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“Sorry. I’m sure it’s fine as is.”
Settling back into my seat, I forced down my dry salad, listening to Alan talk about his work and the hope that his promotion would come through by the time the gala rolled around.
“Oh! That’s great! We can celebrate at the gala. Luka already told me about it and–”
Alan pressed his lips together in a thin line, shaking his head slowly. “Look, I wanted to talk to you about that. I’m not… I can’t take you with me to the gala.”
My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
He sighed heavily. “Look, Julie, what we have is great, but once I get this promotion, I need to be taken seriously. That means I need to present myself with someone more on my level.”
My heart rate picked up, and I shook my head, confused. “I don't understand.”
He gave me an exasperated look. “We both knew this wouldn’t last. We don’t match, you and me. You’re a secretary for one thing, but also just personality wise, we aren’t a great fit. Not to mention physically.”
My face burned with embarrassment, and a lump formed in my throat. He kept going, oblivious to how much he was hurting me.
“I mean, come on. Even you have to agree that you’re boring.”
I flinched. It never crossed my mind, and he never mentioned it before now. I felt the stares of the people around us. He wasn’t being quiet, and he’d situated us in the middle of the room. One by one, tables fell silent, listening to the humiliating end to my six year long relationship.
“You used to be ambitious. When we met in college, you had bigger goals than to be someone’s secretary. Now it’s all you can talk about. It’s boring. You’re boring. Even in bed, I have to spend half the time imagining someone else just to get off.”
His words ripped at me and I shrank in my seat, tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Honestly, Jules. I thought I’d made myself clear, but then you had to go ahead and get a job here like a stalker and act like everything was perfect.”
Horrified, I whipped my head up. “I didn’t–”
He kept going, ignoring me. “I thought you got the picture the first time you tried to apply. I thought tossing the application in the trash was clear enough. But then you went behind my back to get a job here. To what? Guilt trip me into staying with someone like you?”
His gaze traveled over my body, and the shame compounded. It was obvious he was referring to my weight. I tried the diets every time he suggested one to me. I just couldn’t seem to stick with them. Maybe if I tried a little harder, he wouldn’t be throwing away a six-year relationship.
“Please, Alan. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll do better. I just–”
The look on his face was worse than anger or disgust. He looked at me like he pitied me and I dropped my chin to hide the shame filled spiral I was sinking into.
“Look, I know you can’t do better than me and I’m sorry if you thought you’d finally get a real man, but I need to start presenting myself with people who fit my image better and won’t embarrass me. You get it, right?”
No. I didn’t get it.
“Why are you doing this here?”
Chapter Eleven
GRAYSON
“Why are you doing this here?”
The heartbreak in her voice was painful to listen to. Not only was her boyfriend breaking up with her, he was doing it in full view of the entire company and he wasn’t discreet about it. The unkind things he said to her would be shared throughout every department by the end of the day with the way word spread around here.
I wanted to step in, but it wasn’t my place to get involved in Julie’s personal life. She was a wonderful secretary, and I didn’t want to embarrass her any further with the knowledge that her boss was present to witness her break up. I stood, considering heading back upstairs to give her some privacy, when the douchebag spoke again.
“Honestly, babe, I figured you’d handle it better here. You’re so damn emotional all the time. It’s embarrassing. You’d think you’d act a little better at work. Just another reason why it’s a good thing I’m ending this now. I can’t take you anywhere without you embarrassing me.”
“Grayson,” Bennett growled. He was staring at his hands, his shoulders almost as high as Julie’s, as he fought to keep his temper under control. Bennett wasn’t a violent guy by nature, but with his friends, he would go to war for them and Julie had integrated herself into all our lives so flawlessly. He wanted to protect her from the pain her ex was inflicting just as much as I did.
“I don’t understand. You never said anything–”
