Chapter 4 Saying goodbye

George released his grip on Harv and turned in the direction of the door. One of the workers in the firm came in holding a mop and on the other hand was a bucket of water. She gave a rueful look when she noticed George and went out, closing the door gently just as she had opened it.

Harv held his head in both hands, he could not believe George had just punched him several times there.

"I will get going now, maybe we can meet some other time." George said without looking at Harv, he was already regretting his actions. The last thing he would do was to apologize. That was like burying himself!

"I hope I don't see you again. Never knew you were a beast. I thought you are human." Harv massaged his swollen lips.

The words hit George really hard, but he didn't turn back or say what he was thinking, instead he opened the door and went out.

George had barely gotten to the hallway leading to his office when his phone rang. He picked the call without looking at the number.

"George, can you come over for dinner?" His mother's shrill voice said at the other end.

"I am busy, mom, I will plan to come this weekend. Although I wasn't planning to before, that means canceling some appointments." George opened the door to his office and got in.

"You said the same thing a month ago, and since then you haven't come home. I am worried sick about you, George." His mother said at the other end.

"If you are really worried, you should come and see me at home, I go home everyday. It is most likely that you will see a lot of me at home if you come visiting." George changed the phone to the other hand and put some files in his briefcase.

"What about a vacation? Can we go on a vacation when you come home? We will make it a very short one, I promise I will not be clingy, this time I will allow you to talk to anyone you want."

George remembered the last time he went on a vacation together with his mom, she got annoyed by everything he did. She would not allow him to talk to anyone aside from her. Once she caught him flirting with a woman in a bikini, she hugged him tight and shed his eyes from looking at another person again. It got boring that all George could do was to wish the vacation would end fast which went very slow as if punishing him. He had never had a vacation as boring as that. The one week vacation seemed like a two-week vacation.

"Mom?" He called softly.

"You have a lot to do, I know that, I am going to hang up now. I will call you later." She hung up before he could say another word.

George cursed under his breath, he dropped the phone on the table and he took the briefcase, having packed all he needed into it and went out.

Something seemed off as George got into the car, but he could not figure out what it was. He turned in the ignition and looked in the front mirror. His eyes widened as he stared at the reflection in the mirror. He swiftly turned to look at her. He quickly turned off the car.

Pearl was sitting at the back seat, she had sunglasses on her face, and her crop top was revealing the upper part of her breast, making George want to devour her right inside the car.

"You surprised me." He pulled a smile.

"Glad I did, I thought you would be shocked. I couldn't wait till weekend, so I came here to see you." Pearl pouted her lips invitingly.

George reached out his hand to her, she leaned forward and placed her lips on his. Hot as usual, George supported himself with a hand and ran his other hand through her hair. She opened her mouth to give him access to her, and she tasted strawberries. Oh hell! He loves the taste of her. He traced his lips along her neck, she gave a soft moan. His phone rang. George was going to ignore the phone but it persisted, angrily he turned it off without looking at it.

"Hey! We are in the car." Pearl pulled back away from him, lust in her eyes.

"Who cares, it is my car." George protested, but he knew that was all he would get. He wasn't the least ready for her though. He hadn't brought protections and he would be putting a knife to his throat if he continued without it. A baby was not part of the plan.

He smiled at her and turned back to drive, he started the ignition and got out of the parking lot, into the road.

"You missed me?" Pearl asked from the back seat.

"Sure, I do. You don't have an idea of how much I miss you even though you are right here with me." George took his phone and checked the missed call. It was his mom again.

"I came to see your face, that's all. Will you drop me in front of the salon? That is where I was going in the first place before deciding to surprise you." Pearl put a headphone on her neck.

"Want to grab dinner with me? I am starving." George ignored what Pearl had said.

"I am sorry, George, maybe some other time. I have a class tomorrow morning, after getting my hair done, I will get a short sleep so that I can be prepared tomorrow." Pearl said ruefully.

"What is with the hair? It looks fine to me. You can leave it as it is for now and grab dinner with me." George argued, he overtook a car, he was driving at a rather high speed that was getting on Pearl's nerves.

"I am too lazy to wash it myself, so I do that in the salon. If I miss washing it today, I don't have a clue of the next time I will be opportune to get it done."

"I got that." Pearl knew he was angry already. He would always pretend to give in whenever he was angry.

"You know what, George?" Pearl got to the front seat beside George through the middle space, she could barely fit in there, but she forced herself through.

"I am a student, and I still have a few months left for schooling. I don't want to fail any exam. In a few months, I will become a lawyer, my dream." She tried touching George's chest. He slapped it away.

"I understand your schooling means everything to you. I am aware I am just someone you spend time with when you get bored, am I right?" He grinned and drove around a roundabout.

"That is not what I mean!" Pearl cried.

"Anyways, you're here already, have a nice time getting your damn hair done. And forget about me. I really don't need someone who thinks of me as an option." George stopped the car and got out to open the door for her.

"George, are you angry already? I didn't mean to make you angry? This is not the normal you." Pearl stared at him, refusing to get out of the car.

"You mean I am abnormal? Is that what you are thinking of me? I am going to show what abnormalities really mean." George dragged her out of the car. He slammed the door shut and walked back inside.

He tore out a cheque and scribbled on it. He came out of the car again.

"Forget about me, and I will also try to do the same about you, Pearl." He opened her hand and put the cheque in, he closed her palm to hold the cheque in place.

"That's for all the hot nights you spend in my bed. You're not different from a wh*re, the only difference about you and them is that you are not a professional. You will make a lot from it if you try it out with some other men. I kid you not." George took the headphone on her neck and placed it on her ear and went back to the car.

Pearl watched as he zoomed off, tears in her eyes. So he had think she was a wh*re all these time that she thought she had found someone she could trust.

Pearl fell on a nearby chair used to wait for buses and burst into tears.