Vice

45: Coming Clean

When Natara returns to her bedroom, Macey is waiting.

"Mom and dad have been so worried! Where have you been? Did they yell at you? I didn't hear them yelling when you walked in." She raises an eyebrow at Natara. 

Natara exhales and plops down on her bed, closing her eyes. She's so tired and stressed she can almost feel wrinkles cementing into her skin.

"No, I talked to them about it and they weren't as mad as I thought they'd be. As long as it's for work, they don't really seem to care. I wish they would have been that relaxed when I was in high school." Natara murmurs, relaxing her shoulders back against her soft mattress. 

"Well, that's good. So, are you ready to tell me what's been going on?" Macey hops onto the foot of Natara's bed and snuggles against her. "I'll be a good listener, but I am going to offer my honest feedback, you know?"

"I know." Natara sighs, wrapping her arm around Macey's shoulder. She opens her eyes, looks across the room, and tells Macey everything. Everything she's been keeping about the job since she started. Everything about Mr. Vice. And everything about Jace.

"And you'll be happy to hear that I did what you suggested. I'm staying away from Mr. Vice. I even told Jace I'd be his girlfriend." Natara finally makes eye contact with Macey.

"You told him what?" Macey screams. Natara quickly puts her hand over her little sister's mouth. 

The last thing she wants is for Macey to alert the whole household to the fact that Natara has an older boyfriend. Her parents might not care about her staying late for work so much but they would care about her dating a guy significantly older than her. Macey shakes her head, jerking Natara's hand off of her mouth. Thankfully, she lowers her voice when she continues speaking.

"Natara, you've only gone on a couple of dates with this guy. He's quite a bit older than you. How much do you know about him?" She asks. Macey had voiced plenty of concerns about older men  but she still seemed much less concerned about Natara's kind male coworker, Jace, than her suicidal, needy, icy boss.

"He's a nice guy, Macey. Everyone in the office loves him. He's helped me out since day one of me working. He seems super mature, too, and he's really hot," Natara admits, sitting back down on her mattress. Her sister's eyes widen.

"I've never heard you call a guy hot," she exclaims, falling back on the bed and stretching her arms out comfortably. "Am I hearing things?" She jokes. "But, really. Maybe being with this guy is a good thing. It's just a couple of dates and being official, right? Maybe he will pressure you less to do the other things and he's probably a lot more stable to be with than your boss."

Although Mr. Vice didn't pressure Natara into anything she doesn't say that he doesn't. She doesn't remind her sister that he asked her for permission the night that they fooled around and that she wanted all of what happened between them to happen. Natara just nods. Macey is right. Jace is the better choice.

"So, he's hot and nice. What else do you know about Jace? I want to know everything," Macey swoons. "Do you have a picture of him? Or know his last name? I want to stalk his social media."

"No, I don't remember it," Natara laughs. She feels a little bit nervous about her little sister low-key stalking her new boyfriend but Macey's pleading eyes crumble Natara's resolve. "I can ask, though," she offers. 

Natara still isn't used to thinking of anyone like Jace as her "boyfriend." If anything, he's her "manfriend" or "adultfriend." Nothing about him is boyish, except maybe his smile.

"No worries. I'll look it up on my own," she says, turning toward her computer and tapping away on her keyboard. 

Natara cringes. She doesn't doubt that her sister can find him. Macey knows her way around the internet better than Natara probably ever would and she has plenty of motivation to find Jace. If Jace had any social media, it would soon be on Macey's computer screen.

"But, let me get this straight. You're only going out with him because he seems nice and he's incredibly handsome?" Macey giggles, typing in an advanced social media search and entering Jace's age, general location, and company name. "You're basically a living K-Drama."

"What?" Natara laughs. Macey bursts into an even harder giggling fit as she browses through the social media profile results. 

Natara rolls her eyes. Macey is getting way too much excitement out of this whole deal. Typically Macey is living the more exciting life while Natara is staying far away from conflicts, new environments, and romantic prospects. Natara isn't sure how to feel about that. She definitely doesn't want her life to be exciting.

"You heard me," she exclaims. "You're, no offense, a meek shy lead female who met a handsome male lead on the very first day of going to your new office and you keep conveniently running into him during your workdays. Then you have the second male lead, the one that causes problems and is in the love triangle with you. You know, I didn't think love triangles actually happened in real life."

Natara wants to point out the fact that Mr. Vice doesn't love her. Jace also doesn't love her. She doesn't think she loves either of them, either. So it's some poor excuse for a love triangle. 

She also has to hold back from reminding her sister that the male leads are usually the ones who are cool and aloof and the heirs to mega corporations. Not like she wants Mr. Vice to be her male lead. That definitely isn't what she's thinking. 

A few seconds later, Macey ditches her computer and jumps up and down on her knees on the bed beside Natara, interrupting her mental turmoil. "Look at you," she laughs. "You're really thinking about it! You must really feel like you're in one of those dramas, hmm?"

"No, that's not how real life is," Natara replies, giving Macey a weak smile, but she isn't sure she entirely believes herself. She has found herself in a weird situation with two insanely attractive men and her life has become more dramatic than ever since she started working at this company. 

Maybe Macey is right.