Unholy Matrimony

Chapter One

Chapter One

"I'll save you the trouble of firing me, Mr. Richards, because I quit!" I yelled at my now former boss and slammed his office door shut with a satisfying bang. I then proceeded to storm over to my desk and shove the random knickknacks that littered the area into my purse.

"Stupid, condescending, buffoon," I muttered to myself angrily as I ransacked my previous workspace. "Thick headed, annoying, douchebag!"

Suddenly, I realized that the office had gone silent, and all of my coworkers were staring at me.

"Carry on," I told them, my cheeks heating up with embarrassment. "There's nothing to see here!"

I finished my task and hiked my incredibly heavy purse higher on my shoulder and ran for the exit, my favorite red heels clacking loudly on the tacky linoleum.

When I finally reached the parking garage I sighed with relief, only to stop short in my tracks when I saw the man leaning against my car.

"Tessa," He said, with what I assumed he thought was a sexy drawl. "How'd you trick old Mr. Richards into letting you have the day off?" He eyed me with dark brown eyes, running his hands through his dirty blonde hair in an overly dramatic manner.

"Nathan," I sighed, readjusting my bag and shifting my feet. "I just quit." His eyes widened a little bit, but he soon covered his surprise with a smirk.

"Either way, you're free. Want to grab something to eat?"

I tried to disguise my sudden urge to throw up with a weak smile. "Sorry, but I have to go and find another job. Gotta pay the bills somehow, y'know?" I said through a fake smile, hoping he would leave.

It wasn't all lies, I DID need to find another job soon, just not so soon. Tonight, I had a date with two lovely men: Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry, if you know what I mean. Plus, I had no desire to ever speak to, or even see Nathan ever again. He was well-known as the office player, and had been vying for my attention ever since I started working at Mr. Richard's company, three months ago. But I had made the mistake of dating someone like him once and I sure as hell wasn't going to do it again. Sure, he's attractive, but beneath that cool guy façade and the handsome mask, there's a narcissistic jerk who just wants to use you and leave you behind like yesterday's garbage.

He made me sick.

Nathan stepped away from my car and walked towards me. "C'mon Tessa, just one date?" He flashed me his signature smile, full of pearly whites, and folded his arms against his broad chest. "I've been trying to take you out for months now, you owe it to me."

He reached out to touch my face, but I sidestepped the gesture and made my way over to my car.

"Nice try Nathan, you're very charming, you did almost everything right. You just made one tiny little mistake,"

I flashed him a smile of my own as I opened my door, enjoying the dumbfounded look on his face. He clearly wasn't used to rejection, especially not so many times. I sat down on the worn faux leather seats in my trusty little car and shut the door, inserting the key and rolling down the window.

"Do you want to know what that mistake is?" I asked him as I put on my sunglasses and adjusted the mirror.

"Yeah, actually," He replied, still looking surprised.

"I don't owe anybody anything," I said. "Not anymore,"I pressed down on the gas pedal, hard, and his mouth dropped to the ground as he watched me drive away for the last time.

Wow, that felt GOOD! I tore out of the parking garage, finally feeling like a free woman.

I should've known it wouldn't last.