Speak of the devil – the man himself was staring at me with his steely eyes.
I dropped my head as fast as I could and locked my neck. Why, oh why, is God playing tricks on me again?
Every time I badmouthed Michael, he would unfailingly appear somewhere close enough to hear it. Just when I thought things were finally getting better between us.
Millie, too, detected his overpowering hostility and went back to work. From what I could see, the ladies in the company seemed to fear Michael more than they liked him.
That was no surprise, though. His scrupulosity when it came to working would scare anyone off. A trivial mistake would cost someone her job.
“If I hear another word of gossip during work, you’d better send yourselves packing!”
He gave us his signature stare before uttering those threatening words.
Even with my head down, I could feel his piercing glare.
Only after I heard the closing of his door did I dare to lift my head again. His despotic aura followed him into his office.
“Oh my god! The way he looked at us was so scary! Anna, did you see those eyes?” Millie asked with her lips trembling.
“Yeah. Let’s not gossip during working hours again, or we’ll be fired.”
Come to think of it, Michael was being lenient with us. I highly doubted that we’d be given a second chance if the CEO was someone else. Thus, Millie and I were considered lucky. However, I wondered if his leniency was because of me.
Millie nodded her head and kept quiet from there on.
After work, I went to the supermarket as usual. Doing things on my own most of the time did make me feel lonely.
Back when I was living with Natalie, we’d always hang out at night. But now it was just me, and nothing seemed to interest me anymore.
When I got back to the house in Birchwood, Michael was already on the couch with his legs crossed in the living room. The top two buttons of his shirt were let loose and as always, his gaze was gnawing at my soul. I quietly turned away.
“Hurry up and make me dinner.”
He got up and strode towards me.
“What are you doing here? I thought I’ve made things clear that night?”
I ignored his request and wanted him to clarify.
Which part of my unwillingness and exhaustion didn’t he understand? What was he trying to do, standing in front of me tonight?
“Yes, you did, but did I say I’m going to let you go? Anna, you started it. Do you think it’ll be that easy to ditch me?” he murmured those shameful words into my ear.
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