The man was absolutely wicked no doubt; Claire thought as she sat up. Alfredo whom had been about walking in came to her and went down squatting before her.
“What happened here?,” he asked her
“I slept off apparently,” Claire said
“Not that, this,” he said pointing at her wounded shin.
The time she had hit against something the previous night, it was actually her shin and it did have a really deep and ugly cut that certainly would leave a scar if not well taken care of. She looked at it for a bit and gave a sad smile. Claire was not one to care about her getting scarred after all, she was already a wasted product with her dyslexia. Getting scars should also assist keep people from coming at her and eventually finding out that she was the dumbest of all.
“It was dark… I fell.” she said and began struggling to get up.
Alfredo tried to stop her asking her to wait but Claire would not hear of it. She had to go face that lion in it’s den before she begins to think about taking care of her wound. Alfredo looked at her and shook his head sadly. He could tell what Tristan was capable of and that he had successfully established his dominion right there in Norman. He told Claire she was very much allowed to go see him while he gets to the office, drops stuff and gets the first aid box. He had to sort out things for Tristan but he was not going to let the young girl go away that way. Claire nodded agreeing obviously with him and then the older man helped her rise up steadily.
Claire entered his office and could not help but notice how dashing Tristan looked that morning. He had his head bent over a couple of files that she was having a hard time deciphering whether he was actually interested in the book or if he was only pretending to be. She limped as her shin had to tell on her that she was in serious pain. Although the blood had dried up but the pain was viable especially with the redness around the area and little swelling. Alfredo was right and she only hoped the demon of an employer would be kind enough to finish up quickly and let her go. She watched as Alfredo went to his table and dropped his stuff carefully before stepping out. Tristan barely acknowledged the older man as he made an act that all his attention was in the file he was focused on.
Alfredo had gone and closed the door behind him. She stood there quietly before him waiting calmly. Her leg was seriously hurting by now and it was only by perseverance that she stood there. He had not even offered her a seat. Claire got tired of waiting for him and decided to take it upon herself to make him notice her presence, that being if he had not already. Claire started by clearing her throat but still, he was not moving.
“Sir? Sir I’m here,” she said.
For a moment he did not speak and just when he regarded her to do so, he was not being nice at all.
“If I wanted you to speak, I would ask you to. Don’t speak when not spoken to Miss Willows,” he said to her
“I’m sorry sir,” she said but he would not reply.
He continued observing her for a while without speaking. Claire was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable but said nothing more least she gets in trouble. She continued shifting her weight from one feet to another hoping he would end the staring session. But Mr Tristan Jenkins was not like that, he obviously was waiting for her to make a sound so he could bully the hell out of her.
Somehow Tristan was not feeling comfortable and that was because he could not seem to understand the lady. He had expected her to lash out at him or gotten frustrated but she was smarter than all that. He could see the injury on her shin and for some reasons he wanted to make it disappear. Perhaps he wanted her strong enough for their fight, if she would stay with a beast. Hence he delayed and would not talk to her. She was supposed to get frustrated and leave but Claire stood there like an obedient puppy. Eventually he grew tired of sitting there behind his desk and watching her shift awkwardly from one feet to the other and got up suddenly.
Without saying a word, Tristan Jenkins walked over to the pained woman and grabbed her by the arm without saying a single word and out of the office. Her eyes had widened with surprise with what he did but he continued. The early birds among the employees were there already but he cared less. He knew where the first aid box would be as they always placed them in strategic places in all his restaurants. He was just about heading to the locker room when he happened upon Alfredo coming out of the place.
Tristan demanded to know what he was still doing there when he had made it explicitly clear what his duties for the day would be. The older man stuttered as he tried explaining he wanted to treat Claire’s wound. Tristan frowned and asked him to leave before dragging Claire with him to the locker room. Alfredo had done them the favour of bringing up the the first aid box and placing it on the bench.
“Sit,” Tristan said to her as he opened the box
“But sir…,” Claire began.
She was about telling him that she could handle it herself when he shot her the look. Claire sat down quietly. The place where she had been injured was tor, talking about her trouser. Carefully Tristan began to slowly raise it up as she flinched through the process. She could not believe that Tristan Jenkins the celebrity chef was actually taking care of her wound. Who would believe her if she said so in other places. She might have shared the experience with her friends but then, she had absolutely no friends. It was her and her boring life as always but maybe not for long as she now had a reason to be happy with people and it was for the really awesome persons she had come to discover. She watched him without saying a word as he began cleaning up her wound like a pro making her wonder where he got the knowledge from.
Tristan was being careful with her and when the folds of her raised trouser threatened to come down, Claire held it in place and he saw the little plaster which Danielle had put on her yesterday. He could not seem to understand why she was getting injuries or if that was a little secret hobby of hers. He sighed and finished up what he was doing and went to pack up the box. He was still on it when he spoke to her as he watched her slowly brings down her trousers.
“You may go,” Tristan said to her
“Are you firing me?,” she asked slowly.
Tristan thought about it for a while, what he would tell her but could not think of anything really. He wanted to fire her as per work ethics but as a person, he knew that would be him overreacting when she had not done anything wrong really. He thought about it for a while and decides he would grant her that if that was what she really wanted.
“Well if that’s what you want then I could…,” he began
“No sir!!! I mean, I’m sorry for yelling but no, I don’t want to leave my job,” she said trying to get a grip.
She looked at him with rapid eyes running around in fast circles as she waited for his response. Tristan took his time with thinking about what he was saying next.
“Are you scared of me Miss Willows?,” he suddenly asked her.
The question came as a surprise to her but Claire was not backing down.
“Certainly not sir,” she said
“So you look down on me then?,” he asked
“Of course not sir… I just… I… I…,” she could not finish what she was saying as she had not the slightest of idea what she would be saying to him at the moment for him to believe her.
“Alright. If you say so…,” he said to her smiling as he closed the first aid locker.
He looked her over and told her it would be best she takes the rest of the day off.
“But I only started working here sir,” Claire said
“Doesn’t matter or would you rather they say I am guilty of negligence?,” he asked her
“Of course not sir,” she answered lowering her gaze
“Then go home Miss Willows. No one is penalizing you if that’s what you’re afraid of,” he said to her.
That was how Claire found herself on the bus back home. She could remember how everyone was looking at her when they left the locker room. Luckily Danielle was around and Tristan demanded she takes Claire to the bus stop so and make sure she gets on the bus. Danielle could tell how tired she was and did not seek details. However Claire knew she would have a lot of things to say to her the her the next day.