Dominate Me

Chapter 1

~ 23 years old ~

"Mr. Hills, are you sure? There are so many people that have been here longer! Vanessa's going to go on a rampage if you do this!"

The old man shook his head, a soft smile on his face, his forehead crinkled.

"Avery, you've worked so hard the last seven years to move up here. You've been picking up every shift here that you can, you've shadowed me. You've put yourself through school. You're the most organized, dedicated person I've ever met... You deserve it and more."

Mr. Hills offered me his hand, shaking my own firmly as he officially named me the CEO of the hotel that I'd lived in for the last seven years.

"You can do this, Avery. You deserve it."

____________________

~ One year later ~

"Ave, are you fucking serious?" Todd screamed from the bedroom as I refilled the water pitcher, narrowing my eyes as I saw the ring on the counter that his coffee mug had left earlier that morning.

"Why are you going back to work tonight? Why can't you ask someone else?"

"Because it's nearly midnight and I don't trust them to get it right! We're in the middle of securing a second location for a hotel. I need to be there."

"You have financial advisors, managers. People whose jobs are to do negotiations like that. Ava, we've had plans for you to meet my family tomorrow night. We were supposed to leave tonight."

"No, you've had plans for me to meet them. You just sprung this on me the other day."

I grabbed my coat from the rack by the door, closing my eyes and dropping my head back onto my shoulders as I saw Todd's dropped on the floor next to the couch.

"Look, maybe you don't get it because you don't remember your family, but this is what you do in a relationship, Ava. You trust the other person. You let them in. Their family."

"What did you just say to me?"

"I... dammit. I didn't mean it like that. I just... We've been together almost a year and you still won't even meet my family because you're constantly at the office. And when you are here, your head is still there. Our relationship is pretty one sided."

"If that's how you feel, here..." I opened the door, gesturing towards the hall outside. "Feel free to leave."

"See, that's what I mean! Who fucking hurt you so much that you can just push people out of your life so easily? Are you that damaged that the only thing you care about is your fucking control over every situation?"

I laughed sarcastically, nodding to myself as I glanced over at him. The glasses I'd once found cute now sliding down his nose from being improperly fit. His disheveled hair that I'd found adventurous from it's unruly twists and turns now seeming neglected and dirty.

I stared at the man I'd gotten comfortable enough to be with when I wasn't at work. I watched as he turned into a stranger - though I realized he was right. I'd never opened up, never confided in him, never even cared to ask him to confide in me.

I realized I'd simply gotten used to him being around. And now, his presence angered me. It sickened me.

Our relationship was sex based - bad sex at that because he never lasted long enough for the sex to even fully begin and wouldn't even consider foreplay.