Chapter 27 - Quick Tempered

Neither Tom nor Lucy said a word as Tom drove the car out of the garage and down the street. He had no idea where he was driving to since he wasn't very familiar with the environment, so he just kept his eyes on the road so he wouldn't miss either a pharmacy shop or a grocery store.

"So why haven't you eaten all day?" Tom asked, trying to break the silence in the car.

"I got carried away with work at the office. Only just realized now that I was yet to even have anything apart from coffee," Lucy explained, grateful that he was talking now. She couldn't deny that the silence had made her very uncomfortable and nervous.

"Have you always had such a poor eating habit or is it because you're new here and at the job?" He asked with disapproval.

She didn't know why she was stung by the disapproval or was it criticism she heard in his voice? She was tempted to respond rudely, but had to control her quick temper, "Certainly you must have forgotten to eat at some point too while working, haven't you?" She asked, turning to look at him.

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Sure he had. But then he was a businessman building an empire and that was normal. He had people working for him whose duty was to make sure he didn't forget to eat, so he always had his meal whenever he was supposed to eat. But she on the other hand was just an employee, and in as much as he appreciated the effort she was putting into the job, he felt she was overworking herself.

"I work for myself so I can afford to do that. But you're doing too much harm to your body while working for someone else." Tom pointed out.

"Yeah right. You wouldn't be complaining had you been the owner of the company." Lucy countered.

"And what makes you think your boss wouldn't complain about this if he finds out one of his staff was living like you with such an unhealthy eating habit?" He asked, turning to spare her a glance.

"Even my boss at my former branch who isn't the owner of the company, loved how I put everything into my job. So I'm sure the owner of the company would be even more impressed. But I don't expect you to understand that, since you don't own your own company, and you're a blue-collar worker for that matter. So maybe we should have this conversation again after you've established your own successful company." Lucy said with a stiff smile. She knew that was low even for her, but that was what he deserved for being so critical of her eating habit.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Tom exclaimed with an amused glint in his eyes that she couldn't see. It seemed like she was very sensitive to criticism, and she had a quick temper. Very nice.

"You don't see to be very familiar with the area," Lucy observed, changing the subject since she had said her piece.

"That's because I hardly come out here to get things. I have whatever I need delivered to me or I travel out for outside jobs," He explained easily.

"Including food?" She asked, since she could guess he wasn't the type to cook.

He gave a nod as he answered, "Including food"

"Right there!" She exclaimed, pointing at a pharmacy ahead of them.

Tom found a spot to park the car, "You can go get what you need, and then I will drop you off at home once you're done." He suggested, and she got out of the car quickly. She knew he still had to go to wherever he had been headed before she sought his help, so she needed to hurry.

Tom took out his phone and dialed Harry's line, "I'm sorry I'm running late. Something came up," he explained immediately Harry received the call.

"I thought as much. I suppose your beautiful workaholic neighbor came up?" Harry asked in a teasing tone. They always met once a week outside work environment to just drink and have fun.

"Just give me thirty minutes and I will join you. Remind me when I come that I want to discuss something important concerning the well-being of the staff at the company." Tom said, and hung up immediately he saw Lucy hurrying out of the pharmacy with a paper bag in hand.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long?" Lucy asked as she got into the car.

"You didn't show this much concern about keeping me waiting at work... Or sorry, I forgot I was your driver then, and now I'm just your neighbor." Tom said, wanting to see her response.

"Well, the Bible did say love your neighbor as yourself. Nothing was written there concerning drivers." Lucy retorted, making him chuckle. She also had a good sense of humor. The day wasn't wasted after all. He had learnt a couple things about her sooner than he expected.

"We should find a grocery shop..."

"No. I'd hate to take up any more of your time, so I got snacks. Maybe tomorrow I will do that whole delivery stuff you spoke about, or maybe I could just go grocery shopping during lunch break." She assured him, and he just looked at her for a while before giving a brief nod.

Immediately he parked the car in front of the house he handed her the car key, but she quickly declined, "You should go out in it so you meet up with your date. There is no point in leaving it parked here while you wait for a cab. Thanks for your help. Goodnight. Enjoy your date." She added with a wave as she headed for her apartment leaving him staring at her.

Date? Was she thinking he was going out to meet with a lady? If he remembered correctly he had only said he has 'Plans'. When did plans become synonymous with date? He was tempted to call her back and correct the impression, but decided against it.. Good girls liked bad boys.

Chapter end