"Hi dad..." Hayden said as he smiled sheepishly at his father.
"Don’t you dare ’hi dad’ me!" the boss screamed so loudly that his face became dark red.
"Anger management, dad. Anger management. Think of what the doctors said. You don’t wanna pop a vein..." Hayden said with fake concern.
"You’re the one hoping that I’ll pop a vein. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Josh’s father is my friend and a very important business partner. He ships goods for us Hayden..." the boss said stressfully.
"What did that good friend of yours tell you? He didn’t tell you what his son did, did he?" Hayden challenged.
"Why don’t you be a good son and stop beating around the bush. What happened Hayden?" the boss asked.
"Nothing happened. He laid hands on what was mine...so I was forced to teach him a lesson..." Hayden said with a shrug.
His father sighed loudly as he turned away and sat down on the sofa, his hand rubbing his temple.
"So, it was...Malissa. You broke his nose and fractured his ribs..." the boss said with his eyes closed in resignation.
"Like I told Luka on the way here. Josh was extremely lucky that I wasn’t carrying a gun. I would have shot him in the leg right where he would be surely crippled for life," Hayden said like that was the most obvious course of action.
"You need to grow up, Hayden. When you make a mess like this, I’m the one that has to clean it up!" the boss yelled as his eyes snapped open and glared at his son.
Hayden refused to answer as he stared back at his father silently. It was clear to the boss that Hayden didn’t have an ounce of regret in his body about what he had just done.
"How’s your head?" the boss asked, changing the subject.
"You’ve just asking about it now?" Hayden asked, sarcastically.
"I ordered for her to be brought here. I have some...questions, you see..." the boss replied as if this was to be expected.
"What questions?" Hayden asked before I could say anything.
"I can understand why Josh ended up the way he did. What I don’t understand...is how you two ended up in a ditch the way you did. Care to explain, Miss Malissa?" the boss asked as he looked straight at me.
I have to say that I didn’t like the suspicious and accusing look in his eyes as he looked at me. It was like he knew something and just wanted to hear me confirm it.
"I took Malissa for a late-night stroll to cool off after what happened. It was dark, we couldn’t see the edge, so we fell off," Hayden replied swiftly before I could say anything.
Why was he lying? What Hayden said wasn’t completely false, but it wasn’t true. We didn’t go for a late-night stroll. I ran into the forest to escape from him, and I fell...then he helped me. That’s how we ended up the way we did.
Sensing me stiffing up next to him, Hayden shot me a glance. His clear blue eyes telling me sit still and shut up. I bit my lips to keep myself from saying anything unnecessary. I guess, the best way out of this is to let Hayden deal with it.
"I wasn’t asking you. I was asking Miss Malissa. So, Miss Malissa, what happened?" the boss asked again, his eyes directly on me.
"It’s as Hayden said. I was...scared after what happened so he suggested that we take a stroll to help me calm down a little..." I replied, going along with Hayden’s story.
"Well, I am glad that you’re feeling better. There’s still many days left until the promised thirty days come to an end. I do hope that we all keep our end of the bargain. You both are dismissed," the boss said, bringing the conversation to a close.
With that announcement, Hayden got up from the sofa before he grabbed my hand and yanked me up to my feet. Without another word to his father, Hayden began heading for the exit, dragging me by the hand behind him.
"Miss Malissa...take good care of my son," the boss said to me as he smiled at me.
The overly friendly smile made me cringe inside. I felt like the old man knew so much more than he let on.
--To be continued...