TIFFIN 4

20

What to do... What to do...

Smoothing fingers down my sleek burgendy hair and tightening my blazer, words left chapped lips before anything made sense.

"Eli. Send her in. Seems we have lots to catch up on."

Wasn't that the truth? Last time I'd set eyes on the callous bitch had been at Kylie's wedding. God. Only mere days ago had chico seen the debacle of the century, having set shit in stone. Everyone heard about the clique's plan to release that tape, which saddened me. Not because of the tape itself, but for Hero to have proved others right in the fact he needed to be pushed on his ass.

My old grade school buddy must have caught onto some hidden agenda. Deep brown eyes narrowed, but who was he to question my authority?

"Right away, Kristina. What shall I tell Cole?"

Huh?

"What on earth-?"

"Apparently he's left countless voicemails for our receptionist. Ever since you decided to give him the boot- personally and professionally- he's been persisitant. Even called my cell to get your attention."

Okay. Guilty as charged. Maybe it had been poor sportsmanship on my part, but ghosting him had seemed the good way to go. Cole just couldn't move on from his infatation with me. What occured during my pregnancy with Eleanor had been a pasttime as hurtful as it was to admit. Pretty sure he had known that at the time, but became too invested. If he didn't stop, more drastic measures would need to be taken.

"I'll deal with it. Just send Annie in please."

Nodding, he rushed out. Now, for the issue at hand. What was the fraternity's plan here. They'd lost a cohort. wasn't it easier to just forgive and forget? Kylie had gone through something utterly traumatizing and wished to move on with her life. Without any of them in it. They were toxic- just as much as my ex-husband- and it finally made sense as to how they'd all linked.

This line of thinking must have drowned into me into an abyss of emotion because a prescence soon stood on the threshold of my office once more, causing hairs to stand on the nape of my neck. The plum-colored strands had now been replaced with some green hue that reminded me of puke, though her attire was nothing short of scandolous. Dear Lord. Were those boobs new?

"Surprise, surprise, princess. Miss us?"

Us? Before I could actually question Lolita on this, Ellie materialized, looking rather traumatized. Oh no. Had we really made a mistake on naming little Eleanor after this snake? Fuck.

"Can't say it's a welcome one, Annie, but do come in."

Before chairs could be properly placed, both women clung to each corner of my desk, obviously ready for war. Okay, game on.

"Anything I can do you ladies for? Though I'm sure half the campus has filled that void."

Annie didn't seem amused; she raised a stenciled brow.

"Yes, skank. We want Kylie back."

Oh, so that's what this was about. It only made my lips quirk up in an amusing sneer.

"That's not my call. She's washed her hands of you, but don't take my word for it. Ask her. Though I swear that if you make threats, I will come back ten times harder. That beautiful girl suffered so much torment and doesn't need reminders."

Ellie was still cowering like some pathetic puppy, but eventually spit out what was on her mind:

"Just hand her over, Addison! Let us go back to how things used to be before this whole drama with you and Hero... Technically we're almost there again."

Fucking cowards.

"First off, Ellie, I'm not an Addison anymore. It's Tiffin. Secondly, Kylie isn't some prized animal to auction off. She's a person."

It was Annie's turn to interject:

"Yeah. Someone that detested and wanted to hurt you because you stood in the way of her daily hookup. Listen, honey. Things will get worse. You think that sex tape was the only thing dear Hero had over your head. Oh no. It's only the first; we've seen how much of an ass he's been on live telivision and in the tabloids. Drunk mess, isn't he? As his friends, we'll of course step in to help."

As I advanced, she merely chuckled.

"What can you do, huh? Your life is already heading downhill; losing a kid and unfaithful husband? Last thing you need is  an assault record added to that mess. Think this through."

As Annie turned and latched onto Ellie's frail wrist, I knew soething wasn't right. I needed to get through to her. But how?

Thank you all for reading.

Can't wait to see how this all unfolds.

What do you think will happen??