Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter and I am really excited about this one. I hope you guys enjoy it because I had fun writing this one. Also, a quick reminder: I do not own The Incredibles, Pixar and Disney do. I only own my OC's. Stick around for the ending after the chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Twelve - My Kind of Town
"So, as you can see ladies and gentlemen, my customers have already seen improvements of security." Mr. Pine gestured to the screen that showed charts and statistics of sorts of his satisfied customers. I sat in the corner of the room with my workcase sitting on my lap watching our audience and their reactions.
"Quick question, Mr. Pine," an older gentleman said aloud. "Yes, Mr. Smith?" Mr. Pine asked with no concern in his voice. "I'm a bit confused about what you have up there. What is the meaning of the 'happiness meter'?" Mr. Pine smirked as he once again gestured to the screen. "I'm glad you asked, you see I ran a test amongst my customers who had bought my product and potential customers who were still unsure. My studies have shown that my product ensured better security which meant less stress for my customers. This resulted in a happier work environment and better services from the employees of my customers. Happy customers make me a happy man, that's a win win in my book." Mr. Smith leaned back in his chair while nodding his head. "Interesting." Since that was the last slide of the presentation I stood up as the lights turned back on. "If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer them." Mr. Pine said as he clapped his together. I set down the case onto the table and opened it up to grab the papers inside of it. I went around the table and handed each person a small packet of information about our products. I walked back to the case and closed it while stepping back next to Mr. Pine. "Thank you, Miss Parr." I slightly nodded my head as a 'no problem'. As everyone was looking throughout the packets Mr. Smith looked up at Mr. Pine. "Mr. Pine, I must say I am impressed and overwhelmed with what your company offers." Everyone in the room nodded their heads in agreement. "So, with that being said, you can guarantee we have an interest in your products and would love to do business with you." I relaxed since this meant that afterward would not be awkward. "Excellent." Mr. Smith then got up from his seat and walked over to us. He shook Mr. Pine's hand, "I appreciate the confidence you brought in today and look forward to seeing what you have to offer in future." Mr. Smith seemed like a sweet old man who looked like he could have been mine or Mr. Pine's grandfather. Once he was done shaking hands with Mr. Pine, he looked over at me and stuck out his hand. I, of course, took it and was prepared to shake it but instead, he placed his other hand on top while lightly rubbing the back of my hand. "I must say you did a good job as well, Miss Parr." I was a bit confused since all I did was introduce myself and pass out papers for everyone. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Smith." He chuckled while giving me a grin. "Please, call me Donald." I then realized that he was no longer a sweet old man and was more of a gross flirt and I felt more uncomfortable as he continued to stroke my hand. "What are you doing later on, sweetheart?" I suddenly felt nauseous and wanted nothing more than to just bolt out of here. "I uh-apologies Mr. Smith but Miss Parr and I will be attending a party this evening." Mr. Pine suddenly intervened while placing a hand on my upper back. "Oh, I see. That's a shame." He then let go of my hand and reached inside his jacket pocket, "If you ever need anything, my dear, anything at all, give me a call." He then pulled out a card and handed it to me. I took it reluctantly with a forced smile. "Thank you," I said slowly. "I mean anything…." His eyes then lowered to my chest and I wanted to run away. I felt weird and my hands started to shake. Mr. Pine then gently pushed me along while saying, "Miss Parr I need for you to do a favor for me as I sign some papers…." He leads me with his hand still on my back out of the room and into the hallway. We stopped for a moment and he looked around before asking "Are you alright?" I was taken aback by his sudden concern. I nodded while I dropped the card and my hands gripped onto the case. "What do you need for me to do?" I asked wanting to get away from this area. "Nothing, I just said that to get you out of there. Just go wait in the limo and I'll be there shortly." I was surprised. Did he just get me out of that horrible situation without hesitation? "Really?" I asked still in shock. "Yes, now go on." He let go of me and I felt kind of….strange. I stared at him confused. "Okay….thank you…." He then walked back inside without looking back at me.
I found myself sitting in the limo trying to remember what exactly my name was as I stared out the tinted windows. The chauffeur rolled down the window that separated the front and back parts of the vehicle. "You alright ma'am?" He asked with concern. I could feel the back of my throat starting to hurt as I nodded my head, "Violet Parr." I then realized I said my name instead of saying 'yes' and quickly smacked my face. He didn't seem to mind, he then handed me, through the window, a bottle of water. "Here you are, Miss Parr." I took it and quickly thanked him not knowing his name. "It's no problem, Miss Parr, you seemed a bit stressed. Is there anything else you will be needing?" I had opened the bottle and took a swig of the ice-cold water. It felt nice and cooling, I then swallowed and shook my head. "No sir, but thank you very much." He then rolled up the window and I again waited in silence. If there was anything more dangerous than any criminal I had ever faced, including Syndrome, it was being alone with my thoughts.
Did he actually care for my well being? I know he just moved me out of an uncomfortable situation, but why didn't he assume I couldn't do it myself? Was he gradually going to become nicer as the trip went on as I remained employed to him? How long was I going to be employed to him? I didn't want to do this forever, I would like to eventually live my own life, not monitoring someone else's. Would he one day prove to me that he was stable and wasn't some deceiving lunatic trying to earn my trust just to get me off his back? What if this was some sort of long drawn out trap? What if he was actually different and just wanted to live a normal life? Suddenly the door was opened and I snapped back to reality. He came in and set his case down and closed the door while sighing. I should probably keep my concerns to myself just in case this is a trap. If he intends to do something I want it to seem like I was clueless. "Miss Parr, we just got ourselves some new customers. Feel free to celebrate for the rest of today because I plan to do so after I make a few calls." He combed back his hair and I stared at him wondering what his true intentions were. "Don't look so down, you don't have to deal with 'Mr. Creeps' anymore." So he thought he was gross too? Hm, interesting. "Do we actually have a party to attend to tonight?" I asked out of curiosity. "What? No, I just said that to get him off you. Keep up Parr, I thought you were much smarter than this." Was that an insult or a compliment? "Why did you?" Great, so much for keeping it to myself. "Do what? Get him off of you? It's a well known fact that Mr. Smith has a thing for younger women, why do you think he isn't married. Unless, you have a liking for older men...?" I could have thrown up on the spot. "Gross, never. Didn't you see the way he looked at me?" He nodded his head while leaning back. "Like a predator looking at it's dinner. You looked too petrified to stop him, that's why I cut in." I raised an eyebrow while crossing my arms. "I was not petrified." He scoffed while shaking his head. "Please, you looked like a deer in headlights." My mouth dropped open at his statement. "Look, you can deny it all you want, but who saved who?" I couldn't rebuttal with anything else since he was right about that. "Well I appreciate your help but I can handle myself from now on." He simply shrugged while saying "Alright, suit yourself."
-30 minutes later-
"Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?" A woman with a giant version of the Bible asked me as I stepped out of the limo. I was startled by her presence and appearance since it looked like she hadn't slept in weeks and her hair was in a tangled mess. "Um, not right now, but thank you-WHY? Do you not believe in our Lord and Savior? Are you not a Christian? Have you even been baptized?" She continued to bombard me with more pressuring questions as I backed away from her. I then felt an arm pull me aside and guide me away from her. "Thank you very much, sister. Praise God!" Mr. Pine said while waving her away. "Praise God!" She repeated back to him. I looked at him surprised that he once again saved me and then I became angry because he once again saved me. "Do you even believe in God?" I asked him. He let go of me as the doors of the hotel were opened by the doormen. "When I see him….maybe." I brought the workcase up to my chest and clutched onto it as we headed to the elevators. He pushed the button and it opened up and we both walked in. When the doors closed he pressed the floor number we were staying on. "So much for 'handling yourself'." He muttered. I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment and in anger. "I didn't expect that to happen. She came at me screaming with a book." He rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. "And you usually fight guys who come at you with guns and superpowers. Tell me again which one is more dangerous." I tightened my hold on my case as my irritation increased. "You and I both know that a religious book has more power than any other weapon out there. Look at world history." He simply scoffed while looking at me with those piercing light blue eyes of his. "What's a religious book to a non believer?" The doors opened up and he walked out. I could feel the frustration boil in my stomach as I followed him towards our temporary living quarters.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open, he then stepped back and said, "Ladies first." I rolled my eyes as I walked in just wanting to throw myself onto the bed and lie down for a bit. "Also, a simple 'thank you' would have been fine." I had a sudden thought of just chucking my workcase at him, but I knew the moment I did that it would mean even more trouble between us. I held my breath as I slowly turned towards him and with a fake smile said, "Thank you, Mr. Pine." He waved me off as he picked up a phone and began to dial. I quietly groaned as I walked into my living area and closed the door behind me. "The nerve of that-oooooh!" I whispered to myself. Both Olivia and Mary were completely wrong, there was no way that any of that conversation was flirting. I set down the damn case and threw myself onto the bed. Thankfully the bed was very soft, so when I landed it felt like I just tackled a cloud. I rolled over onto my back and began to unbutton my jacket. Once it was open I pulled it off and tossed it onto the chair that sat in the corner of the room. What was I going to do the rest of today? Should I just stay in bed? I then realized where in the world I was at and I immediately shot up. I quickly ran over to my suitcase and started to pull out something casual to wear. I had managed to put on my striped beige and black long sleeve shirt and jean overalls. I was very happy that I no longer had to wear heels for the rest of today, so I slipped on my black converse. I took a look at myself in the mirror and was satisfied, I was comfortable and I thought I looked nice. I quickly grabbed my small brown purse and headed out the door away from Mr. Pine.
After a few calls, I set down the phone and sighed as I sat down in a nearby chair. I had heard Miss 'I can take care of myself' run out the door. I chuckled at the thought of her facing that religious woman again. How was it that she could face criminals whose goal was to either kill her or hurt her but she couldn't even dodge a question from a person who made her uncomfortable? I began to unbutton my shirt and glanced down at my watch. I had a lot of time to kill, which meant I should probably do my session now rather than later. I stood up and walked over to another suitcase and opened it up. It turned on and I signed in and checked to see if Dr. Flos was available. I waited for a bit and sure enough, she was and her hologram popped up. "Hello, Dr. Flos," I said as I grabbed the case and carried it over and placed it on the bed and sat back down in the chair again. "Good afternoon Mr. Pine, how has your day been so far?" I took off my jacket and rolled back my shoulders. "It has actually been good. I have been doing well with my products and everything, well almost everything, has been going smoothly." She nodded her head and looked down as if she was writing something. "Uh huh, I see. Hmmm, I think we should start talking about your secretary." I groaned while rolling my eyes. "Why must we, all she does is follow me around and annoy me." She listened to me as I continued to complain about her and all she did was nod her head. "Well, we need to talk about her because I am actually a bit concerned." Her tone seemed to have lowered an octave which was odd coming from her because it sounded like she was acting serious. "I'm not going to do anything to her, I don't see her as any real threat, and even if she was, she's just a pain to work with sometimes." I was being honest because I had no desire to harm her or anyone else, I couldn't see myself hurting anyone, at least on purpose. But maybe that was a good thing and meant that whatever evil that resided within me was gone. "That's not what I'm talking about. I know you won't hurt her, physically, but that's not the point. I'm more concerned about you."
What? "Woah wait, what do you mean 'I won't hurt her physically', are you implying I would hurt her another way?" I asked suddenly curious. "Well, this would be a good segway to what I want to talk about, but you and I know you're a very smart man, Buddy. There are other ways to hurt a young girl in a male-dominated industry." Was she implying that I was some misogynistic asshole? "And don't take that the wrong way, I know you respect women. Your childhood told me that you have a underlining respect for women since your mother raised you in a one parent household. But currently in our society, sexism is a living breathing thing in the business industry, and everywhere else. Even if you aren't apart of it chances are that your coworkers are because they only see it through their own perspective, not through a woman's. You have an upper hand since you are a white male and the boss of your own company. She is a young woman who is new to all of this and isn't sure what's to come since her main goal is to just monitor you. And with that comes with many future complications." I understood what she was saying but I was a bit confused at what she was getting at. "What 'future complications'?" Her eyes glanced down which was most likely to her journal. She quickly adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath. "You need to look at this from a third person's perspective. You are a young man who has just gotten out of prison that you were stuck in for four years. You are going down a path that is going to be difficult since there are a large number of people who are expecting you to fail. But there is someone who is still on edge and is hoping that you are actually a changed man and will do good things. She didn't inform her parents of her knowledge about you and how she is now your secretary, and she dropped out of school just to make sure she has an easier time to watch your every move." I shook my head and said, "I doubt that she has any faith in me. Plus, we don't know if she has or hasn't told her parents-she hasn't. Trust me." She interrupted. "How do you know this?" I asked. "I just do. Anyway, both of you are in a vulnerable stage right now, whether you want to admit it or not. When someone is vulnerable they tend to cling onto the people that surround them the most, it won't matter how they treat them, it's just the simple fact that they are there. This is how a dysfunctional couple will form." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you comparing my secretary and I to a dysfunctional couple?" She didn't answer, she just stared at me. I then realized that was her answer. But this didn't make any sense-oh gosh no. I stood up immediately and cringed. "Oh you can't actually be serious! I don't have any desire to even….with her!? There is no chance!" Dr. Flos just continued to stare at me. "Why would you think that I-we-her- just no! I almost killed her family and you think I am trying to-just no!" I began to pace in my room while pushing back my hair in frustration. "Neither of you are wanting this, but it is very likely to happen. Very likely." I groaned as I sat back down and hunched over with my face buried in my hands. "You can deny it all you want but both of you are under a lot of pressure. You are trying to redeem yourself to yourself and the rest of the world meanwhile she is trying to find her place in the same world. Since you two are around each other constantly your relationship is going to grow. I'm sure that your relationship is much more different now than the first day you remet. Also, from what you have explained to me, everywhere you go she goes too. You both are currently in another country together. Alone. Together. In a hotel." I groaned while shaking my head. "It's not like we're sleeping in the same bed!" I didn't even want to think about that. "That's not the point. She is constantly around you and her feelings for you are going to change and grow, whether it is platonic or romantic. Only time will tell. Explain to me how it felt the moment you two landed in Canada. Tell me if I'm wrong, but for a moment, you two felt odd around each other and weren't sure how to act. You were probably rethinking a few things about this whole situation." Well, she wasn't wrong about that, at least from me. "It's because it both hit you as to what is actually going on. You two are adults in a rough time of your lives now. The hormones are going to kick in and your feelings are going to change whether you like it or not. It's not evil it's being human. But that doesn't mean it won't have consequences. I had to bring this up because it is a very likely possibility that you need to understand and might need to prepare for. You need to be extremely careful about this entire situation." I sighed while sitting up and leaning back in the chair. She wasn't wrong but I didn't like the odds of this. "This is avoidable though?" She nodded her head in agreement, "Oh, absolutely, but you have to be careful about that too. If you try too hard you might end up speeding up the process and before you know it you'll find yourself in another situation you can't take back." I nodded my head. I was going to need to stay on my toes the entire time. "Alright, I know what I need to do. Thanks doc."
I would like to make it clear that the workcase that Buddy uses to contact Dr. Flos is an invention of his. It's like a laptop only not exactly. Remember that Buddy is a smarty pants and enjoys to create cool gadgets. But other than that OH MY GOSH DR. FLOS KNOWS WHAT'S UP. Meanwhile, Buddy is in denial and Violet is doing her thing of avoiding crazy religious people and gross old pervs. This chapter was fun to write because of all of the bickerings between the two almost lovebirds. Until next time guys!