Chapter 7.

You might have feelings for him

“You quit?” Annie screeched whether in horror or in shock. I couldn't pinpoint which at this exact moment.

I was narrating what transpired between Ryan and i yesterday evening to my friends this morning that prompted me to quit without so much as a glance behind or a reconsideration.

“Yes, I did. Also, shouting about it is not going to change the fact that I quit already.” I placed my legs on the center table and tried settling in comfortably.

“Get your legs off the table immediately.” She said, hitting my legs lightly until I took it off the table.

I yelped, “Ouch! Can't you be kinder to me? I just lost my job. Also, my feet is clean. So I see no problem in putting them on the table.

“You didn't lose your job. Don't say you lost your job like you got fired. You quit your job. That's a difference.” She pointed out.

I groaned loudly and twisted my body like an earthworm that was poured salt, “It doesn't matter. I am still without a job.”

“I still don't understand why you quit though,” Raine said. 

When she saw the death stare I sent her way, she raised her both hands in a ‘I am Innocent' fashion and said, “Don't shoot the messenger.”

“What part  of what I narrated didn't warrant me saying goodbye to that toxic work space with an annoying boss?” I raised my left brow in challenge.

“Honestly, I know what he did was bad. Talking down on you in front of strangers is actually bad, but you have been through much worse in the workspace and it just seemed out of place that something so minute can get to you so bad that you had to quit. It's out of character for you.” Annie pointed out.

Although, I didn't want to admit it, she was right. I usually have a tougher skin, that came with being an orphan at an early age, but honestly, something about Ryan irks me so badly that every little thing he does gets to me.

“Let's just say I am prioritizing my mental health more now.” I shrugged nonchalantly as I adjusted on the sofa because I didn't admit that I might have acted rashly.

“I don't know V. I am not going to lie to you. I don't think you acted wisely. I feel like this is something you would have talked it out with him. Stated your reservations, rather than you just stalking out of the place like that.” Annie said in a calm tone that told me that she didn't want to offend me and just wanted me to know what she thought.

“Well, I can't turn by the hands of time, so it is what it is.” I said.

They both stared at me for few minutes, exchanging glances and I noticed that it was like they were urging each other to talk.

I groaned, “Stop giving each other animated glances and just spit it out already. I am tired of the coded stares you are both giving me.”

Annie and Raine had an eye tug-of-war as if to say ‘Why don't you tell her?’ to which Raine replied with ‘Why should it be me? Why don't you do it?’ This went on for a minute or so, before Annie sighed resignedly and turned to me.

“Okay! I would just spit it out. Do you have romantic feelings for your boss?”

I shot up from the sofa so quickly that I felt a sharp pain at the base of my neck.

“T-t-that is absurd! Of course not!” I sputtered, shaking my head quickly.

“She was quick to deny it. She's hiding something from us." Rainie said to Annie.

“I think so too. She has her guilty telltale sign shining like a massive billboard on NY Times Square.” Annie replied to Rainie. They were both speaking about me like I wasn't in the room.

“I'm right here guys!” I raised my hands mid-air channeling the frustration I felt.

“Raine thinks,” Annie started to which I said, “Raine always thinks weird things. She is a delusional lover girl.”

Raine rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at me.

Annie ignored us and said, “Like I was saying before I was interrupted. Rainie thinks that these are the signs of you falling in love with your boss. It's a case of,” She paused trying to think of the right word when Raine helped her.

“The hate to love trope. My favorite by the way.” She chipped in.

“Yes! That's what I was trying to think of." Annie grinned and stretched out her hand for a high-five which Rainie took too enthusiastically for my liking.

I knew what this was. It was a gang-up of my two close friends against me.

“Guys, calm down on your delusions. I don't like him like that. Sure, he is attractive physically but his attitude is a huge turn off." I protested. But a glance at both their faces showed me that they weren't buying it.

“But when he got you those flat shoes, didn't your heart flutter?” Raine asked in a sing-song voice that had me rolling my eyes for the umpteenth time this morning.

“I refuse to feed your delusions." I snorted after saying that.

“Ryan and Violet sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” She sang, making kissing sounds and faces at me. Annie, the more mature one amongst the three of us, was even finding it funny. My cheeks reddened in embarrassment and I threw my face into the couch's throw pillow. When I thought of telling my friends about me quitting my job, this was definitely not how I thought it was going to go.

“Very soon she'll start saying ‘Guys, he really is not that bad.’ He has a calm interior to him that I never saw' and then all the reservations she had about him initially would be swept under the carpet, never to be remembered.” Annie said raising her brows at me playfully.

“Good thing I quit already. So we'll never find out now.” I smirked triumphantly at them.

“Never say Never.” Annie sang a line from Justin Bieber's hit song.

Honestly, Annie didn't use to antagonize me this much about love, but since we met Rainie, she's been brainwashed. I used to find it cute when they always cooed about love stories, but now I was the person under scrutiny, it was no longer cute.

“I'm going back to my room. I can't with you guys." I said and got up from the sofa, trudging to my room. The both of them began snickering behind my back and laughing. Must be the too much love movies they see that have tuned them out of reality. This was real life and the truth was that I was done with the job and I knew I would not be called back even if I wanted to reconsider.

                                                                ****************

“I'll be going out for a walk and to possibly have a drink or two to clear my head.” I announced to my friends in the evening. They were back from work and were still chatting about something that happened at the restaurant Annie was working at. On a regular day, I would have joined in the conversation but I didn't want them to leave that they were discussing and revisit that they were teasing me about– Me falling for my boss.

“Oh, can you get," Annie started before she stopped, “Don't worry. We'll just order Door dash. In the meantime, ruminate over your growing feelings for your boss.” She wriggled her brows suggestively. There it was guys, the reason I want to get out the house as soon as possible.

As I walked down the block, I entered into Macdonald's and had burgers and fries. I need something greasy in my stomach to counter the shots I was going to have or cocktails. Whichever one I later decided on.

I decided to drop by the bar that I broke up with my ex-boyfriend Connor and also met Ryan for the first time. It was my favorite bar and I wasn't going to let two people ruin that for me.

“Can I have one shot of tequila and one glass of Pina colada." I said immediately I sat at the bar.

“Coming right up.” The bartender said and got to work. He looked new as I haven't seen him here before. 

I turned to my right and saw the person I came here to murder in my head looking at me in an unwavering stare– Ryan.

I stood up from the stool and attempted to leave, when his hand shot out and he held my arm.

“There is no need for you to leave. If anything, if you feel that uncomfortable, I can leave.” He suggested to me. His voice was still straight-laced, but somehow, after days of working for him, I could detect the plea in it. What if I really didn't know Ryan? Maybe, I thought him to be emotionless. What if he was all those clueless people who didn't really feel things and as a result of that judged people on their own emotional scale? 

After thinking about it for some time, before I settled back on the sofa.

“It's whatever. At least, I am not at work where I have to be told whether to drink or not. Let's just ignore each other and act like we don't know each other.” I said, still feeling a bit of anger as I remembered yesterday's debacle.

Few minutes after, my drinks came. I thanked the bartender and took the shot, wincing a bit when it hit the back of my throat before I started sipping the cocktail. We sat with the silence between us until he broke the silence.

“I was out of line yesterday. You were right. Even if I am not emotionally sensitive, I ought to still be considerate of others feelings. I'm sorry about that.” He apologized sincerely in a way that made me do a double take.

One thing I respected was when someone can admit that they were in the wrong and apologize sincerely. I could feel my anger ebb away slowly because of the apology.

“Also, I should have pointed certain things out for you. It was unprofessional of me to call you out on not picking my calls when I called you on your personal number which reasonably should have been on silence mode since you were at work and when I knew it was because of the out of the company visitation we did some days back that made you unable to set up your profile. You are not terrible at the job and you are doing a really good job for someone with an art degree.” He said the last part as a form of a tease, and a smile broke out on my face. I couldn't believe that thirty minutes ago I was choosing different daggers in my head and stabbing the fictitious him.

“I am sorry too. For not choosing my words and yelling at you at a work related event. I have been told that I sometimes can be rash.” I apologized too.

“It's okay. I deserved it. No one who isn't family has ever called me out on my bullshit like you did.” He said, shaking his head

as he smirked into his drink.

We settled in comfortable silence this time around since we already cleared the air.

“Just so we are clear, you are coming to work tomorrow, right?” He asked as I prepared to leave after I downed my cocktail.

“Yeah, if it'll be okay by you." I replied.

“It's fine by me. See you tomorrow.” He said and stood up too.

He asked to drop me off at home when we got outside, but I assured him that my house was within a walking distance and I didn't want him to go out of his way to drop me off. After a bit of back and forth, he finally let it go and entered his car.

I watched as he drove off and I knew by the time I told my friends that I was back to working for him, they would say I told you so.

                                                                     ***************

“How dare you dismiss him without my consent?" A man barged into the office that morning as I was sending some emails in Ryan's office. My table was moved in there this morning as he said he didn't want to constantly call me on the office landline if he needed to know anything from me.

Ryan looked up from his table with a bored a expression of ‘Why is he raving about that?”

“I need not ask for your consent. He was corrupt, mismanaging funds, and had a lackadaisical attitude towards work. I can't have someone like that head a branch for me. Also, I don't see the need to inform you when I am the CEO.” He replied to the person.

“And I am you Father you brat! This is my company!” The man yelled.

“Was your company! Get that straight into your head. A company which you mismanaged and left so many holes in the leadership. You aided bad directors and that is one thing I wouldn't support in my own leadership. If that pisses you off, then it's none of my business how you take it. It's not my duty to manage people's emotions.” Ryan's icy voice said to his father.

One thing is I want to know how Ryan keeps his cool even after pissing people off. He literally took as cool as ice to heart because tell me why Ryan's father was visibly pissed and Ryan just looked like they were conversing about the weather. If unbothered was a person, it would be him.

“You would not speak to me like that! I am your father and I demand you treat me with respect!" He bellowed, his veins pulsating on his head and arms.

“Respect is earned not demanded for. I don't see what you have done that deserves my respect except being shameless and ruin the family's name.” Ryan retorted.

‘Twack’ was the sound I heard of his father's palm hitting his cheek. I gasped in shock and my the journal I was holding fell off my hands, while the said hands came to my lips.

Ryan rose up slowly from the chair and rounded the table in measured steps that I was scared of what he was going to do to his father.

The two of them faced each other like two warring animals, although Ryan had a better advantage as he towered over his father.

As I watched this, what came to my head is ‘I am definitely not being paid enough for this daily drama.’