Chapter 88: I’m Creeped Out

Crystal looked at the man in black with an expression of shocked dismay on her face. “What is Eric doing out of the hospital?” she asked. “When I left him, he was in traction!!!”

“I am sure that Master Bush can answer any questions you have,” the man replied. “If you will follow me...”

“Fine,” Crystal sighed. “Lead the way.”

To the left of the meal line, several hundred square meters had been emptied of people. Eric was the exception, and he was sitting near the middle of the room with his back to them. He was wearing a white shirt with black borders, a pair of black casual pants, and British shoes. As they drew near to him, he stood up and turned around to greet them. He smiled and said, “Sweetheart, I’m glad that you agreed to join me!”

Crystal stared intently at the back of Eric’s neck. “Why aren’t you in the hospital?” she asked suspiciously.

“I want to have lunch with you,” he replied. “Is that a crime?”

Crystal: “That’s bullshit! What’s your deal?” Eric shrugged and said, “The weather is good today, so I decided to take a walk. I happened to be passing by, and I thought that if I bought you a simple meal, it would be a good way of thanking you for saving my life.”

“A simple meal?” Crystal scoffed. “You take over a whole cafeteria and call it a simple meal?”

“You should be honored,” Eric said.

“Honored?” Crystal laughed. She said, “We both know that I would never have agreed to go out with you, so you had to resort to this.” She spread her hands wide. “I don’t feel honored. I’m creeped out!”

Eric put his hands in his trousers pockets and stepped closer to her. “I wanted to buy you a meal,” he said seriously, “but I also need to talk to you about Richard...”

Crystal was stunned for a second. She looked directly into Eric’s eyes and said, “Tell me.”

Eric turned his head to the table and chairs that he’d arranged. He’d covered the table with a white embroidered tablecloth, and there was a vase full of orange Juliet roses on a beautiful display, which was simple but romantic. “Sit down,” he said. “I’ll tell you while we eat.”

Eric knew that cafeteria food was shit, so he’d invited a local chef to come in and prepare something special for them. As soon as Eric had stood up, the cafeteria staff had begun to plate and serve their food. It all looked delicious, but Crystal was determined not to be derailed. She smirked and said, “Say it now or shut up.”

Eric was speechless. He’d had his ducks all lined up, but it didn’t seem to matter because he was shooting blanks. He couldn’t believe how easily Crystal rejected his advances. Eric knew that the shortest way to a woman’s heart was through her cunt, and it occurred to him that things would go much smoother between them if he got brave and ra*ed her.

Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor the place for such intimacy.

Eric sighed and said, “Richard has hired a lawyer, and he is one of the best lawyers in the country. You are likely to be charged for what you did two nights ago at the club. Things might get out of control. You have to be careful.”

“He wants to press charges?” Crystal had never thought about such repercussions. Richard had promised that he would get his revenge at the hospital, but she thought that he was threatening her with violence.

Eric nodded casually, and Crystal asked him, “What should I do?”

A smug smile appeared on Eric’s face. He was back in the driver’s seat, or at least he thought that he was. “Don’t worry,” he said.

“I’ve got your back.” Eric drew a cigarette from a pack he kept in his pocket, lit the tip, and took a slow drag. He held it in his lungs for a few seconds, and then he produced a series of circular balls from his mouth. It was a trick that his father had taught him.

Crystal frowned and waved the smoke away in irritation, and her brows furrowed. “You would do that for me?” she asked suspiciously. “But why? We don’t even know each other. And if you think I would exchange sexual favors for legal help, you are sorely mistaken.” Crystal knew Eric’s type. He could have almost any woman he wanted, but it was the woman that he couldn’t have that he desired. It had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the chase. Until he had her, he wouldn’t give up. Once he had her, though, he would lose interest.

“Do you even regret what happened?” Eric asked.

“Of course, I do!” Crystal chuckled and said, “If the lighting had been better, I wouldn’t have missed his carotid artery, and he would have bled out on the floor.”

From the tone of Crystal’s voice, it would have been easy to mistake her statement for a joke, an attempt at dark humor-while from the look in her eyes, Eric could tell that she was dead serious, and a cold chill ran down his back.

“But I don’t regret hurting Richard,” Crystal added. “And I don’t need your help.”

Richard: “It’s your funeral. Anyway, now that is out of the way, would you and Serenity care to join me for a meal? There is a lot of food. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”

“I think we’ll go,” Crystal replied. “I wouldn’t want you to think that this kind of behavior is acceptable.”

“Have it your way,” Eric grumbled. “One more thing before you go, though: “Are you still supporting the mall’s charity; the Angel Fund is what it’s called. If so, you might want to call it quits. It’s not good to be so generous. You might get taken advantage of.”

Crystal ignored this advice and said, “Shouldn’t you be getting back to the hospital? After all this exertion, there is no way of knowing where your cervical spondylopathy levels are. Then, once you are fully recovered, you can get back to the girls who want you.”

“I only want you,” Eric said. “I don’t care about those other girls. You are the first person in my life that has taken me seriously.”

When Crystal heard this, her arms broke out in gooseflesh. She rolled her eyes toward him and said, “Goodbye!”