Chapter 8
***MALCOLM***
The sun was just beginning to set when Malcolm popped his head into Rose’s office. “Quitting time, pretty lady,” he called, stepping inside. “We’ve got a celebration to get to, remember?”
Rose looked up from her computer. “I guess we do,” she said, grinning at him. “I just sent the accountant the file with all the invoices in it, so we’ve got even more to celebrate.”
“Should we invite Vanessa?” he asked. “She had a hand in all of this, too.”
“Definitely,” she said. “Just let me shut my computer down and we can go ask her.”
“No need, here she comes,” Malcolm said, moving over so he wasn’t blocking the door.
“Hey, boss lady,” Vanessa said, grinning at her. “Can I skip out a few minutes early? I have a date.”
“We were going to ask you to join us for a little celebration, but you get out of here,” she said, smiling at her new friend. “It’s been a long day, I don’t think it would hurt if you got out of here a few minutes early.”
“Thanks, Rose, it’s going to be nice working for you,” Vanessa said. “I’ll get here early tomorrow. I’m sure you’re going to have a lot of questions.”
“Sounds good, I’ll bring the doughnuts,” she said. “Have fun tonight.”
“If you’re bringing doughnuts, I’m going to have to come in early,” Malcolm said, pretending to pout. “If I don’t, there won’t be any by the time I get here.”
“I’ll save you some, you big baby”, she said, shaking her head with amusement. “I just need to check in with Roger and then we can go. Do you want to wait for me out front?”
He pulled the truck up to the front entrance and sat waiting for Rose, wondering what he was doing.
He was playing a dangerous game, one that could leave either of them hurt, but he couldn’t stop himself.
It was time to admit it to himself, he wanted to spend time with Rose, he wanted to be around her, but he still stubbornly refused to believe that it was anything but friendship.
Men and women could be friends, he thought as he sat and waited; they could have close relationships without it being about sex.
It was entirely possible, and that’s what he and Rose had, he was sure of it.
When she jumped into the truck, cheeks flushed from the cold, his breath caught in his throat for a second as wave of desire flooded his system. “Pool or bowling?” he finally managed to ask, keeping his eyes on the road in front of them. “It’s your choice.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, clearly surprised. “I thought we were going out to dinner.”
“They serve food in both places,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “But if you’d just rather go to a boring restaurant and make small talk with each other, that’s fine, I just thought you were a bit more adventurous than that, I mean, you faced Sandra down today and all.”
She laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do and it’s working, but there’s only one problem,” she said. “I’ve never played pool or set foot in a bowling alley.”
“Oh, that’s right, spoiled rich girl and all that,” he said, looking over at her and grinning. “You’re too good for that kind of thing.”
Rose was silent for a second, so long that he finally looked over at her, surprised to see her face full of anger.
“I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m some kind of princess.
I’m not, I don’t have a bunch of money, I’m not spoiled, in fact, up until a few years ago, I was living in a car with my mom and my little sister,” she said, her cheeks flushed with emotion.
“Maybe this was a bad idea. You should take me back to my car.”
“I’m sorry, Rose, I just assumed…and that was wrong,” he said. “I know what it’s like for people to assume they know everything about you when they really know nothing. I should have remembered that. Can you forgive me?”
She visibly relaxed, the anger drained from her face, and she let out a long sigh.
“It’s okay, I might have overreacted just a little,” she said.
“My mom married my stepfather when I was sixteen. He’s loaded, I mean like millions, maybe even billions, I don’t know.
Before that we lived in a van, it was pretty awful, but…
well…never mind, you don’t want to hear all of this. ”
“Of course I do, we’re friends, aren’t we?” he said. “I care about you, I can tell you don’t like this guy.”
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything for a second, then looked over at him.
“This is going to sound crazy, but there’s something about him that bothers me.
I can’t describe it. I don’t know, it’s like he’s evil, I guess,” she said, then shook her head.
“Let’s talk about something else, we’re supposed to be celebrating. ”
There was something in her voice that set off his protective instincts, and he pulled the truck over to the side of the road, put it in park, then turned to look over at her.
“Rose, he hasn’t hurt you, has he?” he asked, unable to resist taking her hand.
“You can trust me, I won’t tell anyone, I’ll just hunt him down and kill him. ”
“Malcolm,” she gasped, looking a little panicked. “Don’t talk like that. Besides, he hasn’t really hurt me, he’s just mean. Please don’t start any trouble, it would just make things worse.”
“But if he’s hurting you…” He prompted, then sighed. “Just promise that you’ll tell me if he ever does.”
Rose was silent at first, then sighed. “Okay, I promise,” she said. “But Malcolm, you don’t know this guy, he’s powerful, you don’t want to mess with him. You have to promise not to do anything without talking to me first.”
“I guess that’s fair,” he said, then put the truck back into gear. “I promise not to go off half cocked and kill your stepfather.”
***Rose***
In the end, Rose had chosen pool for the entertainment that night.
It seemed the safest choice, less opportunity for her to publicly humiliate herself, but when they walked into the front door of the bar, she wasn’t quite as sure.
The place was packed, every pool table occupied, the bar filled with customers, and the waitstaff was rushing around frantically serving the tables in the dining room.
She was about to suggest that they go somewhere else when Malcolm spotted a table in the very back, grabbed her hand, and started to drag her through the crowd.
“We got lucky,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “This place is always packed, but they have the best burgers in town. I promise it will be worth the wait.”
It wasn’t long before a harried waitress rushed up to their table, plopped two plastic-covered menus in front of each of them, then dropped a basket of peanuts between them.
“Hey folks, it’s a crazy night around here,” she said, flashing them a smile.
“I can take your drink order and come back later for a food order, or you can do it all at once if you’re in a hurry. ”
“I know what I want, but this is Rose’s first time here,” Malcolm said, looking over at her. “She might need a few minutes to decide.”
“You go first,” she said, picking up the simple menu. “I think I already know what I want.”
When they’d both ordered the waitress disappeared into the throng of people, but was back only a few minutes later with their sodas. “The food shouldn’t be too long,” she said, flashing them one more smile before turning to another table.
Their burgers came in big red plastic baskets, a pile of fries next to them, and it only took one look at the big juicy creation for her mouth to begin watering.
After dousing her fries in ketchup, she picked up the burger, which was as big as her hand, and took a bite, struggling to get the whole thing in her mouth.
She looked up to find Malcolm watching her with an amused look on his face, but she didn’t care; the burger was as good as he promised, and she was starving.
It took a couple more bites before she was ready to set the burger down and pay attention to the fries, but she paused for a second to take a long drink of her soda.
“You were right, this is the best burger I’ve ever had,” she said, then picked up a French fry and studied it before popping it into her mouth.
“And that was even better, all crispy and hot just like they’re supposed to be. ”
They ate in silence for a few minutes, the crush of the bar around them enough to keep them entertained, but she was finally forced to give up on her dinner. “I can’t eat another bite,” she said, pushing the basket away. “I’m so full, I feel like I could explode.”
Malcolm tossed the last bite of his burger in his mouth, chewed it, then swallowed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said, grinning at her. “You finished almost all of that, I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be working it off in the gym later this week, but it sure was good, definitely celebration food,” she said, grinning at him. “I just wish I had room for dessert.”
“The night isn’t over yet,” he said. “There’s a great ice cream place just down the street.”
“Uhhh…don’t mention food right now,” she said, groaning. “I’m going to have to waddle out of here as it is.”
“Maybe you’ll work some of it off playing pool,” he said. “It looks like there are some open tables. I’ll get the check, and we can go grab one.”
“I don’t know, Malcolm, I’ve never played before,” she said. “I’m not very athletic. I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself or both of us. Maybe we should just forget it for tonight.”
“You won’t embarrass yourself, I promise. It’s really not that hard. Let me show you,” he said, grabbing a napkin. “Do you have a pen?”
She dug one out of her purse and watched as he explained the basics of pool on the napkin. When he was done, he looked so hopeful, she found herself agreeing to try. After flagging down the waitress, he got the check, but she grabbed it out of his hand and quickly gave the waitress her card.
“Wow, Filmore, that’s a new low even for you,” a man said, walking over to them. “Making your date pay for the food, can’t get much more pathetic than that.”
There was something about the man that seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him, couldn’t figure out where she’d seen him before.
“We’re celebrating. Not that it’s any of your business, but I bought my first building today,” Malcolm said, his voice completely calm, but she felt the tremors of anger flowing below the surface.
“Rose kindly offered to cover the bill, and I’m man enough to let a lady pay; it doesn’t threaten my manhood like it might some people, Thomas. ”
There was a brief silence as the barb hit home, then Thomas turned to her. “Rose, that’s a pretty name,” he said, then looked a little harder at her, his head cocked to one side. “I would swear we’ve met before.”
“I don’t think so,” she lied, not about to tell him she thought the same thing when it was clear Malcolm didn’t like him. “I just moved here a few weeks ago, this is the first time I’ve been out.”
“Well, as your new neighbor, let me give you a little advice,” Thomas said, giving her a big smile. “You can do better than this loser. Anytime you want to be with a real man, just give me a call.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” she said. “I’ll take a loser over an egotistical jerk any day.”