Beauty and The Beasley

Chapter 9

An annoying sound shook the table right next to Bree. She swung her arm and pulled her vibrating phone to her ear.

"Who is it?" Her voice came out muffled as her face was buried in the pillows.

"Miss Brianna, I would like to have a word with you today." A man with a strong Southern accent said over the phone.

Bree's eyes widened, every ounce of sleep disappearing from them. She lifted her head and frowned.

"Herb?"

"Meet me down at the pet shop in twenty minutes. We have to talk."  He definitely did not sound happy.

Bree knew her monster story must have reached him at last. It would not surprise her if the whole town already knew about it as well, but she would be too embarrassed to do anything if that happened.

"Alright, I'll be there in twenty minutes." She replied and hung up then hurried into the bathroom to take a quick bath. She changed into a blue top, black jeans and black flats then stood in front of the mirror - something she rarely ever did - and brushed out her mane.

It was more mane than hair as she had failed to visit the salon in weeks. After eons of brushing, yanking and spitting out hair, she pulled it back in a pleat.

It was just day one of her week long break and Herb was already calling her. She had always thought he was a strange man, with short black hair, jagged teeth that always held a toothpick between them and near golden eyes. Herb was scary and actually looked like he was going to gut anyone who dared provoke him. He scared Bree sometimes but she knew guys who put up those intimidating looks and how to deal with them. She had survived Ed.

Herb was awfully blunt and had a funny way of being rude. He would say the rudest things in the nicest way anyone could think of and with his bloodshot golden eyes, it was impossible to be comfortable around him.

She cursed under her breath as a strap of her sandal came off. She turned the doorknob whilst struggling to buckle the strap and came face to face with a bunch of roses.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my princess." Norman greeted.

"Whoa!" Was all Bree managed to say.

She did a quick mental calculation of today's date. She had been working so hard that she did not seem to have noticed how January whipped by so fast.

"Norman, what is all this?" She asked with a little stutter.

As usual, Norman went all out. He held a small bouquet of roses and was dressed in a complete suit - tie, jacket and all. His hair had been styled and made him appear more handsome than he usually was. Behind him were two gentlemen also dressed in black suits. They stood next to a huge vase filled with more flowers and an invitation card sticking out front.

Bree reluctantly accepted the flowers from Norman for fear that his hand would drop after holding it up too long. He grinned satisfactorily when she stepped out.

"Well, It's Valentine's Day of course and everyone knows I can only go through all this trouble for my true love." He said and took her hand. "Just to be clear, you are my true love. I will be honored beyond measure if you could join me for a romantic lunch later."

Bree was too stunned to move. The flowers were amazing - a mix of red roses and some other orange flower she could not name. She titled her head and realized there was another gentleman right behind the huge vase. He was dressed in waiter garb and stood next to cart filled with food in steamer baskets and small plates. The waiter wore a wide grin as if secretly trying to convince Bree that everything on the cart tasted magnificent.