There was silence in the kitchen. Mike wondered what she was so upset about. Since his cousin wasn't a cause for concern, it must have been something more serious.
“Are you going to tell me what is bothering you?” Finally, he asked her again.
“My main concern is Matt's behavior.”
“If you consider the fact that he has access to all of Julian's records, he eventually took over some of the law firm from his parents. You have the rationale behind his action.”
“Maybe you are right; maybe I am exaggerating everything that is going on which might not even amount to anything.” She said, finishing her lemon balm tea.
“Go, try to rest. I will make sure you won't oversleep.”
“I will try.” As she said that, she got up and left her cup near the sink.
“It doesn’t sound convincing.” Mike summoned. “Wait, just sit here.” He took a stool and put it in
Mike immediately saw a lot of blood drops soaked on the white towel around his hips. The more he looked at them, the more he was shocked. He looked up higher and saw the two paper tampons already leaking blood from her nostrils. “What happened here?” He wondered loudly. When he saw a bag of frozen green peas on Jo’s forehead he burst out laughing. After a while, he added mockingly. “Woah, was that such a hard sex, some sado-maso?” The second he said that, the bag of frozen peas landed on his bare stomach. “Fuck!” He bent down, holding his abdomen. It wasn't painful, but it was fucking unpleasant. “Should I throw it a few inches lower?” Jo asked in a similar, mocking tone. “Are you deliberately trying to deprive me of the possibility of procreating and being a father?” “One more word, and I can't guarantee my reactions, so shut up.” She articulated through gritted teeth, changing the paper dressing under her nose. “We need help
“Thanks for the invitation, Elen. We just escaped from our offices and honestly, we would like to stay away from any, at least for the time being.” Matthew tried to sound reasonable. “What about lunch or dinner, guys?” “Not today, Elen. We need to take care of something urgent.” Mike added. Jo just looked at her co-worker in disbelief who was desperate to meet with her two hunks. She was sure Elen wasn’t interested in them;, she had a lovely fiance. She just wanted to know what they had in common with her. “What about tomorrow?” Elen decided, despairingly, to try one more time. “Fine, for our part, yes, but we don't know what Jo's plans are for us.” Matthew announced in hope that Jo wasn’t feeling like meeting her co-worker during the weekend and she would quickly come up with some kind of excursion or other urgent activity for them. “We will talk about it over lunch, Elen.” Jo proposed a solution. She could see that her guests were no
“Are you ok, Jo?” Mike asked as he checked the marks of Julian's grip on her wrist.“I am fine. I was so close to kicking him. If it weren't for the awareness that a photographer was lurking nearby, I would have shown him my self-defence skills.”“You said that it's not worth putting your reputation on the line.” Matthew was concerned, not only about her wellbeing but also about her professional image. He knew that sooner or later she would decide to come out of the shadows and show what she really was good at. That was just a matter of time.“Caring for my image is the only thing that holds me back, not to show him what it means to be responsible and take consequences for your own actions.” Jo exclaimed, but after a moment of hesitation, she continued.“I am a very patient person, I will wait. Maybe he will rethink his wicked behaviour. Maybe something will reach his consciousness.”&ldqu
“What are you disputing, guys? Did you choose the dishes?” Jo interrupted their considerations.“Hm…” Mathew nodded.“Did you order?”“Yeah…”“What was the discussion about?”“Nothing, Jo. We were just wondering how we could imperceptibly go to your apartment and not uncover your home address. It seems like somebody has been following us.” Matthew said, pointing towards the guy, who was standing on the other side of the street, opposite the café, posing as a tourist.“He looks like one of the team members of Julian’s manager.” Jo was calm. She was sure she saw that guy in
“What are you disputing, guys? Did you choose the dishes?” Jo interrupted their considerations.“Hm…” Mathew nodded.“Did you order?”“Yeah…”“What was the discussion about?”“Nothing, Jo. We were just wondering how we could imperceptibly go to your apartment and not uncover your home address. It seems like somebody has been following us.” Matthew said, pointing towards the guy, who was standing on the other side of the street, opposite the café, posing as a tourist.“He looks like one of the team members of Julian’s manager.” Jo was calm. She was sure she saw that guy in the information she had got from her trusted sources. She was even about to step outside to take a closer look at him and confirm his identity.“That man has been following us from your workplace.” Matthew shared his observations. “He was a
“Here it is.” She said, handing him a bag that looked like a laptop case.He opened it and began to take out various weapons from his jacket and pants. There was a taser, Glock and several magazines, nunchucks, brass knuckles, handcuffs and several different knives.Mike and Matthew were truly amazed. They wondered silently where he had managed to put so many things. Who was he?“Are you in a hurry, Nick?” Elen asked.“No, I am fine, just finished for today.”“Good, so I will take Jo and the guys home first.”“Ok.” He nodded.As Nick unpacked all his pockets and secured all his weapons in his laptop bag, he looked around the car."Have you got anything to eat? I'm very hungry." He asked casually but looked at the boxes with familiar logos.Matthew almost immediately took out a croissant in the napkin and handed it to him.“Only French croissants and
“Jo, you are aware of your own "I". You are self-confident and fiercely stick to your own opinions, views and convictions. You do not succumb to emotions and you are able to stay calm in low-key situations.” Nick said slowly. After taking a sip of water from his glass, he continued:“You are not afraid of changes, or taking challenges or risks. You are a typical, extremely strong personality who is superseded by the present and the future and does not remember the past and failures.”“Correct. Anything else, Mr. Wise?”“I could list your advantages for an hour if you wish, Miss.” He took another sip of water.“So what is the conclusion, Mr. Wise?” She asked mockingly.“You are fucking stubborn, even if you are wrong and you know it. Often even the strongest arguments cannot change your mind on some issues. So yes, I think you are a difficult person to deal with.” As Nick spoke,
Jo was so irritated by the events of that evening that she couldn’t sleep. She wondered if Mike and Matt were driven by an urge to discredit Nick or if all the drinking ‘show’ was caused by the stress of the whole situation with Julian.Was it possible that they were really pissed off by the circumstances? Did they know something that she didn't? It was quite likely that they had hidden some knowledge from her to annoy her unnecessarily.She had so many questions, but she couldn't find a logical explanation so she decided to talk to them seriously the next day in case she missed some facts.Turning from side to side of her bed for at least an hour, she finally decided to get up. ‘There is no point in struggling when I can do something!’ She thought.
“We already had dinner; Martin took care of our meals today.” Jack informed them.“Good guy! He also brought food for us.” Patrick realized that they had such a good time that he didn't even call and thank them for the catering. “I should call and at least say thank you.”“I already did that. We will have the catering all week.”“Sounds good, but I wish I could make use of the kitchen here too.” Patrick had some plans.“Why don't you spend your holidays far away from the kitchen? There are so many beautiful places to visit around. Besides, I'll take care of Mike.” Jack really wished that they would have a good time.“We cannot burden you with caring for him. We have to get a nurse tomorrow. And you should travel with us.”Jack was glad to hear that he wouldn't have to babysit Mike even though that one didn’t cause him any problems throughout the day. He had a great time with the bunch of big kids, and he wanted to spend some time traveling around too.Besides, his boss had clearly mar
Jo was extremely happy to see the hammock outside in the beautiful surroundings. She immediately started walking towards it.Behind her were Patrick and Matthew. When they made sure that she was comfortable, they started to unpack and unfold the garden furniture.In the next half an hour, they had dealt with most of the setting up. The patio immediately changed its face to an elegant and, above all, a comfortable place to relax. A few wooden deck chairs with a low table and umbrellas were placed near the swimming pool.The guys also put a long wooden table with eight chairs under an electric marquise, parallel to the glass wall of the villa and of course near the kitchen and dining room doors.“The table looks so good!” Jo commented from the hammock.“I feel like I am on a boat.” Matthew joked.“The owner loves sailing, so you are right. Only the wooden steering wheel is missing.” Jo laughed. She also noticed so many things related to marine life.“A wooden steering wheel sounds good.
”Are you worrying about Mike?” Patrick asked, seeing consternation and some kind of sadness on Jo’s face.“No, I am not worried about that asshole. He deserved it.”“Nobody deserves anything like this, badass.”“That’s not what I meant.”Patrick looked at her expecting some more explanations.“He shouldn't have gone out with you the previous day. He knew it perfectly well, so it was one hundred percent his fault. So, in that sense, he deserves it.”“I agree, but still, he is a man. You don’t understand male pride, badass.”“I understand him more than you can imagine. It’s just his fucking character.”“All of us, we have ‘interesting’ personalities, badass. For most of the people around us, we are assholes.”“I am not questioning it, Pat.” She hesitated for a moment. “But this fucking macho is one of his kind...”Patrick was speechless. He couldn’t argue with that. While he had a lot of understanding of the people around him, Mike was still a special case to him. But still he tolerated
Right after breakfast, Jack took Mike to the clinic. The atmosphere instantly relaxed inside the villa. They were still sitting at the kitchen table with tea and French pastries and discussing how to teach their dear friend a lesson.“You are a poor teacher, Matt.” Jo said, very disappointed with her friend. “These pancakes are awful.” She winced as she ate, wondering where Mike went wrong with that very simple task.“Am I really a poor teacher?” Matthew mocked in a slurping voice. “Or maybe our friend is a bad student? Did you consider that?”“Could we leave aside his cooking skills, guys?” Patrick exclaimed. “The main thing is that the guy can cook, so he will not die of hunger. That’s what matters!”“Really? Did you try that?” Jo pointed at the pancake.“No, and I'm not going to. I watched the anguish when Jack was consuming it. In general, he is not very picky about food so it must be eatable.”“Well, you have to try it.” Jo wanted to force him and put a piece of pancake on a fork
Mike was the first to get up. He was not able to accept ‘the doing nothing’ state and being attached to one place, to his bed, any longer.Slowly, without making any noise, he trodded downstairs. It wasn't too complicated with the help of crutches.He found the perfect order and plenty of food in the kitchen.‘These stocks were made, probably with me in mind. They want to leave me again." He assumed looking at the refrigerator full to the brim.He decided to prepare something for everyone. His skills were far from Matthew's, but after all, he could prepare something nonetheless.He made pancakes, and a typical continental breakfast: fried bacon, sausages, black pudding, some stewed mushrooms and tomatoes. He also made a smoothie out of whatever greens he could find in the refrigerator.“Good morning!” Patrick’s voice disrupted his work on the fruit salad.“Good morning.” He wasn’t happy to see him. “Did you sleep well, man?” Mike asked ironically. He really wanted to ask if he had goo
Mike felt much better after a nutritious lunch. There was no sign of a hangover; the only thing that bothered him, even after strong painkillers, was the ache in his ankle.He was changing the ice packs, and putting on more anti-inflammatory creams, but it didn’t help much. As soon as he was trying to put his foot flat on the floor, he saw ‘all the stars in the sky’ from pain.He didn't know if he would trigger the alarm again by opening the bedroom door, and he didn't feel like testing it.He went out onto the terrace a few times, but it was too hot to stay there.‘Why do I have to sit alone, in a deserted place like that?’ He thought. ‘I didn't have to travel so many kilometers to be accompanied only by empty walls. Did I?’ He wondered looking around the empty room.‘It is no different from my everyday life. Should holidays be like that? Do I deserve it?’ Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his head.Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep. There was no TV in the room, and watching mo
Mike was lying on his stomach with his head covered with a pillow, asking the heavens for silence. He had never imagined in his life that he would ask for such trivial things. He didn't know for how long he prayed, but he was at the end of his tether. Even if he wanted to leave the house to relocate somewhere in the garden or on the terrace, to not hear the alarm, he was not able to move that far jumping only on his uninjured leg.‘I know it's my fault, but why doesn't Jo have any pity on me? I always thought that she was an angel with a golden heart, but why is she heartless now?’ He made assumptions. ‘She knows I have a goddamn hangover. Plus, I smashed my ankle. Isn't it enough punishment for me to be here, in the middle of nowhere, alone?’Mike thought about so many things looking for a solution and he was really desperate. Finally, some clue appeared in his sore brain. He recalled that when Jo was taking a shower, there was absolutely no noise outside, so there must have been g
Mike was really pissed off. He screwed up his vacation, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to accept and bear with it. As soon as he heard that the car drove away, he got up and jumped on one leg to his suitcase, and pulled out clothes which would be less obstructive in his general movements like, a loose T-shirt and short cotton shorts. He hung his ironed clothes on the armchair standing next to the bed. He returned to the bed and unwrapped the bandage. His ankle didn't look the best. The hematoma was visible on the entire surface of his ankle, despite the already quite large swelling. Considering the state of his injury, he was sure that the best solution after all was to stay at home. He lied down, tipping from side to side impatiently for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. Too many thoughts swirled in his aching head. He got up and decided to change the atmosphere of the semi-dark room a bit. ‘Damnit! It's so dark here!' He muttered under his breath and opene
As soon as Jo realized what had happened, she lost her good mood. ‘It was predictable! Will this asshole ever grow up?’ She cursed under her breath. She felt guilty about letting him come out of the house in such a bad shape at all. She blew into Mike's bedroom, without even knocking the door beforehand, like a hurricane with a destructive force. She was ready to deal properly with her rebellious, bullish friend and all his faults, who tried to disguise from her the fact that he had sprained his leg. The image she saw right after opening the door made her feel sick, as she predicted. She was truly disgusted. Mike's hair was still wet after the shower, and his face was perfectly shaved. He was dressed in a white polo shirt, perfectly ironed, and baggy khaki cargo pants. He was sitting on the bed with his left leg propped up on the bed. His pants were rolled up as he was bandaging his ankle. On the bed, she also noticed a tube of very strong painkiller ointment. “What a fucking as