Chapter XIX
The three months following that initial meeting had been an absolute thrill for Anna. Her work schedule had been crazy, but she could not have cared less. She was working on a big international project…with John right by her side.
He was absolutely brilliant - a complete workaholic when he needed to be, but he also knew when to stop himself and his team when he saw that their work was suffering due to exhaustion. Every day he had been the first to arrive and last to leave. Thomas had even said that John had slept in the office the last few weeks, and Anna knew why. He had been trying desperately to make up the hours he'd lost while at the hospital every Monday, working late into the nights and even into the early mornings.
She had tried to slow him down, but John had brushed off her concern. So Anna had begun coming to work earlier. She had started bringing him coffee every morning, and they had fallen into spending a good half hour together, just talking over their coffee and enjoying the uninterrupted time. Their friendship had grown stronger. He still had a high wall around himself, but she could see it gradually crumbling bit by bit, day by day…with every coffee and private conversation they had shared, with every joke and laugh, with every tiny thing they had done together, no matter how small.
Anna had seen he was getting more and more exhausted as they had gotten closer to the deadline, but so was the rest of the team. Except Green, who had done nothing at all since he had arrived in town. But John had no time to waste on him, so he had kept quiet and simply focused on his work.
The whole team had known that three months would be nothing when it came to a project on the scale of Moretti's. But while an extremely challenging timeline, it wasn't impossible. So they had worked. And worked. And worked. And in the end, they had finished on time. Even better, they had been done two days ahead of the deadline, and John could not be more thrilled or prouder of his employees.
John knew that buying a few drinks for the whole team at the local pub would never be enough to repay them for their dedication and hard work, but that had been all that they had asked of him, when the project was officially completed. All, that is, but one special request - they'd wanted him to join them at the pub. John had never socialized with his employees outside of work, but Anna's pleading eyes had convinced him to join them.
So there they were, on a warm Friday evening in the middle of July.
''I just want to say how proud I am of you - of all of you.'' John was standing at the head of the table with a pint in his right hand, trying to put his gratitude into words. ''You all know that I'm a man of few words…''
''Really?'' Thomas joked, making the whole table chuckle, but John just grinned and continued. ''…but I want you to know that I could not wish for a more talented, more hardworking team than this one, and that this is just the start of our…your success. So thank you. Thank you for the many sleepless nights and early mornings. Thank you for living and breathing this project with me for the last three months. Thank you for putting your personal lives on hold. Thank you for putting up with me and all of my crap for all these years. And most of all, thank you for believing in this project the same way I did.''
''Hear, hear!'' Joe said, when he saw John's eyes getting moist. He knew just how much this meant to his friend.
''Thank you for this,'' Anna whispered to John, after they had all taken a sip of their drinks and he finally sat back down next to her.
''It's only a beer.''
''I'm not talking about the beer, and you know it,'' she smiled.
''You're welcome,'' he replied, and could not help but return the smile. The last few weeks had been tough on all of them, but he could not get out of his head how incredible Anna had been. She had never complained about the long hours or daunting workload. She'd simply done it.
John loved his job, but he had to admit that the best part of the past three months had been Anna bringing him coffee almost every morning. He had even caught himself longing for those thirty minutes of alone time with her each day. He knew he shouldn't let his guard down, but he had been so tired that he just didn't give a damn. Plus they hadn't been doing anything. Just talking.
''I can't believe we did it!'' Anna exclaimed, beaming with pride.
''I can.'' John took another sip of his beer. ''Everything is possible when you have the right people in your corner.'' Even though he used the plural, they both knew that he meant her.
''Yes, well.'' Anna blushed. ''But you have to admit that we've had a pretty good leader.''
''Only pretty good…?'' John teased, making her face flush. She had no idea if it was the beer making him more open and relaxed, or the pure joy of having finished the project ahead of schedule. No matter what the reason, she liked seeing him like this.
''Can I get you another one?''
''Yes, please,'' she nodded, and with that John stood up and made his way to the bar. But the moment he had left the table, Green suddenly appeared and sat down in John's seat. John hadn't wanted to take him with them to the pub, but he'd had little choice. Like it or not, Alex Green was technically a part of the team.
''Hello, Anna,'' Green sang into Anna's ear.
''Hello, Mr. Green.'' Anna shifted away, but he moved close to her again. He reeked of alcohol, and she knew that she needed to keep some distance between them.
''Ohhh, for fuck's sake! My name is Alex!'' he shouted, attracting the attention of the whole table.
''OK, Alex,'' Anna gave in, grudgingly. The last thing she wanted is to make a scene in front of her co-workers. She knew nobody liked him, but being who she was, she forced a smile onto her face and tried to be polite.
''That's better!'' he laughed, and took another sip of his wine. ''I can't believe that piece of shit actually managed to finish on time!'' He leaned closer and whispered, ''I hate him, you know!? I hate his pathetic smug little face! I ruined him once, and believe me - I'll ruin him again! I still have two days!''
Anna had no idea what he was talking about, or whether he was serious, but right now all she wanted was for John to return and save her from him.
''Do you hate him?'' he asked suddenly.
''What?''
''I said…DO YOU HATE HIM!?!?'' Green laughed coarsely, drawing the attention of the whole table again. Thomas mouthed, ''Are you OK?'' to Anna, but she only nodded.
''Well?! Do you?!''
''I-…''
''Good…because I know how to ruin him!'' Green continued in a low voice, so only Anna could hear him. ''But I need your help.''
''What? I'm no-…''
''I need you to tell me where he keeps his files.'' Green stared her directly into her eyes, without blinking.
''What files?''
''What files?'' Green mocked. ''You know exactly what files, you bitch.'' Before Anna could defend herself, a deep voice and a strong hand on his shoulder startled Green, causing him to spill his drink all over himself.
''Get out,'' John said firmly.
''Get off me!'' Green stood up quickly and lost his balance. The only reason he did not hurt himself was the fact that John's strong hand was still holding him.
''Get your dirty hands off me, you hear!?!'' Green yelled, but before letting go, John pulled him closer and repeated, ''Get out.''
''You get out!'' Green spat and pushed John's hand away. ''Who do you think you are?!?'' he raised his voice again, this time grabbing the attention of everyone in the pub. ''You think you own the whole world, Batesy!?''
''Alex, calm down,'' Anna said, but he did not hear her.
''You think you're such a big shot! Mr. 'Oh So Important' John Bates! Always right, always so damn fair! You're pathetic!''
''Green…'' Joe warned.
''Shut up, baldy!'' Green turned to Molesley and laughed ever harder.
''OK, that's enough. Come on! You're drunk.'' John was about to grab him again, when Green moved out of his reach.
''Fuck off!''
''Green!'' John hissed, through gritted teeth.
''Don't you 'Green' me. Fuck off, you piece of shit!'' John know he was trying to goad him into a fight, and he wasn't going to fall for it. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize the hard work he and his team had done over the past three months.
''I'm going to call him a taxi,'' Thomas said suddenly.
''Ohh, screw you, Barrow - you little poof.''
''HEY!!'' Jimmy stood up, and Green had only Thomas to thank that he still had all of his teeth.
''Leave him be, Jimmy. He's not worth it.'' Thomas put a hand around his boyfriend's waist and pulled him close.
''A bunch of wankers! All of you!!'' Green jeered. ''But especially you!'' he pointed at John, his eyes narrowing. ''You are the worst.'' He took a step closer. ''Absolutely the worst.'' He poked John in the middle of the chest. ''The stupidest…'' POKE. ''…the most brainless…'' POKE. ''…son of a bitch.'' POKE.
All eyes were on John, everyone holding their breath, waiting for John to lose it, but John didn't even twitch at Green's words.
''Are you done?'' he asked calmly.
''Maybe.'' Green pulled his hand away.
''All right,'' John replied, and turned to the barman. ''Charlie, could you get him a tax-…'' but he never finished his request. Because in the next moment Green leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear, ''…and the absolute shittiest father I have ever known…'' And with that, John saw red. Before Green even realized what was happening, John whipped around and started punching.
''JOHN!'' Anna was the first to scream.
''Bates!'' Joe ran over with Thomas and Jimmy right behind him. They tried to pull him off Green, but John was simply too strong. It took three more men to pull him away. And just in time, because Green's face was already covered with blood. John had literally smashed his nose into his face.
''Hey, hey!'' Charlie shouted. ''Calm down!'' He pulled John toward the bar and sat him down on one of the stools. ''What's got into you?!''
''He's a dead man,'' John growled, panting as he wiped a touch of his own blood from his lips. He had no idea when Green had managed to get a punch in.
''OK, calm down. I'll get you something for that,'' Charlie said, and he disappeared behind the bar to get some ice, leaving John in Joe's care.
''What was that abo-…?'' Joe began, but in the next moment Anna was by their side.
''Are you all right?'' she asked worriedly, and without thinking her hand flew to cup his cheek.
''I'm fine.'' John finally started to calm down as he felt her touch against his skin.
''Are you sure?''
''Yeah, thanks.'' He gave her a weak smile.
''Here you go.'' Charlie offered him an ice pack, but before John could take it, Anna had already grabbed it.
''Sit still,'' she directed, pressing the pack against his lips.
''Should I call an ambulance?'' Charlie asked, noting the damage to Green's face. The pathetic excuse for a man was now half-lying, half-sitting on one of the chairs, with Thomas making sure he did not fall down again.
''You should,'' Joe replied. ''His nose might have been punched back into his brain, for god's sake.''
''Ouch...'' John suddenly twitched away when Anna pressed the ice pack a little harder.
''Oh, shush, you baby.'' She had no idea what had just happened, and especially the reason why. She had never seen him like this; he had completely lost it. It didn't frighten her, but she was not happy, and she knew she was going to need to know what had caused him to lose control like that. Especially if there was to be any kind of future between them.
''Is he alive?'' John asked, peering over Anna's shoulder.
''He is. But I can't say the same for his nose.''
''Good,'' John said, but that just made Anna angry.
''Hey!'' he cried, when she pressed the ice even harder against his face.
''Just be happy he's alive,'' she snapped, then closed her mouth tightly and turned her face away.
beta: ohhh my wonderful annambates! xoxo
