Pinnacle Of Power

Chapter 9: Crazy driver

Mona's POV

With closed eyes, I groaned inwardly and turned around.

Ugh...speak of the devil, I said inwardly.

"Your ID", he demanded.

"Seriously...come on, how many more times do I have to come here before you'll stop asking for my ID? You know I work for Angie Deliveries, so this is unnecessary".

He arched his eyebrows in annoyance, giving a stance of unwillingness to let me in.

"Show your work ID or you won't be allowed to go in".

I returned the favor by glaring right back at him. I was not going to be easily intimidated. He seemed to flinch a bit but quickly masked it and demanded my ID again.

I exhaled sharply. My patience was wearing thin knowing I had to work with time. Taking him head-on would only delay me further.

Why did he have to be so difficult?

In all honesty, though, I would have shown him my ID and avoided this unnecessary drama, but it had been stolen alongside the purse where my money had been kept and I hadn't had time to replace it yet.

Suddenly, an idea crept into my mind, and a sinister smirk played across my lips.

I waited, calculating my move, and pointed my hands to the entrance.

"Look! Over there," I said, "my colleague just went in there without showing you an ID. Shouldn't you do something about that?" At this time, someone did go inside, and the sliding doors to the entrance were about to close.

He spun around as I was speaking and saw a figure going in with some boxes in his hand. He quickly went inside to go and accost the person.

Haha, good. He took the bait.

I broke into a half run before he met up with the person and realized I'd tricked him. I walked in quickly and headed straight to the delivery goods section.

"Hi, good evening", I smiled sweetly, "I'm here for a package to be delivered to Lancerston Crescent".

"Oh, right on time", the guy behind the desk said, pushing a box toward me. "Here you go. The client has already wired the payment, so you can skip that part..."

While he was still speaking to me, I could see from the corner of my eye that the security guard was walking towards me.

Oh s**t! I think I'm in trouble.

"Miss...what was the meaning of that stunt you pulled earlier?" he asked, jabbing a finger at me. "That was the manager's son and what you did could have cost me my job?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

His face reddened in annoyance. "Don't play that game with me, young lady".

I ignored him and made a move to collect the package from the guy when he held my biceps to stop me.

"Get your hands off of me!", I yelled, "How dare you put your hands on me?"

"What is wrong with you?" The guy behind the desk asked. "Why do you put your hands on her?"

"She...she tricked me. Her actions nearly cost me my job", he defended.

"So that makes it ok for you to put your hands on her? Do you think this action of yours won't cost you your job?"

His eyes dropped, feeling wronged, "I didn't mean it like that".

"What happened? Why are you acting out of character today?" he questioned.

I was going to speak up but he beat me to it.

After he explained, the guy behind the desk turned to address me. "You could have simply shown him your ID and avoided all of this. Why didn't you do that?"

From the tone of his voice, I could tell he was reasonable and tried to be as neutral as possible.

"I'm sorry sir", I said speaking softly, "It's not my intent to cause trouble, but I lost my ID and I haven't replaced it yet. He had seen me come here lots of times to pick up packages, knowing I work with Angie Deliveries. Telling him I lost my ID would not have made him let me through, and I'm on a strict schedule. I stand the risk of losing my job if I do not deliver on time".

He looked at me and gave a knowing nod. "Yes, Angie's Deliveries are known for being prompt. I know your boss personally and she doesn't play around so I understand".

I felt relieved at this point.

Then he turned to the security guard. "Why were you being so difficult knowing she's a familiar face working for Angie's Deliveries? As an employee under Lakeville's Essence, your attitude could reflect positively or negatively on the image of this establishment. This must not happen again. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir", he muttered.

"Thank you so much sir", I quickly added, biting down on my lower lip, "sorry for the trouble".

"It's ok, you should be on your way now".

"Of course", and with that, I turned to take my leave.

I looked at the time on my cracked phone, I'd still be able to get there in time if I were fast enough.

Going by bus will delay me, but a cab will get me there in 5 minutes even though it will cost me more. But I don't have any other choice.

"Hey! Taxi!", I quickly pulled one over and hurriedly got in.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Lancerston Crescent. Please hurry, I'm gonna need you to drive fast".

He looked at me and grinned like a maniac.

"Aight but don't complain when ya get what ya wish for", he spoke in a thick accent I couldn't quite place where he'd picked it up from.

"Ok, ok, just get going".

He nodded, turned to face the front, and stepped on the gas. Without warning, I flew back and nearly hit my head on the window.

What the heck!

He soon turned onto the main road and noticing it wasn't swarmed with cars that much, he accelerated more, swerving in between cars as if he were playing a car race game. The other road commuters were displeased as some insulted him while others made gestures due to the way he was driving.

He didn't seem to care one bit and just turned on the stereo and blasted on the jam of Temperature, by Sean Paul. It was as if the song electrified him more. He raised the volume higher whilst he sang along.

Oh God, why'd I ever tell him to go fast?

"Please!" I shouted over the music, "Could you slow down a bit?"

"What?, I can't hear you pretty gal", he replied loudly and went on laughing like a maniac, "just enjoy the flow, I know ya loving it".

I was not loving it.

Talking this dude out of his crazy way of driving wouldn't work, so I carefully placed the box between my thighs while I reached to buckle myself to the seat belt. Talk about being in such a hurry that I forgot to do that.

I kept swaying sideways while I tried putting on the seat belt. It wasn't working. I looked closely and realized the belt latch was broken.

Oh sweet Jesus, is this the day I die?

Suddenly, he made a sharp turn and the tires screeched loudly. I screamed and gripped the handle above the window to secure myself.

"Don't worry gal, I gat you", he laughed again, like he was taunting me. "You know Van Disel, in Fast and Furious?" He paused a bit as if waiting for an answer from me. "Well we do ride together, so don't be scared, you're in safe hands".

Ride together my foot.

"You believe me right?"

I glared at him and he saw the look in my eyes from his front view mirror.

"Oh, you're a feisty one eh? I like 'em feisty", he said, and laughed again.

What was even funny that he laughed so much?

I didn't even have the time to be upset. I just wanted to reach my destination safely and in one piece.

Soon enough, we arrived at my destination and he stepped on the brake forcefully, making me jerk forward and slamming my forehead on the front passenger seat.

What a crazy driver!

I swiftly jumped out of the car and held my chest, trying to calm my heart that was beating so fast.

I still held on to the package with my other hand like my life depended on it-because in many ways it did.

The contents in the box amounted to over $100,000 which was used to purchase a 2-in-1 perfume set and a luxury lip palette set. If anything happened to it, I'd be done for.

I walked over to the driver's side and paid my fare. But I'd barely walked five steps away when he suddenly called me back.