Unemployed Hearts

Chapter 3

25th April, 2012
What went wrong?



My phone rang at two am. I completely ignored it. I hated it when someone tried to interrupt my beauty-sleep. Ha-ha! Just kidding. I slept like a fat Monster.
It rang again. This time I tried locating it with my hand but my eyes still closed, couldn’t find it.
It rang for the third time and I came out of the covers in frustration and started looking for my cell phone like a scuba diver on my bed. I looked under the covers, beneath my pillow, under my bed but no sign of my cell phone.
We are living in a world where losing a phone was more dramatic than losing your virginity.
Finally, I switched on the lamp and felt so stupid to see it vibrating near the lamp. I keep it there every day, yet I lose it every morning.
I attended the call, vision too hazy to see the contact details.
“ Hello.”
“Liana, can you please come to the office. It’s quite urgent.” Why would someone call me to office at this time?
By now I got an idea that it was definitely Brandon. He was the only fool who could call me up at such an hour. But his voice sounded different. He sounded serious.
“Brandon, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me at night. You seriously don’t get it, do you?” I wasn’t going to take this anymore. I was boiling with anger and the devil inside me was about to do something like kill that artificial brunette over the phone itself.
“But Liana”  He was about to say something else. There was no way I was going to let him say anything to me today.
I cut him in middle. “Shut up. I’m not coming this time. Last time you called me it was because you had a stupid fight with your Blondie over a Choco-chip ice cream. Dude! Seriously, what I’m supposed to do with that? I had to arrange you two another box of ice cream at one ‘o clock, AM. I didn’t even have time to take bath the next day. And over the top of that I don’t even have a car! Who doesn’t have a car now-a-days? Even Tramps have their own cars. You clearly know that but still you call a vulnerable innocent girl in middle of night to solve your looney-toon fights with your girlfriend who doesn’t even like me or should I say HATES me!! Are you out of your head or what?”
My voice transformed from mere whispers to the kind of tone my mom uses whenever I eat the entire box of ice-cream overnight. I used to do that as a kid, obviously not anymore.
“Liana, it’s me. David.”

Holy-Mary-Jesus-God!

Did I just tell him I didn’t take bath before coming to office? God, why did you have to make so dumb?

Suddenly I was wide awake. I stood straight the moment I heard David’s voice over phone. My stomach was doing crazy things to me and my heart was galloping.  “Hi Mr. Crowe!” I mentally slapped myself. Who the hell says ‘hi’ to their boss? And I embarrassed myself, yet again
Rest of the conversation was him telling me to hurry up and get ready. He said he was sending his driver to pick me from my home.
Butterflies all around my stomach, liver, intestines were making me amazingly happy.
I had never been to a midnight meeting before in my life. When I entered the conference hall I could see the all the seats taken and a crowd around the table. People were yelling over each other and David was explaining something from few sheets kept on the table. He saw me enter then asked me wait with his hands while talking to all those people.

“The shares have already fallen by 40% Mr. Grate. Why don’t you agree your company is falling?” someone who was sitting said.
“Sir, you cannot come to a conclusion just like that.” David yelled back.

People there seemed so angry and everyone was shouting at top of their voices. Then I saw Brandon sitting along with his father. His hands were on his forehead. I have no idea why his fake black hair were looking good to me, why his attitude seemed no longer arrogant , and why did he seem like more human at that time?
I could make out he was feeling very low. His head laying so low, refusing to meet even a single stare in the room.
Then suddenly a middle-aged man came towards him pulled him buy his collars and punched him right through his jaw. David and others came to pull that guy away from Brandon. David called the security.
“God will never forgive you! My entire life, everything I ever worked for got ruined. Just because of you my family is on the streets today. You will never be happy.”
The security took that guy outside, but he kept yelling. All this was really new to me. I had no idea what was going on.

After an hour or two, David came to me.
“Liana, it’s really messed up.” He said. It seemed like he was about to breakdown any moment. His hair was a complete mess. Something was different. I wasn’t feeling the usual excitement I felt around him.
I was scared about what all was happening. Why would someone punch Brandon?
“But what happened? Are you alright?” I asked in concern.
“It’s all over.” He said, while refusing to look in my direction.
“What do you mean by ‘it’s all over’?” I asked twice.
“The Company. Brandon has destroyed everything his father and my mother ever worked for. He gave a huge order to one of his old friends who turned out to be a con. We are finished. CRATS is finished.”
I don’t know why, but suddenly I had this urge to ask this question-

“How is Brandon?”
David finally looked at me straight in my eyes with something like disbelief in his eyes.
                                                   ***



26th April, 2012
How we reached the beginning?



“I’m really sorry for the inconvenience we have caused you. I know you don’t deserve all this. Believe me; I could have never achieved all this without your help. And today there’s no one to be blamed for all this but me. My one wrong decision has brought us all here. I hope you all will forgive me someday. I wish you all a better future.” Mr. Shane gave his last speech filled with pain and sorrow that was caused by the loss he just had to face.

Everyone was heartbroken at the news.
Including me.


Especially me.


I was packing my things from my cabin for the thirty-first time. Out of everything kept in my carton, I picked the frame in which I was sitting with Rummy and Chubby in my house. That picture made me smile even at such a miserable moment.
‘It wasn’t my fault.’ I kept repeating that to myself. I felt weak.

It was already getting late. First of all, I had to assist David and Luke Beston. I took all the documents to the paper shredder.
I didn’t want to leave this job. I loved it even with all its flaws. Suddenly I realized how much I loved its hectic schedule, how much I loved attending those boring meetings, how much I loved that silly small cabin, how much I loved seeing smiling David everyday in front of my eyes, and how much I loved getting teased by Brandon.

Well! Not the last one really.
I mean it really pissed me off many times but sometimes it was like…okay.

The thought of Brandon stuck in my head. I couldn’t see him anywhere. I had heard some of the employees were planning to kill Brandon. Some of them where planning to kidnap him and some were just thinking of doing some really nasty things to him that I couldn’t even imagine.
Never mind, because at that time I was the one of those people who were mentally cursing him and saying things which I wasn’t allowed to in front of my mom.

Then, came the Blondie.

“Hey Chimpanzee!” She called me in a commanding tone. “Where’s Brandon?”
“Umm… I don’t know.” I said. I realized I no longer had to tolerate that brat now. That was a plus point of getting unemployed this time.
Then someone told her he was upstairs in the bar. And she went there right away.

I was shredding the documents then I came across a property document. I went through it and found out it was a gift for Waverly. Guess from whom?

Obviously , Brandon. Who else?
I took the file and headed towards the lift.
I pressed the button for the 17th floor.
I tapped my feet impatiently with the beat of the song playing in the lift.

‘I have to return this file then I’ll go and see Emily. Then I have to inform Vanessa about the job. I have to go to Mom and Dad, and then the job hunt will begin again.’
Ting! The lift opened.
I headed to the bar but no one was there. I asked the bartender. He told me Brandon and that Blondie had a fight and then He left a second before I came. I went back to the lift. It was already taken. It was going up so I got an idea that Brandon was heading to the roof.
When I reached the roof, it was already dark. Brandon was extremely drunk and was about to jump from there.
“Brandon, stop!” I shouted and he was half bent. He face me and then turned back towards the height.
"I am broke," he said in an annoying drawling voice. "I’ve nothing left." He added with the sense of defeat written all over his drunk face. He was CEO of CRATS Pvt. Ltd, for which I had been working from about last two months.
                                                          ***



27th April, 2012
Why is he acting so nice?

“Are you sober now?” I asked Brandon.
“Umm…I’m sorry for yesterday. Thanks for coming Liana though.” I couldn’t really digest that. He actually thanked me. “I thought you didn’t have a car.”
“It’s my dad’s.” I told him while I was driving. “I’m staying at my parent’s house. You can stay with them as well. I haven’t talked to them yet but I don’t think they’ll have any problem.”
“Thank you Liana.”
“Yeah! Whatever.” I don’t know why but I wasn’t comfortable with Brandon being all nice to me.
 

The Dinner with Smiths
Brandon, mom, dad, Billy and I, all of us were sitting together at the dining table. We had to follow each and every rule on the rule board bought by mom on my 3rd birthday.
Rule #7: No one must sit alone on the dining table. The entire family, who ever present in the house at that time, must join him/her.
So all we were doing was staring at Brandon to finish his food. We all were already full. My family was quite excited to meet Brandon. The fact that he was the reason behind my joblessness really didn’t bother them at all. Mom was feeling pretty sad for him so she was saying all those consoling things like-
“Don’t worry. Everything’s just going to be alright.”
“Just wait and see. One day your dad will be so proud of you.”
“We are just humans. We make mistakes.”
“Ohh dear! Look at your jaw.”


Dad was more interested in his business-
“So what did you do? Whatever it was, it must have been big.” He took a sip of his drink to hide his devilish smile.
“Anna told me your girlfriend dumped you. Don’t worry you’ll get enough of that, pretty boy.” He winked at him. It wasn’t dad speaking but his booze.

Billy was more interested in verifying the details I had told him about my office-
“Is it true you have a club in your office?”
“Is it true you have a Bugatti Veyron? Do you drive it? Can you give me a ride to school someday?”
“Is David Crowe really that cute? Anna just can’t stop talking about him.” I literally choked. I spilled the drink out of my mouth.

“Shut up Billy. No! That is not true.” I couldn’t believe Billy just said that in front of David’s cousin. He promised me he’d never tell that to anyone. How could he?!
“We all already know, dear.” Mom shrugged and took a sip of her mineral water.
“Me too. I mean everyone in the office knew.” Brandon said. That took me aback. My mouth was wide open. I was so shocked and embarrassed. I was on tomato mode again.
“Billy likes Mary Jane.” I told everyone without waiting for a second. That’s what we call tit for tat.
“No good, honey, we know that too. We are your parents.” Mom refilled dad’s drink and Brandon’s juice. And he THANKED her. What was wrong with him?
He wasn’t even being sarcastic.
“That pretty one who came on his birthday?” dad asked to confirm. Mom nodded. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide my face somewhere. So I decided to sit quite while that monster was taking in all the calories.
Brandon was feeling so uncomfortable when everyone was quiet and all of them were glaring at him.
“So what do you do Mr. Smith?” Brandon asked to break the silence.
“What? Anna never told you?” dad faked the angry expression.
“Why would I tell that to him? Seriously Dad, someday you’ll ask me to tell him about my PMS.” I said sarcastically.
“I’m a doctor, Psychiatrist. I’m surprised you don’t know about my clinic. it’s quite famous here.” He bragged.
“Yeah! Someone please ask why?” I faked a laugh. One of my weirdest laughs. “After all that board controversy what can we expect.” I took a sip.
“What board controversy?” Brandon asked. Dad and I gave each other the look.
Then mom began with her narration.
“Well dear, initially the board at his clinic read ‘Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones, psychiatry and proctology’ but the town council was not too happy with the sign, so they changed it to ‘Hysterias & posteriors’. Not acceptable either. So in attempt to satisfy the council they changed the sign several times.”
Dad continued the story. “We tried everything-
‘Schizoids & Hemorrhoids’
‘Catatonics & Colonics’
‘Manic-depressives & Anti-rententives’

But thumbs down again. So we tried-
‘Minds & Behinds’
‘Analysis & Anal cysts’
‘Loons & Moons’
‘Lost souls & Ass holes’

None of them worked. So we finally came up with ‘Odds & Ends’ and this got approved.”
Brandon stopped eating for a while then raised his eyebrows. “Well! That was interesting.” He said.
I knew what he was thinking. That my family was crazy and how will he survive there.
After the dinner, Brandon whispered to me, “Liana is it fine if I stay with you at your place?”
That Jerk!
                                                      

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