“Anna Garcia, do you have to speak to me in such a sarcastic way?” I could sense that he was stifling his fury at the moment as he hissed at me.
“Mr. Shaw, it’s after office hour now. If there’s nothing urgent, I hope you don’t call me again and disrupt my private time. Thanks for your understanding!” Oblivious to Michael’s anger, I answered coldly.
I was reluctant to have anything to do with him. When snippets of how he put me in hot water in the office flashed across my mind, I was boiling with anger again.
“I know about your family matters,” Michael uttered slowly when I was about to hang up.
I stiffened momentarily before I lashed out at him, “Michael Shaw, are you investigating on me? I have nothing to do with you now. Why are you still doing that to me?”
I was enraged, thinking of how he tried to meddle with my family matters. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Why is he still investigating my family conditions? What is he intending to do now?
“Huh! Investigate your family situations? Do you think that I’m so free and have nothing to do? Anna Garcia, don’t you think that you are thinking too highly of yourself?” he snorted.
“If you didn’t do that, how would you know about my family matters? Michael Shaw, please bear in mind that there is nothing between both of us now. Can you please set me free and stop interfering with my life?” I refuted.
Michael’s words did not make any sense to me. I was convinced that his findings were obtained via the investigations. It was as if my privacy was unveiled and exposed to others, causing me utter discomfort. To me, it was a privacy invasion when Michael mentioned my family matters.
“Anna Garcia, don’t jump to conclusions without any evidence. It’s your mother! She gave my secretary a call and requested to speak to me just now!”
I was dumbfounded and at a loss for words instantaneously. It was out of my expectation that my mom would make the move to call him!
My goodness! She seems to have no sense of shame and is willing to do anything for Steven! She doesn’t even know Michael in person. Just because Michael has given us one hundred thousand to settle our financial crisis before, she shamelessly called him to ask for money again!
Right that instant, I had lost the courage to hold my head up. I had owed him a lot all this while. Now that my Mom asked for his help so daringly, I felt totally humiliated.
“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you. I have to apologize to you on behalf of my mom. Sorry for causing you trouble. Don’t take her words seriously,” I apologized sincerely to him, suppressing my displeasure toward my mom.
Feeling awkward to face Michael, I intended to hang up right away. It seemed he could sense that I was about to do so. He said in a commanding tone, “Anna Garcia, don’t hang up first. Listen to me, I’m the only person who can help you now.”
My heart skipped a beat and I was touched at that very moment. Even so, I came to my senses within seconds and rejected coldly, “Mr. Shaw, you don’t have to do that. You and I are merely boss and employee. I really hope that you don’t get involved in my family matters again.”
“Anna Garcia, I’m volunteering to help you. Mind your manners!” There was a bellow of rage from the man on the other end of the line. I had seemingly infuriated him again by rejecting him.
“I don’t need your help. If there’s nothing else, I will hang up first,” I blurted out the words and hung up hastily. His offer was simply irresistible to me. Thus, I was fearful that I would change my mind and accepting his financial aid again.
My previous affair with him was all for money. Now that it had finally come to an end, I did not wish for history to repeat itself.
After hanging up the phone, it took me a long time to cool myself down. It was undeniable that Michael’s words had spurred my emotions.
At the same time, I was pissed off with my mom for being shameless. She seemed to have lost her mind as she was trying to save Steven by all means. How dare she contacted Michael to borrow money from him when she is clueless about his actual identity? Did she think of me before making the call? Has it ever occurred to her how I would face Michael from now on?
Everything between Michael and I seemed to be linked with money. To make things worse, my mom called him impulsively to borrow money again. In his eyes, I must be a scheming woman who would tangle with him just for the sake of money.
Alone in my bedroom, the utter frustration was driving me insane. I had called almost everyone on my contact list. To my disappointment, they gave me all sorts of excuses to not lend me money. No matter what, I could not blame them for that.
I was rendered helpless and on the brink of tears.
When I heard the sound of the knob twisting and the door opened, I knew that Natalie had reached home.
She knocked on my door and yelled excitedly, “Anna, I bought a lot of fresh strawberries on the way home. Come out and have them with me!”
“Alright, I will come out in a while.” After replying her, I took a deep breath and forced a smile in front of the mirror. Natalie has had enough to worry about me. I mustn’t let her sense anything amiss.
When I stepped out of my room, Natalie was already sitting with her legs crossed on the couch in the living room, savoring the strawberries.
“Anna, these strawberries are fresh and juicy. Come and try one!” Natalie waved at me and handed me a big strawberry innocently.
Natalie was a typical glutton and optimist. No matter what she had encountered, she would be able to put everything disgruntling out of her mind after enjoying a meal. I was envious of her ability to cheer up speedily. How I wished I could cheer myself up as easily as her. If I were an optimistic person like her, I would not be worried sick at the moment.
I took the strawberry given by Natalie, yet I was not in the mood to enjoy it. At the moment, any sumptuous food was tasteless to me. What was more, I was preoccupied with my family’s financial crisis. Thus, I had no appetite for anything.
While enjoying eating her strawberries, Natalie sensed something awry about me. She knitted her brows in bafflement.
“Anna, are you alright? Is anything troubling you?” Natalie stopped munching and asked me with great concern.
“I-I… nothing actually. I’m just not in the mood.”
