with my car. He was wearing a simple button-up shirt but it looked like his buttons had been done in a hurry. I could smell perfume on him and I knew for a fact that he had taken my car out to impress a girl. I was not sure whether I was impressed or slightly pissed at him- maybe both.
He tried to sneak in but he saw me and he had a deer caught in headlights look. He at least had the decency to flush pink and I was ready to give him a tongue lashing when he produced a bucket of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream from behind his back as a peace offering. My anger instantly dissipated and he knew it because I saw relief flash through his eyes.
“What flavor is it?” I asked as a way of greeting. “If it is not my favorite then you are still dead.”
“It’s chocolate chip.”
I didn’t believe him so I took it out of his hands. When I saw the flavor on it I looked up and gave him a simple nod to let him know that he was out of harm’s way. I wasn’t sure how he remembered my favorite flavor seeing how young he was when I left and it was the fact that he remembered and not necessarily the fact that he got me ice cream that had me relenting.
“If you take my car again, I will murder you slowly,” he nodded eagerly to show me he understood and I snatched my key out of his hands.
I had initially planned to go to work early but I figured a few minutes for ice cream was not a bad thing. I ended up spending thirty minutes at home and had to floor the gas so I would not be late for work.
I was barely able to get there in time and when Serena saw me walking in through the doors, she shook her head in amusement.
“You had two more minutes.” She glanced at the wall clock as she spoke. “That was a nice save because Darius is not very forgiving about tardiness. That’s why he fired the last girl who came before you.”
As if she had summoned him, he walked out of his office. Like a moth to a flame, his eyes found mine and he stared at me intensely for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few seconds before he whispered something to Ian and disappeared back into his office.
Even after he had gone, I stood there staring at his closed office door. I couldn’t help but wonder what the inside was like. Judging by his closed-off personality, I would not have been surprised to see it very minimalistic with black or grey walls and a simple table and chair- maybe a bookshelf.
“Staring at the door won’t make him come out,” Serena sing-songed and I quickly looked away.
“That’s not what was happening.”
She laughed. “Of course not, your secret is safe with me but you might want to get behind the bar before someone else notices.”
The bar was just as busy as it was yesterday. I was getting used to standing on my feet but my ankles still hurt and I mentally cursed myself for wearing boot heels instead of flats. I was contemplating taking off my shoes when I heard a throat clear in front of me. I looked up and to my shock; Darius sat in front of my end of the bar. All my former clients had cleared and gone to Serena’s end.
I turned to Serena to see if she was seeing what I was and she flashed me a wide-eyed look as if she didn’t understand what was happening either. I turned back to Darius and plastered on my most professional smile.
“Would you like your table’s usual order?” I asked and he shook his head. “Well then, what would you like me to get for you?”
“Whiskey, neat,” he said as if he had ordered the same thing a million times before.
I hurried to do as he had asked and quickly placed his glass in front of him. I wanted him to be impressed with my service and the last thing I wanted to do was give him a reason to fire me. Judging by the way Serena spoke earlier; I doubted he was the kind of man to give second chances.
“How do you like your new job?” he asked and I momentarily faltered in my steps.
I blinked twice unsure if I had heard him right. Was Darius Lunar making small talk with me? I couldn’t believe it and if someone else had told me it would happen, I would have called them a liar but here he was sitting in front of me and trying to chat me up.
“Good,” I said simply. “It is the best job I could have found here.”
“There is no need to patronize me, Leindra.” The way he said my name had shivers going down my spine. “I know you must be a little upset about what happened yesterday with the customer. I promise you that you will never have to deal with something like that again- not in my bar.”
He spoke with such conviction that I almost believed him but I knew that drunk men came with the job and I was both willing and able to handle them. Nonetheless, I nodded because that felt like the appropriate thing to do in that position.
“Thank you. I should get back to work. Rush hour will soon begin.”
“If you have any problems, then-”
“Why are you doing this?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them and when I realized I had spoken, I slapped my hands over my mouth. “I am so sorry, that was rude of me.”
“Ask me anything, I am willing to answer. What did you mean?”
I hesitated but he leaned forward on his elbows as if he was very interested in what I had to say. I muttered a small prayer under my breath so I wouldn’t say anything I was not supposed to or anything that could potentially make me lose my job.
“It seems weird that you would be here talking to me. Why are you doing it?”
“That’s easy, it is because you’re mine.”
He said it with such ease and with such a dismissive tone that it felt like someone was dragging their nails down a chalkboard.
“If you mean because I work for you, then sure,” I began slowly while trying to keep my voice even and respectful. “But I don’t belong to anyone but myself. The phrase can be a little misleading.”
He cocked his head to the side in confusion as if I had spoken a foreign language. I could feel annoyance crawling up my spine but I forced myself to smother it down because I knew that lashing out on my boss was not going to do me any favors or help the image the people of the town already had of me courtesy of Mr. Hemming.
“You are mine, Leindra, whether you know it or not.”
Without waiting for me to speak, he stood to his feet and abandoned his still-full glass.
“You can charge that to my tab,” he said gesturing to the glass. “Have a nice day.”
He walked away without sparing me another glance and it took everything in me not to scream or throw the glass at the back of his head. He had completely dismissed everything I said and claimed to own me.
Was it because he was my employer? That did not equal him having possession of ownership of me. Was it because his family owned the town? Was that why he was insistent on acting like he owned me?
I couldn’t come up with a justification for his words or his actions and it pissed me off. Darius Lunar was breathtaking and he spoke my name like it was a reverence but it was never going to be enough to justify his prideful and cocky attitude.
“You look like someone kicked your puppy,” Serena mused as she reached for a beer behind me. “Did he say something to you?”
“He said he owned me,” I muttered and she stopped in her tracks.
“He is Darius Lunar, he owns us all. His family practically built this town from nothing.”
“Are you really okay with that?” I asked and she shrugged. “How can you be okay with one person enforcing authority and control over you? You are a person and not an object. How can you be comfortable with being owned?”
I made sure to keep my voice down because the last thing I wanted was for someone to overhear me and tell Darius that I had been speaking badly about him. I noticed that Serena hadn’t responded and I realized it was because she was struggling to reach a bottle at the top of the shelf. Thanks to my heels, I was able to reach it so I grabbed it and handed it over to her.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
She sighed and turned to me with an almost patronizing look and she dropped her voice as if she was speaking to a child who badly needed to understand.
“This is his town and we are all just living in it.” She placed her hands on my shoulders almost reassuringly. “The quicker you realize that, the better it will be for you.”