At the sight of him, her mind ran with different thoughts, already knowing that the night wasn’t going to end well.
People should at least be allowed to finish the course of their disobedience before being punished because getting caught sucks. She thought.
He was in a white long sleeve tucked into the black trousers with three of its buttons undone from what she could see from the distance and even though he was angry, he looked good.
He also looked like trouble and she was terrified of him and what he was thinking about doing and the last thing she wanted was a commotion at this event, Anita and George would never forgive her and she wouldn’t forgive herself either.
She didn’t know which was the right thing to do, go up to him and ask him what he was doing at the event or ignore him and pretend as though she didn’t see him and hopefully he would go away. She realised the second option was dumber than the dumbest idea she ever had and she decided to go with the first.
She tried to rehearse a good line for an escape as she got closer, but her brain went blank of ideas and all the words she had learnt throughout her entire life faded away. She cursed under her breath and the closer she got towards him the more nervous she became and sweat broke out on her skin and her grip on the tray tightened. She finally got to him and her eyes lifted to stare at the big man standing before her looking like he wanted to strangle her that very instant.
“Cainan,” she said, dragging a deep breath as she saw the fury brewing in his eyes. “W-what are y…ou doing here?”
“I’m here to take you back home, Jasmin. Go to the kitchen, drop that thing in your hand and come back so I can take you home.” He ordered with a tight tone that was not asking for a debate.
“No,” the single objection was all she could utter even though she feared for the worse. “I can’t go with you, Cainan.”
He stepped up towards her so that there is almost no space between them, his teeth clench and his nostril breathing out hot air, “You will do as I say, I’ve had it will your unruly attitude!”
She stood her ground even as the ground beneath her trembled, “I can’t go with you, I still have thirty minutes to go, once I do that, we will leave.” She retained her firm voice.
“I wasn’t making a suggestion, I was making a statement.”
She stepped back a little, her head held up and her eyes fixed in his, “Then you will have to drag me out.”
He raised a finger and she saw him fighting to keep his fury in check, “Do not push me, Ms Whyte, I will drag you out.”
She raised a brow and scoffed at his threat, “And ruin a perfect religious event because of your ego? I think not. Thirty minutes more and I’ll be done.”
She had no idea what came over her and gave her such boldness, but being around him for the past five weeks made her a little nonchalant about his words in form of threats.
Red flashed in his eyes and he grabbed her by her arm, “I make orders, I make the rules. Your job is to follow and you already went against my words which were to not come here and you will get your punishment for that, do not add to it.” he warned through gritted teeth.
Her stomach tightened at his sudden move, she had taken it too far and caused him to snap and he was furious with her.
“Is everything okay?” Anita asked, coming over to where they were.
He released his grip on her arm and she turned immediately to her and the look of fear on her face disappeared, “Cainan came to take me home, but he seems to be thirty minutes early.” She replied with a forced smile and gently patted Cainan on the chest and she shivered when her hand felt the muscle underneath his clothes.
She looked at Cainan and saw that his eyes were still cold and on her, he was not even bothered to acknowledge Anita’s presence or his need to put up the perfect couple act. She was pushing all his wrong buttons and she was going to get electrocuted in the end.
“Okay, you’re needed in the kitchen.” Anita who didn’t pick up any tension between them or didn’t put much mind to it informed her before moving away.
Jasmin followed Anita behind not saying a word to Cainan or daring to turn back and look at him and even as she walked away, she could feel his hot gaze on her body and she shivered a little in fear.
“I’m sorry about that,” she spoke up once the door closed behind them in the kitchen.
“There is no reason for you to be sorry, just keep him properly informed about the closing time next time and tell him to follow it. We are required to be professionals on the job.”
She nodded coldly, Anita had never scolded her before and hearing her do it now made her a bit sad, “I understand and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
As the event ended, Jasmin received her payment and changed out of the uniform into her blue flay gown and brown slip-on and she handed the uniform back to George. She thanked the couple and told them she would find her way home from there while they took their leave after she declined their offer to give her a ride.
Unlike the thirty minutes she promised Cainan it took her one hour to get ready for home and so she wasn’t surprised when she came out and didn’t see a trace of him or his car anywhere.
She groaned under her breath and regretted telling Anita that she would find her own way instead of taking up their offer for a ride. Wearing a slip-on was a saving grace because, with it, she could walk from the venue to the open road where she could easily get a taxi to take her home without having to worry about leg cramps afterwards. She held onto her purse tighter and she hurried her legs because though the venue of the event was at the secured side of the city, it was still past eleven at night hence she needed to be careful and be ready for the worse.
After about five minutes of walking, a black Ferrari sports car drove right in front of her and stopped. She immediately panicked and first thought about making a run for it because she couldn’t see who was inside. The road was long but she was also a good runner and would make it despite being pregnant. And that would serve as a lesson to never turn down a ride from friends with the hopes that your angry boyfriend would be waiting for you after one hour just to take you home.
Thinking about it now, she was really stupid to have thought he would wait.
She shouldn’t even be thinking right now, she should be running.
“Are you going to stand there or are you going to get in?” Cainan asked and the irritation in his voice was obvious.
Hearing Cainan’s voice set her mind at ease for a moment but then again she realised he was probably furious for everything she’d done and put him through.
She bent a little so she could look at him, “Are you going to strangle me if I get in?” She couldn’t help her curiosity.
“Most likely.” he answered with a scowl on his cute face then added, “but for the sake of the baby I might reconsider, yet, your odds get slimmer with every second you spend standing there and wasting my goddamn time!”
She swallowed nervously but heeded and entered the car before closing the door and he drove them off.
“I thought you got tired of waiting and left.” she didn’t know what he was going to do with that information, but she felt she had to say it to him.
“I didn’t leave, I thought to, it would have served you right for being so damn stubborn. I wanted to also let you walk your way down to the road and then watch you wait for hours just to get a taxi. Because I do not appreciate being disrespected and you took disrespect to a whole new level today when you went against my words and did as you liked and let’s not forget how you refused to come with me when I came to take you home over an hour ago. You would have deserved being abandoned.”
He was right, she did take things to the extreme and she didn’t think it would turn out this way, but here he was still, helping her. “Then why didn’t you just abandon me?”
“You have to ask?” he clenched his teeth and his hands on the steering wheel tightened. “You’re pregnant, and though I wanted to go home and get enough rest for tomorrow, I knew I wouldn’t rest until the both of you were safe and getting you home regardless of your stubbornness and unruly behaviour would be helping myself as well.
His words held so much weight and they crushed her, he was right she was reckless and he was keeping an eye out for her safety.
She had been so desperate to get the approval and friendship she had with Anita back that she forgot about her safety and that of her unborn child. “I’m sorry about today, Cainan, I did what I did purposely to get you angry, but now I see that was insensitive of me. There is no other way to go back and fix what has been done, so I’m just going to hope you accept my sincere apology.”
There was no other word uttered throughout their ride back home and Jasmin was not sure if he accepted her apology but she only hoped he did. She meant it.
He turned off the car but she was in no haste to get down.
She pressed her lips together, “Are you going to talk to me or will you keep giving me the silent treatment.”
He didn’t look at her, he just rubbed his forehead slowly, he looked tired “It’s not a silent treatment, I just don’t know what to say to you.”
“Are you regretting coming back?” She was unsure and insecure and her guilt was eating her up from the inside and making her think of the worse.
He finally glanced at her, his eyes cold and humourless, “I am not. What we have is still going to run for many months and I will do my part and you have to do yours but you have literally gone against many rules stipulated in the agreement. You have to understand that rules are rules and once broken will attract due punishment.”
She felt as though he spoke in parables but she didn’t ask him to explain himself, instead, she nodded and got down from the car and into her apartment.
