CHAPTER 5
The waiter walked over to them when Peach was about to say something. She was a bit grateful for the distraction. She watched as Shane took charge of the situation like it was a norm for him.
"We would like a cappuccino and a tall glass of banana smoothie."
The waiter nodded, scribbling the items on the notepad. He was also dressed in blue and white. Actually, everything here was in blue and white colours. Peach looked at Shane who had a frown on his lips, as he took his phone out of his pocket. His question was still hanging in the air, though subdued temporarily by the waiter's presence.
As soon as the waiter left, he dropped his phone in his suit pocket. His eyes returned back to hers and the lines of his forehead seemed more pronounced than before. It was as if their conversations hadn't been interrupted.
"Why do you tolerate it?" He repeated again.
"There aren't many options for me if I chose not to tolerate it. I can't force them to give me a job. It's their company, and they can choose to employ me if they wish to. I think arguing it over with people who are dogmatic in their approach or should I say mindset won't help me. I believe there must be something I'm not doing right, though I don't know what that is, that makes them cross me off their lists. So, tolerating it is not something I can escape. It's a norm for me." She said in a rush.
Peach stared at the napkin, quite stunned that she'd said so much to him. Honestly, she hadn't given it a thought as to why she let her potential bosses walk over her, claiming she would have been good for the job and eventually, not giving her the job. Talking to Shane seemed to open her up and that was… scary.
"If you haven't seen what you're not doing right. It could be that you're not doing something wrong. But, it's more of a personal choice that blinds them to their mindsets." Shane said easily.
She looked up at him, and he was still looking at her intensely. Taking the wool and pin from the table, she started knitting. She needed to keep her hands busy, it would make her think clearly.
"I think that's just a business defense approach." She said slyly.
He cocked his head to the side, his lips moving upwards in a smirk. "Business defense approach? Did you make that up on the move? I like it." He said softly.
"I did not…" Her words died on her tongue when the waiter arrived with their orders.
He carefully placed each cappuccino in front of them, and the smoothie in the middle of the table. Each of their drinks was filled up to the brim. Once again, Shane exchanged a few words with the waiter. Peach watched him closely. He was a man that made conversations turn into something educational. It wasn't so fierce like insanely stuck-up professors back in school. It was different and so laid back.
"Take a sip." Shane encouraged as he did the same.
The waiter had gone. Peach mentally hit her head for not paying attention to her surroundings. She'd been busy comparing Shane with her professors. Now, she was watching how he closed his eyes while taking a sip like the coffee would burn his tongue if he kept his eyes open.
Peach hesitantly took her eyes off his, dropping her wool and pin on the table. It blended perfectly with all the blues and whites here. She held the straw cup with both hands. The straw was a front, for the glass interiors of the cup. The person who had made it was quite creative. It was simple on the surface but sophisticated in its interior workings. This was just like the crochet she envisioned for Winter's Apparel.
She used her thumb to wipe the cup's surface out of habit, then pulled it closer to her lips while taking a sip. The cocoa exploded on her tongue, spreading warmth and a slightly bitter taste in her mouth. Underneath that, was the chocolate flavour that would have been missed if she hadn't drawn her tongue to the roof of her mouth. This was so delicious. She went in for a longer sip this time.
"You're just like a child," Shane whispered.
She pulled the cup away from her, the steam created an artificial beard on her upper lip. Did he just call her a child?
"What?" She whispered.
He took the spotted blue and white napkin, and pushed it towards her, avoiding her gaze. There was a slight red colour on his cheek which Peach found slightly captivating.
"I was saying you had an artificial mustache on your lip. You need to clean it off." He stuttered.
She smiled. "Now, who's lying?"
He placed his hand on his forehead, and for the first time, Peach noted his hair colour. It was black and slightly, wavy. His long fingers were playing bounce with it. She subconsciously pulled at her nose ring to distract herself.
"I'm not lying. You honestly have that artificial mustache on. You may keep it on if you love to feel masculine." He said sweetly.
"Hey, Mister! There are no masculine features in my body," She snapped, taking the napkin from the table.
"Right, I know it." Shane teased.
She rolled her eyes as she dabbed the coffee from her lips. She felt lightheaded and so much freer. It was like Marilyn's episode hadn't happened and it was far into some distant future.
"Still mad?" He questioned.
"No! I feel so much better." She said immediately.
This time, they smiled at each other. It didn't matter if he'd lied to her about what he'd said. She knew, he hadn't meant for her to hear it at all. The most important thing was that he'd appeared like an angel, and magically made her happy.
His phone beeped again, and he took it out annoyed, breaking eye contact. He read whatever was on the screen with a slight frown. Something told her, it was time for him to leave like he hadn't been there.
"I have to go." He said softly.
"Oh, it's fine. Thank you for all these." She said quietly.
She hadn't been wrong, he was leaving. He shot his hand forward, and she almost thought he wanted to hold her hand, instead he grabbed the smoothie. He drank half of its content in one go, his Adam apple bubbling as he did so.
"This is just life." He said easily. "Look, I'm going to say something. Forget about any business defense approach you have engineered in your head. What is meant for you will be for you! And, don't make it a norm to tolerate it all the time. Most people easily take advantage of it." He said fiercely, rising from his seat.
Without waiting for her response, he walked to the waiter. Peach watched as they exchanged a few words before he left the cafe into the streets. Two uniformed men in the navy were following him closely. She knew without being told twice that they were his bodyguards. He was obviously a big man in society.
She turned her attention back to her table. His chair was vacant, but his words were resting on her mind. He'd told her not to make it a norm to tolerate things all the time. She was going to put his words in her heart. She might need it.
She got up too, taking her items with her. She was going back home. There is something that needed to be done. She walked back to her home. It was behind their industry. The door was locked, so she took her spare key in her pocket to open up. They've stopped placing keys under the mat, after the death of her mother. Safety was important to them all.
Her siblings weren't home. They were in their various schools, doing what teens did most. It was all good, she would have ample time to go into her mother's room. She never came here. But, she knew there were things that would be useful to her.
She kept her wool and pin on the table in front of the door. Carefully, she turned the doorknob and got into the room. It was caked in cobwebs. She used her long fingers to wipe them off.
There was something here. That would help her with her projects and make things a bit easier for her. She had told her father that she found it bland, the scarf. But, to understand how it was actually seamed together, she needed to go back to its roots and that was here-her mother's room. She had to do this, to prove to these people she was worth something more. At least, before she left it all. Yes, she was surely leaving. Not now, but soon!