I waved him off, pointing to my arm. “It’s not
that I don’t want to, but your son’s secretary
broke my arm.”
“Oh, and she’s a real piece of work.”
“We had a little fender–bender earlier, and she started smashing my car and threatening to kill me.”
“Like father, like son, I guess. If the secretary’s this bad, what can you expect from your son?”
“Mr. Garrison, when did your family become the
big boss of this town? I had no idea!”
He flinched. “Ms. Finley, calm down.”
“I’ll make it right…”
I interrupted him. “Don’t just say that. Show me what you’re willing to do.”
<
“Otherwise, I wonder if your family can survive
in this town without my family’s support!”
He went pale.
Garrison fake–cried. “Patty, it’s my fault.”
“I didn’t recognize you. I was rushing to meet you, and I was rude. Please forgive me.”
“I’ll have Susan apologize. Can’t we just forget this?”
“You’re a Finley, show some class. Don’t make a big deal out of this.”
“If you had just told me who you were, this
wouldn’t have happened…”
Was he trying to guilt me?
It wouldn’t work.
<
I snorted. “Don’t act so innocent. You weren’t
so sweet when you were trashing my car.”
“You smashed my car, lied about me, and
attacked me in front of my house. I’m not letting this go.”
Garrison got angry, but his dad shut him up.
Mr. Garrison grabbed the bat and slammed it into Susan’s arm.
There was a sickening crack. Susan screamed, clutching her arm.
Garrison almost cried. He helped her,
whispering, “Just pretend. He’s putting on a
show.”
“We’ll get them back later.”
Susan nodded, gritting her teeth. She glared at
me, her eyes full of hate.
<
After breaking her arm, Mr. Garrison smiled at
me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Ms. Finley, is
this better?”
“My son’s innocent. Susan tricked him.”
“Now that she’s been punished and I’m paying
for your car, please, forgive my son.”
I said, “Mr. Garrison, I’m not satisfied!”
“Your family’s not sincere enough. I’m
disappointed.”
Garrison yelled, “Patty, stop it!”
“What do you want? Should we die here?”
I shook my head. “You’re not sorry. You’re just
scared of my family,”
“If I was just some regular girl, would you be
begging me?”
く
