“Hey, don’t listen to them. They’re just words. What they think of you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the type of people they are.”
Glancing at Via, I find her worried gaze on me. Her hand wraps around my fist as she stops me from picking the skin around my nails, a nervous habit I picked up years ago to stop me from having mental breakdowns.
“This sucks,” I say, kicking roses away from my office chair and reaching under my desk for a black garbage bag. I was supposed to come in quietly, keep my head down, and get my work done. Prove to everyone here that everything they heard from Greg’s office whores isn’t true. Now I don’t even know where I stand.
Tracy is probably going to fire me by the end of the week.
“What are you doing?” Via asks, standing behind her desk and holding a giant wicker basket. Where did she even get that? I haven’t seen that basket before.
“I’m going to start cleaning up. What areyoudoing?” I say, staring at the basket.
“Oh, fuck no, you’re not throwing all these flowers out. No girl gets treated like this! Dominik should teach classes to shitty men on dating apps.”
Little does she know this is all fake. An act Dom is putting on to prove how amazing he is and that he’s not a lying piece of shit.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Pulling it out, I notice he’s already messaged me six times.
The last message makes me see red.
I can’t ignore it, not with the stench of roses all around me.
Dom
One way or another, you’re going to come around, Zoe. You belong to me. I hope you enjoy the roses.
Me
Fuck. You. When are you doing to get the message that I hate your guts?
Dom
I’m not going anywhere.
Me
You should. Go play in traffic and lose my number while you’re at it.
Dom
Don’t even think about blocking me again. You tried that several times, and I just end up getting a new phone. Unlimited funds means unlimited resources to annoy you.
Me
You’re an asshole.
Dom
But I’m your asshole.
Exhausted,I give up and notice Via’s stupid smile as she bends down, picking up roses and placing them gently into her basket like she’s lazily walking through a flower garden. Is everyone completely oblivious to this? Am I the only one who wants to strangle Dominik for all this shit?
Enough is enough. I’m putting an end to this tonight.
Me
I have to clean up this mess now. My boss is pissed with me, and I’m probably going to get fired. So thank you for that. Thank you for continually ruining my life. What do you want from me, Dom?
Bubbles appear and disappear. My heart picks up speed, and I can’t tell if it’s from anger or anticipation to see his next words. He’s been hounding me every day. Telling me everything that he’s been feeling from day one, that first day we met at the admin office in high school. So many details I never even thought twice about that he has apparently been replaying in his head for years. But I don’t believe any of it. Because if you truly love someone, you set them free. That’s what they say, don’t they? Although I never really believed in that shit. I may not have ever experienced love before, but I imagine if someone consumes your entire mind and body, then there is no way in hell you’d hurt or lie to them. You wouldn’t give up on them.
