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‘What’s wrong? You jealous?’
Twin lines pinch above his brow as an inscrutable expression overwhelms his features. ‘Of whom?’
Does that imply—?
‘The idiot who doesn’t know the basic anatomy of a woman, or the idiot who won’t correct him?’
That’s… fair.
I quickly recover. ‘Since you’re such a pro, perhaps you can give him some pointers.’
‘Are you offering your assistance in a demonstration?’
‘I—’ My mouth goes dry at the implications of what he just said. His self-assured smirk and the knowledge that he is devastating in that suit, has muted any sort of witty comeback I might have bumbled over.
‘No!’ I belatedly yell in outrage.
Nice one, Miller.
‘Henry’s back!’ Henry announces.
‘Oh, good. I was beginning to fret we’d lost you.’
I shoot Walker a filthy look paired with a harried hand gesture to leave, before quickly schooling my features back to normalcy. I needn’t have hurried, Henry’s too busy checking himself out in the mirrored ceilings to notice any demonic activity.
‘Where were we? Ah, that’s right – so yeah, I just think women are picky with equality, you know? Like, how many women do you know that are labourers? You gotta have it across the board to be fair – they only want equality when it suits them,’ he finishes.
I look at Walker and back at Henry.
‘I’m sorry?’ I can’t get my head straight.
Does he not see him?
Is he not seeing this incredibly attractive ghost-man beside me?
Henry gives me a patient look. I’ve caught the same sort of reluctant patience gracing my own features a time or two. Being stuck behind a learner driver, waiting for my order to be called at Maccas.
‘It’s okay, let me slow it down…’
‘Because that’s what we need – stupidity in slow motion.’
I glare at Walker from the corner of my eye.
‘Why can’t he see you?’ I whisper while Henry goes on to use this exact situation to drive home the merits of patriarchy and why women are engendered purely for support.
Walker leans forward and pulls a stray lock of my hair between his fingers. ‘Perhaps because we’re both dead inside,’ he supplies.
I shrug away from him, and he drops the strand of hair he’d been toying with to make a tiny little smoke tornado spin in the palm of his hand.
‘It’s in your nature,’ Henry continues. ‘Being CEO? Not so much. You see—’
‘Are you really going to allow this neanderthal to enter you?’
I do have to wonder if I let this guy inside me, is that me using him or him using me? I’ve always known I’m a shitty feminist, but this might be taking things to new lows. I consider it for a few more seconds before calling it. Who am I kidding, this guy couldn’t find the doorbell, like hell he’s going to find my—
Henry collapses next to me on the couch at the same moment Walker disappears. He runs his fingers through his purposefully dishevelled hair and I just… can’t.
‘Look, Henry, I—’
