Chapter 5

• When she arrived at work the paparazzi wasn’t there. And she didn’t feel like she was being followed so she could rest a bit. She had gone home to see all the gossip blogs talking about her. She found it quite appealing that they were trying to find out who she was. Like she was some sort of enigma. She took it as practice. When she became a popular singer, everyone would be talking about her. The company was a professional one, so no one would just walk up to her and ask her to her face if it was true she was with the boss.
• They had cars to make and an environment to protect. She always arrived to work before her boss as it should be. She sat on her chair and got her things in order. Her boyfriend would be here soon. He didn’t call or text her.
• She went about doing her own thing when the doors opened. It wasn’t Nathan but the bra lady. She was wearing a type of bra designed with water colours. It looked like it just had paint splattered over it. It was her most unflattering one yet.
• She glanced at Darlene like she was insignificant. Then she proceeded to walk to Nathan’s office.
• “He’s not here yet”.
• The blonde looked to her and removed her big dark shades. She squinted her eyes and then recognition crossed her eyes. “It’s-It’s you!” she pointed. Her whole body shook with rage. Well she thought it was rage.
• “Me?” she played dumb.
• “I knew I had seen your stupid face somewhere!” she screeched.
• “My stupid face?” she quirked a brow. “The one who’s making stupid faces is you. You look like a constipated pig”.
• “How-how dare you?!” she screamed. “When did the two of you get together? How did it happen?” she interrogated her stepping closer. “I knew I should have kept an eye out on you!” she sneered. “What did you do? Go into his office wearing a shorter skirt? Showing your cleavage? Tell me you whore!” she demanded.
• “Rude” she gasped. She snapped her mouth shut when she realized that it had come open. The bullies only won they realized that their words affected their target. “I didn’t do any of that. It was all you” she curled her lips exposing her teeth.
• “You-you bitch” she began to advance towards her. Her eyes widened and she stood up backing to the office door of Nathan. She wasn’t going to really attack was she? God Nathan knew how to pick his girls.
• The elevator door opened and Nathan stepped in.
• “Stella?!” he gawked. He hadn’t been expecting her to show up. Well it was his fault for ignoring her the entire time. She would show up.
• “Nathan!” she exclaimed immediately playing the victim and walking towards him. “You weren’t answering when I called. I show up here and realize that the woman you were with is your secretary. I knew it had to be a lie” she placed her hand on his shoulders looking into his eyes waiting for him to answer.
• “Stella” he looked to Darlene that stood before his office door holding out a file in front of her as some sort of protection. “Can we talk in my office?”
• Darlene stepped out of the way. Stella walked past her deliberately hitting her with her shoulder. The secretary rolled her eyes and walked back to her desk.
• “Control your bitches next time…dear” she said dryly.
• Nathan walked inside the office and Stella dropped her back and approached. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Her red lipstick leaving a big lip mark. “You’re not really with your secretary are you?”
• He had spent time thinking about this. Stella would be a big problem if she hung around. Though it was fake, Stella was quite much. It had been quiet yes but Stella liked to talk. If he told her that all this was fake she would talk. It would no doubt spread. She had followed him out before. He was just thankful that it was just his friends that she said all those things to. It was quite embarrassing but his friends wouldn’t go about saying it to whoever listened. He liked his life private. And what he did with whoever in the bedroom was his business alone.
• She said that she was okay with both of them not being a couple. That they could see other people. But ever chance she got to talk about him being a ‘player’ she did so. Like that would make him change.
• And there was still the fact that he couldn’t introduce Stella to his mum after she had already met Darlene. There would be too much questions, a lot of emotions and his mum would guilt trip him.
• “Nathan?” she asked softly.
• “This can’t go on” he said robotic. He could have added more emotion when he said that. The two of them had been together for a while. He could have at least sounded sorry.
• “What do you mean?” Stella gripped his suit.
• “You know what it means Stella” he held her wrist and stepped away from her.
• “You…you mean to tell me that the news is real?!” she looked heartbroken. She looked angry. She looked funny with the heavy lipstick as he lips moved without any words coming out.
• “What changed?” he almost couldn’t hear her.
• He was silent.
• “Don’t tell me you were-that the news is true?” her voice was uncharacteristically low. Even when they had sex she wasn’t this silent. It was weird.
• “You’re actually in love with your secretary?!” she hissed. “How long have you been fucking around with her? After me you call her here?”
• “Keep your voice down Stella. And why are you so surprised? We were never an item” he reminded her quite inconsiderate. But he needed her out of the picture quickly. When all this blew over he would give her a call if she still wanted to continue.
• “I wasn’t with anyone else. Did you even know?!” she screamed making her face and neck all red with anger.
• “I wasn’t obligated to be with just you just because you did it. Did you forget our arrangement? Did you think that I would change just like that?”
• She smiled a little trying to keep her tears from falling. “So I was just some pussy to fuck?” now she was hysterical. “All this time you were just using me? This was nothing to you?!” a tear slid down and cheek. She picked up her shades and her bag. She was so close to crying. It was quite nice that she was not crying. He couldn’t handle it. He could handle anything else but crying.
• “We had an arrangement. You’re the one that complicated things” he said without remorse.
• “Fuck you Nathan” she said all watery before stomping out of his office. .
• Darlene was on her feet actually get ready to deliver some things to his office wasn’t quick to get out of the way. Stella pushed past her knocking the papers out of her hands and had them scattered all over the floor.
• Darlene looked at her. Disbelief written all over her face and then she looked to Nathan who wasn’t bothered at what happened right now. He just shut his office door.
• “I really didn’t make the right choice in picking a boyfriend did I?” she said to the empty space. She got onto her knees, not before raising a middle finger to the man behind the door and began organizing the papers again. What she had spent her time on all over the floor. Efforts just wasted.
• When she was done she went to the office. She raised her hand to knock then smiled to herself. There would be no more ‘accidentally’ walking in on her boss and one of his many parade of girls. She opened the door and Nathan looked up from his phone. He looked tired. Maybe he didn’t get any sleep last night. He was her boyfriend now so there was no need for her to knock.
• “Took you long enough” he murmured as she dropped the files.
• “Sorry dear” she batted her eyelashes. “It’s so good to know that you won’t be chasing skirts now that you have me” she sat down on the chair looking him in the eye. She liked getting him so mad. The tables were turned and they seemed to be on equal ground for now. After their breakup she wouldn’t be working here.
• He rolled his eyes and went back to his phone.
• “Didn’t sound like a pretty breakup? Should I be concerned?” she asked seriously.
• “Why should you be concerned?” he gave her a dubious look.
• “Your mum picked me up from the street. Your girlfriend hit me with her shoulder twice and thank you for not stepping in” she glanced at him.
• “You’re welcome” he replied finally dropping his phone. “You have nothing to worry about” he assured her.
• “So I don’t have to expect your mum in my house after we breakup?” she smiled.
• “Are you trying to insinuate something?!” his nostrils flared.
• “No. Nothing” she smiled that sarcastic smile.
• “You should really stop that Darlene” he smiled back. “That’s a very unbefitting character for the girlfriend of Nathan Cross”.
• “And how would you have me? Short skirts and with tops for children?” she leaned against the edge of a table.
• “That would be a very beautiful improvement” he stood up. “You should take that seriously because my mum was so impressed with you that she wants to have dinner with us tomorrow”.
• “Alright” she accepted.
• “Not just alright. This is important. It affects you me and the company. Since you love saying stories so much, you should have a lot for the dinner”.
• He was so petty honestly. She doesn’t even go into detail about how they met and now she’s the one in charge of their fake relationship. She could just leave it to him, but that wouldn’t turn out good for her. Her life in the company wasn’t hellish, but she wouldn’t put it past him to make her life hell.
• She stood up and pressed both hands against the table leaning forward. “Okay babe” she teased. She blew a kiss and left the office stifling a laugh.
• She really knew how to push his buttons.