CHAPTER 002: JUST GIRL GOSSIP
1274 Words
~~ELLIE~~
"Hello? Earth to Ellie," someone said above me. I inhaled sharply, looking up to see Gia, my work bestie, waving above my cubicle. Jesus, I had been knee-deep in post–cheating husband trauma.
"Hi, sorry, I was just..." I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts.
Gia’s nicely shaped brows puckered as she assessed me. She was a stunning ebony young lady who often got mistaken for a runway model. We’d been work besties for three years now, since we both miraculously got the final slot at A&T.
"What's wrong? You've been staring at your computer like you just received a death threat," she said, folding her arms across her chest. Then she paused, her eyes grew big. "Wait, did you?"
I snorted noisily, sighed, and resumed typing away on my computer. I had piled-up work, and my boss thrived on firing his employees for incompetence.
"I wish it was that."
"You don't sound good. This must be worse than when you got your new car towed six blocks away." Gia walked over to sit beside me. She pulled away my hands to settle them on her knees.
"What's wrong? I'm your work bestie. You tell me everything," she pouted.
I sighed again, longer this time. Where do I start?
"It's... Nolan," I muttered after seconds of contemplation.
Gia stared for a moment and then gasped out loud.
"Oh my God, you were right! He's cheating!" she whispered harshly.
I nodded, chewing my bottom lip so I wouldn't start crying again. I remembered telling her I had the feeling that Nolan was seeing someone else.
"I had a feeling, but straight up catching him in the act was—"
"Wait, what do you mean, catching him in the act?" She eyed me. "Don't tell me you saw him having s*x!" She ducked, like Nolan and Ann were having s*x right behind my cubicle.
I shuddered just from picturing that.
"No. No. I just—" I paused, trying to contain the fast pumping of my heart. "I heard them. I was in his trunk."
Gia was left speechless for a good three seconds.
"That's the craziest thing ever, but I'd totally do it too."
I smiled lazily, but there was no drop of happiness in me. I felt like a withering plant.
"It feels like I ate a bad dinner and drank ten shots of tequila. I feel so awful." I groaned, cutting off tissue to wipe my wet eyes.
Gia’s face wrinkled with empathy.
"Listen, Ellie, I know exactly how you feel. I've been here before, remember?"
I did remember. Gia's ex fiancé—a hot actor—had cheated on her with his own cousin. Bite me in the f*****g ass.
"What we're going to do is simple," she declared.
Nodding, I waited for her next words.
"Payback!" she announced like she'd found the cure for cancer.
"Gia, I don't want to sleep with another man just to get back at my husband."
"Then do it for fun!" she squealed, grinning like I’d already said yes.
"Look, you've been in an open marriage for six months, and while you've been typing away your life and reading smut..." She flipped my copy of a b**m romance book on my desk.
"Your husband has been f*****g his secretary!"
"Oh God." I shut my eyes, her words punching into my soul. You're a f*****g bastard, Nolan.
"Remember that hookup app I told you about? EliteHook?" She nudged me, making me open my eyes. Her expression was so serious, I actually wanted to laugh.
"The one you met Richie on?" I quirked a brow. Richie was her forty-eight-year-old boyfriend who owned a yacht and was into vintage art auctioning.
"Yup. You could get a hot and rich elite dude to shag, and you get paid for it. It's confidential, well-secured, and test results are actually required. It's the next best thing!"
"I don't know, Gia." I exhaled, twirling away from her. "I just wish I could take the day off, but you know Mr. Ashworth—he’d rather have a threesome with rhinos than let anyone, especially us, take the day off."
Gia scoffed. "He's the definition of an angry millennial. He's lucky he's hot."
Yeah, he was hot. Our boss, Mr. Marcus Ashworth, could feature as the next Clark Kent. Dark hair, broad and tall, grayish-blue eyes that could get your panties wet, a jaw that needed shaving but could get an ovulating woman pregnant. He was literally s*x in a suit.
"He always looks like he didn’t hide a dead body properly before coming to work." I twirled back to Gia. "He's so grumpy all the time!"
"Ellie—"
"And just because he looks like pure s*x doesn't mean he should bark orders and give everyone death stares, especially me whenever I come in late..."
"Ellie—"
"He seriously needs to lighten up or I might just throw my early morning cappuccino in his face someday—"
Gia grabbed my shoulders then, her eyes wild.
"Ellie! Mr. Ashworth!" she hissed.
Oh. My. God.
I froze for about ten seconds, then shot up to see my boss standing right inside my office.
"Mr. Ashworth!" I blurted.
As always, he was in a perfectly tailored dark suit, his black hair curly and styled neatly, sharp green eyes, a deep scowl on his perfectly sculpted face. I was royally f****d.
"It's past 2 p.m., we have three firms on our necks because I hired a bunch of incompetent young adults who only gossip and write angry anonymous blogs about how Marcus Ashworth is a bloody misogynist for only promoting his male workers," he started in that intimidating deep voice of his, every word like sharp daggers cutting through the air.
"If you want to remain employed, I suggest you get back to working and keep the gossip to girly pop level."
He lifted his thick brows. He looked over at Gia, then at me. We both stood straight like soldiers under the rain.
"And Ms. Baker, if you think I'm Dexter, then I'd encourage you to turn in your resignation letter and find a boss who smiles like he's on drugs every time and plays truth or dare with you during lunch break."
He turned away, pulled open the door, and walked out. The door slammed shut behind him.
"Wow," Gia spoke first. "That's the most words I've ever heard him say. He must really be pissed."
"Of course he is! He knows about the blogs," I whispered, my heart pounding hard. I didn’t even know if I was still employed.
"I hate him," Gia kissed her teeth.
"Me too," I agreed. "But he's so hot," I said dreamily.
"I wonder what size he is."
I turned to Gia. "Like shoe size or—"
"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes.
I did know what she meant.
"I think he's packing. He just has that look." I shrugged.
"Yeah. He does." She nodded.
"You could meet a guy like him on EliteHook," she sing-sang. "And you get paid $1,000 for every hookup. It could be exclusive or non-exclusive. Depends on what you want."
That didn’t sound bad. It was something worth thinking about. What was the harm in trying out something fun and risky? Life was all about risks. Nolan had taken his—what was stopping me from taking mine?
"How do I get into this arrangement?" I asked in a low voice.
Gia grinned widely. "I know a guy..." she winked, licking her upper teeth and wiggling her brows like the mischievous pervert she was.
- Writer
