Carolina did not expect much from a guy who dreamed of killing and didn't talk at all, but a simple nod from him would have been enough if he was going to leave her. He sure would not touch her but at least he could have said goodbye. Carolina was an open book and her impulsive emotions walked every step with her from the minute she could express them. She jumped men, hunted them, kissed them, ran into their arms, and threatened them, but she had never hidden them from anyone, most of all a man like Clifford. Unfortunately, she had no idea how Clifford would have reacted to her usual signature move.
- He did not leave. All of his stuff is inside, he just vanished.
Carolina winked when her eyes with the unknown interrogation that was in her whole face. Where might he possibly go? For a man who was looking to create a new form of living for his own person, Carolina deduced Clifford would not just abandon his strong feeling to leave Asia over one night. Unless he was just pretending...that was a good job he did and he played it well. Carolina opened the door of the room and graced it with her lightning peek. Nothing, spotless, and the wooden smell was mixed with a good apple perfume which emitted the natural flavor of ginger. Carolina sniffed and all she could picture was her and Clifford over the bed, covered with the white blanket and in each other arms. Well, now, it would not happen since he had abandoned the only hope he encountered to begin a new life.
- He is such an idiot…I trusted him…
Carolina frowned her shut eyes and stepped back to leave the room. She glanced inside one more time when her two gray lenses fell over the Motel and Bar key. The four walls were empty and blank with the original wooden color, but the favoring ginger flickered the vivid state did the little piece Clifford used for a room. She sighed, took the Bar and Motel key and left without a word to the owner.
The morning was sad and empty for Carolina. If one weakness in her she hated the most was her capacity to attach to men who did not see anything through their own plan. Now she added Clifford to the crappy list. She did not know now why, but that list cursed everyone who went in it and the story always ended the same way. The guy preferred Alicia, the guy made promises he could not keep or he ran away from her with no explanation. Not even a whisper. Why she even bother this time? He would be the same repetition again. She really thought Clifford might be different or sincere with her.
- Is it too much to ask for some hurting truth?
Carolina exploded behind her father who was putting the bottles in their place.
Men were not the only one not sincere with Carolina. Her father had married her mother for 40 years and she recently learned she might not be the child of her own father. The worst part was she might not even be the child of her mother. As the mother made her way for the other side, the truth decided to accompany her and his father who did not say much never mentioned even the remote minimum conclusion with an absurd reality like this one. Carolina was his daughter and he took care of her like he would even if she was not his.
- I suppose you are not talking about Clifford only…
- I did not think you were that smart. Is it true I might not be your child?
Carolina opened the bleeding wound and the father did not question her doubt.
- What are you talking about?
He babbled before she added one more words.
- The mother told me once that I was not her daughter and I might not even yours.
Christophe sure did not show her daughter any emotions reactions, but he was about to explode when he heard Mariana might have mentioned Carolina adoption. He frowned his large brows, closed his eyes in half, and got silent long enough not to let his frustration cross to Carolina.
- Let me ask you something…
Christophe slid a feet back and flipped over Carolina face to face and held her precious shoulder.
- Tell me if you ever feel like you are not my child?
- plenty of time and do not get me started on your unresponsive behavior when you are in a bad mood…
Christophe slid one brow up and transformed his eyes into a broken bridge with a side smile. He focused it on her and Carolina rolled her eyes before she gave up on her unjustified fact.
- Ok. I may have exaggerated but you can't deny the curiosity that can bring me to affirm I am your daughter.
- Then you are my daughter, no more doubts.
Christophe stole the word from her and Carolina could not help it but to smile and let his father hugged her.
All of a sudden, the counter bar knocked and Carolina heard it with the hope Clifford was back and he had a good wordplay he wanted to speak in front of her before he asked for forgiveness. What was she thinking? Clifford was far her type of man with silent type and a pair of eyes that can only see Alicia. She was jealous but not to kill for such stupidity. The thought ran once or twice and she did not like it. She made her escape and Alicia did not see her for ten years. It was worth it all the same. Not seeing how Gaston turned her into a real live puppet.
- Well, I thought you would be back….Oh, Mr. Lebau, what are you doing here?
- Where is Clifford? This bastard played us and left right when we needed him.
Mr. Lebau, The CEO of the Grandvue Company in Asia explained.
- Sorry, he did the same here and I had to pick up my keys from his room. I think he finally got his enough money and left for a better state.
- What? Clifford was far from leaving. We were not paying him over there…he…
Carolina glanced a "what" with a sideways eye and curving lips, not knowing what was going on and she did not feel right about it. Mr. Lebau entered the reflective mind and Carolina went to inform his father of the predicament.
Chapter 6
Posterior to Clifford death séance, Everything came back to the normal and better than ever. Clifford lived and worked at the Motel with Carolina and his father. He continued his Company procedure lessons, and now he decided to comply with the Anger Management Therapy. Clifford gained popularity, not only for his survival at the White Cloud, but surviving Gaston was a headstone for his new inclusion in the region. Everyone knew him and he participated in almost the majority of the region activity. The shelters for kids, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as well as Charity work. The new year entered with a big blizzard and no one was anticipated. The snow climbed way above its limits and everyone had to put their hand at the White sand and Clifford was the first among three guys to begin the sweeping for the freedom of the raid and daily activity in the next day.
"For a man who just survived his first brawl, you sure have a lot of strength." Clifford had not always been lucky in friends but seeing the man smile gave him quite the curiosity to be different here in Asia. He could read why he had some much friends in New York. Being the unique son of the Grandvue family with all that million for cash gained him quite the teens to accept anything from him as long as he spent his own money for them. Here in Asia, he was someone else. The new guy who almost killed Alicia, who survived Gaston's fists, and now helped the people to live better. "Come on, line up. You must smile sometimes even if it once a month. Not much right?" Clifford tried to ignore his annoying behavior with his constant smiling toward everyone. However, he could remark his charm with his own feature. The people were far too busy to notice the width of the blizzard aftermath while Carlos rained down jokes of every kind upon them. Clifford flew back and called upon the best time he had with his parents before he turned into the worst kid no one had ever known. Now, he was on his way to feel the love of strangers and people who pretended to know him after his two incidents.
"Your jokes are not funny. That is why I do not smile…" Clifford confessed.
"Really? Then, I will try harder and we will see what happened next…"His voice did not sit well, but the high-pitched sound helped pretty well to sound funny. Clifford might be able to smile if he was not so tight and serious. It was going to take a miracle.
"Then you better invite me for some drinks after this, so I can find your weak spot t
o drop you on the floor with laughter." He resumed to Clifford. He was not difficult to remember, yet it was impossible to forget Carlos. He was the guy complaining about the cold even though he had plenty of hard coat on him. He was old but his jokes and his smile put quite the youth into his bones. He had always had his 32 teeth wide-opened for everyone to admire. He did not live for tomorrow. Now was when everything occurred and now he made every second count. The road got better, the people applauded the great initiative of Clifford, Carlos, and Steve before Clifford suggested them a quick drink in the bar. Carlos cracked another joke and everyone got more comfortable to walk to the Motel and Bar to sip down some strong liquors. Carolina and Clifford served the beers, the wines, and the root beers while Carlos could not close his lips for two seconds not to beam the whole place with some hilarious loud motivating laughter.
"Hey guys, I received a challenge. If you know it, you would not laugh. It is not an easy matter…" After such captivating go-getter statement, everyone was in full action with their glass filled and ready to laugh at the next sentence Carlos would unleash. He suddenly lowered his nosing voice and bent her body a bit like to reach the people at their level of height while sitting at their table. "There is no way you can think I am going to make Clifford smile one of these days, right. Well, I am not sure he can laugh at all, but I am ready to drop the bomb on him." The room could not hold their liquors, either in the glasses or where it went. Everyone puffed it out and Carlos for himself did not expect such impact. Clifford meanwhile smirked in the tiny corner of his lips, but impossible to notice. Carolina in her corner could only confirm that this time, even if the guy was not hers, he will give her a good reason why he chose Alicia.
For a short night after a big job at the local road, it was not one to forget with Carlos help and the invitation Clifford made to the people who put their hands in the white sand. Carolina and her father had a good smile on their face even if Clifford sent two rounds over his own count. It was difficult not to figure most stores in Asia got more sales when there were a crisis or a situation like a blizzard that fell on them. Carolina did not open early and Clifford went to the Grandvue Company to trace back his progress and look toward the future. Although he could not see his future with the one woman who can help him, he had nothing else to lose. He was his own man now at his current age. His demon was the presence of Alicia in the Company, her lash out with Carolina, and her old connection with Gaston. Helene was just another plus on the situation. She transformed into Alicia bodyguard even though she seemed her unworthy or the timeless reason she advised her brother not to marry Alicia.
"Morning Clifford…."
"Morning Alicia…"
This was the new greeting of these two. Clifford passed, she clashed with him, and they exchanged one quick look. It did not mean much but it was enough to tell each other they were thinking about their connection. Connection, well, no one knew what they were plotting with their regular simple hello mixed with a series of awkwardness from the minute Clifford walked into the company, and she appeared out of nowhere. For the next three months, everything was calm and the meeting habit got worse since they stopped to talk with each other. Of course, Clifford attended his therapy weekly, but it could not prevent herself from getting Clifford close enough to see what storylines next. Carolina was the adventurer and Alicia was the nerd who was afraid to experiment life. After thirteen years, Carolina was the woman with many to lose if she made a wrong choice and Alicia was taking her chance with every person she judged fair and reasonable.
"How was your night?" Alicia greeted Clifford with a thousand smile from the one she had already gotten used to him.
"Not good so far…" Clifford shook her hand and she blushed for the thousandth times and he smirked once again. "Nothing a good day of work won't fix…" Clifford did not say two words these days for work not to find its place in the middle. Alicia cracked up thinking he started to throw jokes like Carlos, but he was far from trying to please anyone.
"I heard of your latest rescue down the hills, after the white sand. Quite the hero you are getting to be every time a crisis shows up." Alicia pretended to help him with some particulars of his coat shoulder, she picked and she swept her hand over his shoulder. Clifford thanked her and she went up to her hair and swayed some branches. Clifford congratulated her in some new fashion or anything that grabbed his curious attention. Five minutes later, they were saying later for another close head to head. Well, this new morning of the February month was no such luck for the two doves meeting. As soon as they walked on each other, someone interrupted their daily routine.
"You two, come at my office at this instant, we need to talk." Lebau just signed both of them with a leader urgency to climb the stairs and meet him. As soon as they crossed the simple window door with a transparent glass, Lebau closed it and went straight to the point.
"The Company is in a crisis." Alicia and Clifford just stood to receive the shock of the Millennium in the snow age. Lebau explained to them that Clifford and the village may have cleaned the local road, but it impacted its way to the Company and found a safe haven. Only the safe heaven occurred in the mainframe of the Company where most problems of the machines usually originated. The White sand defected most of them and it took a long time before the mechanics can make the repairs, and, Lebau was not a big fan of doing repairs and gave extra wages for a period of non-working days.
Chapter 7
Of course, there were more companies than Grandvue Company, but people met the standard of family provision with the respectful company that was not afraid to trust his own people. Things were not good and they were getting worse when the Machines started to affect the productions. No mistaken they affected the productions right away, but it took some time to reveal itself to the employees and a headache for the employer. As much as Lebau wanted to resolve this issue, he did not have a choice but to call the CEO of Grandvue.
"You are calling dad, are you sure or are you desperate?" Lucky for Clifford, Alicia vanished the minute one of the ladies invited her in some nice salon party. "I have not recalled you calling father for anything, in the past years and before that. You have always been able to take care of Asia and we are going to do it again this year with me, onboard."
“You barely get the basics and now you want to prove yourself and bury us further.” Lebau got suspicious when Clifford pretended to accept more responsibilities than the one he had from the beginning of his journey in Asia with the Company. Lebau had seen the quick and strict alteration in Clifford interest to becoming a man but he had his founding doubt and he was right. Nonetheless, Clifford did not need to prove himself to no one anymore. He was way pass seeing his father in him and his mistakes had been put behind him with Alicia help at the Anger Management Therapy. The therapy was going great. Clifford spent half hour depositing his constant lack of respect and his hate for his father while Alicia and Him spent the last half hour knowing each other better. Clifford kept the conversation short telling her who he was and Alicia joked around with her life choices and her load of mistakes.
“…I lost my best friend, I broke up with my boyfriend who had never promised to me, and I am with you here breaking my ethical rules…” Alicia resumed in a few words to Clifford who was sipping down a good cup of coffee, black he prepared a minute ago.
“…I can’t blame you in any of them. I am a unique son who does not love his father. I can’t judge…” Clifford sipped a few times while studying the alteration and the new move he might administrate in the machines mechanics.
“...How is the situation with Lebau? Is he still worried about the Company problems?” Alicia joined him over the window and he sent his head left to show his portrait to her and she could only see the new guy she pretended to love and she pretended to hide. Alicia like Carolina had known her from the moment they became friends and best friends. She knew how lucky and how slow Alicia was with recognizing relationship and man who loved her. They had one fact in common,
they were unlucky with respectful man and hardly identified the good ones who wanted to show them the true side of real love. Carolina had made peace with idiots coming her way, but Alicia had never fully understood her life karma like most people said these days.
“…He is thinking about it day and night. I am still trying to find a better to resolve the problem forever or a good unlimited time. I am still in ideas stage.” Clifford confessed to her perfect suiting woman who could not touch him and who was dreaming if only he could touch her lips, she would sleep better this night.
“…As far as I have known Lebau, he could never deal with problems in the proper manner, like knowing the issue, studying the prospect, and discovering a solution. It was not his strong suit. You need to be the savior and soon. If he calls Mr. Grandvue, he might replace him…” Alicia mentioned to him and Clifford could only see the feature of his old man yelling at Lebau, which would be unlikely, but possible to this point.
“Father would not bother coming and laying off Lebau. He had been a good CEO as far as I am concerned.” Alicia looked suspicious with her big eyes opened toward Clifford. He just said father like Mr. Grandvue was his old man. Alicia sure ignored his statement and poured him a new cup of coffee.
“I am sorry Alicia. I need to leave and be in concentration to resolve this problem of the machines. I will see you next week for my therapy and tomorrow at work…” He had Alicia in his arms and ready to leave when suddenly without thinking Clifford bent toward her clean face and pressed his leather skin against her plastic lips. He did not quite run off of the exact instant he realized she was not the woman who accepted him, but the woman who loved him. She did not push him and she felt quite persistent having him over her visage. “…Later, alright…” Alicia could barely reply to him before he melted away with a speed of the normal two-legs precipitations he forced out of her office.
Beasts Awakened Page 30
