by K E Osborn
“Mike, you look like crap. You okay, kid?” he asked with no sense of anger toward me whatsoever. It unsettled me slightly.
“Had a rough day, sir. I’m sorry I took the car for longer than I said I would. I completely understand if you want to fire me, sir,” I stated, sounding as depressed as I felt.
He put down the wrench and walked over while cleaning his hands with a rag. “I wouldn’t fire you over that, son. You’re a hard worker, and that’s difficult to come by these days. I’d be an imbecile to fire you. As for the car, you’ve done all the work on her, and I’m sure you’ll continue to work on her, so she’s yours. Take it as a bonus for all your hard work.”
My eyes shot open, and I stood there in complete shock. “Mr. O’Connell, I couldn’t possibly. You said she was your pride and joy?”
He slapped me on the back. “She was, kid, she was. But I wanted to give her to my son and let him work and restore her to her old potential, but Niall doesn’t deserve her like you do. You put in the hard yards, and you treat her with care and kindness. Niall honestly doesn’t give a hoot about her, so… she’s yours, Mike. But on one condition,” he said.
I nodded, waiting to hear.
“I heard about you and Bernard’s girl…” He raised an eyebrow. “You did the right thing, son. It must’ve been tough letting the woman you love go.” I frowned and nodded, so he patted my shoulder. “Well, you did the right thing. Niall and Callie have been paired since Callie’s birth. I know it’s hard to understand, but Niall will make her happy. Their joining will bring our two-family dynasties together, and more importantly, it’ll help my business affairs exponentially. Bernard has contacts everywhere, and with the merger of our children, both our businesses will grow beyond our imagination. So, son, I owe you my gratitude and thanks for stepping aside and letting nature take its proper course.”
Holy fuck! Right in that moment, I wanted more than anything to lay a fist right into his gut. Stand over him and let him know what I thought of their so-called plan. How dare they play with Callie and Niall’s lives that way? Their children are basically nothing more than a business arrangement. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I scrunched my face and furrowed my eyebrows in resentment.
I was going to quit!
I couldn’t stand around watching Callie’s life being dictated to her.
I shook my head and went to walk away, but Patty stopped me when he said, “Here’s the condition, kid. You take the car and continue working for me. That way you can still be around the woman you love. You think I don’t know how hard it will be for you seeing Callie move on with Niall? I do. But let me put it this way… if you’re around, then you can watch over her, make sure she’s being taken care of properly.”
Standing taller, I swallow the concrete that’s formed in my throat.
“I know my son… he loves Callie, but he can be an arrogant little prick sometimes. He probably gets that from me. But if you’re around, you can help her when she’s down and be the supportive best friend she’ll probably need. I know you can’t provide for her financially, Mike, but you can be support for her if she ever needs it.”
What the hell is he saying?
“We want to keep both families happy with this arrangement, and I can’t lose a good worker over something as trivial as this.”
I curl up my lip. Trivial?
This isn’t trivial to me, asshole!
“So, the car is yours, and you’ll stay here and continue working for me. It’s settled then.”
Honestly, I had no words because my mouth was dry, and all I wanted to do was scream at the bastard in front of me. But then the thought of leaving Callie to this life she had to endure came screaming in my head, and if I went now, God only knows what would happen to her.
So, as much as it was going to hurt me, as much pain as it would put me through to see her with Niall—another man—I had to stick around and make sure she was okay.
I decided there and then that I would never tell her about her father’s scheming plot with Patty. It would hurt her too much. Plus, I knew deep down, she actually cared for Niall in some small way. She may even love him if given the time, but I’d be there to make sure that when this all came crashing down at their feet, I was the one to pick up the pieces.
Patty put his greasy hand out for me to shake. The anger inside me was at boiling point, but I let it simmer and take a back seat. I shook his hand and nodded, letting him know I was on board. I felt sick, utterly devastated, but there was little I could do other than to go along with it for Callie’s sake.
“Good, lad. Now, you can have the rest of the day off. When you come back tomorrow, I’m upgrading your job title and pay. You’ll be my chauffeur, and help me out with my business dealings. Basically, you’ll be my personal assistant I guess you could call it, for the want of a better description. Now, how does that sound?” he asked.
“Thank you, sir,” was all I could say, but unfortunately, it came out in a sarcastic tone I honestly couldn’t have held back if I tried.
He chuckled. “You’re welcome, kid. Now off you scoot, I’ve got work to do. Oh, and Mike? You’ll be driving my car, so make sure you wear a suit to work from now on.”
I stumbled from the garage and into the open air. Inhaling a deep breath, I bent over resting my hands on my knees then exhaled.
What the hell was I doing?
Callie was basically being set up in an arranged marriage. If she’d known, she would’ve been mortified. I would’ve told her, I should have told her, but I kept my mouth shut. She deserved a happy life, and even though it’d be arranged, I was sure Niall truly did love her and would give her everything she deserved. If I told her what was going on, she would’ve run back to me, and I would have still been faced with the dilemma of not being able to provide for her. I was sure if she did come back to me at that time and not Niall, my chances of finding another job in Mornington Vale would be none because Patty and Bernard would have seen to that.
So, I’d keep my mouth shut and hopefully watch it all unravel. I would continue to work for Patty and try to save for the day Callie would realize what was happening, and we could be together. I simply had to wait, watch, and bide my time until Callie would see through the idiocy that was her life.
I drove home and spent the night wallowing in self-pity.
I was eighteen, in love with a woman I couldn’t have, and working for a damn evil tyrant. I wasn’t in a good place.
All I could think about was what was Callie doing.
Did she hate me like I planned?
Did she still love me?
Was I an idiot for letting things play out this way?
The answers were probably, but I saw no other options.
The next day, I arrived at the O’Connell mansion dressed in a suit and tie. Patty was pleased with how well I scrubbed up. I looked professional, and just like the personal lackey he wanted me to be. I worked driving for Patty and doing other odd chores for him, and I was basically at his beck and call twenty-four seven.
A solid month had dragged by working for him without seeing or hearing from Callie, and I so badly wanted to know how she was doing. My plan of being around to watch over her was failing because she was never at the O’Connell’s. I couldn’t help but notice Niall was never there either.
It wasn’t until nearly two months later that I finally saw Callie again. I was checking the oil in the car when I heard Niall’s car pull into the driveway. I looked up and saw Callie sitting in the passenger side, smiling and giggling.
My heart thumped against my chest wall hard.
She was even more beautiful than I had remembered.
I must have looked like an idiot standing there with the dipstick in my hand, staring at her, probably with my mouth wide open. Niall hopped out of the car and walked around to Callie’s side, opening her door. A little piece of me died in that moment as she stepped out and looked over at me.
Her smile dropped, and a frown appeared. “You said he wouldn’t be here.”
She looked everywhere but at me.
My breathing was rushed and harsh. I simply couldn’t get enough air in my lungs.
“I thought he’d be out with Father. Sorry, darling, let’s go inside. Just ignore him… anyway, he’s only the help,” Niall stated as he stabbed the knife right in my back and then twisted it several times.
She finally looked over at me, my heart galloping in my chest. I thought I saw her bottom lip tremble.
Then the worst moment of my life happened.
Callie frowned, turned toward Niall, and kissed him. It wasn’t a simple peck either, it was a toe-curling passionate kiss.
My body felt heavy being pulled down by the gravitational forces of the earth. I dropped the dipstick, and it clanged on the engine, which made them break apart.
Niall smiled brightly while looking directly at me. My nostrils flared, and I didn’t know what to do, so I leaned down across the engine and picked up the dipstick. My eyes blinking rapidly to stem my anger.
“You taste so delicious, Callie. I could kiss you all day,” Niall said loudly, so I would purposely hear.
I filled with rage and shot my head up to yell at him, but my head hit the hood, and I cried out in pain instead. Niall laughed while I clasped the top of my head as I felt blood drip down my face. I looked over at Callie, and her eyes glistened like she was going to cry. She took a step toward me, and then Niall wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started walking away with her in tow. She went with him but turned back to look at me. The pain in her eyes was clearly evident. She still loved me as much as I loved her, but she was moving on with Niall, just like they had planned.
I watched them walk inside the O’Connell mansion, and when they were out of sight, I threw the dipstick across the yard and kicked an old tin bucket which was on the ground next to me. I hated seeing them together. It literally broke me watching Callie falling in love with Niall. I wished harder than ever before that somehow, I’d come into some serious money, so I could take her away from all of this.
But as it turned out, wishing doesn’t get you anywhere.
Months turned into a year, and in that year, I saw Callie and Niall together much more frequently. She was starting to finally appear like she might actually be happy and was settling into a life that was planned out for her. Callie was always smiling when she was with Niall, and I always saw him treating her well and with respect.
I was so busy with Patty most of the time that I missed out on birthdays and holidays as he would spend them with his family, so I’d have to carry out his business dealings on my own, meaning I missed time with my parents. I was nearly twenty by this stage, and all I did was work.
Mom and Dad said I should leave the O’Connell’s employment. That seeing Callie moving on without me wasn’t healthy, and I needed to get out and meet new people. I had no friends, and my family never saw me because I was working so much.
I had virtually become a hermit, working to live because if I stopped for a second, then I’d think, and if I started to think, I’d fall apart.
I was at the O’Connell mansion early one morning when the news came. Callie ran outside toward me—she was crying. I dropped everything I was doing and started to run to her. My heart was on fire. This was it, the moment she realized what was going on. I was going to get her back, and I had never been as happy as I was in that split second.
“Oh, Mike, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed as she reached me, then she embraced me in a tight hug.
I nuzzled into her hair and held onto her with every inch of my being. “I’m sorry, too,” I said, but she pulled back and looked at me with tear-soaked eyes.
“How are you? Are you okay?” Callie asked. She was looking me right in my eyes—right into my soul.
I thought it was a strange question, but I went along with it. “I’m great now you’re here and in my arms,” I said nuzzling into her again.
She stiffened then pulled away. I let her go and looked at her in confusion.
“You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” I creased my eyebrows
“Oh, Mike, it’s so terrible. I don’t know how to tell you.”
“Tell me what, Callie?”
“Mike, your Father’s woodshop caught fire this morning, and everything is gone.”
My veins turned ice cold, my body going numb. I was in shock.
My father had worked so hard on that woodshop, he’d be devastated.
“I better get home and see if Dad’s okay.”
Callie took hold of my arm, stopping me, and she looked me directly in the eyes. “No, Mike, everything is gone, every… one is gone.”
It was like a million knives stabbing into my entire body at once.
I couldn’t breathe.
I stumbled.
“I’m so sorry, Mike.”
I leaned on the car, motionless.
My parents were—
Dead?
The only two people in this world who cared about me were gone. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t see straight. I felt like I wanted to be sick. Or maybe punch something. Or crawl into a ball and cry. But I couldn’t do any of those things. I just stood there, gazing at the O’Connell mansion right in front of me.
Then it hit me.
If I hadn’t left home early that morning, I would’ve probably been dead too.
My knees fell out from under me, and I slid down the side of the car to the ground where I sat leaning against it.
Callie sat beside me. “What can I do?”
I couldn’t talk.
Couldn’t think.
I was a shell of a man.
I saw Patty walk out, but I couldn’t get into work mode if I tried. I didn’t fucking care. He’d have to sort his damn self out today.
Patty walked over and squatted in front of me. “Mike, this is a terrible situation, I’m so sorry, son. Do you want me to drive you home?”
I shook my head adamantly. I didn’t want to go there to see my parents’ property burned to the ground and to know they were in there when it happened.
“Okay, well… there’s a storm coming. You can’t stay out here. Come inside, and we’ll get a servant’s room made up for you. You can stay with us from now on.”
I wasn’t sure whether I was grateful or thoroughly annoyed because I’d spent the last few years with his family instead of mine, and now they were gone.
“C’mon, son, up you get,” Patty said and pulled me from the ground with force.
Patty walked on one side of me and Callie the other, both helping me take each step. I couldn’t do it on my own, I wasn’t functioning.
They got me to a room, and Callie sat me on the bed. I was still gazing at nothing when Patty left to get something. Callie caressed my cheek, so I turned to look at her, and all I could see were her lips. She was the only good thing left in my life, so I leaned forward and kissed her, and for the briefest of seconds she kissed me back, but then pulled away and touched her lips.
“Mike, I’m sorry—”
“No… I’m sorry,” I said and looked away, resting my head in my hands.
“Mike, I’m with Niall. You had your chance, and you didn’t want me then, so I doubt you’ll want me for anything other than your comfort right now either. And that’s not fair on me, Niall, or you. I better go.”
I didn’t have the energy or strength to stop her. So, I watched Callie walk out of my new room and out of my life once more.
Patty came back moments later and sat on the bed next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Look, you take a day, okay? Just mess about in the garage or do whatever you need to do to get through this. Don’t worry about funeral costs. We’ll cover that and whatever else you might need.”
That’s when I broke. The word ‘funeral’ it’s so final, and I sobbed into my hands.
Patty left, and Eleanor came in.
S
he sat with me for hours while I cried and mourned for my parents.
Eleanor was nothing like Patty. She was a kind, gentle, caring, and a compassionate woman, and in that moment, she was like another mother to me. She supported me through the funeral and bought me new clothes seeing as all of mine were burned in the fire. The suits she purchased were tailored, and she even procured one of those hats, so I could be a real chauffeur.
I got back into work quickly. Being distracted didn’t help that much, but I needed to keep moving.
Seeing Callie most days made everything a tiny bit brighter. Even though we never spoke, just seeing her was enough to make me half-smile.
I was grateful that the O’Connell’s took me in. I would’ve been homeless if they didn’t, and I was appreciative of that small gesture of goodwill.
Another year passed, and I was doing better. I’d gotten into a routine at the O’Connell mansion, and in a way, it was easier for me to live and work there.
I was getting ready to finish up work for the day when Patty came over and sat on the chair next to me in the garage. “Well, Mike, it’s a happy day,” he said, and I half-smiled as I waxed the car.
“Why’s that, sir?”
“Looks like my boy finally popped the question, and Callie said yes.”
I stumbled on the spot and halted mid-wipe.
I had stopped breathing.
The one thing I was dreading actually happened.
Callie’s going to marry him.
My chin fell to my chest, and I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. “Congratulations, sir,” I said somehow, then opened my eyes and continued to scrub the car putting all my brute force into it.
Patty stood and smacked me on the back. “Good lad,” he said and walked off.
Once he was out of the garage, I clenched my fists and turned toward the wall and punched it hard, repeatedly, until my knuckles bled. The walls were caving in on me, and there was nothing I could do to escape the impending disintegration of Michael O’Leary.