Rule No. 1: No Romance (GirlxGirl WlW)

Chapter 7

I rest a hand on her chest, preventing her from coming any closer, that catches her off guard but she stays put slightly tilting her head. "I'll not say it again, Louise," I manage to say, barely containing the angry frustration that is piling up in my throat. "We're not a thing, and we're not going to become a thing, do you understand that?"

"Then why are you pulling me closer?"

I look down, finally noticing that my hand on her chest has turned into a fist tightly holding the collar of her shirt. I barely have time to notice what I am doing as the door to my office suddenly opens. Louise quickly takes a step back, freeing herself from my hold but it was a tad too late.

Joane looks between Louise and I, honestly, I wouldn't judge her if she were to read this situation wrong, which she obviously did. Without a word, she takes a step back, closing the door in front of her before I could so much as attempt to explain. Either way, I don't think she would believe it.

"I've always wanted to say 'this is not what it looks like', completely missed the opportunity," Louise says amusedly.

"I think you should leave before I strangle you," I turn in her direction, remembering that she's still here. "And have some common sense, you can't apologize for acting like a brat and then proceed to act like a brat."

"I don't understand why you won't give me a chance."

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Louise."

She doesn't say anything, she just gives me her back and leaves.

I close my eyes with a sigh, finally sitting back in my chair. Ever since that idiot showed up my life has been a complete mess, what a pain in the ass.

Strangely, Joane barely annoyed me for the rest of the day. She wasn't avoiding me, at least not completely, but I noticed that she was acting oddly. I can understand though, she probably thinks we were making out, and right after she advised me not to get involved with her.

I was exhausted when I made it home, the day wasn't even that busy but the stress weighed on me, physically and mentally.

It takes me a while until I decide to call her, not because I believe I have to explain myself but because I don't want her to think I'm an idiot falling for her much younger intern. I have a reputation to maintain, not that I think she'd tell anyone.

The phone rings for a while, normally she picks it up almost instantly but a look at the time tells me that she's probably having dinner with the kids. "What's up?" she answers at the very last moment in her usual bubbly tone, which for some reason is able to alleviate some of the stress that I'm feeling.

"Is this a bad time?" I ask, hearing the sound of kids and dishes being moved around.

"No, don't worry, I'm just clearing the table."

"I can call you later—"

"It's ok, Esther," she reassures me with a chuckle. "You never call to just chat, what is it?"

"You don't know that, maybe I am just calling to chat," I joke. Sometimes it's scary how well she knows me.

"Oh, of course. Perhaps you want to talk about the weather."

"It was lovely today."

"Uhum, at which point will you sneakily try to direct the conversation to what happened earlier today?"

"I wasn't going to but now that you've mentioned it..." I say jokingly, making her laugh. "We weren't actually—"

"I know, Esther."

"... You know?"

"I know that you wouldn't let it happen right there at the company, but that doesn't change the fact that you would have let her if you weren't."

"That's ridiculous—"

"Is it?"

"I'm a grown woman, Joane. If I wanted to be with her I would, regardless of what you think about it, but I don't. I'm not stupid enough to get involved with a girl that is barely an adult — even if I do feel sexually attracted to her," I say, trying not to sound like an asshole to her. I know that she means well, even though she can be very annoying at times.

She sighs, the sound of dishes clicking over by now. "I know that you're not stupid, Estie. I'm just worried about you, I feel like Louise has something up her sleeve."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I just have the feeling."

"I'd be worried if your feeling's didn't always turn out wrong as they do. You know when people say follow your heart? You should do the opposite," I groan, remembering all the times her broken intuition came to bite us in the butt. "And wasn't she your buddy just a few weeks ago?"

"I still like her as a person, that didn't change. I don't know how to explain it."

"Do you think she's using me to secure a position? Because if that's true, she's urgently in need of a new plan."

"You did try to fire her."

"And I'll try again if that idiot doesn't stay in her place," I roll my eyes. "To be fair, a dumbass like her would definitely try to do just that."

"You'd think she would have stopped by now, she's a good worker, she could get the job without seducing you," she says, maybe getting a bit too excited about our little theory. "Maybe she wants to sashay her way into a higher position without the extra work."

"Like that'd happen, even if she does manage to seduce me."

"Is there a way to find out if that's really what she's after?"

"I don't think she'd admit it, and we might be getting too creative here. She probably just thinks it's cool and hot to have a thing with an authority figure."

"Possibly, but that's no fun, I liked the other one way more."

"Of course you did," I chuckle. "Where's Mark? I haven't heard his bitchy voice yet."

"He's not home yet, as per usual," she sighs, the tone in her voice changing, making me regret mentioning him.

"Such a busy man," I say, unable to contain my sarcasm.

"Oh I'm sure he is," she says in the same tone.

"I'm up for some detective work, it was pretty fun last time," I joke trying to lighten the mood.

"Thank you but that won't be needed."

"How come?"

She's silent for a while as I think of something to change the course of the conversation but she beats me to it. "Mark and I are getting a divorce."

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