How many times in the past had he turned into a different person than the charming man she’d believed she’d married? Too many to count.
She’d hoped that if she kept him at arm’s length and stuck to the professional environment that he would maintain his façade. Even now, she could see him struggling for control, since they were standing behind large glass walls that looked out towards the main reception area. Joyce was just a few feet away, sitting behind her desk, talking on the phone and glancing up towards them.
Brent swallowed and got himself back under control. “I had hoped,” he started in a quiet tone, so low that she strained to hear his next words, “that you would want to keep your position here.”
“I do,” she answered a little too quickly, which had his smirk returning.
“Then you’ll think about my… offer.”
“No,” she answered and raised her chin slightly. “Whatever relationship we had in the past, physical or otherwise, stopped that last night when I left.” She held her breath, daring him to question which night. Instead, he jerked the chair and pushed it quickly back into its place. The table bounced and jerked when the chair slammed into it.
“I told you… How many times do I have to apologize for… things?” he spat out.
“Since I continue to see you exhibit the same attitude… no number of apologies will do it. We’re just not right for each other. In any capacity.” She touched his arm and felt him relax slightly. “Now, I have several jobs to…” She turned to go.
“Eve, I meant what I said,” he said, surprising her. “You have until the end of today to give me an answer.”
She jerked around. “You’re seriously going to fire me if I don’t… what? Sleep with you?”
Instead of answering, he smirked. “We’ll see how much you want this job. You know my stance on all this. You should have never divorced me.”
“Why did you sign the papers then?” She waved her hands towards him and watched his eyes narrow again.
“You know why,” he ground out.
“Because your mother and father told you to,” she spat out, not caring at this point who heard her. After all, he was the one who had approached her with the vulgar offer.
“You didn’t give me any choice in the matter,” he replied.
“I didn’t…” She laughed. “Oh, those are choice words coming from you.” She jerked around and yanked open the door.
“What’s your answer?” he called after her.
Instead of answering, she raised her middle finger and flew him the bird before slamming the door behind her.
Seething, she sat at her desk trying to get her emotions under control. She hadn’t been lying. She had a project that was due in less than an hour and no matter what happened to her career at the firm, she had a reputation to uphold. Shaking the dark thoughts clear, she focused and got back to work.
As usual, she worked an hour later than most of the other employees so that by the time she descended the dozen flights of stairs, she was the last one in the office. She had tucked her new heels into her tote bag and threw it over her shoulder as she stepped outside into the cool night air. Her worn tennis shoes slapped the wet pavement as she made her way home. She pulled her light jacket closer to her, trying to keep her hair and face dry from the late summer rainstorm. Still, the wind whipped it about, so she ducked into a dark doorway and decided that, instead of ordering takeout for dinner, she would find someplace warm to camp out until the rain let up.
Spotting her favorite pizza place at the end of the block, she dashed through the rain, almost getting hit by a taxi as she crossed the street. Yelling at the man, who had obviously not seen her dart in front of him, she stepped into the pizzeria and groaned at the lengthy line and the lack of places to sit in the crowded place.
Could the day get any worse? she thought as she stood in line.
Someone tapped on her shoulder and when she turned around, she held in a groan. Mariam Stein, Brent’s younger sister, stood behind her, dressed in her normal high-class ‘I just worked out’ look. The teenager’s yoga outfit probably cost more than Eve’s monthly rent.
“I thought that was you,” Mariam said with a smirk. “Boy, you look like a drowned rat.” She giggled.
“Thanks,” Eve said between clenched teeth. The girl not only faked naivety, she was vicious at it. “How was your workout?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.
Mariam looked at her as if she was crazy, causing Eve to motion to the girl’s attire.
“Oh.” Mariam chuckled. “Raul is a slave.” She waved her hand and tilted her head. “How’s the job hunting going? I heard that Brent had to let you go.” Her voice dipped into what could only be described as forged concern.
Eve’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t given Brent an answer, nor had she believed she had needed to. After all, he’d made empty threats in the past and she was sure this one would blow over if she ignored his tantrum.
“Oh.” Mariam sighed. “I’m sorry. I just assumed he had told you.” She glanced down at her phone. “Oh well.” She glanced up. “Oops, it looks like I don’t have time to wait for a slice after all.” She turned and bumped into the person behind her. “Watch it,” she told the woman, then turned back to Eve. “It was nice catching up with you, Eve,” she said as she dashed towards the door. Mariam used Eve’s name as a stab by the simple tone in which she said it, drawing it out as if it was incomplete somehow.
“Bitch,” the woman who had stood behind Mariam said under her breath when the door shut.
“Tell me about it,” Eve agreed, and turned back towards the line.
By the time she finished wolfing down two slices of pizza and a Coke, the rain had let up. Walking back to her tiny apartment, she worried that she would have to start looking for a new job. Had Brent been serious? Was he really going to fire her if she didn’t sleep with him?
Eve let herself into her one-room loft, tossed her tote bag down at the door, and pulled off her soaked tennis shoes and jacket.
Glancing around, she wondered once again why she killed herself on a daily basis to live in a hole.
There must be plenty of high-paying jobs out there for someone with her talents. Right?
Hell, half of the people that worked above her didn’t even have a high school diploma, let alone a bachelor’s degree. Of course, most of those were interns and didn’t get paid, but that didn’t stop her from thinking about pulling out her resume and updating it.
Deciding she needed to warm up first, she climbed into a hot shower and stayed there until the water ran cold. Pulling on her favorite fuzzy pajamas, she sat on her sofa bed and clicked away on her laptop, updating her resume as best as she could, hating the task.
A brief time later she was jolted awake when a knock sounded at her door.
She had fallen asleep sitting up, her neck at an odd angle, and now pain spread down her right arm.
She squinted at the clock through the dark and saw that it was a quarter past midnight. Believing she’d dreamed the sound, she set her laptop down and curled up on the sofa bed. Just as she closed her eyes, the knock sounded again.
Groaning, she pulled herself from her warm bed and padded over to the door. Glancing out of the security peek hole, she groaned upon seeing Brent standing outside.