Benevolent Martinet

Chapter 3: The Talk.

You flinch when you hear something on his end shatter.

"Ah- Um... A-are you okay? Do you want me to stop?"

"I apologize for that, sweetheart. A small... incident on my part, nothing to worry about. You may resume."

You gulped at his tone, he sounded angrier with each passing word.

"I-I knew I couldn't let him just touch me like that so I... I- I slapped him... Th-then right after he called me a 'bitch' and how he was going to fire me," Tears slipped down your face as you sobbed, cradling the bruise on the side of your head, "I told him that he could fire me and he got angry a-and... And then he punched me, t-twice..."

"He what?!"

You yelp at the sudden raise of his tone, pulling your phone away from your ears. After hearing him clear his throat, you hear him revert back to speaking with his normal tone.

"I... Apologize for my outburst, sweetheart. I did not mean to frighten you. This... Manager of yours, tell me, what business is he working for?"

You tell him the shop's name.

"Ah... A measly business. Fear not. I will contact my associates about this."

"You don't have to! O-one of my coworkers is planning on finding a lawyer tomorrow, so it'll be alright. I appreciate your help, Stephen."

"...I see. Well, I wish you both the best of luck in serving that foul man justice."

You hummed in approval, smiling through your tears.

"You, however, need to seek medical attention post-haste. He has managed to land his hits twice and your injuries are without a doubt, agonizing. I would assume you have tried bringing the swelling down, nonetheless, it is still aching, is it not?"

You bit your lip at his accuracy.

"I'll be fine... Besides, the bruises will fade in a couple of days or- weeks... Maybe..."

"Nonsense, your bruises may worsen and who knows what god-awful symptoms you may develop. Are you able to disclose your bank account number? I will send you a small sum of money. Go get yourself checked."

You shake your head. Is this guy for real? But no! This is wrong, taking money from a stranger. It's shameful. You frowned, "No. It's alright, I assure you. I've suffered worse injuries than this, trust me. Okay how about this, if it still hurts by the end of tomorrow, I will seek your advice to get it checked. Deal?"

"...Very well, we have a deal," You hear him sigh, "You are, by far, the most obstinate woman that I have ever come across."

You giggled softly at his words. He wasn't wrong, your friends have always brought up your stubbornness in team-building introductions.

"Though, I cannot say that I dislike stubborn women. In fact, I have quite a liking towards them."

You went rigid at his words, feeling your cheeks heat up. Was he talking about... You?... You shake your head, there is no way... You laughed awkwardly at his words, failing to remember that your ankle was still injured. You used your feet to push yourself further back into the bed, with the intention of trying to get some rest. You winced, rubbing the sore ankle. Right... How were you going to get to the doctor, or anywhere with an ankle like this? I guess I'll just have to limp all day tomorrow. This sucks...

"Sweetheart, are you still with me?"

You fumbled, trying to steady your phone. "S-sorry, yeah... I just... Might have trouble walking tomorrow." No that came out wrong.