The pantry smelled like reheated food and burnt coffee.
Denisse sat hunched over the small table near the window, plastic container open in front of her, fork stabbing into rice with more force than necessary. The hum of the vending machine filled the space, steady and irritating, matching the tight buzz in her head.
She chewed angrily, barely tasting anything.
"If she hadn't heard my stomach growl during that meeting," Denisse muttered under her breath, "I wouldn't even be eating right now. What kind of boss forces lunch on someone in the middle of the afternoon?"
Her fork clinked loudly against the container.
Across from her, a chair scraped against the floor.
Gigi plopped down, a packet of chips already in her hand, eyes bright with curiosity. "Are you talking to yourself now?" she asked lightly. "And why are you only eating just now? It's almost mid-afternoon."
Denisse didn't look up. "Tell that to the CEO."
Gigi paused mid-crunch. "Wow. Is she that scary as a boss?"
"Not scary," Denisse said, shoving another bite into her mouth. "Just... professionally annoying."
Gigi snorted. "That's a thing now?"
Denisse sighed and finally leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a second as if patience might be hiding there.
"Apparently," Denisse said. "We're civil, we're efficient-but I knew from the start she'd use her position to get back at me."
Gigi froze. "Get back at you?"
Denisse's heart skipped.
Too much.
She had gone too far.
She stared at her food, suddenly very aware of how thin the pantry walls felt, how voices carried. Her grip tightened on the fork.
Gigi leaned forward. "Get back at you how?"
Denisse hesitated. This was the part she was never supposed to say out loud. The secret she had carefully folded away, buried under professionalism and denial.
"Come on," Gigi urged, lowering her voice. "Spill."
Denisse exhaled slowly. "Okay... but you have to promise me this stays between us."
Gigi placed a hand dramatically over her heart. "I swear. Cross my heart. Dead serious."
Denisse glanced around once more, then leaned closer. "Do you remember Nicole?"
Gigi frowned. "Nicole... oh. Nicole. The blind date one?"
"Yes."
"What about her?"
Denisse swallowed. "The Nicole I went on a date with is the same Nicole who signs our paychecks."
There was a split second of silence.
Then-
"H-HELL NO!" Gigi blurted.
Several heads turned toward their table.
Denisse nearly choked. She waved her hand frantically. "Lower your voice! Are you trying to get me fired?"
Gigi slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Oh my God. How is that even possible?"
"I don't know," Denisse said, rubbing her temple. "Why would someone like her even go on blind dates?"
Gigi shook her head slowly, still processing. "Okay. But... is she really using her position to get back at you?"
"Yes," Denisse said immediately. "Absolutely."
"How?"
Denisse let out a humorless laugh. "Where do I even start? First, the coffee. Black. Then cream. Then sugar. Then more sugar. Back and forth like I was some kind of experiment."
Gigi winced. "Classic power move."
"Then impossible schedules," Denisse continued. "Meetings overlapping. Locations that make no sense. She made me pick up something from a shop across town just to hand her a single piece of paper."
"That's cruel."
"And yesterday," Denisse added, voice dropping, "I spent hours making a presentation. Hours. She looked at it and said she wouldn't be using it anymore."
Gigi stared at her. "That's insane. Why is she doing all that? Just because of the ER incident?"
Denisse shook her head slowly. "No. There's more."
Gigi leaned in. "So what happened this time?"
Denisse hesitated, then, "The last one really triggered her I guess."
She told her everything. The slashed tire. The cold anger still burning in her chest that night. The way she had walked straight up to the camera, pulled off her mask, lifted her middle finger without hesitation.
When she finished, Gigi was staring at her like she'd just confessed to a crime documentary.
"Oh my God," Gigi breathed. Then she laughed. "Denisse. That was unhinged."
"I know."
"I mean," Gigi added, grinning as she stirred her drink, "that was a badass move. Except for the tiny, microscopic detail that she's now your boss."
Denisse groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "I didn't know fate could be this cruel."
Gigi snorted. "Of all the people in this city who could've ended up as your new boss, it had to be the woman you cursed on her restaurant's CCTV camera."
Denisse lifted her head slowly. "I know. That's why the moment we first locked eyes in the office, I could feel it."
Gigi leaned in. "Feel what?"
"That look," Denisse said, deadpan. "The I know what you did to my bike and I absolutely will not let it slide look."
Gigi burst out laughing. "Oh my god. You're doomed."
"Completely," Denisse agreed. "She didn't even need to say anything. Her eyes were already filing charges."
Gigi tapped the table thoughtfully, still smiling. "So... what's the plan now?"
Denisse straightened in her chair, all humor draining from her expression, replaced by something sharper. Calculated. "After a whole week of her using her position to mess with me, I need to find the right moment to get back at her."
Gigi blinked. "You're planning revenge on the CEO of the company we work for?"
"Yes."
"That's... bold."
Denisse's lips curved into a thin, determined smile. "I know. But I'm not letting this slide."
Gigi laughed. "Good luck. Honestly, it's kind of tragic. You almost hit the jackpot."
Denisse groaned again. "Don't."
"We could've been at a spa right now," Gigi teased. "Luxury robes. Free champagne."
"Please stop," Denisse said, covering her ears. "I don't want to hear about that date ever again."
Gigi laughed. "Told you. The universe isn't done with you two."
"The universe is cruel," Denisse muttered.
"Or," Gigi said lightly, "maybe you're actually destined."
Denisse snorted. "Destined to be enemies."
They laughed together, the tension easing just a little, the pantry feeling warmer somehow.
But as Denisse glanced down at her half-eaten lunch, her smile faded.
Enemies or not, she thought, one thing was certain.
This story was far from over.