Me Against Her (Cate Blanchett x OC)

Meltdown

After days of never-ending rumination and debate with myself, one simple sentence tipped me over the edge. I sprinted as quickly as I could to the ladies' room, locked myself in a stall, and wept. 

I never should've gone to the Oscars with Cate.

I never should've asked her for more.

Now I'd pissed off someone powerful. And quite possibly, jealous.

In that moment, I knew that whoever this Harge person was, he had me in the palm of his hand. I had to resign. If I didn't, the news of my illicit affair with Cate would be aired like dirty laundry and he'd pull his investment, the company would be knee deep in scandal and that Cate would discard me like a used rag anyway.

My cries echoed against the porcelain bathroom walls, and I felt myself shrink, as if to the same scale as a fly on the wall. It was the voice that rang on the other side of the stall that reminded me that I was still human.

"Edie...is that you?"

Cate's soothing voice pulled me back to reality, and I felt the concrete of the ground form beneath my feet again. I came out of the stall to meet her, my eyes red and swollen from crying.

"Jesus, they must be able to hear you from the other side of the building."

"Sorry Cate," I stammered, "I...had...a fight with a friend, it's no big deal."

I turned to get away, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me so close to her that we almost bumped into each other. "You're still a terrible liar. What is it?"

"I can't tell you..."

"What do you mean, you can't tell me?" she was half mad, half bemused, "You're having a meltdown." 

"I'm in trouble, Cate..." I put my arms around her waist and buried my head in her chest, perhaps for the last time, "I need help." 

Surprisingly, she didn't pull away, knowing that anyone we worked with could walk in at any time. "We can't talk here." she said, "Come to my house - we can't leave together, of course. I'll drive back first, then you come in half an hour. I'll text you my address." 

-----

As my Uber inched closer to Cate's place, I realized that I was in a part of town that I'd rarely frequented. Large luxurious houses with neatly manicured lawns. Spacious and full of grandeur, but isolated from any others of its kind. A far cry from the tight but cozy den that Abby and I occupied.

As I approached Cate's house - a historic English manor, I noticed a black shadow lurking outside. A tall, trim, chic shadow in a suit.

"Please slow down," I told my driver, "don't drop me off yet."

We made our way around the block, and by the time we came back, the shadow was nowhere to be seen. But I caught a glimpse of dark brown hair, and I was almost certain it was him.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath, "guy's a stalker too?"

I tiptoed across Cate's driveway, making sure that no one spotted me before she let me in. Her house was just as majestic on the inside as outside, with elaborate floral printed wallpaper and plush leather couches. Since I last saw her at the office, she had changed out of her pantsuit and into a loose-fitting dress that hovered slightly above her knees. 

"You're in luck. Andrew's staying with his parents on the other side of town, and the kids are on a field trip. It's just us." She sat me down and poured me a cup of chamomile tea to calm me down, "Now tell me everything."