Chapter 89 - The Fallout (1/2)
”What in hell was that?” Miguel asks, who heard the loud slam.
Claire hesitates. ”It's… It's Gabriel. He seemed angry.”
”Angry over what?”
”I don't know.”
”I thought you said you two were okay.”
”Yeah, I thought so, too. He even gave me a new phone, for company use.”
”Then why…” Miguel pauses. He sighs. ”Gabriel is like that sometimes. Did he say anything, some hint to what he might be feeling earlier?”
”No idea,” Claire says; she tries to stop her voice from shaking, afraid that Miguel might hear it. ”I was just… I don't know what happened.”
”He was probably talking to his people again, and got some bad news.”
Claire says nothing.
”Are you all right?” There's concern in Miguel's voice.
”I'm fine,” she mutters.
”I'm sorry, Claire,” he says.
”You don't have to,” she says, and at the tail-end of what she said, her voice was hoarse. ”There's nothing to be sorry. You know how Gabriel can be sometimes.”
”Yeah,” he says. ”I got used to it. I have to. He's my brother.”
They both fall silent for a while. Claire tries to dredge her memory of what could have taken place before Gabriel snapped at her. On one hand, it seemed legitimate that, as her boss, Gabriel would want to set an example of her in front of all the other employees by yelling at her about the rule on speaking on the phone. On the other hand, it wasn't obvious that she was making a personal call—no one else except Gabriel could have heard what she was saying on the phone, and by all appearances she could be seen making a business-related phone call on his behalf. So there was no need for that kind of show, unlike all the other instances in the past—she could still recall how Gabriel threw that vase down the hallway after that lunch with Claudia and Mary. So it was completely a perplexing thing. Why would he get mad? Is it…
”Is it possible that he heard you?” Miguel says.
”That's what I'm thinking just now,” she says. ”Is there anything bad about what I said?”
”Maybe he was just pissed that you're talking to someone about last night.”
”And he realized it was you?” she says. ”Hmmm.”
”He's jealous,” Miguel teases, laughing. ”He wants you for himself, and himself alone, in the whole wide world.”
Claire blushes, good thing Miguel doesn't see it. ”Stop it. That's not true.”
”Oh, you're not telling me the whole truth about last night, Claire,” he says. ”Maybe he did really kiss you, as you said, ALL NIGHT LONG.”
”Mary, we're coming out to lunch, right?” Claire says aloud, pretending Mary's right in front of her, asking her out. ”Sorry, Miguel, have to run for lunch. Talk later. Bye!”