~Elena
"You wouldn't do that," I said with a nervous laugh, clutching my stomach like it would somehow calm the rising panic inside me. But then I stopped. He wasn't laughing. Not even a smirk. His expression stayed cold like ice.
"Wait… you're serious?" I asked slowly, my voice barely above a whisper.
He took a step closer, and I instinctively backed up until I felt the wall behind me.
"Oh, I'm very serious honey," he said, his voice dangerously smooth. "You were right about one thing, I'm strict. But clearly, you haven't read enough about me."
I blinked. "Read about you?"
He leaned in closer, his tall frame blocking out the hallway light, his presence pressing down on me like a weight.
"I bet you're one of those desperate stalkers," he said, eyes scanning me like he was reading an offensive billboard. "The kind of women who'd do anything just to get me to notice them."
My stomach twisted. "What?"
"You're utterly not my type," he went on, completely unfazed by how offensive he sounded. "Too plain. Terrible fashion sense. And that blouse?" His eyes flicked down, and I instinctively shrank beneath his gaze. "You look like you got dressed in the dark."
Every word hit harder than the last. I was too stunned to speak. All I could think was i really should've stayed in the bathroom or probably just left earlier.
"Stalk you?" I finally blurted, trying to shove past him. "Are you kidding me?"
He let me pass, but his smirk remained.
"I wouldn't stalk someone like you even if you paid me," I snapped, reaching into my waistband and pulling out his phone. "Here. Take your stupid phone."
I shoved it at him but he slapped it out of my hand without hesitation. It clattered against the tile, skidding across the floor.
"I hope they fire you!" I hissed, spinning to leave. I didn't even know what job I thought he had anymore, but I was too angry to care.
"Where do you think you're going?" he called behind me.
I turned back, glaring. "Leaving. Obviously."
But his hand caught my arm. Not hard but enough to stop me.
"What about my broken vase?"
"Your vase?" I scoffed. "You mean your boss's vase?, The one you just helped me break?, You're probably losing your job too, by the way."
His jaw tightened. "You'd be damned if I let you leave this building." He growled taking a step toward me.
But before either of us could escalate it further, a voice cut in sharply from down the hall.
"Mr. Gray."
I turned toward the sound and froze.
It was her the Ice Queen walking towards us.
But what stopped me cold was what she said.
"Mr. Gray?"
I turned slowly to face the man I'd just yelled at, shoved, called names, threatened to make lose his job.
My heart nearly stopped.
"Mr. Gray?" I whispered, horrified, my voice suddenly dry.