"Gar, move!"The words came out of Jimmy Hunter involuntarily, as he lost even his breath on seeing the missus. Memories of a not too ancient past came back to him in a flutter. He froze momentarily, remembering his meeting with the wife at her apartment. The only one time when the C.E.O. had been hit with a broom.
Garret didn"t understand Jim"s words, so he c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and sneered.
"Are you afraid of me now? Where"s your wife, Jim, who was supposed to make indirect attacks?"
Jim"s face stiffened. He then hissed in a low voice.
"Behind you mate. You should move now, or I won"t be responsible for what happens."
Gar saw the dark expression on Jim and sensed someone at his back. He half turned around. His own face lost all colour when he saw Jimmy"s wife race towards him with a broom.
"J-Jim, s-she"s…!"
He trailed off. Jim sensed Gar"s shock, and before his friend could be victimized forever, he used all his strength to throw him off. Garret landed beside Jim on his back, his heart in his throat as he watched Miya and the boy tromp towards him in battle mode.
Jim couldn"t move.
This woman… what the h.e.l.l went on in her brain?!
He recalled how brutally he himself had been beaten. He refused to let his friend go through the same. But the missus"s eyes were on fire, and she was so energetic, Jim"s brain blasted off. He could think of but one way.
The young master rolled over on Garret quickly, who looked shaken already. Then locking the bulky man in a powerful grip, he yelled,
"One, Two, Three!"
Gar didn"t move. Jim sighed in relief, and then quickly turned back to the missus who had slowed down.
"He"s out!" Jim practically screamed, "I won, thanks for the help! Now put the broom away, Miya!!"
The words surprised the wife, and she stopped mid-way. She then looked at her ultimate weapon and again back at her husband. Jim rolled his eyes when he saw how disappointed she seemed.
"Okay," Miya whispered glumly, somewhat unhappy that she hadn"t really been able to help.
Jim closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath.
He understood that expression of hers. But…
He really was spoiling this brat of a wife too much.
He still couldn"t help it though.
So he said instead, "The victory belongs to you, my dear. Nothing else could have scared Gar so much."
Miya looked up at him and her face immediately brightened up. She had helped! Whereas Jim slapped himself thrice mentally, for being so weak before the woman.
Garret was still stunned.
While the entire matter was being resolved peacefully, something happened. Ben saw his mommy stop mid-way between the attack, so he stopped too. When he saw that Jimmy had won, he was pleased too. He wanted to go to his friend and high five him for the victory. But as soon as he took a step forward, his feet fell on the soap.
The boy fell down on his b.u.t.t with a thud.
The wiper too flew from his hand. and landed across Jimmy"s chest. Jim yelped in shock at the sting. The mop, however, fell directly on Garret"s face.
The room fell silent.
Jimmy had officially won his first fight against Garret Morse.
Evening came.
The six of them sat around a table, their faces glum. The atmosphere was black, and the temperature had dropped to freezing point. The filthiest face around was of Garret Morse. He had finished three bottles of beer already, and was darkly opening his fourth.
All the while, he was also glaring at the shrimp of a boy who sat directly across him.
Ben.
The five year old was instinctively afraid of the giant man. He didn"t understand why the person was angry though. He had not even been hit with the wiper! And it was Ben who had landed on his b.u.m!
It still hurt when he sat down!
So Benny boy pumped his fists, sipped rigorously at his gla.s.s of milk, and glared back.
Hartley was sitting beside Gar, and texting someone furiously. His expression was blank. Shekhar sat beside Hart, and he still looked like he would puke out his guts. Ben was between Shekhar and Miya, whereas Jim sat beside his wife, and Gar was on his left.
Miya kept looking fixedly at her thigh, whereas Jim was simply displeased with the environment.
No one was talking.
Ben and Gar were glaring at each other, which made Jim want to roll his eyes at the big man. Besides that, everyone was lost in their own gloomy world.
Jim had not wanted his wife to be introduced to his friends in such a way.
However, he didn"t even know how to break the ice.
It was Miya who talked first.
She didn"t look directly at anyone, but her words were addressed specifically to Gar.
"I"m very sorry. I really am," she said quietly, "I didn"t mean to hit you with my broom, sir. It was only to scare. I would never do it again, at least not with scary men like you. And the mop only fell on you by accident. Really, I am very sorry."
Her words only darkened the expression on Gar"s face.
He looked like he was ready to throttle the woman.
Jimmy, however, wasn"t one bit happy about the wife apologizing. So he turned around and said, "It was a fight, Gar. And all is fair in a war."
Gar moved his eyes from the boy, and fixed his gaze on Jim.
"A f***ing mop, Jim," he hissed slowly.
Jim understood Gar, and he knew his friend was right in his place. He was about to explain to him too, when a low voice echoed through the room again. It wasn"t anyone from the table, though, who had spoken.
"She never apologizes unless she"s actually sorry. Forgive her, Mr. Morse."
Everyone turned to look towards the door, at the person who had walked in.
Rebecca had a lazy smile drawn on her lips. She was looking directly at Garret.
"I overheard your conversation. Sorry. But if Miya says she didn"t mean it. She didn"t."
Garret looked at the lady, the frown easing from his face. He didn"t speak.
Rebecca smiled at him, and then said out loud to the entire group.
"The Chairman heard of your arrival, gentlemen. He"d like to see you all now. To his room. Nice to meet you."
With that, she turned around to walk out again, but hesitated and looked back at Gar. The man was still watching her.
"Consider it, please?" her voice was playful this time, "Mr. Hunter is right, you know. Everything is fair in war and love. And yours was a fight."
With that, she walked out.
Gar didn"t realize he had been holding his breath until now.