“You came here believing you were dangerous,” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “You’re not dangerous.”
“I can ruin you,” she warns, but it’s all fake.
“No,” I correct. “But you can be an annoying inconvenience.”
She stands too, anger flashing behind those god awful fake eyelashes that look like spiders trying to escape.
“You think you’re untouchable?” she says, and I want to laugh at the irony as I am exactly that. Untouchable.
“I’m the ending for people like you who don’t know your place.”
“You’re sick,” she says, laughing harshly.
“Yes, and here you are trying to push my patience.”
“You know what’s funny?” she asks, and I say nothing.
“Leo was my way out, you know, small town. Nothing there. I used him to escape that hellhole,” she says, her words are cold with pride.
“He was useful. Quiet and obedient, which I’m sure you’ve worked out.”
The veil I so carefully hold in place in my daily life starts to flicker, her presence is testing mylimits. I want to wrap my hands around her neck until she stops breathing.
“He dreamed small,” she continues. “Art. Metal scraps. Garbage ambitions, so dull, so pathetic.” She shakes her head in disappointment.
“You know what we have in common?” she asks.
“Nothing, but I know you believe we are alike.”
“Yes,” she says eagerly. “We’re both predators.”
I step closer and she takes a small step back.
“You’ve no idea what it entails to be me.”
She smirks. “At least I admit what I want. I want money,” she says as she studies me. Then her expression shifts, looking for a new angle.
“You really chose him?” she asks. “Over me?” her voice now takes on a timid tone. This is beyond embarrassing now, but I let her speak.
“I would have been a better investment,” she says as she steps closer. “I could have given you more.”
She reaches for my sleeve, and with an automatic reflex, my hand reaches for her throat and tightens. The fear in her gasp is beyond satisfying.
“Do not touch me again,” I warn as I squeeze tightly and push her over to the wall behind her. My office is all glass but nobody is outside at their desks. Lunchtime. Her bravado fractures as she grapples with her tiny hands to free herself.
“You think you’re special?” I hiss, pushing my face into hers. “Take this as your last warning. You come near him again, and I will make sure I’m the last face you will ever see. Don’t underestimate what I can do to you,Sarah. And what I can get away with. Remember, you know nothing about me,” I say before pushing her back into the wall and releasing her. She holds onto her neck, looking at me like she has just met me, seeing me for who I really am.
“You’re a freak. Wait until Leo finds out about this,” she whines.
“He already knows, but feel free to go and cry to him. I promise you, he won’t give a shit.”
“People like him don’t belong in your world.”
“They belong wherever I decide. You’re the outsider here, Sarah. I suggest you take the money Leo gave you and leave.”
“You think this is over?” she barks.
“You came here to sell silence and expected me to pay, using blackmail as your weapon. That was a mistake,” I say as her eyes narrow.
