Falling for My Younger Boss

Memories

Amanda didn't realize she was staring at the man until he snapped his fingers in front of her face and said, "Look, I know I am cute, gorgeous, handsome, hot or whatever else they're saying but I'm really starving, and you look like a nice lady who wouldn't turn someone down so could I please get a sandwich and some soda?" 

Surprised and unprepared, she replied blandly, "Kitchen's closed, I only got pie." He's right, Amanda was tired but she couldn't bring herself to turn him down. Not him, her first love. 

__________

It was late and Amanda had missed the bus. She stayed late at school working on the paper for her History class. She called her dad to ask him to pick her up but he was at a construction site for inspection. Anthony, her twin, had already left with his buddies after their band rehearsal. She knows her way around town but it was late and she felt uneasy. She didn't have enough money for a cab so she had to take the train and walk a mile or so after to get home.

She wasn't nervous because she might get mugged. She was born in Harrowpoint and knows everyone in this small and peaceful town so she knows she's safe. She was more worried because she knows she'd be passing by the house of Jason on her way home. He always had his basketball buddies with him after school and they hung out at his house shooting hoops.

They've always been mean to her but she always managed to rebuff their taunts before. Anyways, it was not like she had done anything to deserve the way they treat her. They just picked on her because she was fat. She usually just ignores them but lately, they've been really mean towards her after she told Shelley, her best friend, and Jason's ex-girlfriend, about seeing him and Tanya making out behind the bleachers. She didn't want to tattle but her loyalty would always be to Shelley. 

After Jason and Shelley broke up, Jason made it his mission to make her life a living hell. He'd given her names before, "fatty mcfatty," "lardy dardy," "oompaloompamanda," et cetera. She didn't really care before because she thought of them as immature pricks. But when Jason and his buddies started taunting her even outside of school and they started getting physical, pushing her around, that's when she started getting scared.

She has to walk past Jason's house before she could get home and she's very wary. She walked past his house one time when the school bus broke down one time and she had to walk to get home. Jason was with his buddies in his driveway and they started taunting her. It got to a point where they started pushing her around and she fell and had several scrapes on her palms and knees. 

After that, she had tried her best to avoid them if she can but today, she wanted to finish her paper early so she can start preparing for the SATs even though its a couple of months away.

"Guys, look who's here, it's Fatty McFatty!" Shouted Jason.

"Hey, why are you walking, fatty? Cabs wouldn't let you ride in their cars, afraid they'd get a flat?" Matt added. They all laughed out loud and started chanting, "Fatty, fatty, fatty..."

Just then, a shiny Audi stopped by the side of the road and a tall lanky boy with brown hair hopped out of the car and stood beside her. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze then smiled at her with that unforgettable lopsided grin. Se looked at their clasped hand and at his face. He had the most amazing gray eyes she had ever seen. They were so clear and she felt like she could get lost in them. 

"Want a ride?" he asked. 

Amanda was puzzled. She had never seen this boy around town. She knew and grew up with everyone in town. Harrowpoint was a small, quiet town where everyone knew each other. She adores Harrowpoint if not for idiots like Jason and his buddies. Who is this boy, she thought to herself.

"Dude look, lardy's got a boyfriend!" Matt shouted. "And they're perfect for each other, a fatty and a thin dude," added Jason. They all laughed again. 

"You're Jason Roswell, right? Your dad works at the electric company?" The mysterious kid asked Jason haughtily and smirked.

He looked at Matt and said, "And you're Mathew Levin, son of George Levin who works at the gas company?" 

"Yeah, so what's it to you? Who the hell are you anyway?" Jason snorted. 

"Ah yes, I apologize for being rude and forgetting my manners. I should introduce myself first. My name is Robert Baltazar Elliston of the Elliston Group of Companies. I got tired of living in New York and asked my father if I could stay here in Arizona until I finish school. That said, I suppose it's clear to you who I m now? Your dads work for my dad." Robert then raised his eyebrows and smiled knowingly. 

Amanda has heard that someone is moving into the big house with a huge lawn and garden by the river. She adores that house. It is a white stucco house with a sprawling lawn and has a big garden with huge roses. Its scent fills the air when they are in full bloom. It even has a white gazebo at the back with vines creeping up its pillars that you can see from the outside.  

Jason and his buddies became quiet. Robert took Amanda's hand and said, "Don't let them get to you, they're just a bunch of losers. Come on, let's leave these losers here." He winked at her and gave her another lopsided grin. She nodded and he leads her to the side of his waiting car, opened the door for her, and let her inside his car. He looked back at Jason's group who looked dumbfounded and followed Amanda in. 

__________

"MIss, hello! Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost." asked the man. 

Amanda snapped out of her reverie and blurted, "Pecan pie or apple pie?" 

"I guess I'll have a slice of pecan pie. And a soda if that's not too much to ask." 

Amanda served his pie and soda and immediately went back to closing the till. She couldn't keep herself from glancing at him. She knew in her heart it was Robert but she didn't have the courage to ask. He seems different now. Aloof but more sure of himself. He lost his braces and his skin had become clear. She used to tease him because of his acne and he'd defend himself saying it was all part of puberty. 

"So, Harrowpoint huh? It sounds familiar." Said the man. 

He's forgotten about this place? He's forgotten me? Amanda couldn't help feeling dismayed. She knows he lived in Harrowpoint for only a year but that year was unforgettable for Amanda. It was the year she liked and fell in love with Robert, in secret.