Olivia snorted. “He’s a b*stard. I was gonna smack him on more than one occasion.” Jewel asked, “So, you managed to subdue him, then?” Or else you couldn’t have come back in one piece.
“I can’t subdue that kind of guy. I just ignore his actions as long as he doesn’t cross the line.” “You’re being modest. If anyone else had shoved him out as you did, they would have died or lost a limb at best.” A frown creased Olivia’s forehead. “Isn’t that exaggerating a bit?”
Jewel gesticulated. “Not one bit. He’s a cruel man. None of his girlfriends would ever say no to him. There was this one time when he told his girlfriend to go home, but she fooled around and refused. So, he said he got tired of her and gave her to his lackeys. I heard that the woman came out looking like an abuse victim. Since then, all his girlfriends have been serving him carefully. If they had acted as you did, they would have died.”
“I’m not his girlfriend, though.” Olivia gave her a deadpan look. “I’m just saying he’s a dangerous man. You should stay as far away from him and don’t challenge him.”
Olivia chuckled. “Well, I think it’s too late for that. I’d just kicked his balls today. Bet I’d put him through quite an agony.” The news came as a shock to Jewel, so she froze for a moment before finally exclaiming in disbelief, “You did what now?”
Thinking back on what had led her to conduct such an act, Olivia complained, “He brought that upon himself. He just wouldn’t let me go out and keep dilly-dallying.”
“And he let you off the hook just like that?” “Nope. He looked like he wanted to skin me alive.” “What happened then?”
“Well, I decided to be the bigger person and stayed in.” A laugh escaped Jewel’s lips. “You mean you got spooked.”
“Nope, I was just being smart.””Don’t do anything reckless next time. He’s a capricious man. You can’t win in a fight if he’s involved.”
“I know. Don’t worry,” Olivia assured. While the ladies were still chatting, Olivia’s phone suddenly rang. She grabbed it to check the caller ID-it was Eugene. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. She giggled as she wondered what he would say, so she took the call and tried to put on a worried act. “Eugene? Is that you?”
Eugene’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Yeah, it’s me. And I’m fine. Were you worried about me?”
She glanced at Jewel playfully as she pretended to speak in a broken voice; she was acting the part of a worried girlfriend perfectly. “Where did you go? I couldn’t get through to you.” He responded, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I was looking into the case. That’s why I couldn’t use my phone.”
She was surprised he wouldn’t tell her the truth. Is he worried I might worry? And so, she asked, “You’ve been helping the cops out? I thought you were fooling around with another girl.”
He paused for a few moments before responding, “What are you talking about? You’re the only one I want to fool around with.”
Olivia raised her eyebrow at that. Still not talking, huh? “So, where are you, anyway?” “At King of Namb’s house. How’s work?”
“Like usual. So, when are you coming home?” “In a few days. I’ll call when I get home.” “In a few days? Where are you going tomorrow?”
“To the police station. I need to bring this case to a closure.”
“Is it an accident, or is something more sinister at work?”
