Desolation // l.p.

Chapter XV

"Genevieve, that's disgusting." I cringe at my sister. For the past half an hour we have been laying on my bed talking about her boyfriend in Florida and how 'in love' they are. I'm just happy that she is in a steady relationship and not sleeping around. Even if she believes he is the 'one she will marry', I'll take some muscle head jock over an asshole any day for her to be with.

"We only did that once." She laughs, "And it was quite enjoyable." She adds in, sitting up next to me. Her brown eyes peer down at me and I give her a quizzical look. "Enough about me though, what's going on with you?" She asks and my mind races with many possible answers.

How do I tell her that I hate my job, but love it at the same time? Or that I have unknown and irrepressible feelings for my boss that I can't seem to decipher. Do I like him? Do I hate him? I'll be fucked if I knew. "Not much." I settle with, shooting her a small smile and rest my eyes on the ceiling fan, my eyes following it as it spins.

"Well, how long have you been dating your boss?" She asks, looking like she knows a secret that I don't. I choke on air, the blunt question catching me off guard. Why on earth would she think that?

"What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at my overly curious sister.

"Your boss! How long have you two been dating? Or are you just sleeping together?" She asks hysterically not hiding the amusement the question is giving her. She looks at me for an answer, expecting a good one. I'm not sure the one that I have is what she is really hoping for though.

"We're not- I'm not dating my boss." I say defensively, sitting up on the bed and standing from it. I walk over to my dresser, picking up and playing with a necklace to distract my restless hands.

"So you're sleeping together!" She shouts overly excited.

"No!" I respond defensively, yelling over my shoulder. "My boss is- well.. my boss." I state the fact and return my eyes to the now knotted chain of the necklace. I'm disturbed that she would accuse me of doing such a thing. But then again, she isn't the only one. Those ladies in the elevator acted like they expected me to be having sex with him too. Personally, I don't see it. He and I can barely be in the same room without me wanting to crawl under a rock from embarrassment.

"Stop lying to me." She says from behind me. My eyes find her reflection in the mirror as she sits on the edge of the bed in anticipation.

"Why would I be lying to you?" I shrug throwing the necklace down giving up on the knot that I made. I turn and face her, my hands gripping the dresser behind me.

"Because why else would he have come to meet mom earlier, especially when there was a 'death in the family'." She says, using air quotes and staring me down. I don't want to admit that she is right, he is my boss. He is allowed to feel sympathetic for me but I'm pretty sure he isn't supposed to actually care enough to come to my home and comfort me.

"First of all, Sam is not a part of this family. And second, because-" I struggle, trying to find the right words. "Because I left my purse at the diner, so he followed my taxi home and gave it back to me. He was already here so why not come in and meet my family." I finalize, attempting to justify it as reasonable. Though I know it's not, I can still try to convince my sister and myself that this is what happened.

"Right. Because that is normal." She huffs in irritation.

"He was just being nice. Jesus, what are you trying to say, Genevieve?" I snap, frustrated by her dancing around what she really wants to say to me.

"I'm saying, your boss wants to slide you the hot beef injection." She half shouts like it's obvious.

"Oh my god, don't say it like that." I growl, trying my best not to laugh. The girl is nineteen years old and using childish terms for the word sex. "And no, he doesn't. His taste in women is very... refined." I decide, thinking of all of the women I work with. My mind wanders to Candy Davenport and how pretty she was. Flawlessly curled blonde hair, manicured nails, perfect makeup and a pair of Louis Vuitton stilettos. She is literally my polar opposite. I can't imagine him ever wanting to be with someone so flawed, when he himself is so flawless.