Damn It

Elliot

I had always known Susan to be confident, self-assured, and not the type to entertain unnecessary drama. So when she started behaving strangely, I couldn’t help but notice.

At first, it was little things...pointed glares when I spoke to female employees, stiff body language whenever another woman so much as laughed at my jokes. But then it escalated.

The first real incident happened at the office. I was in a meeting with Amelia, one of our senior marketing strategists, when Susan barged in without knocking.

“There you are,” she said with forced casualness, walking straight to my desk and placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

I glanced at her, then at Amelia, who looked mildly startled. “Susan, I’m in a meeting.”

“I know,” she said, shooting a tight-lipped smile at Amelia before turning back to me. “Just thought you could use some coffee.”

Amelia, bless her, tried to keep the conversation professional. “As I was saying, Mr. Prescott, the campaign adjustments...”

Susan suddenly cleared her throat. “Oh, Amelia, your blouse is really nice. But aren’t the buttons a bit... loose?” Her tone was saccharine sweet, but the insinuation was clear.

Amelia blinked, confused. “Uh, I don’t think so...”

“I mean, not that it’s my business, but I’d hate for any accidents to happen,” Susan added, her eyes narrowing slightly.

I almost laughed. Was she... jealous?

Amelia awkwardly adjusted her blouse, and I sighed. “Susan, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Oh, sure,” she said, flashing a tight smile. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

But she didn’t leave right away. She lingered. Just long enough to make things uncomfortable.

That was just the beginning.

Two days later, at a client dinner, things took a turn for the ridiculous.

The event was held at a high-end restaurant, with a mix of company executives and clients. Susan, of course, had been invited, but I could tell the moment she arrived that she had an agenda.

She took the seat next to me, linking her arm through mine in a way that felt almost possessive. I found it... amusing.

Everything was fine until a woman...Lillian Carter, a representative from one of our biggest clients...leaned in slightly as she spoke to me.

“Mr. Prescott, your team has done a phenomenal job with the campaign,” Lillian said, her red lips curved into a polite smile.

Susan’s hand tightened around my arm.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” I replied smoothly.

Lillian tilted her head, her manicured fingers brushing her wine glass. “I do hope we’ll get to work together more closely in the future.”

Susan let out a short, breathy laugh. “Oh, you’ll be working closely, alright.”

The table quieted for a second. I turned to look at her, and she smiled, but there was an unmistakable challenge in her eyes.

Lillian, clearly caught off guard, gave a hesitant chuckle. “I’m sorry, I don’t quite...”

Susan leaned in as if sharing a secret. “I just meant, Elliot is very hands-on when he works. You’ll find that out soon enough.”

I exhaled slowly, biting back a smirk.

Lillian, bless her, just gave a confused smile and turned the conversation elsewhere.

The rest of the night was a battle. Susan found ways to ‘accidentally’ interrupt whenever a woman spoke to me, touching my arm a little more than necessary, making pointed remarks, and even at one point, whispering in my ear, “Do you want me to make a scene? Because I will.”

I was tempted to call her bluff.

By the time we got into the car to head home, I was half-amused, half-exasperated.

“You were something else tonight,” I mused, glancing at her.

She folded her arms, looking out the window. “Oh, I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

I chuckled. “Oh, you know exactly what I mean.”

She huffed. “Maybe I just don’t like seeing my fiancé surrounded by other women.”

“Fiancé?” I raised a brow. “Wow, wonderful.”

I watched her carefully. She was up to something, and I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it. If she thought acting jealous would push me away, she had another thing coming.

I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to make me break up with you.”

Her breath hitched for a fraction of a second before she recovered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Oh, sweetheart, I’m onto you.

I smirked, deciding to play along. “Well, if this is what jealous Susan looks like, I have to say...it’s kind of sexy.”

Her eyes widened slightly, and for once, she seemed at a loss for words.

I leaned closer, letting my fingers graze her thigh. “Keep this up, and I might just start provoking you on purpose.”

She swallowed. “You wouldn’t.”

I chuckled darkly. “Try me.”

By the time I dropped her off at her place, I knew one thing for sure...her plan had backfired spectacularly.

She wanted to push me away? Too bad. She had just pulled me closer.

And I wasn’t going anywhere.

****

Susan

If jealousy didn’t do the trick, then maybe distance would.

I decided the next best way to push Elliot away was to make myself completely unavailable. If he barely saw me, if I was always ‘too busy,’ maybe he’d get frustrated enough to give up on me.

It started small. I began staying later at work, conveniently ‘forgetting’ our dinner plans. I took on extra projects, buried myself in reports, and answered his texts with one-word replies: Busy. Can’t talk. Deadline.

Elliot, however, was infuriatingly patient.

At first, he just sent simple texts: Don’t overwork yourself. Make sure you eat. I miss you.

Then, after the third time I skipped out on dinner, he started showing up.

“Still working?” His deep voice startled me one evening as I sat at my desk in the dimly lit office.

I looked up, blinking at him. “Uh… yeah. Deadlines.”

His eyes flicked to my empty coffee cup, the mess of papers on my desk. He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “You’ve been pulling a lot of late nights lately.”

“I have a lot to do,” I replied vaguely, hoping he’d take the hint and leave.

He didn’t. Instead, he strode into the office, plucked the pen from my fingers, and tossed it onto the desk. “Susan.”

His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

I swallowed. “What?”

He exhaled through his nose, staring at me like he was trying to read my mind. “Are you avoiding me?”

I forced a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. I just have a lot on my plate.”

“You’re the marketing director. You’ve always had a lot on your plate.” He narrowed his eyes. “But suddenly, you’re so busy you can’t spare five minutes for dinner?”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “It’s just bad timing. There’s a lot to handle...”

Elliot leaned down, placing his hands on either side of my chair, trapping me. “Bullshit.”

My pulse spiked. “Excuse me?”

He tilted his head, his gaze burning into mine. “I know what you’re doing.”

I tried to feign innocence. “I’m working.”

“No.” His lips curled slightly. “You’re running.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out.

Damn it.

He reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. His touch was light, but it sent shivers down my spine. “I don’t know what’s going on in that pretty head of yours, but if you think overworking yourself is going to scare me off, you don’t know me at all.”

I swallowed hard. “I—”

He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “I’ll wait.”

My fingers clenched against the armrest. “Elliot—”

“I’ll wait for you to stop pretending,” he murmured, his lips grazing my temple. “But in the meantime, don’t forget to eat.”

And just like that, he straightened up, grabbed my bag from the couch, and tossed it onto my desk. “You’re done for the night.”

I scowled. “I’m not—”

“Now.” His tone left no room for argument.

I huffed, but I knew he wasn’t going to leave unless I did.

Another failed attempt.

Damn him.