I Still Hate You

Chapter 6

Well, you've guessed it. I left as soon as we were done. And it didn't take him long to finish. We got ourselves a minute man in our hands.

Don't get me wrong, Jacob was sexy and all, and the dick thing was just a minor inconvenience. I was mostly annoyed at his constant rant about his job. He couldn't stop bragging about how he was the best personal trainer out of all the others and how everyone found him sooo good looking. Jesus, dude, get over yourself!

I went to work with a nauseous feeling in my stomach.

"Good morning, Mr. Price!" Linda greeted me cheerfully. Ugh! Her smile was too bright, and I did not feel like socializing. I gave her a half-assed nod and strode towards my office.

I tried to ignore my splitting headache and busied myself with paperwork. Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me.

Warmth spread through my body as I felt a hand on my shoulder. He was standing behind me, but I didn't turn around right away.

"There is a typo," a deep, husky voice spoke near me. His breath tickled my neck as he was close. Too close.

Ethan.

"Wha...where?" I stammered. I felt goosebumps all over my body. I need to tell him to get his filthy hand off me.

"Right...there," he extended his arm and pointed at the screen. I couldn't move as he was practically caging me in my chair. Why won't he back away? I felt as if I couldn't breathe.

"Ethan...um...you are too close, buddy," I tried to sound casual, but my voice shook. I could feel my pulse quickening.

"Sorry. I'll back off. By the way, this is a professional setting, so fix your collar," he reached over and started to fix it himself. I felt a shiver in my spine as his fingers brushed against my skin. Goddammit, why does he have this effect on me?

I expected him to stand up and back away, but he started to put his arms around me. "What are you doing?" I jolted in my seat.

"Fixing your tie. It seems you didn't bother to look in the mirror this morning. Your tie is crooked."

I slapped his hand off. "I can fix it myself, so just back off and stopped breathing in my space!" I cried and prayed he doesn't notice my ears turning red.

Ethan backed away and raised his hands in surrender. "My bad. Just trying to help. Besides, I am your direct supervisor, so I can't have you running around looking disheveled." He paused and squinted his eyes at me. "What's wrong with you, anyway? Rough night?" he asked.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" I barked.

"Alright...jeez...someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. How can I make you feel better?" he winked.

Excuse me, is my boss, aka former crush, aka my enemy flirting with me? I thought to myself, then immediately dismissed it in my head. That's ridiculous. Why would Ethan Miller flirt with me? He is not into men.

"You can start by getting out of my hair," I said. God, I sound lame.

"How about coffee? Come see me at two, and we can go get lunch together," Ethan offered.

"No thanks. Being in the same room with you during work hours is agonizing enough. I don't need to see you during the break too," I said quickly.

"Well, the way I see it, I am your boss, so you can't refuse. We are having lunch together, and that's an order," Ethan announced. His piercing blue eyes bored into mine.

"Isn't this a form of sexual harassment? Don't lie to me and say no. I've seen the training videos on the subject!" I exclaimed.

"You mean the ones with bad acting? They don't matter. It's your words against mine. Stop being difficult. It's only lunch," Ethan chuckled.

I sighed. He didn't look like he was going to back down. Besides, he was right. I couldn't refuse my boss.

"Fine. 2 pm it is," I said.

"Wonderful. Meet me on the parking deck. Don't be late," he said and left me alone with my thoughts.

What is going on? Why was Ethan so friendly? I wondered. Maybe he is trying to show me he is a better man than me, and then he'll try to convince me to forgive him. Pfft...not gonna happen!

2 pm came around too quickly. I've been dreading the moment since he left my office. I didn't know why. Calm down, Corey, it's just lunch, I told myself.

I went down to the underground parking lot as promised and waited for him.

A poison green Corvette pulled up next to me, and the rooftop opened up. Ethan waved and motioned me to sit on the passenger seat. Of course, he drives a goddamn Corvette Convertible. Flashy bastard.

"What are you waiting for? Get in," Ethan said.

"Right, sorry," I mumbled and sat next to him.

We didn't speak on the way to wherever he was taking me. It seemed like we drove quite a bit. We finally arrived at a French café, a little bit away from the city.

"You do realize my break isn't that long, right? Why didn't you take me somewhere local?" I said irritably.

"Don't worry. You won't get in trouble for being late. Now let's go inside. I am starving," he said and got out of the car. I had no choice but to follow him. Ethan had always been stubborn.

He looked at the menu with a serious expression on his face. "I don't see chocolate Milkshake on here," he commented. "It's your favorite, right?" he added.

I looked at him with surprise. It had always been my weakness since I was little, but how can he remember?

"Um...yea, when I was like 10," I chuckled.

"Nope, you liked it when you were a teenager too. I bet you still love it," he leaned over and grinned.

"You are wrong. You know nothing about me," I shook my head.

"I know you like to dip your fries in your shake, and I know you cut your burgers in a section of four. Like a weirdo," he said. He tapped his fingers on the table and stared at me intently. As if to wait for me to deny what he said. But he was right; I do all of those things. I didn't realize he noticed those tiny details.

"You are wondering why I remember such insignificant things, aren't you?" he asked.

What is he, a psychic?