Chapter 6: Cheese Burger

You know how everyone always says that what the boss says goes?

Well, that unfortunately might be true in this case… 

Annoying, right?

“This is nothing but a bag full of fats waiting to attach themselves to your perfectly fit body.” I commented seriously as I looked at the plate in front of me. 

What a monstrosity!

“This is a cheese burger, Mia.” Archer chuckled. “Well, a cheese burger with extra cheese.” He added. 

Extra cheese?! 

What it would have without the extra wasn’t any better!

This is an abomination! The tool that would take down the whole humankind!

“Why can I not get a bowl of veggies?” I asked him in a pleading tone. 

 I can’t eat this!

“Because you need to learn what real food tastes like.” He told me. “Now eat.” He pointed at the monstrosity in front of me. 

“I know what real food tastes like. I think you’re forgetting that I’m a rich brat.” I reminded him of his words from before.

“You can eat this. You’ve worked out today. Burned a lot of calories.” He sighed.

“I’d rather not.” I shuddered as I looked at the burger loaded with extra fats.

How can people eat this? 

Don’t they care about their health? 

Or hygiene? 

The shop we were in was deserted, given that it was almost midnight and Archer had to threaten the guy who was about to close up to open up again for us. 

But the place was filthier than the boy’s locker room at my old high school.

And that’s saying something! 

Something serious… 

That something being that this place probably has never seen a broom… Or a mop… 

Even the tables were dirty! 

How can people eat food here?!

“Are you actually afraid of a burger?” Archer asked.

“I’m more afraid of the disease this place has.” I told him honestly. “I bet some of the bacteria here haven’t even been discovered by the scientists yet!” I gagged.

Archer threw his head back and started laughing at my words. 

I wanted to just stare and appreciate how nice he looked when he laughed, totally carefree and not like the ads he usually was, but I couldn’t fathom how he could have taken such serious words as a joke.

“Just have a bite and I promise that if anything happens to you, I’ll get you my best doctors and I’ll also pay all your medical bills.” He offered. 

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m a rich brat.” I pointed out. “My parents might not check up on me enough to know that I was kidnapped but if they get to know that something happened, they’ll pay anything to save their heir.” I informed him. 

At least I think my parents will do that… 

They would, right? 

“Well, then I don’t really see what you’re so afraid of. Just try the burger already.” Archer brought my attention back to the burger. 

“I’m afraid of the agony I’ll be in when I am sick!” I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. 

“Just eat it.” He huffed, starting to get annoyed. 

I decided not to anger him anymore merely because I believed that dying with a bullet to my head was less cooler than dying with a virus which when discovered in my system will at least make me famous. 

I’m ending up dead anyways… 

Well to be honest, I never imagined surviving to see my eighteenth birthday. But I did. 

And since I can’t drink to that achievement, I’ll eat a very unhealthy excuse of a burger instead! 

I took a deep breath as I picked the burger up. 

Now, don’t get me wrong! I've had burgers before in my life. I’m not a weirdo! 

It’s just that I haven’t had a burger at a place that’s most probably violating all the health codes known to man… There’s a difference. 

I’m used to the expensive but clean places. Not unhygienic places with greasy food. 

I took a bite and couldn’t help but let out a moan as the greasy yet amazingly delicious taste hit my tongue. 

“This is… How can it be so… I don’t understand…” I searched for words to describe what I wanted to say but couldn’t complete a single sentence. 

“There’s a reason I brought you to this exact place, you know.” Archer smirked. 

“I thought the reason was that you wanted a way to kill me where Lucas wouldn’t blame you.” I sassed back.

Archer rolled his eyes at me. 

“You rich brats really don’t think that you can find something nice in a place that isn’t expensive.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes at me as he started eating the fries he had ordered with the burgers.

“We rich brats also find working for people in the mafia unfathomable.” I dead-panned. “Actually, we find working for anyone ridiculous.” I added it as an afterthought. 

I mean, why work when you have enough money to make a bed out of and sleep in it? 

Thinking of that… 

What does a bed made up of nothing but paper money feel like? 

“You’re only working for me to survive.” Archer commented. 

“I actually decided on it to avoid thinking of different things to endanger my life everyday. Joining you sounded like a permanent solution.” I shrugged. 

“Don’t kid yourself. You’re just doing this to stay alive.” He replied. 

“Honestly, I don’t see myself being more than 25 when they put me in my grave and then six feet under.” I confessed. “Though I’m quite sure that I’ll be younger than that.” I shrugged. 

Wow! 

What the fuck was in the burger that actually made me confess that in front of him?! 

Did he put some kind of truth serum in there?! 

“Why?” He asked the expected one-worded question. 

“Because I know that I’d be bored with life by then. I mean, I already am but I’ll be tired of it.” I smiled through the pain. “I’m just searching for a cool way to die.” I added, biting my lip. 

I mean, what’s the point of going on? 

My boyfriend of more than three years, the guy who I have known all my life and who has known me, left me for a girl who just moved into town. 

My parents haven’t cared about me for as long as I can recall into my childhood.

I have no friends. The people I called my friends were actually all fake and when they realised that high school popularity wouldn’t transfer into the college with them, they bailed. 

I have absolutely no one. 

I only have one person. And that person is the one I see in a mirror. 

And I’m happy with who that person is.

But I don’t know for how long that’ll be enough for me… 

I’m not suicidal. I’m just not happy and satisfied. 

I’m lost.

Don’t mistake my loneliness as anything other than what it really is. 

I’m lonely. But I’m okay with that. 

Because that’s all I know… 

“This burger is really not what I expected.” I said, changing the topic as I tried a fry. “But the fries are crap!” I gagged. 

The fry was soggy and undercooked. 

Something you can try if you want food poisoning… 

I aimed for the dustbin a  few feet away and threw the uneaten fry in the bin. 

Basket! 

I went back to enjoying the unhealthy yet surprisingly nice burger. 

“Nice aim.” Archer noted. 

“I took a few archery classes when I was younger.” I shrugged. 

“Archery? Are you any good?” Archer raised an eyebrow at me. 

Why is he interested? 

Maybe he’s trying to move on from the seemingly depressive conversation we had a moment ago… 

“I was good. I just lost interest.” I sighed. 

This is the starting of another depressive conversation if he asks why! 

I just wanna eat this burger! 

And quite possibly get food poisoning tomorrow… 

At least I’ll get to call in sick! 

Wait… Do this… organisation or whatever… give sick leaves?

“Why?” Archer asked, breaking my train of thoughts. 

Here we go again… 

Well, maybe not. 

“Because I didn’t like clowns.” I told him. “I’m actually coulrophobic!” I added. 

“How’s that even related?” He frowned. 

“Just how my archery skills are related to your business.” I shrugged. 

He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. 

“You can never stop being a sassy bitch, can you?” He asked. 

“That would be something like going against my blood.” I answered. 

“Well, it’s a good thing that we honour loyalty before blood in the mafia then.” He replied. 

Mafia! 

Ha! As if… 

“And like you’ve mentioned on more occasions than I cared to keep count of, I’m not a part of your so-called group yet.” I pointed out. 

Gotcha! 

“Just finish your damn burger.” He grumbled. 

I chuckled as I started eating my burger once again. 

“Just for the record, if I gain any weight, you’re the one who’d be responsible!” I warned him. 

“Don’t worry. If you become heavy by eating a single burger, I’ll take the blame.” He rolled his eyes. 

“What about the weight?” I frowned. 

I mean, okay, he’ll take the blame but I’ll be the one stuck with it! 

“You’ll be harder to kidnap. So that’ll work as your defence.” He shrugged. “It’ll be more effective than your punches anyway.” He mumbled. 

How dare he?! 

“You know what comes in handy when you’re being attacked? A weapon! Not a good punching technique!” I crossed my arms. 

“What if you put your weapon somewhere you couldn’t reach? You can never put away your fists though!” He argued back. 

Big mistake! 

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s arguing! 

“You’re teaching me how to punch with freaking boxing gloves! I’m sure as hell not keeping those on at all times!” I shot back. 

Archer groaned, turning his face to look up at the roof in irritation. 

“You’re so annoying!” He grumbled. 

How dare he?! 

But I couldn’t exactly argue with him without getting my throat sliced… 

“I’m just trying to prove to you how I don’t need your stupid training.” I scoffed. 

“I will not have even the most annoying of the people working under me be completely unprotected! I won’t risk it!” He hissed at me. 

“I’m probably more likely to die with a bullet in my head and the gun in your hand.” I mumbled. 

“I don’t kill my people. I protect them. That’s why they are loyal to me.” He told me. 

“But you don’t respect them.” I muttered under my breath, looking away.

“I respect the people I work with.” He spoke through gritted teeth. 

Did you see how I angered my boss? 

Well, that’s why people like me, rich spoiled brats, prefer not to work for anyone. 

Our talent is to piss people off. 

That’s why we are better suited to take over the business from our parents and be the bosses we already think ourselves to be. 

We rich brats just can’t keep our mouths shut. 

We’ll do anything and everything else. 

“I saw how respectful you were when you barged into the room and demanded information about your father’s new guard.” I scoffed. 

See, I can’t keep my pie-hole shut! 

“What did you expect me to do? Give him a thrown for the dumb file that you compiled and sent to me?” He shot back.

“A simple thank you wouldn’t have hurt you.” I rolled my eyes. 

I am seriously getting a massive headache because of rolling my eyes so much at this more than annoying boss of mine. 

“I am the boss, Mia. I can’t just go around being polite. That’s not who I am.” He told me. 

“And I can’t just go around throwing punches. That’s not who I am.” I shot back. 

Archer fumed as he stared at my smirking face. 

I could see him clenching and unclenching his fists as he took deep breaths, trying to calm down. 

“You are going to learn how to defend yourself and you are going to work out everyday. That’s final.” He commanded bossily. 

This- 

He’s your boss, Mia! 

But he’s the biggest ass ever! 

I can’t argue with him though. He was angry and I was sure that his fingers were itching to pull the trigger while he held his gun to my head.

And I needed to piss a few more people off before I finally left the land of the living… 

At least now I know who I need to picture those punching bags as, in order to actually want to throw stronger punches…