Angry Love

Chapter 2

"Keep up, Arnoldo," Helga barked. She walked faster than she needed. Georgie jogged contently beside her as Arnold followed effortlessly behind. His long legs made it easy for him to keep up with her erratic pace.

"Sure," he mumbled. He watched as Helga's light blond hair swished angrily behind her. Satisfaction washed over him that he still got her so worked up. Arnold took pride in knowing that she wasn't as cold as she would lead others to believe.

"So, tall, toned and gorgeous," George said once the elevator door closed behind the trio. "What brings you to Yonder?" George looked at Arnold expectantly. Helga rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

"Um, it's Arnold." He corrected. "And, I've always wanted to follow my passion. I love creating a world for people to lose themselves in and Yonder is the biggest and greatest publishing house on this side of the country, so why not start here." He shrugged.

"You don't say," George yawned, bored with Arnold's answer. He really wanted more information on how this tall drink of water knew his boss and why he was making her so nervous.

"That's all wonderful and everything, but what I really want to know is," the elevator dinged just in time. Helga pulled George out by the elbow. She moved a bit faster to get distance between them and Arnold.

"What the hell are you doing?" she seethed.

"I was just trying to see what has your $100 panties in a bunch, Sweetie." He smiled mischievously back at Arnold.

"Nothing! Stop asking him questions. After this week, neither of us will need to see or deal with that goody-two-shoes."

"I don't know HP, he looks pretty naughty to me." George sat gingerly in at his desk as Arnold strolled past him into Helga's office.

Arnold whistled loudly once he was behind the office door. "Wow, Pataki, these are some nice digs." He spun on his heels to take in the whole room. Arnold absently walked around her office, lightly touching things as he passed them. Finally, he plopped down on her white leather couch facing her desk. Helga watched him with clear annoyance etched on her face.

"So, mentor," he mocked. "Show me the ropes." He threw his hands behind his head and kicked his feet up on her coffee table.

"Get your feet off my furniture." Helga hissed. She stomped towards him and pushed his feet off.

Arnold silently put his hands up defensively. He eyed her as she walked towards the large windows. Despite himself, he liked what he saw and worked very hard to keep the desire from his face.

"So, since I'm in charge of you,"

"You're not in charge of me." He corrected.

"You know what I mean."

"No, we need to be clear here." Arnold knew that Helga would use this opportunity to try to yield some type of sick power over him. He needed her to understand that she had none and the only reason he agreed to this is that he wanted to keep his new job.

"Neither one of us wants to be here. So let's just do what we need to do so we can go back to pretending the other doesn't exist." Arnold stated matter of factly.

"Fine," Helga held out her hand for him to shake. He stared at it before taking it. He didn't expect her to agree so easily.

"Well, I guess I'll have Georgie draft up an itinerary for the next week. Since you don't have a company email yet, I'll need contact information." Before Arnold could open his mouth to speak, George's voice boomed over the intercom.