【03】Blatant Masochism

23.7K 1.2K 289
                                    

— Present time —

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

— Present time —

"Andy?"

Mason calling out my name while pushing my headphones away shook me out of my gloomy thoughts, and I turned to look at him, realizing I'd been caught up in scenes of the past once more. When I met his worried eyes, I understood my melancholia had been rather obvious.

"Are you okay, sis?" he asked, visibly preoccupied. He was speaking just low enough so only I could hear him.

Only then did I feel it. I was crying. A tear was making its way down on my cheek. Shit! I swiftly wiped it away, hoping no one else had noticed.

It was useless now that he'd seen me cry, but still, I felt the need to pretend everything was okay, as usual. "I'm good. Did you need something?" I nodded, hoping the smile I plastered on my face was at least a little convincing.

"No, it's just... I worry about you, girl. You've not been yourself for a few weeks. Did something happen?"

My mouth opened as I wanted to deny it, and just say I had been feeling a little blue lately, which had been my explanation every time someone noticed my poor state of mind. I didn't like laying my problems on people, always thinking it would bother them. But Mason genuinely seemed to want to know, so maybe I should tell him the truth? Or some of it, not disclosing Lex's involvement.

"Is it because of the man you were seeing?" he insisted after a few seconds of me not answering. I nodded, swallowing a couple of times to relax the knot clutching my throat. "Aw, boo... Is he not in the picture anymore?"

I tried not to, but I looked around the room, glimpsing at Lex with a fast and discreet gaze. He was still very much in the picture. Just not my picture. Before it could seem suspicious, I promptly looked away, back to Mason, and shook my head with pinched lips. Lex wasn't in the picture anymore, and I wasn't sure he'd even been in it in the first place.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mason proposed

Once more, I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about any of it. About how I'd fallen in love with my boss, ruined everything, and was now forced to see him every day, unable to get over it. Over him.

"Alright, I won't press. But just know I'm here, girl."

I gave him a sheepish smile and returned my attention to the screen, thankful that he was so comprehensive.

It didn't matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite focus on work anymore. Not with Lex in the same room, a few feet away from me. He was helping Brian with something, and I was highly aware of his presence in the office. At least, the music blasting in my ears meant I couldn't hear snatches of his low voice that would reach me otherwise.

Still, I tried my best to keep working, to not let him affect me so badly. I had five more weeks to last, and then I'd be free.

To my great disappointment, the script I was working on turned out to be much more tricky than I'd thought, and even with the help of Joseph, I didn't manage to find a solution. I couldn't tell if it was because I was having a hard time focusing today, or if the script would pose a problem, regardless. But no matter what, I had been stuck for the past thirty minutes, unable to find a solution.

The Passion Parameter - Vol. IIWhere stories live. Discover now