If I don’t call himsir, I might let these thoughts inside me spiral to silly places. I’ve replayed the moment he put the hard hat on me too many times already.
Izzy: Fair enough.
Izzy: Thank you for taking an interest, but please don’t feel like I need any special help.
Dominic Vale: Why would I feel like that?
Is he being purposefully obtuse?
My fingers move fast, as if to stop my brain from catching up.
Izzy: Because I’m a woman, Dominic.
Dominic Vale: I know it can be tough for a woman in this industry, but that isn’t why I texted. I like to check in with all my employees. I don’t want anyone to think they can’t come to me with their problems. Lots of employers have ‘open door policies’, but mostly, they’d rather keep it shut. Not me.
Why is he trying so hard to seem likable to me? It’s like he knows I’m going to betray him and wants to make it as painful as possible.
Izzy: That’s good to know, thank you. My first day was fine.
Dominic Vale: No trouble from the construction workers?
I chew the inside of my cheek. There were a few comments. One man commented that thelittle ladywas struggling with a wheelbarrow of bricks. But I will not make my life easier by going straight to the boss with that.
Izzy: No.
I lean forward and grab the control for the smart TV. Going to the browser, I search ‘Dominic Vale magazine cover’. It’s just like I remember. He stares at the viewer, stern, tough, and unflinching. The headline reads,Rising Star Dominic ValeTakes No Prisoners. His media persona is hard, even cold, but not the man himself.
I stare at the photo of him, taken last year, clean-shaven face, sharp jawline, eyes fixed as though designed to cut through you. My heart beats harder. For a delirious moment, I imagine him stepping out of the TV screen and into my apartment.
He leans down and brushes the hair from my face, a small smile on his lips even as his eyes remain dark and intense. I imagine his hands moving lower, hooking under my armpits, hauling me to my feet, and pulling me flush against him.
“You feel that? You’re the only woman who makes me this wild.”
His manhood pushes against my belly insistently. His hands sink into my sides, greedily, hungrily, as though my curviness is something he’s already addicted to.
I snap back to the real world when my cellphone vibrates.
Dominic Vale: Remember to reach out if you need anything, Izzy.
I retype the message twice before I send it because my hands are shaking.
Izzy: I will.
I close my eyes and breathe slowly. I think about what Grandma said, how I’ve only been unlucky with love because I never found the right person. Maybe she’s right. Because honestly? I’ve never cared enough. Or at all.
But now…
Calm. Down. This. Second.
Dominic Vale: I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening.
Izzy: I’m not doing much. Just watching some TV. I bet you’re having a much more exciting time.
Dominic Vale: Not really. I’m just in the gym. Texting you is an excuse to be lazy.
Izzy: You don’t look like you’re lazy in the gym.
“What the fuck,” I whisper after I’ve pressedsend.
