Treen had to pry Russell from the barbecue and she finally managed to get him back up to her office. How a slender frame like his could hold all that food was beyond her. He burped several times during their second discussion about his father.
Once the session had ended, Treen was surprised by his urgency for the next appointment. He wanted to return first thing in the morning, but since her Sundays were reserved for church and her parents, he’d have to come back on Monday. In the meantime, Russell roamed the office, still shaking his head at all the books.
“This is givin’ me a headache. Did you read all of ‘em?”
“Yes, I’m a speed-reader. But I sure didn’t enjoy all of — ”
“What’s the matter?”
“Shhhhh. I thought I heard a scream out in the hallway,” she said, still staring at the door.
“Yeah,” he said, “Now I hear it.”
As the commotion rumbled closer, Treen scurried from behind her desk. However, before she could reach the door, it was shoved open.
“Get your hands off me!” cried the female, who tussled through the doorway with Samantha struggling to pull her back.
“Control yourself!” Samantha shouted, gripping the girl’s arm with both hands. As Treen hurried over to help out, the only male in the room suddenly spoke up.
“Gail what are you doin’ bustin’ in here like that?” he shouted.
The room fell silent. The three women quit struggling and glared at him in sequence.
“You know her?” asked Treen, releasing Gail’s arm.
“Yeah, I know her. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Was your girlfriend!” Gail shrieked, charging over to him. “How could you do this to me?”
“Do what to you?”
“You know exactly what!” she shouted, streams of black eyeliner racing down her face.
“Leave me alone with them,” Treen whispered to Samantha.
Russell turned his back and walked away. Gail followed. She walked up behind him, grabbed his shoulder, then forced him to turn around and look at her. This time, she vented even closer to his face.
“You told me you couldn’t leave the house last night but you went to Grevelton to see another woman!”
Russell stayed silent. Gail kept on yelling. Her frayed hair blocked her eyes, but not the beads of spit that sputtered from her mouth like baby dragon flames. Russell wiped his face then turned his back again. This time, he marched towards the window.
Except for the refrigerator hum and faint music from the barbeque, the office was quiet. Gail crossed her arms and sat on a bench near the door. Treen walked over and stood next to Russell. Together, they stared out at the orange sky.
“Would you like to talk about this?” Treen asked quietly.
“No.”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“No. I just hate getting caught.”
“So it’s true then?”
“You knew that already.”
“No I didn’t. I’m in disbelief that any girl would want you — let alone two of them.”
The phone began to beep. “Please tell Gail the truth and apologize,” said Treen, walking over to the desk.
Samantha had called from downstairs to say that the Wellbays had arrived to pick up Russell. Treen paused for a moment then said, “Take them out to the barbeque until I sort out his problems with Gail...”
Treen hung up the phone. When she turned around, she saw that Russell had gone over to talk to Gail. But as he began to tell her the truth about his jaunt to Grevelton, Gail revealed the crazed look of someone who’d gone over the edge, climbed back up, and was about to leap again. She twisted the promise ring off her finger, hurling it — and a few cuss words at his head.
“I hate you, Russell Wellbay!” she shouted. After a rude display of both middle fingers, Gail stormed out of the office. Treen followed.
“Leave me alone, Treen!” she shouted, voice echoing throughout the hall. Gail ran to end of the corridor then stomped down the stairs. Treen walked back into the office, slammed the door, then stormed over to Russell.
“Do your parents know about Gail?”
“No way, my dad would kill me. He works for her father.”
“Who’s her father?”
“Garrison Blue, that dude that owns — ”
“Blue Neptune Enterprises.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh boy,” she whispered, rubbing her forehead. “Does Mr. Blue know about the two of you?”
“Heck no. My dad says the guy hates me.”
“Russell, how far did your relationship go with Gail?” He grinned. “All the way, baby.”
Treen’s eyes darkened. “This is far away from funny,” she said, glaring at him.
“Gail took your relationship seriously. No one likes to be cheated on — especially a teenage girl. Believe me, we already have enough insecurities and confusion in our lives.”
Suddenly, the office door flew open again, walloping the wall behind it. Russell quivered, spinning around to find his father charging at him — angrier than Gail, but without the dripping mascara. “Dad, wh-what’s the matter?” He asked, eyes even wider than his father’s.
Mr. Wellbay yanked his tie loose and pointed at Russell. “We’re going home right now!”
Russell trembled. He was so scared he didn’t realize he’d been creeping backwards until he bumped into Treen’s desk. He might’ve crawled under it if Treen hadn’t rushed over and stood in front of him.
“Mr. Wellbay, please calm down. You’re scaring him,” she said, voice rising. Mr. Wellbay marched up to her. Treen didn’t blink.
“My boss’s daughter is downstairs crying over my stupid son — and even though I’ve told Russell not to, he’s been in Grevelton, fooling around. Now get out of my way!”
“I am not moving until you calm down.”
“Told you he hates me,” said Russell, moving Treen’s arm to stand beside her and stare at his red-faced father.
“Is that what you think?” asked Mr. Wellbay.
“Yeah,” he said nodding slowly. “That’s what I think.” Suddenly, Mr. Wellbay lunged at him, inadvertently knocking
Treen to the floor. He gripped Russell’s shirt and yanked him forward, tugging him towards the doorway. Russell resisted as if being dragged towards the edge of a cliff.
Mr. Wellbay tripped over an end table and released Russell’s shirt. However, he stood quickly and shoved his son to the floor. Russell backed away when his father reached down to grab him again.
Treen staggered to her desk while the Wellbays continued their pathetic skirmish. She opened the drawer and took out a remote control with the name Ariel inscribed on the front. She entered a code, then watched the office window hum open.
When Mr. Wellbay gripped Russell’s collar with one hand and made a fist with the other, Treen dashed over and pushed him into the bookshelf. After a slight stumble, he turned around quickly and kicked through the fallen books as he marched over and grabbed Treen by the sleeves of her blazer.
“Let go of me, Mr. Wellbay!” Treen shouted, unable to break free. He squeezed even tighter and continued to rant about his son jeopardizing his career.
Luckily, Ariel was on the way.