Over the years, I’d wished more than once that Sandra and I could move forward with the wedding, but she would always find an excuse to delay it.

At Wendell Group, she kept her distance from me to avoid gossip. She wouldn’t even let me call her “Sandy” in public or ride with her to and from work.

I didn’t want to put her in a difficult position, so I kept our relationship a secret for six long years.

Every day, without fail, I woke up early and rushed to catch the subway to work.

I thought that if I kept at it, Sandra would one day come around and agree to marry me.

Now, she had finally agreed, but it was for another man.

I let out a bitter smile. Just as I was about to speak, Lester’s voice came through the phone, dripping with feigned victimhood.

“Forget it, Ms. Wendell. If Fred becomes my assistant, he’ll just make things harder for me. I… I’m scared. I’m no match for him. I’m just too stupid…”

“Lester, don’t worry. With me there, Fred won’t bully you anymore.” Sandra immediately reassured him in a tone so gentle that it felt like he was her boyfriend.

I felt disgust twist in my stomach and interrupted her, “You want me to be his assistant? Is he even qualified? If you think Lester is so great, why even bother with an assistant? He can handle the project on his own, right?”

Sandra paused for a moment, then raised her voice in fury, “Fred, are you serious? I’ve agreed to marry you. What more do you want? You had your chance. Don’t regret it!”

She hung up after saying that.

I shrugged off her little tantrum and continued looking for a cleaning service for my apartment.

Once my place was tidied up, I lay on the couch scrolling through my news feed when Lester’s video call suddenly popped up.

I answered it, and there he was, lounging in Sandra’s office chair with his legs crossed in a smug pose, taking in the surroundings.

“Fred, Ms. Wendell had me come to her office to work overtime. She even went to get me water herself. Did you ever receive this kind of treatment?”