In His Service

aaron

Ginny's POV

Checking my reflection in the mirror by the door, I quickly assessed my appearance.

Grabbing my hair tie, I yanked my tangled ponytail down and quickly crammed my chocolate-colored waves up into a messy bun, ruffling my bangs so that they fell free from the rest of my hair and swept across my forehead effortlessly. I had perfected the art long ago, the bun barely off center, just the right amount of lift in the front, and a curtain of wavy bangs that fell around my face for softness.

Swiping on a layer of beeswax lip balm, I shrugged one shoulder and made a kissy face at myself in the mirror before wiping the sleep from my eyes and facing the door.

Mentally, I slapped myself for acting like a teenager meeting a date. This was my boss, nothing more. And right now, he's crossing a line demanding me to work and showing up at my apartment uninvited and unannounced!

He knocked again.

I rolled my eyes.

Impatient prick.

Setting my jaw, I nodded at my reflection, satisfied that I was sufficiently prepared to face him as an equal and set him straight about our working relationship.

Trying to maintain a professionally standoffish demeanor, I took a breath and started to reach for the doorknob, the paused. Biting my lip in hesitation, I mentally said "fuck it" and grabbed the hem of my hoodie, yanking it up and off over my head. I know the kind of man Derek Galloway is. And I know just how to work that type of man.

Readjusting my wisps of hair in the mirror, I turned and opened the door slowly, stopping it before it swung all the way into my apartment. I wedged myself between the door and the frame and looked up.

Instead of the cool, refreshing blue eyes I had expected, I met the small, dark, emotionless, shit-brown eyes of my ex fiancé.

Immediately I wished I had my hoodie back on, but my defiance refused to allow me the comfort of going back inside to grab it. Fuck.

"Huh." I huffed in surprise at the sight of him. I had expected my Derek... I mean, I had expected my new boss... to be standing there, not my lying, cheating arse of an ex.

Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I stared him down as he stared at me, both of us waiting for the other to speak.

When he just kept staring, I raised my eyebrows at him in question. "Hello? You knocked on MY door. What the hell are you doing here, Aaron?" I demanded sharply.

When he still didn't say anything, I rolled my eyes and stepped backwards to close the door, but he quickly stepped forwards and put his hand on the door to stop me. "I came to talk to you, Ginny."

A humorless laugh escaped my lips. "Oh, it speaks," I deadpanned. "And just what is it you want to talk to me about?"

Before he had a chance to respond I held up a three fingers. Ticking them off one by one, I said, "Are you here to apologize for sleeping with my best friend a month before we were supposed to get married? Are you here to beg my forgiveness for the two of you lying about your relationship and and try crawling back into my life? Or are you here to gloat about how great you have it now that I'm gone?"

He winced away from me as I grilled him, and his cowardice fueled my hate fire.

"Let me save you the time, Aaron. I don't accept your apology. I never will. I don't forgive you or her, and I don't want either of you back in my life. And if anyone gets to gloat about how great things are, it's me. I got rid of a lying cheating piece of shit and a backstabbing bitch, all in one day. It's like the trash took itself out. Now if only it would stay that way, I'll be golden."

I gestured towards the parking lot where I could see his stupid green Subaru Forester parked in a handicap spot. All Star Douchebag.

When I finished my rant, I actually felt kind of like a badass, ripping my ex a new one as he stood there on the breezeway and took it.

Laughing again cruelly, I leaned against the door frame and watched him stand there, wringing his hands together and looking like the miserable dick he was. I raised my eyebrows again and leaned towards him.

"Well?" I prompted. I gave him a few more seconds of silence before shaking my head and turning to retreat back into my apartment. Typical of him to chicken out like a little shit when it comes to important conversations.

"I need the ring back, Ginny."

I froze. My heart, my mind, every emotion I've ever been capable of feeling, froze to ice and shattered at his words. Using the only defense I've ever known, I grabbed the shards of my pain and shoved them out away from me, slashing through anything and anyone who attempted to get close to me.

"You can't have it back." I answered, my voice gone cold and sharp.

"Listen, Ginny, I'm sure you're still upset about everything, but I really need to take that ring back so that I can --"

CRACK

Aaron's voice stopped abruptly as my fist connected with the door frame, leaving a foot-long vertical crack and an indention of my knuckles. Breathing deeply to ignore the pain, I slid my eyes to his and hissed at him through gritted teeth.

"You're wrong, Aaron. I'm not still upset about "everything." I exaggerated the word and put it in air quotes. He flinched when I brought my hands up towards him.

"In fact, I'm not upset about anything at all, besides the fact that you're casting a shadow on my doorstep this morning. So if you could get the fuck off of my porch and the fuck out of my life--for good this time--that would be great. Thanks."

I stepped back into my apartment and put my hand on the door to slam it shut, then stopped myself.

"Oh, and like I said, you can't 'have' the ring back. I sold it the day I found out that you were fucking my maid of honor."

I swung the door closed as I finished talking, letting it slam with finality.

Only then did I feel how violently my hands were shaking. I raised them, trembling, to my face, where I felt hot, wet tears on my cheeks.