Malea’s POV
I pressed print and waited for the document to print but nothing came out. “Hey, Elaine? Why isnt this working?” I asked, hitting the printer a couple times. When she didn’t answer, I turned around to face her. She sat at her desk, the pearl colored phone pressed to her ear. She twirled the cord around her finger.
“Yes she’s here.” She glanced towards me. “Okay. She’ll be right up.” Then she hung up. “Lucian needs to talk to you.”
“What? Now?” I sputtered. I was trying to avoid him and I actually thought I was doing a great job at it. Elaine nodded. “But what about the printer?” I asked wanting nothing but to stay away.
“Ill take care of it.” Elaine said.
“Ugh. Damn you, Elaine.” I joked.
She giggled. “Good luck.”
I sighed and began my way up to his office. Once I arrived outside his door, I took a deep breath and walked in.
“You called me up here?” I asked firmly. I held my hands in front of me and stared unwavering into Lucian’s eyes. Just doing that began to make me feel hot. I swallowed.
Lucian rubbed his eyes and dropped the pen in his hand. “You’re my personal assistant aren’t you?”
I almost rolled my eyes but instead nodded. “Of course.”
“Then why have you been avoiding me?” He asked simply, a small strain on his words and his hand getting ready to run through his hair. Lucian looked tired. His eyes had bags underneath and his normal gray eyes looked drained off all emotion, and even the dark flecks in them seemed to fade.
“I haven’t been avoiding you.”
Lucian looked at me as though he had some thing he needed to get off his chest. “The kiss–”
“Please no, Lucian. Please don’t talk about it–” I interrupted.
“We have to talk about it!” Lucian cut me off. I hadn’t even realized that he’d stood up and was now in front of me. He looked angry and as he looked at me his facial features began to soften. I turned my face away. Lucian cupped my face in his hands softly and turned it back to him so we were staring into each other’s eyes again.
My stomach was in a frenzy and my knees turned to rubber. “I think you should remove your hand, Lucian.” I said shakily even though every bone in my body was protesting against it.
“I’ll take my hand off when I feel like it.” His voice was like a clap of thunder. Demanding and strong. “Malea, mon amour, I want you. No one else and I know you feel that way about me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the emotion filled face of Lucian’s. I shut my eyes to block the aching feel of the longing I felt whenever I looked at him. “Lucian you know that cannot happen.” I still said regardless, a playback of Ales’s threatening words reverberated through my head. What was Ales capable of? I’m not sure anymore.
Realization dawned on him. “Does she know?”
I swallowed down the feeling of guilt. It would be better if Lucian doesn’t know. “She doesn’t know.”
Lucian sighed in relief. “I feel like we should tell her.”
I stepped back suddenly and backed up against a chair. “Why?”
“Ales and I are bound only by a contract. There is no rule about me seeing other women. I don’t know how I would do it, but I could find a way to–”
“Wait stop. You don’t understand. Just because you are bounded by contract doesn’t mean that others know that. People think you’re actually in love and married.” I interrupted. This was getting out of hand.
Lucian shook his head. “I can divorce her. I can find a way to draft a new contract then–”
“Lucian, stop!” He froze. I shook my head. “Ales actually has feelings for you! You’re reading too much into this! It was one kiss between me and you and now you’re acting as if we’re together! It was a mistake! It was all a mistake!” I shouted. Every word I just felt hurt. It hurt me physically and emotionally. I wanted nothing more than to admit my feelings towards Lucian but that would make things so much more complicated than they already were.
Lucian blinked. Then ran his hands through his hair, a sigh of resignation making its way past his lips. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course it was a mistake.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “How could I have not seen this?”
“I’m sorry Lucian.” I choked out.
“You can go home. Your shift is over.” He pushed me out his office and slammed the door.
Angry and hurt, I walked away from his door blindly and almost collided into a woman in a fedora and a long brown trench coat. I puzzled. It was summer and though New York wasn’t the warmest place, it was a good 80 degrees outside.
The woman’s face was obscured by her rather large fedora but she let me pass by her without a word, in her hand a small box. She pushed the box inside her coat pocket and walked away.
I pushed past the revolving doors and almost ran into another person. Her honey blonde hair twisted into a bun and bright red lipstick painted across her smirking lips.
She had a coffee cup in her hands, her white blouse tucked into a slim fitting pencil skirt all the while she was balancing on 6 inch sleek, black heels.
“Malea, is it?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.
“Yes, I’m Malea.” I tried as best as I could to smooth out my blazer and compose myself but gave up.
“You dated Levi, right?” She asked, her large eyes squinted in judgment.
I sighed. “Excuse me but who are you?”
She threw back her head as if I just cracked a hilarious joke. “I’m so sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Myra.”
“I’ve got to be on my way.” I pushed past Myra and began to walk towards my car.
“Do you always have rebounds?” She called after me. I froze. My keys in my palm.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my insides turning to ice.
I heard her walk over to me. Soon enough she was facing me. “After Levi dumped you. Lucian’s your rebound, right?”
My heart plummeted to my shoes. “N-No. What are you trying to tell me?” I stuttered. Did she know what had happened or was I just paranoid?
She grinned slyly and shook her head, her diamond stud earrings winking in the sun. “Nothing. Have a good day.” She blew me a kiss before walking off. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what Myra meant. She knows about what happened between Lucian and I.
***
Third Person POV
“Has the task been completed?” The one with dark hair asked.
The blonde nodded. “Yes. I think its time to initiate the next task.”
The red head grinned. “You sure are eager, aren’t you?” The red head laughed, a sound like tinkling bells filling the silence. “The next step won’t be as easy as the last. You need to be discreet. Can you do that?”
The blonde nodded with such fierce obedience. “Of course. Discreet is my middle name.”
***
Malea’s POV(Next day)
I flicked on the TV and began to scroll through the channels. It was my off day and I wanted nothing but to curl up and be alone. I regretted everything I said to Lucian and I know I can’t take it back.
I stopped on Bigtime Buzz, the hosts Opal and Fiona sporting matching baby pink hair. Opal had on a tight fitting blue tube top that were a little more than generous to her boobs while Fiona wore a lace see through sweatshirt with a turquoise bra underneath.
“Let’s begin with anonymous fan commentary on Ales and Lucian.” Opal squealed.
“This is going to get good.” Fiona grinned while rubbing her hands together sinisterly.
“We’ve gotten anonymous messages since yesterday talking about the Malea and Lucian scandal.” Opal recited.
All my limbs turned to ice. What scandal? How did they know?
“I’ll read off what our viewers say.” Opal cleared her throat. “The first says ‘Malea Hayes is a backstabbing user who can’t keep her paws off other women’s husbands.’ This was sent in by an anonymous fan of Ales and Lucian.”
Fiona gasped. “How brutal. The next one says ‘Malea Hayes doesn’t know when to back off other women’s husbands.'” Fiona flipped the page in front of her. “And with the comment came a picture.”
A picture of me and Lucian kissing outside his office door popped up. I choked on my red wine, the mauve color staining my white sweatshirt. Someone had taken pictures? Who could’ve sent these in? Who could’ve taken these pictures? The only one that even know about Lucian and I is Ales.
Ales did this. I couldn’t think. I didn’t know what to do as Fiona began to read off the next hateful message directed at me.
“‘How could Ales be friends with a slut like Malea? How could Ales even be friends with someone who’s having an affair with her husband?'” Fiona sucked in a harsh breath after reading off another comment,!
Opal flipped her page and began to recite the next message but before she could get a chance, I turned off the television. I downed the glass of red wine, wanting the buzz of the alcohol to ease my frustration.
How could she do this to me? The only person who knows about me and Lucian is Ales…. and Myra.