Leah sat across from her boss,her smile stretched so tight her jaw ached. The flickering candlelight on the restaurant table did nothing to soften the greasy shine on his forehead or the way his big belly pressed against the buttons of his shirt, threatening to pop them open any second.
"Eat,Leah". Mr Givens said, his beady eyes lingering for too long on the neckline of her dress.His voice was wheezy like he had swallowed too much of his own arrogance."A beautiful girl like you needs strength".
Leah gave a fake smile and forced herself to lift the fork, stomach churning. Everytime his gaze slid over her like oil, she felt the bite rise in her throat. She felt very disgusted not only because she was eating on the same table with him but also for agreeing to go on a date with him, her ugly,fat, arrogant and very greedy boss because she thought it would be worth it.
She remembered how her eyes burned from staring at the screen of her annoying computer for too long and had been typing for too long that her fingers ached. The office would be silent except for the furious rhythm of her keyboard and the faint hum of the air conditioner. Everyone else would have gone home hours ago while she on the other hand was surrounded by stocks of files on her desk like walls. She would be balancing clients reports, preparing a presentation and fixing the sloppy work her colleagues had abandoned earlier. Her hands would be aching and her lower back screened,but she refused to quit. That was her reality, doing the work of three people while her boss strutted around, taking all the credit.
But all along,Leah had known from the beginning.The way Mr Givens eyes lingered on her when she bent over a file,the way he always "accidentally" brushed his hand against hers when passing papers,the way his tone softened only when speaking to her,it was obvious, he liked her and when he asked her on a date during work today at work, she felt almost relieved,if her boss liked her enough to ask her out,she could use that to her advantage. She imagined the lighter shifts he would give her sometimes,the overlooked occasional lateness and maybe... just maybe,she would finally be recognized for her hardwork and when he asked her for that dinner date,she told herself it was a chance to secure her position maybe even climb a little higher. She had smiled when she said yes,she thought she was being clever but now sitting across from him now, watching sweat glisten from his fat, ugly, chubby face even though the restaurant was cool due to the air conditioner,on top of it, he chewed with his mouth opened which further enraged Leah, she felt the weight of regret pressing down on her chest. Every sleazy comment,every greedy glance at her body,every smug little smile from him made her stomach twist.she deeply regretted her decision.