Generation 02, Chapter 15: Busted

NOTE

As I have stated in the past, I really don't understand exactly what the character that Calla plays did to get fired.  So yeah, it that part of this post makes no sense... that's why.  I tried.  :P

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I'm dusting Blanche's room as she stares at a .pdf of a brochure for Gainsboro on her laptop.  I freeze when I see my own stiff portrait straining to smile for a photo.  So the weren't able to get rid of me completely, were they?

"So, is that the firm you want to work for?"  I casually ask Blanche.

"Yeah, it is.  It's the top firm in the country.  It's basically impossible to get in and even if you do get in, you have to work your ass off to stay in.  One mistake and you get fired on the spot."

"Wow, sounds rough," I say, sounding astonished even though on the inside, I'm smirking.

"Yeah, this guy," she points to a picture of Rusty, " is supposed to interview me but he's retiring."

"Wait, why?"

She shrugs.  "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Oh never mind.  You're right.  Sorry."  I lie.

Right after I finish dusting, I scuttle over to my room and quickly open up the web browser.

I search for what seems like hours and I've finally found quite a lot of interesting information.  For one, Rusty is, in fact, retiring.  Secondly, he has family connections with, Zebra Co., another company that loaded 50 million to the material company I lost the 50 million for.  I'm 100% sure that nobody knows about this connection and Rusty certainly hasn't mentioned it.

He knows something.  

I whip out my phone and call Rusty's number.  Griselda the secretary for our floor picks up and she hands the phone to Rusty.

"Darling Calla, how are you?"

"I'm good.  Surprised to hear that you're retiring though.  What brought that on?"

"Ah yes, thirty years is a long time for a lawyer.  I felt like my time was up."

He sound so cheery. It's impossible to think he could be hiding something.

"Hey, I didn't realize your son-in-law was the director of Zebra Co.  What a coincidence!" I say as cheerily as possible.

"Oh darn, Calla, I have to go now.  You take care."  And before I can say another word he hangs up on me.

Okay, that was definitely weird.  It supports my suspicions and makes me wonder more about what exactly is going on here.

What if I didn't make that mistake?  What if the whole thing was a scam.  Perhaps Zebra Co. never paid the money in the first place and the money from the bank is just hanging nowhere.  Up for anyone to take....  I never noticed the document on my desk until it was too late.  What if it was planted there.

I immediately call Rusty again but Griselda tells me what he told her.  That I should not bother him with my calls anymore.  And that if I come to the building, they'll eject me.

"Eject me?!" I repeat.

"I know, Calla, it's horrible what he did to you."

"What he did to me?  What exactly do you mean, Griselda?"

"I was wondering if you knew.  After you left, Rusty talked to the other partners.  They wanted to give you a second chance but Rusty said that they shouldn't because you are unreliable and a bad asset to the company."

Oh my God.  He got me fired.  And to think, I trusted the son of a bitch.

"Thank you so much, Griselda, for telling me that."

"No problem, Calla.  I hope you get everything... sorted out."

We hang up and I receive a text from Champ.

Come downstairs.  I have a surprise to show you.  :)

I feel bad but I'm not very interested in this surprise at the moment.  My mind is only on Rusty and my job.  I walk down the stairs thinking about horrible things I want to happen to him.

"Calla, hi!" Champ beams.  He's acting extremely cheerful today but I'm not really in the mood.

"Follow me," Champ leads as we head toward his car.  He opens the door for me and then gets in on the driver's side.  I have a enough sense to ask him where we're going.

"You'll see," is all he says.

We stop in front of a large property.  There's a rundown building to the right and a small sign that says, "for sale."  The yard is beautiful.  There's not that much there but it could definitely become something beautiful.

We walk into the house and I get a good look around.  First of all, there's not much "house" to really see.  There's barely a roof and the three rooms that are in the house are grungy and broken.  To add to that, it smells dusty and moldy.  It'll be a challenge to fix up but there's definitely potential.

I glance at Champ who is pulling out some papers.  Wait a second.  "Are you buying this?"  I ask him.

"I'm thinking about it.  It's pretty good compared to others but I want your opinion first.  You were right.  I should have pursued my dreams as a gardener, instead of working at the bar.  I talked it over with my mom and she's all for the idea.  She even said that Antares could take over the bar.  We need to ask him first, but I'm sure he'll take to the idea.  We could always sell it if need be."

"I love it!  The actual property is massive and perfect for your gardening!  And we could always fix up the house, that's not big deal." I enthuse.  My mood has brightened and I'm trying to focus on Champ and not Rusty.  Unfortunately, it's not working too well.

Finally, we complete our tour on the roof of the house, which could be converted into a nice little patio and roof garden.

"It's beautiful," I comment, gazing out at the sea.  My mind starts to drift back to Rusty and his evil deed.  I still need proof, but I'm 99% certain I'm spot on.

"...so do you feel the same way?" Champ asks, looking at me intently with soft eyes.

Holy shit.  I realize that he must have been speaking for quite some time.  He looks awkward so whatever he just said to me must have been difficult for him to confess.  And I missed it?!  What is wrong with me?

Cooly, I remind myself that I'd probably agree with anything he said so I reply with a yes.

"Really?  Everything?  Even the part about shark tank?"

"Shark tanks?" I crinkle my eyebrow.

"I knew it!  You weren't listening to me at all, were you?  It took some nerve to say what I said," Champ mutters.

"Please say it again.  I'll pay attention this time," I beg.

"Nope, not this time.  Perhaps later," he says grudgingly.

"I'm sorry, I've just been preoccupied lately."

"It is your relationship popping up again?"

I nod and he puts his arms around me.  "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I could help," he adds weakly.

"I just don't want to mix my horrible past to this wonderful one. This one is too perfect to ruin."

I can tell Champ wants to assuage me to tell him but he respects my boundaries and just holds me in his arms.  I lean up to kiss him as we stand in the warm sunlight, watching the sunset.

Generation 02, Chapter 14: But It's Not My Birthday

NOTE

Finally!  These are new photos that I took in December over my winter break so they are much more recent than the ones in the previous posts (which I took back in March and April).  O_O

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Oh my God, what was I so worried for?  She's a baby.  Still in law school for Pete's sake.  I quickly rip off the glasses and set them back into my room.

Then I head downstairs towards the kitchen to start my daily tasks.  I find Champ behind the stairs and his face lights up when he sees me.

After we kiss, Champ asks, "Has Myrtle been giving you stupid instructions?  She's been bombarding with rules about what I can and can't do.  I can't mow the lawn between the hours of nine and 6 and I have to tip-toe on the gravel because her work is so 'important.'  My work is important!"

"Hopefully she'll be leaving soon," I say unconvincingly.  We kiss again but are interrupted.

"Calla?!  Where are you?!  I need you to come up here and unpack my suitcase immediately!"  Blanche's irritating voice screeches her first of many demands.

"There you are!  I don't want to have to call you all the time.  I'll be working 24/7 and I have no time to be wasting on your.  Do you have a cell?  I'll text you.  Oh, and I'll need all my clothes washed, ironed, and folded.  And be careful with some of my outfits.  Some are very delicate and I do not want them ruined.  Also, bring me a snack.  I'm allergic to nuts and I'm lactose intolerant so don't bring anything like that.  I'll be in my room, you can find me there.  But please, don't try to bother me.  I know you probably don't understand, but my work is very hard.  Just do those things for me, pronto."

"Yes, ma'am," I mutter.

"Good," she nods, and walks out of the room.

"Bitch," I glower as I go to grab her suitcase and heave it down the stairs.  What does she have in here?  A body?  If this keeps up, I'm definitely going to have a word with Myrtle.

By the next day I've just about had it.  I can't do any of my normal duties because I'm constantly running up and down the stairs obeying Blanche's every command.  Finally, Blanche is taking a "beauty rest" and I take the time to first rest my own self a bit and then have a get with Myrtle about her insane niece.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dhaval, but Blanche is constantly asking me for things and it's keeping me from my regular household tasks."

"Well, she is a very talented young woman.  It's not easy getting into her law school.  She had to beat millions of other applicants just to get a spot."

"Um, that's great.  So could you just tell her to let down her demands a bit?  Just so I can get other chores done?"

"I suppose," she drifts off.  "Hey, for dinner later tonight, we're having a small gathering.  Perhaps you could serve some drinks there?"

"Sure, no problem."

"And could you change your outfit to something more formal?  That uniform isn't the most appealing...."

"Sure," I say flatly.  She chose the damn thing.  Who in their right mind would ever choose to wear this as an actual outfit.

Champ?  Where are you?  I haven't seen you all day?  I text, but he doesn't reply.  That's really odd.

It's nearly dinner time and I slip on a nicer outfit and some high-heels and start to walk down the stairs towards the kitchen to get some beverages started.

"There you are," Champ grins as he wraps his strong arms around me and kiss me.  He rubs his face against my hair and breathes in deeply.  Meanwhile, I'm squirming and trying to escape.

"Champ, seriously, I need to go get drinks ready.  Please let me go."  I stop trying to get out of his grip because it's obvious he has a complete physical advantage over me.

"No no no, come outside with me first.  I have something to show you."

"Really?  Now?" I whine.

"Yes, now close your eyes...."

He leads me to the backyard and when he releases his hands I gasp.

In front of my are Mr. and Mrs. Dhaval, Antares, Rina, and Blanche.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all shout in unison.

I'm utterly shocked.

"Thank you, but it's not actually-"

"Aw, she's trying to deny it.  Don't worry, we didn't put your actual age on the balloons," Myrtle informs me.

I pretty much give up trying after that.  As I continue to gaze around, I realize that it doesn't matter that my birthday was over a month ago.  They threw a birthday party for me and it's one of the best I've had since I was little.

"How... how did you find out?"

"Your friend Ms. Flavius told us a few days ago," Myrtle explains.

Chartreuse?  How did she get this number?  Oh right, I called her last week from the Dhaval's phone instead of my cell.  She must have saved the number.  She always knew that my birthdays had never been half-decent since I started working for Gainsboro.  

"Thank you guys so much.  This is one of the best birthday parties I've ever had."

Rina steps up towards me and hands me a gift.  It consists of a few pans and an apron.

"Why does she need those?  Doesn't she already have all the equipment she needs?" Myrtle asks suspiciously.

I smile knowingly at Rina and Rina says, "I took a chance," which leaves Myrtle as puzzled as ever.

Mr. Dhaval gives me a present from he and Myrtle.

"Now this isn't a raise, but it's just a small bonus," he explains, handing me an envelope with what I assume to be a check.  I thank him and then Blanche hands me a mini basket of lotions, which I know has been sitting in the Dhaval's cupboard since before she came.

Antares hands me a card.  "Champ and I were wondering if you'd like to help work at the bar sometime.  We'd love the help."

"I'd love to, Antares.  That'd be an honor."

He smiles shyly as Champ comes over to give me a gift.  It's small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

I open it to discover a beautiful hand-carved heart pendant necklace.  Champ gestures for me to turn around and he puts the necklace around my neck.

"It's gorgeous," I gasp.

We embrace and kiss.  Realizing that we're still in front of people, we pull away but he keeps his arms wrapped around me.

"Would you like to go grab a drink?" Champ asks.

"I'm not sure..." I drift my attention towards Myrtle.

"Oh don't worry about it.  We'll put the dishes away," she assures me.  And then you can deal with them tomorrow," she hastens to say.

I manage not to frown as I thank her for being "so kind," and then Champ, Antares, and I walk down to the bar and have ourselves a few nice drinks.