Protected By Her Controlling Boss

Chapter 6

"So let me make sure I have this right, " Krista set down the box she had been carrying and wiped her hands on her jeans. "You quit your job because you were forced to by both your mother and your boss just so you could move to Houston and manage some random guy's law firm?" Krista shook her wrist with a hair tie wrapped around it before using it to pull back her hair. Frowning, "They didn't warn you about moving and expect you to live with this dude?"

Angela admitted it sounded ridiculous when explained that way. "The story about my parents moving was a lie to get me to the house. I'm confident Mother never intended to move in the first place."

"You never did explain, Krista," Angela said before starting to sort which books she'd sell and which she'd pack. "How did you know I quit my job?" It was Krista's turn to look incredulous.

"Don't tell me you already forgot! Angela, I was interviewing for an HR position with a company in the same building that day. We were supposed to grab dinner that day, but when I walked to your office, some Kingpin-looking swamp creature said you'd quit a few hours before." Angela doubled over laughing, "King. Pin. Looking. Swamp. Creature." Seeing Angela laugh, Krista began laughing with her, her auburn hair already in her way again.

"I'm serious here. Your boss always looked evil and sweaty. How would you describe him?"

"I haven't thought about it before," Angela mused, and her giggles subsided. She cleared her throat, "Anyway, the job and living arrangement don't sound bad. Since you're an HR person, I brought the contracts for you to review." Angela gestured to her purse. It was placed on top of a box labeled 'dining room.' Krista instantly bounced over and took the documents. She sat on the floor, back against the wall, read everything word for word, and scrutinized every detail.

Krista worriedly glanced over at her friend, "You know, Angela, everything seems to be in order, but..."

"...But everything seems too good to be true, minus the few PTO days I get?" Angela finished Krista's question.

"Right, you'll have your own private space, guaranteed transportation or at least parking, and great security; aside from the PTO, your benefits package is amazing. That dental plan alone would have applicants crawling over each other." Krista bit her lip and stared into space while thinking. "Doesn't everything seem just too right? I mean, what's-his-name did all this, and you are going to live with him? How do you know each other again?"

Angela thought back to her friendship with Jameson when they were still kids. "Well, his name is Jameson Rose, and we were friends when we were little, since he lived in the same neighborhood and we were the same age. His family moved to Dallas when we were about sixteen. Then I heard Mark Rose moved back here and relocated his construction company's headquarters after his wife passed away. Jameson has been living here for the past two years, give or take, to work for his dad's company's legal department before he decided to start his own firm in Houston. His brother, Christian, hated Texas and applied to universities here, so when their dad wanted to move, it was good for both of them." She stopped what she was doing to count on her hands, "I think that was 5 years ago now? I think Christian started working for his dad right out of college in the marketing department but will start his own business soon, too."

"Okay, but how did Christian and Angelica even meet? You said they were going to get engaged, right?" Again, Angela frowned, "You know what? No one told me how they met." The two women looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Jameson had said that Christian and Angelica had been dating for years, maybe, but had yet to say how the two met. Christian was 3 years younger than her and Jameson. Angelica was 2 years younger than Christian. No matter how you sliced it, Angela couldn't figure out where Christian and her sister met.

Angela just shrugged her shoulders and returned to packing. This was the last bit of stuff she needed to move out of her apartment. She was returning to her parent's house, where she had been staying since leaving her job. Krista helped her carry the remaining boxes to Krista's truck before both women returned to the unit and stood in the empty apartment, just looking at the space.

"I can't believe you're moving all the way to Houston." Angela was startled to hear tears in Krista's voice. "We've been friends since our freshman year of college; what am I going to do without you?" Angela sniffled and tried to hold back her own tears. In a thick voice, she replied, "You can always come to visit me, and I can visit you. It'll be hard. We won't see each other as much, so we'll have to make it a point to stay in touch with each other," Angela's voice broke. The next thing they knew, they were crying ugly tears all over each other, not wanting to let go. Krista had been there every time Angela's family tore her down. Angela was a safe haven whenever Krista needed to escape from her five roommates. Then, when Krista got engaged, Angela organized everything from Krista's wedding dress to the tiny Caribbean ceremony. Sadly, that reminded Angela of how furious her mother had been, calling her selfish for going instead of working and giving them the money intended for the trip, spoiling the happy memory.

Krista pulled away first, "I'm always just a phone call away, you know that. If anything happens, I'll be there in a heartbeat." Krista hugged Angela again, then put her arm around Angela's shoulder and led her out the door. It was too soon before the women sat in the truck in front of the Grantham home, staring at Angela's mother throwing a fit in the driveway. Krista didn't turn her head and tried to keep her mouth as still as possible while asking Angela, "What the hell is wrong with her now?"

Angela barely managed to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. She exited the truck and walked toward Janice, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Janice was seething with rage, "What's wrong? What's wrong! You've been gone all day and have the nerve to ask me what's wrong?" Angela could feel a headache coming on yet again because of her mother.

"I told you," Angela tried to remain calm, "Jameson canceled my apartment contract, so I had to finish packing up and moving out. You agreed that it was fine last night." Krista left the truck and quietly began moving Angela's boxes into the family's detached garage. The pod movers would be there the next day to pick everything up and ship it to Jameson's place in Houston.

"Last night, you didn't tell me you'd be gone all day. Your sister just got home, and you weren't even here to greet her. How can you be so rude?!" Janice slapped Angela's arm, causing her to flinch but not cry out in pain.

"Mom, you never told me Angelica would be home today. I would have started earlier if that were the case." Angela rubbed her arm where her mom had hit her.

"Just get your little friend to hurry up and leave, then come inside," Janice huffed, then marched into the house. Krista and Angela unloaded the pickup at a rapid pace before hugging once again. Krista smoothed her friend's hair, "Call me tonight and tell me if anything happens."

The moment Angela entered the kitchen from the side door by the garage, a blonde fluff ball of golden-retriever-like energy jumped all over her.

"Angela! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Christian told me that you agreed to work for Jameson so he'd pay parents' debts, and we could get married. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Angelica kissed her sister's cheek. Angela swore that if Gela had a tail, it'd be wagging for her.

Janice was disgusted with the sisterly affection and clicked her tongue, "Angelica, don't pounce on your sister like that. She's all dirty from moving all day. Also, there's no need to say thanks so much to her. She's your sister; of course, it's her duty to do what she can for you." Angela just bit the inside of her cheek to stop from yelling at her mom. The good moments she had with Gela were so few and far between. The fact that Janice ruined this one hurt both the girls. Angelica dusted her dress and looked apologetically at her sister, "Yes, it is what you should do. I'm glad you agreed without a fuss, Angela." While their mother's back was turned, Gela made a gesture that Angela remembered as their sign: "Let's meet upstairs and talk without Mom." She gave her sister an almost imperceptible nod.

Angelica left the kitchen while Angela grabbed a glass from the cabinet for some water. After waiting more than five minutes, Angela snuck up to her sister's room. It looked the same as it did when she still lived at home. "Hey, Gela. Congrats on getting engaged," squealed Angela. The girls were always close, despite Janice's attempts to separate the two. Angela couldn't be mad at her little sister. After all, Angelica's behavior was as much self-preservation as Angela's behavior. Gela giggled and hugged her sister again.

"It's like a fairy tale, Angela! I didn't even remember Christian since I was only 11 when they moved, but then we bumped into each other one day, and he recognized me instantly!" Gela gushed on and on about her relationship with Christian. Finally, the details were explained. One day, Angela was meeting with her course advisor when a young man ran in and did a little dance before saying, "Heya, Mr. Flynn." Christian didn't notice that Angelica was in the room, but when her sparkling giggle made him turn in her direction, it was like time had stopped for the pair. For Angelica, it had been love at first sight, and for Christian, he'd finally met the girl he'd been thinking about for years. Angela was genuinely jealous of her sister for the first time. She wanted that same joy and passion but knew her mother would destroy every opportunity Angela had at love.

Angela put on a happy face; it wasn't her sister's fault their mother behaved as she did. Angelica could be a spoiled brat at times and didn't always pick up on typical social cues since their mother always gave in to Angelica's whims.

"I'm glad you're so happy, Gela." Angela was glad her voice sounded right, and the envy didn't carry out. Still, Angelica looked at her sister worriedly, "Angela, are you sure this is okay? You can always back out if you don't want to do this. I wouldn't blame you if you did; Christian and I would be okay. It'd take us a while longer until we got married, but it wouldn't stop us from being together."

Angela led her sister over to the set of fuzzy aqua-blue chairs Angelica had picked out for her 15th birthday and which she had begged Angela to buy. Angela sat the younger girl down and squatted, so she was looking up at her face, "Don't worry. Jameson's offer is very generous, and the contracts are signed. I'm not going to back out now." Angelica breathed a sigh of relief; it was clear the issue had bothered her.

Angelica looked at her older sister with the most adorable puppy dog eyes, "Please don't be mad that I didn't tell you about Christian before now. We were so wrapped up with everything we had going on with his new company and me finishing school. I just needed to figure out where to start. " Angela smiled and rose up to sit in the chair beside her, "Speaking of, how are your grades?" The sisters continued chatting for hours until Janice could be heard squawking for Angela to help with dinner downstairs.