His Duchess [Completed]

Chapter 36- Misery Loves Company [E]

"Man, the Chang deal is killing me!  That little stuck up prick will not stop screaming at me Miss. T!"  Joe huffed as his face turned red.  

Annie sighed tiredly shaking her head watching Joe with his legs crossed,  rubbing his temples in hopes to ease his tension headache. 

"He keeps making changes to the blue prints and he blames me for the delay of his yacht!  It's been months!"

Annie nodded in understanding.  She knew what Joe was talking about.  The man was insufferable and indecisive.  Every time they sent in the prints to be reviewed and finalized so production could begin on his custom made yacht, Mr. Chang makes changes and demands they be done without being charged for the upgrades. 

"I know.  I'm sorry about all the trouble, Joe.  You're my second pair of hands.  I think I'm going to cancel the whole deal.  The man is too high maintenance and this is only the beginning.  Things are going to get much worse before they get easier." 

"Miss. T, I'm your assistant, it's my job, besides I love helping you out, regardless.  Taking on the Chang deal for you was a small price to pay for your work load that is triple the amount it used to be.  What's going on with you anyway?  You actually enjoy drowning yourself in work? You're spreading yourself too thin."

Annie forced her face to conform a smile. 

Many people around the office noticed she was different, more closed off, less sociable. Unhappy beyond words, Annie noticed the curious stares, but never offered anybody leverage over her.  She suffered in silence, even fooling Joe.

Work allowed her to take her mind off things, a great distraction yet an exhausting one at the same time.  She worked until her eyes hurt and her vision blurred—It was her only way with coping.  Occupying her time in the office early in the morning until late into the night was the only way she avoided any confrontations. 

The act she was portraying, was in fact, all an act.  She looked fine on the outside but was a ball of misery on the inside.    The days passed by gloomier, darker and lonelier. She smiled less and less as the days blurred together and the long weeks passed by as bits and pieces of her died slowly along with the time. 

Annie was moving on and trying to forget Julien and stay strong, but it didn't help when the reality is always shoved in her face. It was true Annie stopped hiding like a coward by avoiding him but it was the hardest, most difficult, the most torturous situation she has ever had to endure. 

There paths would cross around the T-building, may it be around the elevators, the hallways or when he was with his girlfriend Caitlin. But she was never at peace and always conscious that her thoughts never strayed from Julien and Caitlin. It seemed as though she was always around, catching Julien for lunch or arriving dressed up in a fancy dress for dinner to a classy restaurant.  The hand holding and the big smiles adorning their happy faces was like drinking poison and feeling it sizzle and burn through her insides.

Ignoring the both of them was the hardest thing she has ever done. Every time she watched their interactions the ache in her heart would break down and chip away her closure and healing. 

It should have been her on his arm. They were supposed to be happy together not the other way around. It hurt seeing their display of affection and became excruciating as Annie wondered how serious their relationship was progressing.