Chapter 10 In a monster's hole

(In a monster's hole)

For the rest of the week Kathleen had made a total of twenty-five coffees, thrown out ten packs of doughnuts which she didn't throw out of course but kept safely in Ophelia's cubicle, and had been yelled at thirty eight times over the darndest things.

If his coffee wasn't hot she got yelled at, if it was too hot she got yelled at, if it was warm she also got yelled at for it not being too hot. He was at his worst after fighting with board members and she was at the receiving end of it, getting yelled at for even the paperweight not being placed correctly on the table.

She was exhausted and not only was she exhausted, she was mentally and emotionally drained. There were a lot of times where she wanted to quit, slam his head against the wall like she always dreamed off and walk away in the most powerful stride ever.... but here she was, on her lunch break, in the employee lounge, eaten a stale macaroni salad given to her by Nana willow with the most depressing expression known to man.

‘Ooh that looks good'. She heard footsteps and looked up to Jacob Hempstead, smiling down at her. He had a brown bag in his right hand and a bottle of Gatorade in the other.

‘It's nasty stop lying Jac'.

‘She remembers my name....I'm flattered beyond compare'.

A snort escaped her, at least his joke almost made her laugh. Jacob could see she was down so he took a sit right next to her, ‘Having a rough week huh??'

‘Is it that obvious??'. She asked still focused on her plate.

‘Well you're eating a stale macaroni salad with anchovies and mustard...it's not a meal of happiness I can't lie'. He replied and she couldn't help but smile a little.

‘You can have some if you want'.

‘I'll pass', he shrugged, ‘...but you can have half of my sandwich if you want. It has some spicy salami inside of it'.

Kathleen wasn't one to eat a stranger's lunch but Jacob at this point didn't qualify as a stranger, he and Ophelia were the only nice colleagues towards her unlike some of the other snobs that worked in the building—and she was starving too as the macaroni salad couldn't make it's way pass her throat. Taking up on his offer, she split the sandwich into two and took a bite out of it—heaven was an understatement.

‘Oh Lord...the pesto in this is to die for...where did you get this??'. She asked as her spirits were all lifted up now...a good sandwich could bring her out of her misery any time of the day.

Jacob pursed his lips as he looked for a proper lie to cover up the fact that his mother made him lunch even as a thirty year old man, ‘Uhhh from some corner shop down town.. literally can't remember'.

Kathleen knew he was fibbing. She knew a homemade sandwich when she saw one, but something made him lie apparently and she wasn't in the mood to embarrass him, so she relaxed back to enjoy her sandwich to which Jacob grinned at, ‘You need a break don't you??'.

‘Well if your desk is right outside that of an egocentric, arrogant bastard you'll need a vacation wouldn't you??'.

‘Come on Mr Hunter's not that bad', he rolled his eyes, ‘Sure he can be strict sometimes and maybe yells a little but he's not that bad'.

She scoffed loudly, ‘You work on the third floor. I work next to him....I'm giving you the first hand experience here and trust me...it's like living in a monster's hole. He's a pain in the ass!'.

**********

Grayson checked the clock at the right side of his office and that cemented it, Kathleen was twenty minutes late. Obviously his tactics to scare her away wasn't working she had persevered all through, and he gotten to the conclusion that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

He checked his watch again and she had just added another five minutes to being late...he hated yelling at her, hated the feeling of guilt whenever she would walk away dejectedly—he had always yelled at the women and men who worked with him before her and never felt bad but something about Kathleen wanted to make him unprofessional.

Of course he felt bad about leaving her at the hotel all by herself after the wonderful night they spent together. She was unlike any woman he'd ever slept with but the moment the morning rays touched his face he knew he'd made a mistake....if only she didn't present him with a wonderful resumé then maybe the circumstances would've been different.

Thirty minutes now, she was late for thirty minutes and if it was someone else he would've placed a pink slip right on their table. He had a disdain for tardiness and Kathleen Turner was for sure getting on his nerves, taking a deep breath he rose to his feet and she barged into his office panting heavily with trickles of sweat going down her pink blouse.

‘You better have a good reason for barging into my office and being late Miss Turner'. He sat back down, placing a leg above the other and folding his arms to listen to her explanation.

Damn Jacob's beautiful sandwich and her lactose intolerance which had her in the rest room and possibly clogging one of the toilets—now she had to come up with a perfect lie to save herself from not being able to look Grayson Hunter in the face until the day she dies.

‘W...w....well I....I...'

‘I hate women who stutter and you don't stutter Miss Turner'.

She nipped on her bottom lip, ‘Well I had to wait in line to get a glass of water...the cafeteria's pretty much packed'.

‘The cafeteria's been closed for two days now....think of a much better lie before I fire you Miss Turner'.

‘I was at the restroom sir!!! There you have it!'.

‘It doesn't take that long to pee Miss Turner!!'. He yelled.

‘Well I wasn't pooping! I just had a wonderful sandwich and I was taking a fat shit in the toilet! sorry for being late sir!!'.