I'm Meant To Hate You

27

"Please, take a seat." I nodded at him. His gaze challenged mine. But he knew he was never going to win. He reluctantly plonked down in the chair opposite Emily, leaning on his elbows as he leant forward a little to capture her attention. His brown hair fell over his face, making him push it back before focusing back on Emily again.

"Do you like working here, darling?" He dared to ask Emily. Jerry rolled his eyes at his unprofessional behaviour, clearly disappointed that he had brought him here.

"Do you like knowing that your dreams of becoming a lawyer are getting closer and closer to being just a dream?" I shot back, not giving Emily the chance to answer the question.

"Excuse me?" He muttered, his attention finally leaving Emily and instead focusing on me, giving Emily a moment to breathe.

"You were brought here by one of our most trusted partners, to present yourself and prove that you are capable of being in a professional environment, and you act like a horny teenager. I do not tolerate that sort of behaviour regarding my employees, especially during a meeting in my building. Emily is not here to be harassed, she is here to do her job and you are disrupting her from that. You will no longer be considered an option to become one of our trusted lawyers. I'll speak to you soon Jerry, give my love to Shannon." I spoke as I rose from my chair, pulling the door open.

"I definitely will. You should visit for Christmas. I'll be in touch. Sorry for the inconvenience." He murmured as he looked over Finn in disbelief.

"Not your fault." I said finally, turning and ridding myself of that whole situation. My feet dragged me back to my office, the door slamming behind me as I walked through to my personal quarters, taking a seat on the bed that face the windows. I let my gaze settle on the lines of traffic that occupied the countless number of roads below me. I wonder if any of those people had a hard past few days trying to keep themselves to themselves. Or perhaps they were smarter about things.

"Kiana." Emily's neutral voice spoke from the door, her body leaning against the doorway as she folded her arms.

"Emily." I said, not moving my gaze away from the view.

"You were quick to ruin his chances of becoming a lawyer." She spoke slowly, possibly trying to find the right words.

"No. He was quick to ruin his chances of becoming a lawyer." I muttered.

"It could have been a lesson. You were far too fast pulling the rug from under his feet." She tried to reason.

"No. He pushed the fucking rug away when he started flirting with you. It was unprofessional, and he had no right to put you in that position. If I let it be a 'lesson', it would have been one that he ignored. He would have turned out to be a manipulative figure of a very prestigious law firm. So, I disagree with your points. If he doesn't know the ground rules of how to address a woman, then he is not suitable for this agency." I ranted, dropping my head gently as I let my hands massage my neck.

"Let me." She spoke, only a little closer this time. She pulled her heels off her feet, placing them against the side of the bed before crawling behind me. She pushed my hands away and pulled me a little into her as her hands took solace on my neck. Her thumbs dug into the knots in my back as she gently massaged my neck and shoulders. I let out a soft gasp as she pushed harder on a tough spot, pulling away from her a little at the pain. "Sorry. But you know it's going to hurt more if you don't let me." She whispered, placing her hands on my shoulder and pulling me back once again. My hands pressed harshly against the bed beside her legs as I held my breath at the intensity of it all. "I get that you're protective, Kiana. But you have to let me protect myself sometimes."

"People like him rile me up. I would have done the same for anyone in your position." I muttered, my eyes closing.

"I know, and thank you. But please let me handle it. I'm stronger than you think."

"What?" I mumbled, pulling away and turning to face her. "It's not that I think you're weak. I don't doubt how strong you are, I just fucking hate seeing people treat you like that. I can't help but say something. I'm not going to let someone talk nonsense when they are in my building, talking to you like that. It's disrespectful."

"Kiana. He was flirting. It's very common. I don't know why you're so offended, it was aimed at me and even I'm not as pissed as you are."

"Because he's flirting with you, Emily." I groaned, standing from the bed and pacing in front of her as I tried to elaborate honestly. "His eyes were staring at places on your body that a respectful person would never. I could practically see him drooling over you right in front of my fucking face, I could see all of his wildest desires regarding you in that moment and he wasn't even ashamed to think of them in a room with other people."

"Your eyes have wandered to places on my body that other people's haven't." She pointed out.

"Because you're beautiful. And that's different. But I have never tried it on with you in the way that he did." I stressed as I finally looked back at her, halting my pacing.

"You most certainly have. The only difference was that I wanted it. I didn't want his." She clarified.

"And I don't want you to want his." I breathed out, squeezing my eyes shut as I turned away once again. She was speaking in past tense, I was speaking in present. I just keep on digging a spot for her in my life. Why am I so incapable of staying away?