Oh, Lord, give me patience! I pray fervently in my mind while I politely respond to whoever this bloody woman is.
"I am sorry. If I remember correctly, I did say I was Ryan's assistant, not his whore. Pardon me if I wasn't clear or if the English was too hard for you to understand. I will try to use simpler words from here on."
The woman looked like her hair was on fire; I could see smoke coming out of her ears. She takes off her glasses, giving me a glimpse of her grey eyes, which look as if they are on fire with fury.
And here I thought I was being polite. I did keep my tone civil and added a smile to make it sting less.
"How dare you?" She snarls, eyes narrowed to a slit.
I open my mouth to explain that I didn't mean to offend her with my choice of words, which was merely demonstrating to her how it feels to be on the receiving end of rude remarks, but she raises her hand like she is a traffic controller to stop the words before they could leave my mouth.
"Save it. Do you know who I am?"
Definitely, not the President. I refrain from rolling my eyes. Why do people always play the " Do you know who I am card, especially when they are in the wrong?
"No, ma. But if you—"
"Ma!" She snorts in disbelief, eyes wide. "Are you calling me old?"
Maybe I need to spell my words instead of speaking them, because I am pretty sure 'old' and 'ma' don't have the same spelling or meaning.
"I am—"
"Save your filthy apology for someone who cares," she rudely cuts me off. "It is not your fault. I blame Ryan. God knows where he picks such incompetent and useless assistants from. Now, will you get out of my way before I have you fired!"
Though she looked like an angry bear at this moment, she is in no way as scary as my boss, who will have my head if I let whoever this feisty lady is into his office when he is in the middle of a serious business call.
"I'm sorry, Ms., but I can't let you in."
Since 'ma' makes her feel old, hopefully 'Ms' wouldn't make her feel like a spinster.
"How dare you!"
Slap!!!!
I could see stars from the hot slap to my face, and I swear I could hear the church bells ringing.
Fuck! She slapped me!
I held my cheek, staring at her in disbelief. Who the fuck is this she-devil?!
The door to Ryan's office opens, and his deep voice cuts through the thick tension between this crazy woman and me.
"What is going on here?"
As if someone flipped the switch behind her head, the woman's countenance changed—the transformation faster than the speed of light.
Her furious expression dissolves into one of distress, and she looks like a kid whose candy just got snatched.
"Baby! Your assistant is bullying me!" She cries in a whiny, snooty voice, shooting off to Ryan's side.
Shocked at the switch of play, I could only gawk at the woman in disbelief. What an amazing actress she is. She even has the tears to support her claim.
I didn't understand how I stood there with a burning cheek, yet I am the one bullying her.
Damn, she deserves an Oscar for this performance. It is perfect. If I hadn't been here throughout the whole incident and had walked in to see a beautiful woman like her in tears, I would have believed anything that came out of her mouth.
Time to see if my boss is gullible.
The way she is clinging to him like a leech to a wound shows they have an intimate relationship.
Please don't tell me she is the famous fiancée. If she is, then I might as well pack my bags, because there is no way Ryan is going to believe the words of a woman he just employed over his fiancée.
And here I thought she was some sucker being played by Ryan. With her terrible attitude, she gets no sympathy from me. The two of them bloody hell belong to each other.
While I wait for Ryan to scold me for making his fiancée cry, or worse, fire my ass, he extricates himself from the clinging grip of his fiancée and steps towards me.
I stiffen at his approach, my eyes watching him suspiciously. What does he think he is doing?
I couldn't read his intent in that stoic mask of his. My heart began to pound. Anxiously because I fear what he is going to do when he gets to me, or because a very gorgeous man is walking toward me, I can't answer.
When he got close, I felt the urge to step back. So strong was the urge that I clenched my fist to be still in his presence.
"What happened to your cheek?" He asks as he reaches out to touch my face. His expression was concerned.
I didn't trust the look in his eyes.
I flinched away from his touch, both because it fucking hurts and also because I didn't want his touch.
Instead of stopping, he leans in closer to look at my injury, and I watch, shocked, as his blue eyes darken with fury.
Is he mad at me?
"Ryan! What are you doing?" The woman demands, I could hear the jealousy seeping from every pore in her body.
Ryan ignores the woman as if she were not even present, his piercing eyes locked on my face.
They feel like laser beans.
"What happened?" He asked again, his voice commanding.
I wasn't going to snitch on his fiancée, if that is who this woman is, so I tried to lie.
"It is nothing. I walked into a wall, how clumsy of me." I chuckle nervously, trying to play down the whole incident.
Maybe, given enough time, I would have come up with something better, but this is what flew out, on top of my head.
"Don't lie to me," Ryan barks, not harshly, but with command to let me know he means business.
I look up, amazed by the concern in his voice, the same concern and protectiveness reflected in his blue eyes.
I swallowed against the dryness in my throat as my heart lunched.
"Baby!" The woman tugs at Ryan's hand, trying to get his attention. When did she join us? Her appearance allowed me to put a little distance between Ryan and me, because dude is really messing with my senses here.
"You can't seriously care about some lowly employee more than your fiancée, who is very traumatised and hurt," she weeps, trying to guilt-trip Ryan.
Ryan must be used to her manipulative antics, because her tears do not move him; instead, his expression hardens as he turns to face her.
"How many times have I warned you, Melissa, not to lay your hands on my employees?" He scolds the woman, his voice dangerously low, and so is the look in his eyes.
The woman recoils, looking like a beaten puppy. Even though Ryan was defending me, I began to feel pity for the woman. It can't be nice having your fiancée defend another woman against you, even if you deserve it.
"I am sorry, baby, but you know I have a nasty temper. She wouldn't let me in to see you, and I lost it," she grumbles, not actually offering an apology, but finding an excuse for her bad behavior.
"That is why you are in therapy, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference," Ryan snaps, and Melissa glares at him in retaliation. Most likely not pleased to have her business broadcast.
"That is not true, baby. I have apologized. What more do you want from me?"
"An apology to her," Ryan looked at me, and my eyes widened in disbelief. Melissa looked the same way.
"You can't be serious!"
"As a heart attack," Ryan retorts without missing a beat or looking away from his fiancée.
Seeing she has no choice unless she wants to remain on her fiancé's bad side, Melissa turns to face me.