Corey takes my response as an invitation to tell me more about his weekend—but for the life of me, I can’t bring myself to pay attention. He’s a nice enough guy, but for some reason, he rubs me the wrong way.
Part of the problem is that he just refuses to take no for an answer. Ever since I began working at LoveBytten, he’s made it clear that he’s interested in me, and no matter how many times Iturn him down, he keeps trying. It might be endearing to some, but for me, it’s incredibly irritating.
Not to mention the lead designer, Tricia, has the hots for Corey. And because he’s made his interest inmeso clear, Tricia has it out for me.
Sure enough, when I glance to the left, I notice Tricia’s icy-blue eyes staring daggers at where Corey and I are standing.Great…
“Listen, Corey, I really need to get to work…” I give him a half-assed attempt at a sympathetic smile. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“No problem, killer.” He holds his hands up with a boyish smile as he backs up. “I know not to get between Grace and her work. Rawr.”
Ick.Shaking off my repulsed shivers, I turn and hurry to my cubicle, sighing as I finally sit down in my chair. Of course, my relief only lasts a moment before Tricia pokes her head over the top of the cubicle.
I stifle a sigh, leaning back in my chair to give her my attention. “Good morning, Tricia. Hope you had a good weekend?—”
“You don’t care about my weekend,” she snaps. “I don’t know why you even ask.”
Okay… so it’s going to be one ofthoseinteractions.This time, I don’t hold back my sigh. “How can I help you, Tricia?”
Her lip pulls back in an ugly sneer disguised as a smile. “I just came over to chat. See what you and Corey were talking about.”
“You know you can ask him, right?” I turn my gaze back to my laptop, hoping she’ll take the hint and leave. “He’s in a particularly chatty mood this morning.”
Her lips press together in a deep pout. “Yeah, foryou.” She taps a long lacquered nail on the wall, casting a glance toward Corey’s cubicle. “Did he say anything about me?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I wasn’t really listening.”
“See, that’s your problem, Grace. You have a good thing in front of you, and you sneer at it. I’d giveanythingfor Corey to look at me the way he looks at you.” She leans in, lowering her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “What is it youdid?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
She scoffs, gesturing to my face and body like that’s supposed to mean something. “I mean, you must have done or saidsomethingto make him like you.”
Anger heats my skin. I’m not sure I like where this conversation is going. “I need to get back to work.”
She waves me off. “Oh, please. Don’t act coy. You knowexactlywhat I’m talking about.”
“No,” I say through gritted teeth. “I don’t.”
She just snorts. “Corey likes more of a… model’s build, if you get what I mean.”
I pull my shoulders back, fixing her with my best glare. “I donotget what you mean. Now please, leave me alone.”
“Whatever. Be that way.” She rolls her crystalline eyes. “He’ll get bored of you eventually.”
With that, she turns on her heel and stomps back to her desk. I blow out a breath, attempting to get my emotions in order. Thenerveof that woman. I don’t even like Corey, but the insinuation that I’m not good enough because of how I look? It has me seeing red.
“Fucking Corey and Tricia. Pair of royal assholes.” I mumble, turning my attention to my computer screen. I try my best to focus on work, but I can’t keep my mind off what Tricia said to me. My appearance has always been a soft spot for me—whether it was because of survival or insecurity—and even though I love my body now, comments like Tricia’s can still affect me on a bad day.
Based on the things I’ve been going through these past few days, it’s understandable that I’m extra sensitive. But my head is a mess, and getting work done today is going to be a struggle.
Nine hours pass painfully slow, and by the time I’m ready to go home, I’m fighting against a raging headache. The last thing I want is to spend the next hour on a bus, and the sun is still high in the sky, so I opt to walk home.
I step through the door, and a pair of arms fling around my neck. My pulse skyrockets, and for one horrible moment, I think it's Red 7 attacking. But then I blink, and Saffron's smiling face comes into view.
“Jesus, Saffron.” I hug her back tightly as relief floods my system. “You scared me. I thought you were… not you.”
“Oh shit. I didn’t even consider that.” She pulls back, her pretty face twisted in concern. “I wanted to surprise you after work, and I wasn’t thinking… are you okay?”
