He was also called “The Ogre” by the majority of the city’s populace… At least, that was the name given to him by those who were aware of the private army he led and operated. Of course, he was also aware that this dreaded nickname of his was due to the constant mispronunciation of his highly feared organization’s name and not because he chose it. Well, he didn’t mind… As long as they remained a threat to their enemies and their dreadful reputation remained strong in their territories, then he would keep such a tag. After all, it was the people who had given him that frightening label, and if it worked to him and his men’s advantage, then so be it. Besides, he would rather have his real name remain a secret. And speaking of secrets, though it was an “open secret” that his mafia-like band of around 100 or so men was actually owned by the governor himself, there was still no solid evidence or proof that these allegations were true. Due to this, he was considered the leader of this g
“Diwa, this mushroom soup is great!” one of the guys around her, spoon in his mouth, told her, complimenting her food that definitely deserved it. “The pastries are perfect, Di, I love them,” another one said, his face full of crumbles. From one of her sides, Eron looked at her dreamily, feeling even more proud than if he had made an achievement himself. And he wasn’t fully conscious of what he was feeling, or noticing how he was lost looking at her. “I can’t believe how good this pasta smells, Miss Di,” one of the younger workers said. “I can barely stop myself from eating it now instead of at lunch! So tempting!” Meanwhile, Jack thought and wondered what had happened today with the craziest of the guys that worked for him. “Where the hell did this man go, seriously? In the two years that he has been supervisor here, he has been late twice, and both times he at least texted me.” “Hey, Jack, why so serious? What happened?” Eron asked, seeing the worry on his boss’s face. The for
The morning was warm and bright and it was the perfect time for her and her children to harvest the ripe fruits and fresh vegetables from their backyard. The smiling redhead was now carrying a large woven basket with her, as her grinning seven-year-old son and giggling five-year-old daughter followed her with smaller baskets of their own. "Mommy, mommy, look at this!” loudly announced the sweet little lass with blond, curly hair that was tied and braided with a cute violet ribbon. "My strawberry plants have ripe fruits now.” The mommy gave a pretend gasp of delight that was totally believable to her children. “Oh, my goodness, baby. You’re right! They are finally ripe! Good girl!” "But they look so small, mommy,” stated the big brother, who earned a pout from his little sister. “Oh, they may be tiny, my darling boy, but they are twice sweeter than the ones we buy at the grocery store. Come on, both of you try it.” "NO! He said bad things about my strawberries. He has no right to
“Hey Diwa, where’s my reserved cake?” "Oh finally! I thought you’d never stop talking to your staff. I really need to go back home, Jack and you’re the only one that I’m waiting for." "Heh, nothing left but my banana walnut cake, I see. Good thing I reserved that or else that would probably have been bought before any of your other desserts, haha!" the foreman chuckled while taking the large piece of cake from the female vendor. "Oh Jack, you know you’ve got dibs on this cake since it’s your absolute favorite." "Well, I was thinking you’d probably give HIM the cake if he asked for it, haha!" "Him?" Di said with wide eyes, as she paused from fixing her things, readying them so she could finally leave. "I don’t know what you mean, Jack…" The lumberyard foreman smirked, as he swallowed the pastry piece he was chewing. “Uhhh, I may not be the smartest man here in the lumberyard, Diwana, but I don’t think I can miss the special… ummm, connection… that you seem to be sharing with HIM.”
“Thank you for accompanying me, Miss Diwana, you really didn’t have to,” Eron said, putting a few pieces of fresh steak that he bought on his way back from the lumber camp into an already hot pot over his small bonfire. With a smile, he then added a few herbs, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Eron couldn't help but grin at the chance to actually cook a meal for the woman beside him. It was truly an advantage to live in a place where people cultivated and bred their own food and then sold it themselves. They were mostly driving in with a truck loaded with vegetables and/or newly butchered meats, and even cheese with other kinds of produce to places like the lumber camp, a few far-off places where workers were, in the same style that Diwana sold her food. Just so happened that a small truck passed by the lumberyard as they were about to leave. And how they ended up leaving his workplace together was still something that Eron was quite happy about. He couldn't help but remember i
Back then, Jack was offering a party for the guys at the lumberjack camp, and had asked Diwana to prepare the side dishes and dessert for the party. He also invited her to stay after delivering the food.“You need some time off, Diwana. You know it. Just try and spend some time out of your house, get distracted, have some fun and good company. You might not forget what happened, but you might feel a little better even for just a little while,” the foreman explained.She had been a widow for just a few months and she was still grieving for her lost child, more than anything else. What Jack was telling her actually made sense… “I’ll… try. I can’t promise to stay the whole night, but I can stay for a bit.”“Great! The guys will love to have you there. Some attention and laughs will be good for you,” Jack had said even while she looked at him with surprise and a bit of puzzlement at her friend's last phrase.“We’ll see about that… But I do agree with you that I definitely need a change o
“So, I felt uncomfortable back then, and it became something more usual, you know? Him being sort of nice, and then being really weird, even sometimes I got the feeling that he was possessive,” she said, her eyes looking far away even while, from time to time, she continued eating another spoonful of soup.“That’s quite a story,” Eron said, but more focused on that last part. “Possessive? With you? What do you mean?”“Well, yeah, kind of territorial. I dismiss it as if it's a joke, when it comes from him, getting closer and telling weird things as if I was an object that belongs to him, and even more when it comes from others around me. And I hear people say things like ‘oh, don’t get too close to her, you know Mad Max will get madder,’ or something like that but I find it very uncomfortable, to be honest.”She finished the last of the soup in her bowl and was now completely full, while enjoying the company... Diwa was even happier because it was still early and she was out in the for
“Thank you for stepping in, Max. There are a few topics that we need to talk about,” Jack said, opening the door, letting the team leader in and closing it after him so they could finally walk to his desk. Jack sat on his office chair while the mad one took one of the seats in front of his superior's desk. “Of course, boss, what would you like to discuss with me?” Max replied distractedly, with that air of 'Just remember, I’m the best you got!’ that Jack was getting so tired of. “First of all, we need to talk about you being late today. Can you tell me what happened to you, and why I was not given any prior notice so I can find someone available that can take your place? I had to find a replacement on the fly. Luckily no one got hurt, but an accident was barely avoided because of you not being here.” “Oh, my cellphone had a small accident, boss, and I couldn’t make the call early in the morning,” the logger lied. Just at that moment, however, his phone sounded off loudly, as he u