Hey, not me!

Chapter ten: honey.

Several days passed without much event and I lulled myself into a false sense of security. I convinced myself that the CEO must have forgotten that I existed. I even dared to hope that he had found another woman who had caught his fancy. I had finally stopped jumping every time I heard a knock on my office door. It had been quite a while since I had to have the talk with someone and wasn't looking forward to having one with my boss.

(In case you're wondering what 'the talk' is: it is a conversation where I have to explain with as much patience I can muster, which isn't much, that I didn't reciprocate the person's feelings. It wasn't pleasant.)

I was just lounging in my office when there was a knock on the door. I didn't think much about it and asked the person to enter. You can, therefore, imagine my shock when I first saw a huge bouquet of red roses followed by a delivery guy. A second look at the situation and I nearly burst into tears. I hate flowers. I especially hate them if they are meant to be a gesture of love. I banged my head on the desk several times in frustration.

"Who are they from?" I asked.

"It reads Jacob here. Should I read you the message?" The delivery man asked enthusiastically. I wondered how he could miss my annoyed look.

"No, thank you. What you could do is take the flowers back with you. Dump them in the garbage if you want," I suggested.

"I cannot do that. I have to make sure to leave them with you or I could get fired," he said while looking distressed.

"Why don't you take them to Jacob then?" I countered.

"My job was to deliver them to you," he said stubbornly. He then dumped them by the door and quickly left. The nerve of him!

I glared at the flowers for a long five minutes. I knew I could call someone to get rid of them. However, I was already at the center of one rumour and didn't feel like being in yet another one. So I did the next best thing I could. I called my only friend in the building. I called using the office number. It was a little trick we'd come up with so that nobody would realise she was taking personal calls during working hours.

"He sent me a whole bouquet of roses, red roses." I said as soon as my call went through.

"And the he in that statement is the CEO guy?" Sheila shot back not bothering with pleasantries either.

"Yes. You should see the size of them. And the delivery guy wouldn't take them back and now they are lying on my office floor," I complained.

"Am coming right up," she said.

"Won't you get in trouble?" I worried.

"No, I need a bathroom break right about now." She said and hung up. She was in my office in three minutes. "Girl, you weren't joking," she said as she looked at the flowers with wide eyes.

"They are hideous, aren't they?" I pouted.

"If you were the kind of girl that liked flowers I guess it would be such a beautiful gesture," she replied.

"Do you like flowers?" I asked.

"Yes, I kinda do. And this bouquet must have cost quite a lot. Talk of misplaced sentiments," she said solemnly.

"Am I being a bitch for hating them?" I asked.

"Just a little," Sheila laughed. "I wouldn't mind having them at my desk if you don't want them."

"And you keep saying you're not a romantic," I teased.

"I only want them because they weren't sent to me. If I were in your shoes right now, I would be throwing a huge fit. You don't know drama if you haven't seen me throw things," she shot back.

"You can have them. They stink," I wrinkled my nose for emphasis.

"Thanks darling. I gotta go back now," she said.

"Those flowers remind me of honey," I said as she turned to leave.

"Why? Because bees use nectar to make honey?" She asked.

"No, because everyone loves honey but me." I answered.

"Haha, you are a contrary person. Its just how it is," she told me.

"Actually, I am allergic to honey. It gives me the worst stomach ache," I explained.

"Wow, okay. You're weird," she replied.

"Go away," I laughed.

"I love you too," she said and closed the door before I could come up with a reply.

As I settled back, I remembered the first time I ate honey. My father had harvested it from our beehive and I was excited to get a taste. I didn't eat much because I found it to be too sugary. The little amount that I ate was enough to make my stomach ache in a very dull and horrible way. It was quite uncomfortable to say the least. That wasn't the last time I ate honey though. Every time I hoped I would be okay but then the stomachache would come back to remind me that honey just wasn't my thing.

I now knew that having the talk was inevitable. He had made his first move and would soon follow it up with a second and a third. I wasn't ready to have a smitten man trying to serenade me in the middle of the night. Nor was I interested in having him telling lame jokes and expecting me to laugh. Or to have him try to hold doors open for me in a show of chivalry. All those scenarios felt like a nightmare and I wouldn't let it come to that.

I hardened my resolve and decided that it was time to do something. I got up from my desk and went for the lift. I pressed the up button and waited. I took in some deep breaths to calm myself down. It wouldn't be in my favour if I went and lost my temper on my new CEO. I just had to smile and be polite. Smile and be nice.