Chapter 11: Chapter 11

He still has the same stance as before, eyes steady on me.

Oh, what now?

"Its my boss." I say to Ty, unable to draw my eyes from Mr. Robinson's capturing blue gaze.

I don't move from my spot next to Tyler because I'm hoping Mr. Robinson will get the hint that I don't feel like being bullied again, especially in front of my brother.

I watch as he walks into the room and stands on the other side of Tyler's bed.

"I'm sorry about your accident, Tyler. I just settled your hospital bills and if there is anything more I can do to help, let me know." Mr. Robinson says and I watch him bring out his card and stuff it under Ty's pillow.

Ty turns to me wide-eyed and I can tell he is impressed which only makes me glare at Mr Robinson.

"Um, I don't know what to say. Thanks, man." Ty says and my breath catches.

"No, Ty. His name is Mr. Robins-"

"Kyle. Call me Kyle." Mr Robinson interrupts and Ty just shrugs.

I'm fuming now, pinpointing my gaze on Mr. Robinson.

Just what exactly is he trying to prove?

"You didnt have to do that. Paying the bills, I mean. I could handle it."

"I'm only trying to help." He says with an innocent shrug and I want to wack him with the telephone nearby.

"Is there a reason you're here, Mr Robinson?" I ask, just about ready to lose it.

"Yes, actually. I want to speak with you." He says and I begin to get up.

"No, it's okay. You don't have to leave your brother. We can talk here." He says and I frown.

Okay, there is definitely something going on here, and as always, he is the mastermind.

"I just want to apologise, Anne. I shouldn't have suggested to fix things with a cheque, that was wrong of me. So, maybe I can take back that offer and replace it with another. Umm--"

"You don't have to. It's fine."

"Marcy, just hear him out." Ty says and I want to refuse but Mr Robinson beats me to it.

"I can take you somewhere to get your mind off all this. Maybe icecream?"

"No thanks."

"Marcy--" Ty begins and I turn to him.

"You just woke up and the doctors don't even know. I want to be here with you."

"I'm fine. I'll call the doctors myself okay? Go with him, Marcy. You look like you could use a break. I can't imagine all you've had to put up with and if I could take you out myself, I would. Please, just go and take the rest of the day to just feel good." Ty says and I sigh, knowing I've lost.

Mr. Robinson is standing there, with his slight smile and I know he definitely wanted this.

"Fine. I'll be back tonight, though. Okay?" I say to Ty as I bend a little and kiss him on the cheek.

"Love you." He says as I grab my purse and I smile at him.

"Too the moon and back."

And then we exit the room. I keep my gaze on my feet and maintain my silence until we are standing in front of Mr. Robinson's Cadillac.

I stop in front of it while he unlocks the car and opens the driver's side. Then he pauses and stares at me.

"What now?" He äsks.

"I should be asking you. What exactly are you trying to prove, Mr. Robinson? What was that back there?"

"I told you, I was trying to hel--"

"You were trying to make a fool out of my brother and I! You show up like the best employer ever and proudly announce that you've paid the bills that you had me literally begging for. Then you give him your card? So you're a cheerful giver now?"

He slams the door and walks over to me.

"For God's sake, Anne--"

"I just want to know why! Why do you feel the need to rub it on ny face how much you control my life. Then you tell my brother that you're just trying to "help" and offer to buy me off with icecream. But we both know you. You don't do this."

I say and run my hands in my hair as I walk around in circles, lamenting.

"You don't give something for nothing. You don't even give. So whats the summary of this plan? You come back to prove that even if I refuse your money, my family is vulnerable to money as well. Then you pay the bills, you give him your card, you offer to buy me icecream. But I bet the minute I get into that car, you'll drive me home and lock me up in some secret basement, then you'll come every day to abuse me."

"I don't abuse women. I'm not even planning, Anne. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Then what kind of guy are you?! What are you up to?!"

I scream.

"I don't know. Okay? I don't fucking know. I never do this, I never apologise but apparently you have a devious way of guilt tripping people. And I don't know what else to offer apart from money, okay? Every woman I've come across either wants bucks or my bed. But you're so goddamn stubborn, you just made me feel worse and I wasn't ready to keep feeling like a douche. So I called my sister and she suggested icecream. Do you think it's one of my best moments, offering to buy you icecream?" He says and all my anger dissolves as I keep my gaze on him.

"You have a sister?" Is all I can muster.

"Yes. Now, do you want to go or not?" He says and I don't know why I don't completely buy his story.

But I haven't had icecream in ages, considering I substituted it for coffee ever since dad's breakdown.

"Fine. But you have to agree to something's first."

"What?" He äsks impatiently, staring at his watch.

"I get to have as much as I want and we don't leave till I say so."

"Fine."

"And you won't stare at your watch at all because it's Sunday and you're not busy on Sundays."

"Fine, whatever."

"And, finally; I get to ask you some questions."

"What? What is this, a reality show? No way."

"Fine, have fun dealing with your guilt." I say and try to turn away when he holds my hand and turns me back around.

Of all the times I've known him, he has never touched me without intending to inflict pain, which only makes me realise how much he wants to fix this.

"How many questions is 'some'?" He äsks and I bite back a smile.

"Five."

"One."

"Three." I say and watch him contemplate.

"Fine. Are you done with your requests?"

"One more. You won't tease, mock or ridicule me about how you spent money on my brother and I today."

"Like I have a choice." He says and I smile contentedly.

"Good. Let's go."

*****

I watch Mr. Robinson finish his second milkshake as I suck on my icecream spoon.

"I can see you're enjoying this place better than I am."

"I'm just distracting myself from looking at the watch. So can you ask the damn questions already?" He says and I roll my eyes.

"Its not fun when you're uptight."

"This is not meant to be fun. Okay? It's not even meant to extend this long, so just carry on with it."

"Okay, fine." I say and take a bite of the fudge treats. I guess I know it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to know him without a contract that he can use to manipulate me and without his need to be in control. For once we were just people communicating and I want as much answers as I can get.

I won't have many chances to know the reasons beyond his actions.

"Okay, first of all. Why did you want me to take off my mask so bad at the strip club?" I say and keep my gaze on him.

He sighs and toys with the empty milkshake cup.

"I guess you're fucking serious, huh?"

"Just answer the question."

"Fine." He says and I watch him frown slightly as his gaze drops.

"I saw you fall at the podium. Actually I watched you get on the podium at first, just like I always did."

"Always?"

"Yes. I own the club, I come there sometimes and everytime I always notice you because you were the only stripper with a mask and you never actually stripped."

"So you decided to--"

"Will you just listen? I asked Fred about it and he says he doesn't know, that he has tried to convince you to take it off but that you're stubborn as a mule. So I watched you that day, you looked distracted. And next thing I know, you're on the ground. I sent my guard to get you and when you came, you looked...."

He frowns and shrugs.

"You looked distracted, worried, lost. And it's like you said, I don't give something for nothing. I was going to ask why you were so distracted and how bad you wanted your job back. But I guess you can probably tell that I'm not--"

"You're not a man of many words." I complete and he just nods.

"And I'm terrible at communicating, so I used your two mysteries against you. It's what I do best to get what I want. I made you strip and I just wanted to see why you were hiding your identity so bad."

He says and looks up at me. His cold gaze is gone and there is just the slightest hint of remorse.

Or I'm probably imagining due to the icecream.

"Now get on with the second already." He says and orders another milkshake.

Yup. I'm imagining things.

"Why did you humiliate me like that in your room the other day?" I ask now, getting hypnotized by his thoughtful gaze and confession.

For once, I have an insight to his reasoning and I'm not ready to let go so soon.

"Look, it's almost the same reason okay?" He says as he runs his hand through his hair for the first time, ruining its perfectly combed look. I have never seen his hair disheveled and it looks longer than I thought, especially the way it dangles at his forehead.

"Just answer it." I say and return to licking my icecream.

"Fine. I had just finalised the deal with Terry Tucker, now one of our biggest investors, and they were having this celebration at the office. I didn't feel like getting drunk in the afternoon so I came back and you werent there....to cook lunch. You'd already made me feel guilty as fuck for the whole sexy assistant stuff. So I got upset mostly for the fact that you had me feeling bad when you're just my maid, and then you waltz in asking for money and I thought to myself, 'Fuck it. She works for me and I'll make her never forget it.' And then I took advantage of your situation again." He says and I know I'm glaring at him now because somehow, just the recollection of that terrible day has me upset.

"Please, stop crying." He says just when I feel a tear drop roll down my cheek and I plant my gaze on the table.

"So you can feel less guilty about yourself? I should have known you won't feel remorse."

"Of course I do. Why else would I be here?"

"You think icecream solves everything? That it just makes it okay, what you did to me? I had my brother, my only sibling in the hospital. And my dad is in a nursing home sick and unaware and I had no one to ask. I had promised to take care of him and I failed. While he faced a life threatening situation, I was being used as a slutty assistant and my dad was somewhere waiting for his long gone wife. With everything, my manipulative boss makes me strip, physically hurts me and calls me dirty."

I'm full on crying now and I push the icecream away, suddenly hating myself for even accepting to come here.

Nothing can comfort me for how ugly I felt that day

Mr Robinson sighs and drops his head on his hands. Then he looks up and I can literally see he is battling with some feelings at least.

"Anne, I'm an asshole, okay? The minute I wrote you that cheque and left the room I felt like the devil. I'm not proud of my actions and I told you this at the hospital. Everyday I came back and you weren't there but instead, I would find my clothes pressed, my food plated and the table set and it just reminded me of how I'd made you feel nothing less than a common maid."

I keep my gaze on the table, not wanting to look at him and I hear him sigh.

"I know I'm the worst possible person alive. It's just that, I grew up like that and I know no other way to treat a person. I had no idea that you were going through all that--"

"Your ignorance doesn't permit you to treat a fellow human being like that. Can we just go back to the house?" I say and get up, drop some money on the table for the icecream and leave.

The drive back is terribly quiet and I watch Mr Robinson's grip tighten more on the steering wheel, making his knuckles white.

"There has to be something I can do to make you feel better. Can I get you something else?"

"I don't want your money." I say as he drives into the compound and I get down from the car immediately.

"What's the big deal anyway? It's still my money that I'm paying into your account, so can you stop making a big deal out of this money issue?" He says to me from behind and I stop in my tracks and turn to him.

What was I thinking? That he felt remorse? That things would change once I accepted the icecream offer?

Tough luck.

"I'm sorry for making a big deal, Mr. Robinson. It wont happen again." I say and walk into the house.