Chapter 7: Moody Boss

Meanwhile, Rupert and Chris followed Xavier inside his office while Elliott went back to the EA office to make the report he was asked to do.

His mind was on Zarah yet he knew his priorities. He hoped that nothing bad would happen to her foot since this was not the first time she hurt it.

Inside the CEO's office, the two assistants confronted Xavier for his actions.

"Xavier, what's wrong with you?" Chris asked him when they all entered Xavier's office.

He was now addressing him not as a boss but as a concerned friend.

Chris disliked what he had done to Zarah at the cafeteria.

"Are you mad with our new intern? Oh please. This is only her first day. If you don't like her, just dismiss her right away rather than play with her. Now, look what happened!"

"Are you done?!" Xavier grumbled coldly and Chris stopped immediately and bowed his head after realizing what he just did.

He was ready to receive whatever punishment Xavier would give him.

"Xavier, calm down!", Rupert told him as he tried to save his cousin's a**. They knew that Xavier had an unstable mood. His mood swings were worse than that of a woman having her monthly period.

Xavier grabbed his swivel chair and threw it on the floor. The impact had made Rupert and Chris flinch.

"Scram!"

Rupert grabbed Chris' arm and fled out of the room as soon as they heard it. Good thing he did not give Chris his punishment.

As soon as he was alone, he started punching the wall thrice until he saw his hand bleeding. Good thing he didn't smash things or it would be troublesome for his staff the next morning.

He left the office in a hurry, neglecting the fact that he had injured his right hand.

Rupert saw this and called him out. However, he ignored him and got inside the elevator.

Rupert had no other choice but to follow him.

Xavier entered the car and Rupert jumped inside without any hesitation.

"Rupert Blake, get out of my car! Now!" He coldly snapped at him.

"Nope. The last time I let you go with this mood, you ran into a lamp post. So, no! I'll stick around whether you like it or not." Rupert didn't mind receiving any punishment for disobeying him. What he cared about was his safety more than his own.

"Help yourself then." He said and in his cold gaze, Xavier ignited the engine of the car and started speeding up without warning. Rupert could only fasten the seatbelt in a hurry as his body was thrust forward because of the motion.

He still wanted to live.

The car left the parking lot almost at the speed of light.

"Xavier, calm down! You'll get ourselves killed this time.", Rupert reminded him intensely while holding on to his seat. Deep down, he was asking the grim reaper to not come for them, yet.

He was not a religious person but he managed to utter a prayer.

The highway police also saw that they were over the speed limit and so they started pursuing them.

The patrol car was chasing after them but Xavier had no intention of slowing down.

"Xavier, you're only getting attention. I thought you wanted to be low-key while you're here at Oakridge City. Let me remind you. This is not our turf!" Rupert blabbered just to get his attention.

"The driver on the black Maserati, please pull over to the right!" The policeman called them out through the megaphone.

"Xavier!" Rupert tried to snap him back to reality.

The words somehow pierced through Xavier's mind and so he pulled over.

The police then got out of his car and went into Xavier's car.

"Good evening, gentlemen but you're overspeeding. So may I ask for your license and registration, please?" The policeman said as he carried out his job.

Xavier had no other choice but to do what he was told.

"I'm sorry, officer. His girlfriend called and said she got into an accident and so, my boss and friend became paranoid and wanted to reach the hospital in a hurry." Rupert stepped in to explain on his behalf. He was hoping that he won't receive punishment for this.

Rupert immediately found a good excuse and told the officer. Good thing the road they were taking was heading to St. George Hospital.

"I see that it's an emergency. However, it's also clear that overspeeding and reckless driving might cause an accident on this busy highway." The officer said not minding that Rupert answered his question and not the driver.

"We understand! You see. He deeply cares about my sister-in-law's health and so he acted recklessly. You know...love can make a person do foolish and reckless things. I hope you know what I mean, officer." He continued since Xavier did not stop him.

Rupert was good at closing deals. However this time, he failed. Xavier got an overspeeding ticket and so he had to pay the fine. Still, Rupert heaved a sigh of relief because the officer didn't irritate Xavier. He managed to save them both from trouble.

"I do get your point. However, this is not an excuse for another overspeeding next time, okay?" The cop reminded Xavier and handed back his documents and the ticket.

"Thank you, officer. Don't worry, my boss --I mean my friend understands it. I apologize for the trouble we caused."

"Well, then. You're good to go. Have a safe drive gentlemen!" The officer then left them alone.

Xavier immediately shut Rupert a glare and coldly asked, "Whose girlfriend are you talking about?"

However, Rupert ignored his question and asked him to get out of the car. He somehow became bold after this incident, "Get out! I'll drive."

"Do you dare to kick me out of my car? Did your brain leave your head earlier? I think you have forgotten something."

"Yes! You're the boss. However, you are still my best friend! And we're not in the office so for the sake of our friendship, will you please listen to me?!" Rupert finally lost his cool over his stubbornness. He took a deep sigh and continued, "You became like this just because of a woman! An intern?! My goodness! Don't lose your cool over a woman, Xavier. You're only exposing your weakness."

Rupert grabbed this opportunity to give him a lecture because it was once in a lifetime.

"Since when did a woman become my weakness? I'm their weakness." Xavier said and got out of the car and Rupert did the same, too. However, they exchanged places this time.

"Stop mixing your fantasies over reality, Xavier. Your name is not Christian."

"Who is he?" Xavier's attention was picked up after hearing another man's name. He hated it when he was being compared to someone else.

"You don't have to know who he is. The main point is please stop playing with them. They're humans and have feelings, too."

Rupert paused as he heaved a sigh of disappointment before he continued, "Ever since you discovered last year that the girl you liked is now happy with someone else, you started playing around."

"It's Dylan who told you that, isn't it?" Xavier said and Rupert bit his tongue. He made a promise to never let Xavier know that he knew about this or both of them would be in deep trouble.

Rupert thought that Xavier would punish him for what he said but much to his surprise, Xavier did not say anything but closed his eyes as he didn't want to pursue the topic.

Since they were driving in the hospital's direction, Rupert decided to bring Xavier there to check on his hand injury.

The nurse at the emergency room immediately catered to them.

Meanwhile, since Zarah was injured, she was asked to visit the hospital for a scan. That was to make sure about the degree of her injury especially since she injured this ankle once.

Meanwhile, Hope and Zarah finally reached the hospital.

An ER doctor approached them and she was sent for a scan.

The results came back an hour after and thankfully there was no tear on her ligaments. It was only a bad sprain.

She was prescribed anti-swelling and pain medicine to help her with the pain though she said she had high pain tolerance.

As much as possible, Zarah didn't want to take any medicine as it would only make her drowsy.

"Well, good for you. Still, you have to nurse it for two to three weeks. No weights yet or it'd only delay the healing. And oh! No strenuous exercise such as stretching and running, okay?"

"Doc, does she has to stay at home to rest her foot?" Hope asked the doctor.

"Yes. I advised her to take a week of leave so her foot could recover well. You have to keep icing it and elevate it so the swelling would stop. I prescribed you to wear a walking boot for protection. Once the swelling stops, I suggest you consult a physical therapist to help you walk on it again."

"If the swelling stopped tomorrow morning, would it be possible for me to go to work?"

The doctor was baffled by her question. An ankle injury won't heal overnight.

"I don't think it will no longer swell tomorrow. So, I suggest you follow my recommendations." The doctor patiently told her.

"Okay, Doc. I understand." She said and the doctor smiled.

Though she agreed, Zarah won't obey her. The doctor might know what's best for her patients but as the patient, she knew her body well.

As long as she was careful during the first week, she'd be fine.

Zarah always thrived to be in the number one spot even though others thought it was unnecessary because she had nothing to prove.

However, they just could not understand why Zarah was doing this to herself.

Hope settled the bills so they could leave the emergency room.

She went out with a walking boot and crutches on both sides to assist her arms as per the doctor's advice.

Zarah went upstairs to check on Isaiah but she saw two familiar silhouettes going toward the ICU.

They were Xavier and Rupert. She thought Xavier was there to visit his father.

So, Zarah decided to not go there for two reasons; one, she didn't want to spoil this reunion, and two, she didn't want to see his face or be at a close distance from Xavier.

She was still upset about what he did earlier.

Zarah and Hope went to the waiting area and stayed there while she called Olivia to get her from the hospital.

Worried that she was troubling Hope, Zarah asked her to leave first while she waited for Olivia.

Thankfully, Hope did not object after hearing the confirmation that someone would drive Zarah home.

"Thank you, Hope." Zarah sincerely said and Hope chuckled in response. "Silly. If you're this sincere, why don't we eat lunch together tomorrow?"

"Are you serious? Do you still want to eat lunch with me after you witnessed how I eat my food?"

"Why not? What's wrong with that? I can eat at your pace if you want to." Hope asked innocently to support herself.

Zarah was silent and gave it a thought.

She was used to spending lunch alone because she had no friends at school. No one could understand her other than the Irving sisters.

Now that Hope was offering her company, she didn't have the heart to reject her.

"I'll try."

Hope smiled as it was better than outright rejection.

Then, they saw a pretty woman running in their direction with genuine worry flashing on her face.

"Zaza! What happened?" Olivia asked as soon as she saw them.

"Did someone trip you again just like during your graduation?"

"Well yes. But unlike in the past, I made sure to inflict pain on her, too.", Zarah said proudly and Olivia chuckled at her petty attitude.

Olivia then turned her attention to Hope who was standing beside Zarah and asked, "Are you her supervisor? Thank you for bringing and taking good care of Zarah. I owe you a lot!"

Hope thought that Olivia's actions were sweet and that she genuinely cared for Zarah. So with a smile, she answered, "No. I'm a fellow intern, too. And yeah. I'm just doing what I can to help her."

"Do you have a ride home? Let us send you to your place." Zarah asked as she remembered that they came to the hospital riding a cab.

She instantly regretted asking her to leave first.

As much as Hope wanted to be with Zarah, she decided to step back. She didn't want her actions to look like she was so eager to be with her.

"Thank you, Zarah. But I think I have to decline. My friend will be coming to pick me up, too."

"Oh okay. Then, see you tomorrow." Zarah said as they were about to go in a separate direction.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." She said and waved her hand.

Hope watched as the two left the waiting area of the hospital and headed to the parking lot. She watched their car speed off the busy streets of Oakridge City.

"Zarah," Hope uttered her name again.

"What a unique name. It suits your personality well." She mumbled and went inside the hospital as her friend she was talking about was there.

***