When Bexley's editor Eva Mellon tries to dig up secrets on an impromptu 'Office Romeo', whose oblivious 'Juliet' stands in the way of 'her forever' with fellow colleague Josh, she finds herself eerily attracted to the no-nonsense, intimidating (but...
Thursday afternoon dawned upon me with grey clouds in the Fordshire sky. Now that I started watching weather reports more often, I knew it was to rain till evening. On days like these, I feel lucky to work a nine-to-nine job. Sitting idly on a rainy day could only lead to two things 1) Sleep and 2) Addiction to sleeping, and I sure didn't want to get either of them because the past few days had me going crazy with things I only read about in books. Whenever I saw Will, my heart raced and that made things worse for Josh and me.
"You look glum... What's wrong, Eva girl?" Rachel beamed as she entered my cubicle.
Her crooked teeth played into a smile, and she carried the large Starbucks coffee cup I had ever seen!
"I am not glum. You are way too happy!" I retorted, and she pulled a chair beside me.
"What's the occasion? Why so happy?" I asked while she was grinning like an idiot.
"I got a pay raise! And..." She stopped mid-sentence, and I freaked myself out. And what? Was someone else getting a pay raise too? Was someone getting a demotion? And what? Fuck surprise elements in conversations. Surprises tend to make us stupid, and I hated being more stupid than I already was.
"I got a permanent position as an editor at Bexley's!" She squeaked, and I felt incredibly happy for her until I realized something.
Oh, my God! That could only mean they were replacing me. Was I getting fired? My heart palpitated within my chest, my palms turned sweaty, and I couldn't breathe normally.
"Eva, what's wrong?" Rachel asked, and I turned away without answering, walking out to the Ladies' Room.
When I returned, a crowd had gathered around my cubicle. Rachel was motioning me to make it quick, and as I walked into the herd swarming with Bexleyites, she screamed.
"Congratulations!" She said, and the others clapped.
I was surprised because I didn't expect to get pregnant this early! What's with the warm congratulations? I was worked up over nothing. Virgins don't get pregnant!
"The stats from sales turned in, and your idea of on-campus book launches rocketed the figures by a freaking 20%! That's the highest in six months!" Natalie said, filling in all my blanks.
It worked! I was on cloud nine!I didn't expect anything spectacular from myself, but in moments like these, I want to hug myself and go easy for a bit.
"Eva, Amanda is looking for you!" Josh said as he tore me away from the crowd.
I found myself walking with him in a direction that's nowhere near Amanda's office. Josh pulled my arm, and the next thing I could make out was being pressed against the wall in the janitor's closet while Josh leaned in to kiss me. Overwhelming as fuck.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. What's with this all of a sudden?" I asked, and he planted a few kisses on my neck.
"Why do I need a reason to kiss my girlfriend?" He said with primal hunger.
He pinned me against the wall as my hands laid plastered above my head, and he brushed his lips against the nape of my neck. The janitor closet was not much of a space, and I could find myself gasping for air. No matter how horny I felt, I didn't want to go with this. I didn't want to cheat on him by not telling him everything. Or maybe I just didn't want to do it.
"Josh, stop!" I said, but he paid no heed.
His hands grazed the edge of my skirt, and he slid his hand across my thigh. I tried pushing him, but he wouldn't budge.
"Josh, I said stop! Are you even listening?" I yelled when his hands played with the string of my panties. My skirt came undone, and I felt like I would pass out without enough oxygen.
I didn't know what came over me, but I could see my right arm hitting hard against his soft cheek. He yanked away with pain.
"Bitch!" He seethed.
"I told you to fucking stop. Keep your distance, please!" I screamed.
Adjusting my skirt, I went on to move out when I felt a tug on my arm.
"If you go out, we are done!" Josh said.
The hints of the innocent, caring boy I had fallen for once were gone. At that split second, I saw him for what he was behind his innocent-seeming exterior. He was an asshole.
"Fine!" I said and walked away.
I don't care for this two dimes' worth of a relationship where all I had was a sense of insecurity, indecisiveness, and guilt. I was better off with it, and if it is going to come to an awful end, it would be better that way.
Nothing ever comes out of a black hole, and this relationship between Josh and I felt like one big black hole, sucking all of my happiness. I couldn't afford to lose more than I already had- my best friend's trust and Will's friendship. Everything will be okay; I told myself as I walked out.
Eva, breathe. One,two,three...four,five...Tears trickled down my eyes...six, seven, eight. All will be fine. Nine, ten.
Rain splattered on the window sills, and I couldn't hold myself back. A while later, the Fordshire sky cried with me, and I knew why grey was always better than blue. Grey always had something to lose, a part to shed off for the silver lining to grow, unlike blue. While it was the first time I had not crammed up with my usual blue, it appeared devious to me.
I knew the inevitable, and it hurt a whole damn lot. It took me a long while to figure out what I wanted and when I did, all I had to do was get to him.
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