Just Friends With An Enemy

The Board

“Mrs. Paulsen, where is your boss?”, a man walked up to Amy. It was obvious that Derek wasn’t in his office. That was the second day in a row. Derek didn’t show up, the day before.

“I can’t say exactly where but he seems to have some business to attend to”, Amy replied. “The moment he’s done, he will return and give a report of his activities to the board.”

“That’s what he told you?”

“Yes, sir. Explicitly”, Amy had to lie. She was definitely going to give him a call, after the awkward conversation. “He didn’t mean to neglect the company’s affairs”

“He should have shared that with the board. Now he’s going to have a problem with us”.

***★***

He could barely hear any other thing than the song, blasting through the stereo; Judgement Day by Stealth. It wasn’t his favorite song but, at the moment, the melody soothed his feelings. He drove out of Novel City, travelling through a bush path. He couldn’t get lost. He just kept going, travelling into a countryside. He could swear he had never been there, since he was born. The atmosphere seemed a lot different than the city he had just driven out of. He wind down the car window and looked out at the surrounding houses. The village was less packed, compared to the city. The houses were also smaller and scanty.

“Wow! This is a whole new world”, he muttered to himself. “Don’t get lost, Derek”.

His phone beeped again. The music had stopped so the beeping seemed louder. He looked into his phone. “Not now, dad”, he said to himself, losing focus on the road. The car seemed to have driven over something, turning him away from the road. He lost control of the car and slammed it into a tree in a way that made the car drift. The car tumbled upside. Derek hung upside, held back to the seat by the belt. He was half conscious, hardly thinking of anything.

“Oh my God!”, he could hear someone saying. “Is he alive? I think he’s dead”.

Derek was going to raise his hand to show he was still alive but he seemed too relaxed to do that. “Shut up, Leo. This is why Mara thinks you’re dumb. I’m sure if I had kissed Lara, we’d still be okay”, another voice said.

He could hear footsteps. Someone walked closer to the car. “Troy! I think he’s moving. Let’s pull him out”

“This is me imagining him dying in our arms”

Derek was weak but not too weak to know his situation. “f**k!”, he muttered.

“I think he said something, guys”, the guy said. “He said ‘f**k!’. He’s in the spirit world”.

“Get me out of here, dummy!”, Derek muttered, weakly.

“O my God! He talked again. He said ‘get me out of here, you-“, he shot back, as Derek placed his hand by the window, suddenly. “Aarh!”

“What?!”, the others chorused.

“He moved”

“If he moved, then he’s alive”, Troy said and they walked back to Derek. “That belt is tying him to the chair. We have to cut it”.

“You want a cutlass? Or the knife”, Terry handed the knife to him, teasingly. Troy cut the seat belt across Derek’s chest and they carried him out of the car.

“Thank you”, Derek muttered and got up, with his little strength. “You were stupid but thank you”.

“Oh no. You’re paying for that service”, Terry said. “You’re paying or we’ll put you back in the car”

Derek laughed. “Are you kidding me? You’re going to carry me and put me back in?”

“It’s not that simple but we have a knife”, Troy replied with an innocent smile.

“Hey, old man”, Leonardo called Derek, staring under the car like he had seen something. “I think your machine is vomiting”

“f**k!”, Derek said, punching the air. “The fuel is leaking. Let’s get out of here”

“You’re going to leave the car?”

“You want to pull it with you?”, Derek replied, sarcastically, running down the road. The three farmers followed him.

“Wait!”, Troy called. “Where are you running to?”

“The car can explode at any time”, Derek replied and stopped. “I’m really hungry. What can I get here?”

“Seeing we are all hungry, we can get food at Frank’s canteen”, Troy suggested and looked at his friends. “Right, guys?”

“Absolutely right”, they chorused and Derek followed them, closely.

***★***

“What does the second man want?”, Sharon asked.

“The most expensive meal we have. Let it be noted that I am the source of this restaurant’s net worth and I generate the most revenue for us”, Emily said, proudly. “Please, I don’t want to attend to any more male customer, for the rest of the day”

“Why is that? You want to get a leave or what?”

“I’m sure that man is going to wait after his meal and want us to talk about love. It’s annoying”

“You shouldn’t have allowed him, in the first place”, Sharon replied. “I’m sure the same applies to the second customer. What did you tell that one?”

“He thinks I’m in a relationship with the first man”, Emily replied. “I told him I will break up with the man for his sake, the moment he spends a hundred dollars in this restaurant. He bought the idea”

“As much as I love that idea, that’s fraud. Go and serve him before he changes his mind about loving you.”

Emily walked out of the kitchen with the man’s order and placed it on his table. “It’s 25 dollars”, she leaned closer and whispered. “ Just four more servings of this, then you’ll have me to yourself”

The man brought out his wallet and handed 25 dollars to her, immediately. She walked back to the kitchen, with quick paces, hiding her excitement.

Four minutes later, “Sorry, sir. New customers will start pouring in and we’ll need the space”. It was Frank. He was back from wherever he went to. “No. I don’t mean to disrespect you. I mean, some people are coming to eat here and they’ll need to sit down…. And they are many. This chair counts”

Emily peeped through the curtain. It was the first customer who had fallen in ‘love’ with Emily at first sight. Someone walked into the restaurant, followed by three others.

“Troy?”, she muttered.

“See! The customers are here”, Frank said to the man. “You might have to get out, right now”

“Isn’t that one of the farmers?”, Sharon asked.

“Actually, they are all here… with another guy. Damn! He’s handsome”

“Ok. I’ll attend to him”, Sharon sprung up.

“What? No. They are my friends”, Emily objected.

“You said you were no longer attending to male customers”

“I can’t even remember saying that”, she replied, as she drifted out of the kitchen.

“Emily. We are hungry. Serve us your best”, Terry said and sat down. The others joined him.

Emily and Derek stared at each other for a second. “Who’s your guest?”

“He had an accident. We saved his life”, Leonardo said.

“I’m Derek”, Derek said and held out his hand.

“I’m Emily”, she shook his hands. “What may I offer you?”

“Give us the best you have in your kitchen”, Terry said.

“You might not be able to afford it”

“You think we came empty-handed?”, Troy asked, dramatically. “We came with an handsome city man”

Emily looked at Derek and waited for permission. Derek nodded. “You can bring it”

“Hey, girl!”, the second male customer called Emily. “I want this 25 dollar meal again”

Emily smiled and walked into the kitchen. “Who’s that girl?”, Derek asked.

“She’s a friend. You like her?”, Leonardo asked. “One good advice; don’t kiss her”

“No. It’s totally fine if you’ve brushed your teeth”, Terry added, and Derek laughed.

“Are you guys kidding or what?”

**★**

“Damn! That was great!”, Troy said and leaned back on his chair with a full belly.

“Yea. Never knew food could get me so drunk”, Derek added. “It’s like she mixed the food with Molly while cooking it”.

“That sounds like you like it”, Emily replied.

“I loved it. It tasted better, looking at your face”, Derek teased.

“That sounds like the Molly working”

“Did you really add Molly? ‘Cause I can tell you weren’t so beautiful when I walked in”, Derek said. “You looked like a mutilated Barbie doll, dumped in a garbage can”

Emily sprung up from the counter she was leaning on. Those words hurt her but she didn’t want to show it. ‘Who’s this insolent freak?’, she thought.

Troy leaned closer to Derek and whispered in his ear. “That’s not how you speak to a girl. She’s hurt”.

“Are you angry?”, Derek asked her. “I’m really sorry. You shouldn’t have added Molly to the food”.

“I didn’t add Molly to the food”, she snapped.

“I was just kidding. I’m just pretty filled up”, Derek replied in a calm voice. “In Novel City, we get the girls to snap at us and, when they do, we see a different face. It’s either uglier than what they actually look like, or more beautiful than one can imagine”

“Hm”, Emily smiled. “You made me snap. Which one am I?”

“Well”, Derek dragged the word, like he was going to make a bad comment. “You’ll have to pay for the truth”

“Then I’m guessing the lie is free. Lie to me”

“No. If I lie to you, you’ll know the direct opposite of what I said is the truth”, Derek replied.

Emily stared back for a few seconds. “I’ll make a comment about you. You’ll make a comment about me. Deal?”, Emily said and leaned on the counter again.

“I won’t be needing that. I already know how handsome I am”, Derek replied, confidently. “That’s how I got your attention in the first place”

“That sounds proud of you to think I’m moved by your appearance”, Emily replied, expressionlessly.

“I have a lot to be proud of. Even a company”, Derek said, proudly. “I could take you there, someday”

“You’ll have to pay if you’re asking for a date”, Emily smiled and folded her arms.

“It sounds like you’re eager to go with me, already. Don’t push your luck”, Derek said, laughing. Emily also laughed. “Would I be the first if I decided to tell you how beautiful you are?”

“You already said it”

“I could have said zero”, Derek teased, keeping his face as serious as possible. “Zero beauty”.

“You won’t dare.. and you won’t be the first to say I’m beautiful”, Emily replied. “I’ve had two people say that, just this morning. You’re the third victim of my love charm”.

Derek leaned back and smiled. “You really are funny. In case I forgot to mention earlier, my name is Derek, by the way”, he said and got up on his feet.

“I did not ask for your name but it’s nice to meet you”, Emily replied and they shook hands again.

“You did not ask for my name but you will never forget it”, Derek said.

“That’s a confident statement. I bet I’ll forget the name before I go to bed”

“I guess that means you’re planning to think of this moment before falling asleep”

“Are you kidding?”, Emily blushed. “Just get out of here.”

Derek brought out three hundred dollars from his wallet and placed it on the counter. “I’ll buy the restaurant with the change. Tell your boss”, Derek said, as they walked out of the restaurant.

“O my God! She’s in love!”, Sharon said, hysterically, as Derek left with the farmers.

“What are you saying? I bet he’s never going to show up again”

“O my God! She’s not even denying it!”

“Stop, Sharon”, Emily replied, hiding her blush. “Were you eavesdropping?”

“Oh. I heard every word, dear”

***★***

“Good morning, Derek”, Amy greeted, over the phone.

“Good morning, Amy. How’s work?”, Derek replied.

“Not good. I’ve been covering for you since yesterday. You need to be here”, Amy said. “A man showed up here, just now. He claims you might have a problem with the board. You haven’t attended to some files, also”.

“Ok. I’ll come around, today”, Derek replied, and took a gulp from his cider. “Thank you, Amy”.

“I’m tired, Derek. Just show up”

“I promise”, Derek replied and the call ended. “It’s almost like I’ve never tasted cider in my life or it’s just this brand”.

“Is it good?”, Troy asked. “It’s the only type we got around here”

“It’s better than the ones I’ve had in the past”, Derek replied and sprung up. “I need to get out of here”

“To work?”

“Yea. I wasn’t there, yesterday. My secretary just called and said I might have a problem with the board”

Troy stared, blankly. “If I may ask, do you have a problem at work?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s probably a problem with your personal life”, Troy said. “I mean, many people would kill to get your job so I see no reason to neglect your job”

“Yea… but I actually got a problem”, Derek replied. “And it’s sweeter when you know it can be solved”

“Knowing it can’t be solved is the motivation to just live”, Troy replied. “Then, you’ll know you don’t need efforts. There’s no way out, no turning back, and you just have to live with it”

Derek nodded. He made his decision, immediately. After all, he had no plan at all.

“Troy?!”

“Troy! Get out. It’s daybreak!”

Leonardo and Terry called from outside. Troy got up quickly. “Have you brushed your teeth?”

“Do we have to?”, Leonardo asked.

“Ain’t it too early to brush our teeth?”, Terry also asked.

“What if we have to talk to the girls, today?”, Troy replied. “Then, Mara will know you didn’t brush your teeth, today, again”

**★**

Derek increased his paces, as he saw Mr. Biden ahead. His father wasn’t smiling at all. Derek had imagined himself playing tough but he had changed his mind. Instead of daring the Circle to do their worst, he could just live the same way he had been living for the past year. “Good morning, sir”, he greeted, looking down.

“Don’t greet me, Derek”, Mr. Biden replied, sternly. “Where did you go, yesterday? You didn’t pick my calls. You didn’t call back. You didn’t even come home, last night”

“I was bothered about what you told me so I… I just decided to drive around and get over it”, Derek replied. “I drove into a town and crashed my car”

“The car’s gone?”

“Yea, and I’m alive”, Derek replied. “I’m sorry”.

“Whatever! You better cook up a better story when you are called for the meeting”, Mr. Biden said to him and turned to walk away.

“Well! Well! Well! If it’s not the Biden family, probably colluding, who else would it be?”, Mr. Jordan appeared from nowhere.

“Good morning, Jordan”, Mr. Biden said, without flinching. “You can call a board meeting and let us get this over with”

“We are not colluding in any way, Mr. Jordan”

“Save it, Derek! You’ll explain yourself at the board meeting”, Mr. Biden said. “See you around, Mr Jordan”

**★**

“Are you with us or are you against us, Mr. Biden? You haven’t answered the question”, Mr. Jordan asked, glaring at Derek with threatening eyes, after he had just cooked up a believable emotional lie about the previous day.

“I am with the company and I am with the Circle”, Derek replied. “Neglect of duty is intolerable, where joint efforts are needed, and it should not be condoned. I hereby submit myself to any punishment that my actions may warrant”

“The board will vote… but you are not to neglect work or any of our meetings again”, Mr. Jordan said. “If any client gets a reason to report you, that will be the end of the road for you”

Derek sighed and nodded.

“It’s time to vote”, Mr. Jordan said…

**★**

“Thanks for coming, Amy”, Derek said. “I can’t get this sorted out on my own”

“Let’s just start with it. My husband can call, at any time”, Amy said and dropped the pack of files on the ground. “Get me a pen”.

“Whoa! I’m the boss here”, Derek said and sat on the floor, as he tossed a pen at Amy.

“Who cares? You’re the one that needs my help”, Amy replied. “You should call out the names and do the arrangement. I’ll draw out a time table. We also need to computerize this”.

“I’ll do that and forward it to you, tomorrow”, Derek said. “Let’s just get over this, tonight”

They began arranging the case files. It seemed more of the jobs were redirected to him, due to his absence. He already had a list of jobs that could take months, waiting for him on his desk, just after a day’s leave and a car crash.

“Denmark Lewandowski”, Derek called. “I’d kill my parents if I had that name”

Amy laughed. “Denmark or Lewandowski?”

“Lewandowski sounds like a pet name for a Cockerel”, Derek said.

“It would be a surname so it wouldn’t be your parents' fault”, Amy replied. “Do you want work on a Friday evening? I know you always go out so-“

“Yea, just put it”, Derek said. “As long as my weekends remain weekends. Pedro Alonso, this one’s a footballer’s name”

“There’s a serial killer with that name too. Trust no one”, Amy said. Her phone beeped, vibrating in her bag. “Excuse me”

Amy reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She walked out of the sitting room to make her call. “Hey, Kevin. I had to sort some things out at work. I’ll be-“

“For that stupid boss of yours, ain’t it?”, the voice retorted, so loudly, that Derek could almost hear clearly.

Amy walked far from where Derek was to prevent him from eavesdropping on her conversation. She walked back in, two minutes later. “Okay. Let’s continue”

“That was your husband, right?”, Derek asked

“Yea. Let’s get this over with”, she replied.

“I don’t want to delay you. He wants you home”

“It’s nothing. We’ll soon be done”

“Yea, I know. That’s why I want you to go to him now”, Derek said. “I’ll complete it”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Mrs. Paulson. See you in the morning”, Derek said, as she stood up, picked her bag and walked out of the house.

Almost immediately, Mr. Biden walked in. “Derek”, he just said, walking straight to his room.

“Dad. Dad? Wait”

“What now?”, Mr. Biden turned.

“I was thinking you were going to say something about today”

“What am I supposed to say?”, Mr. Biden asked. “Tell you how needless your action was?”

“I’m sorry, dad”, Derek said.

“Sorry doesn’t fix s**t. I was sorry for joining the circle in the first place”, Mr. Biden replied and tossed Derek’s badge to him. “That’s your badge”

“You actually got it back?”

“The Circle can do anything”, Mr. Biden said. “They could also see through your bullshit at the meeting, today.”

“That was all I had in mind. I couldn’t come up with anything better”

“I don’t care. We are in this, together. Just let me know about your steps and we’ll both be safe”