EMMA'S POV
As soon as I confirmed that the door was open,I quietly dropped my bag on the floor.
I took a glance at my wristwatch and realized it was already eleven minutes past one am. Everyone would most likely be asleep,seeing that I lived with married couples.
I couldn't wake them crying because I thought a burger had broken in.
What if I had by some chance forgotten to lock the door?
Although it was hard to believe,there was a possibility…
I picked up both my heels,and I held them,hoping to use them as a weapon.
I tiptoed in quietly,as I pushed the door further.
The light was turned off,and the entire room was pitch black.
I walked towards the switch,with my heart in my hands.
Surely,It would be harder for an intruder to attack in a bright spot.
I touched the walls,until I came up to the switch.
Quietly,I turned it on.
I was facing the wall,still afraid to turn around.
Honestly,I was too scared to find out who was in my sitting room.
“Your home is a raging mess.” The intruder spoke.
My heels fell on the floor.
I turned around to find him sitting uncomfortably on my cushion.
It was no surprise that he had almost zero comfort. My entire house was only one quarter of his home.
“Alex” I called his name.
I looked around to find that two of his men were with him.
Of course,he never walked alone.
The heartache always came in three.
“You need to be tidy.” He spoke again,and I felt a boiling rage in my heart.
What the hell did he think he was doing at my place in the middle of the night?
And what right did he think he had to tell me how to live?
“It's none of your business.” I retorted, acknowledging that my space really needed some work.
“Only that it is.”
“You broke in.” I accused,and he nodded.
“Romeo's not a bad man.” He said,and I noticed the polaroid photo he had in his hands.
It was a picture of Romeo and I on our date. We had decided to do something fun.
“What are you doing with that?”
“Romeo is not a bad man.” He repeated.
I seized the picture from his hands. I half expected him to come after it,but he remained seated.
“He is a good man.” I agreed with emphasis. I hated when Alex stalked me.
I hated that he trailed me everywhere,making it seem like I was his property.
“He is a good man…who doesn't deserve you.”
I hissed.
“Who deserves me,then? You?” I barked at him.
He remained unfazed.
I watched as he stretched his legs,and placed them on my center table.
This guy must be a joker.
“Why are you here? What do you want from me?” I snapped at him,but he remained silent.
I sighed in resignation.
“Please leave.”
“No.”
Now,he could reply?
“Please.”
“No.”
“Leave!”
He ignored me.
I slumped onto the empty chair.
We were back to this lifestyle. I thought I had left it. I thought I had buried it.
“You know this goes,right?” He asked.
“I am not having sex with you.”
“I never said you should.”
I sighed. I knew what he meant. He would not leave,he would spend the night here.
The worst part is,I would not wake up to him.
We would both sleep in these positions,and tomorrow morning,he would be gone.
I will get to work,and he will become a beast I do not understand.
“You need to get some sleep.”
“I know.” I replied.
“Your hangover will be horrible tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“You reek of alcohol,”
“I'm aware,”
“You have a pile of paperwork tomorrow.”
I sighed. “I know…”
Now,it was my turn.
“You chose Isabella…” I said.
“I know.”
“You made me the laughing stock of the company..”
“I know.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You broke me.”
It was his turn to sigh. “I fucking know.” He growled.
I knew he was mad,but not at me. He was mad at himself,and I felt exactly the same way.
“We will never get what we want.”
“We will.” He countered.
This was not a part of our routine.
“I'm sorry.” He went back to the routine.
“I'm sorry.” I replied.
With that,we both slept off.
—
Alex was absolutely right.
It was ten minutes to ten am and I was sprinting towards my office like a mad woman.
The hangover was terrible,at the very least.
My hair was not brushed,my teeth were smelly,my shirt was rumpled,and I had a very horrible feeling that I was wearing two different pairs of shoes.
I stumbled past the clique of workers as I sprinted to my floor.
My head pounded heavily in my chest,as I arrived at the first floor.
My boss would ruin me. I hated that I would get to see this side of Alex today. He had never tolerated tardiness,not even from me.
The coffee I held in my hand fell abruptly to the floor, as I stumbled on one other worker.
“I'm sorry,” I quickly apologized,hastening my footsteps.
“I am so dead..” I said to myself as I pushed past people to get into the elevator.
My reputation would be even more tarnished than it was right now. I looked at the elevator mirror and groaned.
I dropped my bag on the floor. At least,I had two minutes to deal with my hair.
I brought out a large comb.
A man behind me sneered.
“I'm sorry…”I apologized as I started brushing my hair. I couldn't walk into my office with hair that resembled a hornet's nest.
About four minutes later,I was finally at the top floor.
Every single worker was already either in their cubicle,or in their office.
I raised my chin up as I walked through the workers who exchanged glances as I walked by. I knew my mascara was terribly smeared,and my lipstick had been drawn in the shape of an amoeba,but I ignored it all. Elegance
—
As I stumbled into my office,my jaw fell to the floor.
A team of maintenance crew were moving out my stuff.
“Hey! What's going on?” I barked but no one answered.
I quickly swung my family portrait from the hands of a man.
What the hell was going on?
I watched as a lady with blonde hair stepped into my office. She pointed at my lamp stand. “Take that away.”
I watched as a maintenance man picked it up.
“Who are you?” I asked,turning to her.
She sneered at me for a minute,be
fore her eyes widened in realization.
“You're Emma Martinez. Aren't you?”
“I am. Who are you?”
“I am Stella McCartney,your replacement.”
What?
EMMA'S POV Was I still drunk? Was this a new version of a hangover? I really hoped I wasn't hallucinating? I reached out to feel the supposed girl's skin,and true to her word,she was human. If she was human,then that meant Alex had actually replaced me. He spent the night at my place,cuddling me,and the next day he fired me? There was no sense in that.I diverted my attention back to the young girl. She had a bright smile on her round face. “I am so grateful you let me take your spot.” She said in a way that was doting yet mature. I had to give it to her,she was definitely hot. An upgrade from me.Alex had made his statement. “I gave you my spot…” I said,repeating her words. “Didn't you?” She asked,corking her neck. I walked out,unsure of what to say. Why would Alex fire me? He knew everything about me. He knew how I depended on this work to survive. He knew that I had my sister's bills to pay. I had to get to the bottom of the issue.I walked
EMMA'S POV Weddings had to be one of the most stressful events,especially if they weren't yours. I dropped my heels at the side of the door,as I slipped into something comfortable. “Emma!” I heard Kristy call my name. I turned around to find her holding her dress in one hand while walking barefooted. “What's up?” I asked as I wiped the sweat off my face. “Has the cake arrived?” “There is no cake?!” I screamed,surprised. Why would there be no cake at a wedding? “You had no idea?” I shook my head. I had been so busy with getting the little bride to put on her costume that I had totally forgotten. “The caterer is not taking anyone's calls.”I groaned as I pressed my back on the wall. “Has she been paid?” “In full.” My eyes widened. Who the hell pays a baker in full? They were supposed to be paid the other half on delivery. “This is bad..” I acknowledged,and Kristy nodded. “What should we do?” “We need a back up cak
EMMA'S POV “Lucas Marcus,do you take Faith Dennis to be your lawful wedded wife?” The priest asked the groom. “I do.” “Faith Dennis,do you take Lucas Marcus to be your lawfully wedded husband?” He asked her. “I do.” “I pronounce thee husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”I smiled as I watched Lucas pull his newly wedded bride in for a kiss. “They look amazing.” Alex whispered in my ear,and I bit my lower lip deeply. I tried suppressing the urge to actually smack him with the fan in my hand.For some weird reason,the organizers had thought it a wonderful idea for Alex and I to be seated together. He had been grinning all day,whispering words to me,and I hated it.I hated Alex,and everything that related to him. “They make a beautiful couple..” an elderly woman gushed at them. I stared at the cakes,ignoring her statement. “You're right.” Alex conceded with the elderly woman.I groaned even harder as the woman smiled at him. Everyone was obsessed wi
EMMAThe introductory meeting went horribly. I had to sit next to Isabella for two hours,and never had I considered the possibility of Isabella ending up in the same office as me. Alex didn't even offer a warning. I took a deep breath,watching as she picked out a lip gloss from her handbag. As soon as Isabella stepped into this hall,my confidence dropped by a hundred percent. How was I supposed to work for a woman that caught me in bed with her husband? “Any questions?” Alex asked,pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned to my manual. I couldn't even recall what we were talking about. “I have a question,” Isabella spoke up as she rose to her feet. Her perfume filled the room. “How soon are we meant to start working?” “Right after this meeting,” Alex replied. There was something in his eyes that unnerved me. He was looking at her in a certain way,a way he never looked at me. Alex dismissed us,and we immediately headed out to our offices.As I stepped into my office,my
EMMA.Three days had gone by since I got the promotion,and all of those days had been hell. I wiped my nose as I picked up the fourth file on my desk. The chief before me had left a lot of pending work, leaving the company many steps behind on our marketing affairs. I took another look at our sales margin, it was unstable. I sighed. “Ms Martinez?” Anna called out my name. I looked up to find her walking into the office. She still had her hair in a slick back ponytail. I watched as she took the seat directly opposite mine. She gently dropped the files on the desk. It was Friday, officially the last working day of the week, and I could tell -by the dark shadows under her eyes- that this week hadn't been gentle on her. “I have rechecked every file in the office, and so far not a single error has been found.” She emphasized as she rubbed her eyes with her hands. I noticed she had a stain on her top. Had she spent the night at the office? I didn't want to know. Whatever go
EMMA “Emma!” Alex's authoritative voice called my name. I ignored him as I walked forward,trying as hard as I could to get to the restroom. Now all eyes were definitely on me. I knew each person in the room was curious as to why I was defiling the orders of their previous boss, but I didn't care. I was tired! Tired of being ridiculed,tired of being the laughing stock! Fucking tired! “Don't take a single step forward,” he ordered. I sighed as I turned to face him. All eyes were intently watching us. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. Alex must have noticed because he beckoned on me to follow him. We walked into a quiet office, and as soon as the staff saw us there, they all exited the room. He didn't even have to say a word. “What's wrong?” He asked. “Nothing,” I murmured. “Why are you acting up? Did I offend you?” My eyes widened in shock. Was he seriously asking if I was offended? He made me his wife's subordinate, knowing fully well she was aware of t
EMMA. I dabbed the mascara gently on my eyes as soon as I was done wiping the smeared one off. It had taken me ten minutes to clear up the tears in my eyes, and after that, I realized I needed to reapply everything. Luckily, Anna was so efficient that she had saved her number on my phone. I texted her asking for my bag, and within minutes she had arrived with it.I knew the rumors had gone around, and she had questions, but she was wise enough to keep silent.I sighed as I looked in the mirror. How did I end up here? Barely a few years ago, when I had started my job at this same company, I knew I would climb to the board of chiefs, but never did I think I would get here with so much hate. I should have just resigned when I had the chance. My neck craned slightly as I heard the door open. A woman in her mid thirties walked in. She scoffed as she walked by. I sighed as soon as she pushed open one of the stalls. Everytime the door opened, I would be gripped by the fear of Alex w
EMMA Weekends had to be my favorite aspect of the entire year. Those moments when you were free to breathe, and just exist. No deadlines whatsoever, no expectations. Just being a normal human being. I tugged at the waistline of my joggers as I walked through the aisle. Currently, I was in search of some apples, but after that I would pick up potatoes. It had been a minute since I actually cooked. My recent promotion ate up most of my time, barely leaving me enough time to grab a bite, talk more about making a meal. “Do you need any help?” A sales girl asked as she walked up to me. I turned to her. “Not really,” I replied. She seemed to be new around, as every other worker knew who I was. I was a bit peculiar about the foods I bought, hence causing me to use much time in sorting. I sighed as I picked out the yogurt. Tomorrow, I would have to be at that dungeon facing Isabella and her crazy schemes. I wasn't prepared for it. As I walked up to the counter, I noticed