AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It doesn’t matter though. I can’t have her.”
Jesse wanted to know why that was. He was genuinely shocked at the idea that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. Didn’t he know that there was more to it than that? We couldn’t all have our way like he did.
“She is going to be married soon. She came into work the other day with a damn engagement ring on her finger.”
Jesse shrugged and told me that I shouldn’t let it bother me.
“It does. I don’t want her getting married to some other guy.”
“Right, you want her riding your lap, not some other guy.”
I agreed, but then disagreed. It was more complicated than that, surely.
6
Augustine
Derrick was acting even grumpier than usual. He was always in a bad mood it felt like, and I knew that a lot of it had to do with what was on my finger. He had noticed it right off the bat and he’d wanted answers. I didn’t think it was his place, and I was honestly astonished at how interested he was in it all. It felt like Derrick barely noticed me, until I got that diamond on my finger. Well, it was probably some kind of cheap knock off, but still. It was there and now Derrick saw me.
I used it to my advantage in one way. I’d always held a flame for Derrick and now that he saw me, I made sure that there was something good to see. I wore my clothes a little tighter, picked shirts that were professional but showed off the best assets. It made me feel good to see him falter in his steps when I came in day after day. Derrick could grump and growl all he wanted, because when he looked at me the way he did, I still felt like I won.
One particular morning, about a week after he noticed my ring, Derrick couldn’t keep his eyes off of me. It was funny to me how before that he didn’t see me at all, but now he couldn’t look away.
“Augustine!” His voice came through the loudspeaker on my desk. I had just left his office, took down some of his meeting points, something I didn’t usually do, and now he wanted me back? I didn’t say I was coming. He knew.
When I got in there, Derrick’s eyes were on my body at once and he smiled at me. I crossed my arms. He saw the ring and he frowned. Why, if he felt so strongly about it, had he never said anything? I had noticed a look once or twice, but he was usually an ass toward me. He had moments of sweetness that couldn’t be manufactured, however most of the time, he was barely tolerable.
“I need you.”
I at once thought it was about time. I didn’t know what it meant or what context it came from, but I told him, without thinking, that I was his.
“What?”
I paused, smiled, and rephrased to ask him what it was that he wanted. I knew where my mind went, but even though his eyes were hungry, the rest of him was serious. I was talking to my boss; I needed to pull it together. Why was I so worked up?
“This weekend, I need you to come with me to a conference. I don’t usually ask, but I am going to be the speaker, and it would be good to record it for the commercial coming out later this year.”
I agreed, though he’d never asked me before. “I can work a camera.”
“I know, Augustine. I saw some of your work from college. You are very talented.”
I blushed. I didn’t mean to, but all of his attention was on me, and it was a bit more than I was ready for. Derrick had a smile of knowing on his face, like he knew exactly how I felt, what I needed. Then, the moment was gone, and he asked me if my fiancée was going to be okay with my leaving. I hadn’t even thought of Dalian. I should have thought of him first. I had a feeling that I was going to be a bad wife. Maybe I didn’t want to be his wife at all.
“Thank you, that means a lot coming from you.”
He frowned, like he realized that he was being nice, and heaven forbid that he show feeling. I didn’t know why but I hated when his smile vanished, and the jerk boss was back.
“Just make sure that you are ready after work tomorrow.”
I agreed that I would be and got out of there before it went downhill again. I didn’t know what was going on, but I got home and started to pack later that evening. My mom came by, one of her drop-ins, and I could see her eyes on the mail that was on the table.
“If you want to snoop, open them for me and file them, okay?”
Mom huffed like she didn’t know what I was talking about, but she was over there in a second. She liked to snoop, her glasses sliding down on her nose as she scanned some bills and other flyers. Mom had on her usual clothing style of jeans and a t-shirt. That was pretty much all she wore, and her shirt was purple, her favorite color.
“Gas is up.”
“Hot water, showers have been feeling good lately.”
