Stacking loosepapers with the grace of a charging hippopotamus, I glared at her.“You are so lucky you didn’t call mesomething gross. Like doll face or hot stuff. I might have reflexively punchedyou in the junk on accident.”
She pursed her lipslike a fish. “You could have tried.” Then more seriously, with her nosewrinkled she asked, “What does the little Tucker want now?”
I rolled my eyes.“For me to work late tonight. Because even though Black Soul has rejected allof my interesting ideas to ensure they become the most boring record label onthe planet, Henry wants to go over my graphics. Again. He wants me to plan on alate night.”
“Weren’t you inthere yesterday doing the same thing?”
I nodded. “Andevery day this week. He has a serious control freak problem. Also, a massivetouching problem.”
Her eyebrows shotup to her hair line. “Is he still being inappropriate?”
My head droppedback and I stared at the ceiling. “He’s awful. I hate him.”
“Molly, what areyou going to do?”
Her voice was aconcerned whisper. She wanted me to go to HR again. But I’d already been twiceand both times Doris had shrugged me off. I didn’t think a third time wouldmatter. I didn’t think three thousand times would matter.
Doris wasprotecting her job and by proxy Henry. As long as he didn’t cross the line tofull on sexual assault, she was going to let all the small things slide.
Only they didn’tfeel like small things to me. They didn’t feel petty or forgetful orinsignificant. They felt horrible.
I hated being theobject of Henry’s unwanted attention. I loathed the way he would casually bumpinto me, pressing his body against mine for way longer than was appropriate. Ihated that his eyes were always on my boobs, talking to them, staring at them,following them around wherever they went. I wanted to scream every time he madean inappropriate joke or called me a gross pet name.
He was out of line,and he behaved as though he was exempt from real world consequences. MaybeDoris wasn’t going to do anything about it, but I wasn’t going to take iteither.
Fine, it had takenme this long to find the courage to truly stand up to him, but I had finallyarrived. Watch out world.
I blamed Ezra. Eversince our conversation and intimate night at Bianca a little over a week ago, Ihadn’t been able to shake the feeling that I was finally comfortable in myadult life, in my own skin. There was something suddenly so right about myapartment, my car, and my boyfriend, that I could almost overlook just how notright my job was.
Okay, the job was abig part of being a grown-up. But it was also something I’d let go of too. Itdidn’t need to be the absolute defining feature in my life. I’d released someof my mother’s voice and the expectations she’d placed on me to always besuccessful—at the cost of every other happiness.
She meant well, butthat didn’t make her right. Ezra had helped me see that. Maybe I couldn’ttotally believe it just yet. There was still lingering doubt, and years andyears of performing and pleasing and pacifying. It would take a lot of work toget me in a healthier head space about who I was supposed to be and what I wassupposed to be doing with my life. I’d decided to borrow Ezra’s confidence andfreedom until they felt like mine.
He said he’dlearned that from his dad and their relationship. His dad had been very successfulin business, but lonely in life. He hadn’t even known Ezra’s mom had gottenpregnant. She was a fling that Ezra’s dad, Immanuel, had met through mutualfriends. It wasn’t until those friends revealed her secret years later, thatImmanuel had started the tedious, frustrating process of finding Ezra. And whenhe found him it had been too late to rescue him from some of the hardestchallenges any child should face.
His dad had broughtEzra to his house and given him a job, sent him to college and introduced himto his soon-to-be-beloved, little sister. And then he’d died, leaving Ezraalmost everything. For as heartless as his dad seemed, he had a true knack forbusiness.
Which Ezraobviously inherited.
We’d spent the lastweek sharing more and more about our lives, getting to know each other,learning the ins and outs of each other’s past, present and imagined future.And we’d been spending a fair amount of time kissing.
There had been alot of kissing. And to be honest, a whole lot more than just kissing. The mandrove me crazy. He was stubborn and impossible and so irresistible I wanted toscream.
Or maybe, I didscream. But like in a hotter, more consensual context.
“Hey, if you seeEthan can you send him to the office?” I asked Emily as I got ready to head toHenry’s lair.
She frowned,glancing around. “I think he’s out today. One of his kids is sick orsomething.”
“Argh,” I growled.“Kids are so annoying.” At her giggle, I added. “Just kidding. Only Ethan’skids are annoying.” That garnered me a few dirty looks from surroundingcoworkers. But I didn’t see any of them spending a whole lot of time with Henryalone in his office, so they could just save their judgment for someone else.“Are you heading out soon?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I am.I have a hair appointment tonight.”
“That’s exciting,”I told her, jealous that she got to go do something fun and relaxing while Ihad to sit with Henry Tucker all evening and dissect all the work I’d done thathe wanted to take credit for. “Are you going lavender again?”
She pulled her hairover her shoulder, examining the faded ends of it. “Maybe. I haven’t decidedyet.”
“I think you shouldgo full mermaid. You would look amazing. And I would have epic hair envy.”
