The Contract

“Why are you just sitting here when breakfast has not been set on the table? Is there any depths of laziness you will not stoop to?” Beth scowled in irritation when she saw Thor sitting on a chair at the bare dinning table.

He immediately jumped up and stood at attention, slowly creeping away from her as she came closer so that she would not batter him with slaps this morning.

“Sorry mother in-law, I have made breakfast but since no one had come down yet I did not want to serve the food so it won’t get cold.” he said and ran off into the kitchen where he put final touches to the morning meal he had prepared.

There were no servants in the Woods family so Thor had to do all the chores alone, he washed the dishes, cooked the food, cleaned the rooms, did the laundry and any other menial tasks that needed doing. Despite all of this he was still termed a “lazy bum” by members of the family who would not lift a finger to do a single chore or even offer some help.

Once upon a time the Woods family used to be very wealthy and they had a flourishing group of companies that they ran, a lot of servants ready to do their bidding and more money than they knew what to do with. Unfortunately due to their reckless spending they lost everything and now had only their palatial mansion which they would have been forced to sell off like the rest of their property if not because Garnet had a good job which helped put food on the table and keep up appearances.

While they were actually very poor they refused to act like it and still tried to continue to live lavish in order to impress their former friends who knew that they were broke and laughed at their backs.

By the time Thor came out of the kitchen with food Stan had already joined his mother on the table and he looked up at Thor’s approach.

“What was taking you so long?” He complained and watched Thor with a sinister look.

Thor quietly placed the food on the table choosing not to answer Tristan so that he would not have an excuse to attack him as he was always looking for an opportunity to beat him up.

As Thor turned to go back into the kitchen Stan spitefully put out his foot which Thor did not see until too late and by that time he could not stop it and he fell headlong unto the edge of a chair and started bleeding from a cut.

With a groan he stood up and touched a hand to the cut above his eye which was bleeding.

“You clumsy oaf, you better not spill any of your filthy blood on my furniture or I will make sure that you pay for it with your blood.” Beth threatened callously and Stan chuckled loudly.

Knowing that he could not confront Stan, Thor quietly went back into the kitchen and found the first aid box and cleaned up his wound before bringing out the rest of the food and setting a tray which he took up to Greg Woods room.

Greg Woods was the patriarch of the Woods family and he used to be a vibrant and proud man until he became bankrupt, he became depressed and stopped leaving his room for any reason.

When he got back to the dinning room Garnet too was there and she did not even bother looking up at him when she heard him come in, she just ignored him as usual.

Thanks to the blow to his head when he fell and the fact that he had not eaten the previous night or this morning, Thor felt a little weak and worried that if he kept standing for much longer he would faint.

“Mother in-law, do you mind if I sat down for a while please? I feel a little faint.” He said and then Garnet looked up and her eyes widened when she saw the plaster on his face then her face went impassive and she took her attention back to her food as she did not want to show him even a little care.

“You want to sit down do you? You lazy bum. You better get into the kitchen and start on the meal prep for lunch.” Beth said.

Thor sighed inaudibly and started to go towards the kitchen, thinking that it was going to be a long day but as he turned to leave he was stopped by Garnet’s words.

“Thor stop..” they all turned and looked at her in question.

Thor felt his heart flutter as he looked at her in hope, maybe she did not have a heart of stone and after three excruciating years she was beginning to thaw towards him and think of him with some concern.

“I need you to go and get my work bag and my purse from the bedroom. Also, when I am gone I need you to clean up that mess. I will be mad if I come back to an untidy room.”she said nonchalantly and returned to her meal.

Mother and son smiled while Thor stood transfixed in the same spot. His heart felt heavy and he figured that he needed to stop seeking for what was not there and face facts.

“What are you still doing there?” Beth startled him and threw a spoon at him which he dodged and fled.

When he got to the room he saw the bag sitting on the table along with the purse and as he reached for it he saw the edge of a piece of paper jutting out of the bag and unable to resist he pulled it out and looked through it then he pulled out a phone which was cracked in many places and falling to pieces and took a photo of the paper before returning it into the bag and going down the stairs.

“What took you so long?” Garnet grumbled and frowned at him before rudely grabbing the bag and purse from him then she put the strap of the purse on her shoulder.

“I have no idea how you deal with such an incompetent person as a husband..” a male voice said scornfully making them all turn in the direction the voice had come from and Thor watched the tall man who had been hidden in an armchair in the foyer. He had not noticed him in the first place and he was irritated at his presence.

The man uncrossed his legs and stood to his height of an impressive 6’3, making him stand an inch taller than Thor. He walked leisurely and stood beside Garnet before putting a proprietary arm over her shoulder and staring down condescendingly at Thor while Garnet looked uneasy.

“If you are with me i will make all your dreams come through, I have assured you that I have spoken to the people at Skye Company and you will definitely win the contract.” He boasted loudly making Thor discreetly roll his eyes.

He was Bill Pearle, the son of the Woods’ family friend. Everyone was aware of how Bill felt about Garnet and everyone in the family had hoped that she would marry the only son of the very wealthy Pearle family but Garnet had chosen instead to marry Thor a nobody to their disappointment.

He had actually tried to speak to someone on the board of Skye company but he had been rebuffed however because of how he had boasted to Garnet he could not tell her that he had been unable to do what he promised.

He would have asked his father to intervene but even though his father pretended to be courteous and friendly to the Woods family he actually secretly despised them.

“I had always thought that you both would make such a great couple…” Beth said wistfully then added with a touch of mischief. “I still think so and you know it is not too late, all you need to do is sign the dotted lines.”

Garnet rolled her eyes at her mother’s words, she wished that she would stop encouraging Bill and trying to push them together because that was not what she wanted.

Beth turned to walk away and saw Thor standing imobile and clenching and unclenching his fists.

“What are you doing standing around stupidly as if you do not have a ton of chores to get to.” She said dismissively.

“I hoped that i would be able to eat some food before getting to the errands.” Thor complained bitterly and before he could understand what was happening he felt a punch to his stomach and he doubled over in pain.

“Don’t ever disrespect Mrs Woods like that in my presence again.” Bill said menacingly while Beth fluttered her eyelashes at him then in a softer voice. “Come on Garnet, let us go and win you this thing.”

Troy heard their footsteps as they all walked away and when he was sure that they were gone he stood up without showing any signs that he was in pain and went into the kitchen and made a phone call.

“I am sending you a document and some instructions and I want you to deal with it immediately.” He said into the phone before ending the call and sending the picture of the paper in Garnet’s bag that he had snapped.