Under My Boss’ Table

Suddenly Alina hugged me impulsively. I literally felt how much she cared for me and for some reason I started crying. The tears that were gathering in me were released. Several tourists looked at me in surprise.

“Remember, if you both liked everything, it’s wonderful.” She whispered. “However, is it worth suffering for such an idiot? Think a lot. You’re alone. And if I were you, I’d take a closer look at your new colleague. In fact, gender does not decide anything at all, it is the personality and soul of the person that decides. But that’s your business, dear. You can even send them both to hell. Or you can do it for your health with both at the same time. The main thing is that you are happy.”

I nodded. Alina pulled away and smiled:

“By the way, I like to hear stories of how a woman ignores a man. You know, they immediately switch places. As in your case. Cat and mouse games are like that. But do you understand that he doesn’t love you anyway?”

“Yes, I get it.” I said. “As well as the fact that he doesn’t really love his wife.”

“To the point.” Alina agreed with satisfaction. “He seems to love only himself, and only himself.”

We laughed. After talking to my sister, I felt so good, so calm, and I realized that when I returned to the country I would draw certain conclusions. Maybe not in Edward’s direction.

For the next three days, all we did with Alina was walk. We walked through the old town, the so-called republic within Vilnius, ‘Užupis’, through shopping malls and small old shops. Vilnius definitely cured me, and I was incredibly happy to have gone on vacation.

But all good things come to an end quickly, and the time has come to leave for Russia. On the one hand, it was a shame that I had so little left in the capital of Lithuania, but on the other, it would have been more difficult to go back…

“Keep your tail in the wind, or something like that.” Alina said, saying goodbye to me. “And write to me a few times. If you want to talk about your progress, you know who to contact.”

She winked at me and we said goodbye.

Then, sitting on the plane and looking at the clouds, I asked myself: “what’s next? I haven’t really decided anything for myself.”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. How did it all begin?

I remembered how I got a job in this company and was extremely happy, because it was considered one of the most prestigious. I remembered how Edward hooked me at first sight, how he seemed at first angry and dissatisfied with life.

I remembered how my colleagues assured me that, except for his wife, no one interested him. Liars. Why were they silent about Lisa? I remembered how after his birthday I kissed him and he pushed me. He lied to my face that his wife and only his wife was dear to him.

Why was he so eager to convince himself that he loved Sofia immensely? It was not like that! And then I remembered how he called me to lunch, he admitted that his wife was cheating on him and offered me this stupid sex of his with no restrictions. But what if he lied in the case of his wife? What if she had never cheated on him?

There were many questions, but no answers…

The rest of the days before the holidays ended, I tried to spend them productively. I went to the movies, read books, and just walked the embankment of our city.

But then, I went back to work…

I immediately felt that something was wrong. Outwardly, everything seemed to be as usual: the boss’s office was open, as always, and Edward greeted politely:

“Good morning, Elvira. Welcome.”

Then he immediately buried himself in his monitor. I shook my head and saw Alexandra, who was quickly approaching me.

“Hi there! Do you have a minute for a coffee? It will be productive for the business day.”

“Hi, of course.” I replied, and glanced at Edward. He continued to carefully study something on the screen. I turned my gaze to Anna’s office, but it was closed.

“Come on, come on.” Alexandra urged me, and I realized that she was eager to say something.

When we got to the kitchen, my colleague checked to see if there was anyone else in the hall. Making sure no one bothered us, she asked:Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

“Where have you been? I sent you a lot of messages on WhatsApp.”

“I decided to take a break from the phone. By the way, where is Anna?”

“That’s what I wrote to you about!” Alexandra was so excited that I immediately sat down at the table and looked at her expectantly. “Something is happening, I can feel it in my stomach. But I have no direct evidence. Usually…”

I looked at her attentively, trying to capture the essence of what she was saying. She took a deep breath and continued:

“It seems to me that there is something between Edward and Anna!” She looked around her again.

It felt like my heart had stopped beating and was out. For a moment, I even stopped breathing.

“Alexandra, are you sure? Why did you decide this?”

“The point is, Edward was overwhelmed by work, and he started looking for someone to delegate part of the project work to,” she explained, “and Anna turned out to be a more or less an ideal candidate, since she has little experience in this type of business. But that is not the point. They often began to lock themselves in Edward’s office, and at first nothing aroused suspicion. But in the middle of the week, Anna suddenly ran out of his office all red, and I swear I saw that her blouse was buttoned unevenly. And she ran home.”

“It’s strange, I agree.” I replied after a moment of silence. “But I don’t think they can have anything…”

“Why not?” Alexandra interrupted, eagerly trying to test her point of view. “Anna is very beautiful and we all know how greedy Edward is for female beauty. Remember Lisa! Also, he constantly looks at her.”

“Is she going to work at his house? I asked. Jealousy started to stab something nasty inside, and my mouth went dry.

“No.” Alexandra shook her head. “Edward didn’t give Anna much work. How are you? You’ve turned pale… Stop, wait. Do you still have feelings for him?”

“It seems I have recovered from this, but it’s still unpleasant. Apparently I’m used to it.” I winced. Alexandra took my hand and squeezed it encouragingly.

Back in my office, I locked the door and started going through my work mail. There were many letters, both informative and useless, and I responded one after another with indifference. After Alexandra’s words, everything froze in me with anticipation. It was like the calm before the storm…

If Alexandra didn’t lie, because she most likely didn’t as I don’t see any reason for her to lie, so many things indicate that Edward was taking an interest in the new girl.

I remembered that lustful look he gave her after our failed kiss. Basically, it looked like they were potential lovers. But this strange thing was complicated by two nuances: supposedly Edward’s affection for me and Anna’s sympathy. Also, don’t forget about Sofia. What is this? Did a love triangle stop being a triangle?

What about me? Did Edward have feelings for me? All his words about how dear I was to him, again another lie?

“How is he not tired of having lovers for himself? Soon his member will dry up!” I thought.

In the intense meditation process, I did not notice how anger began to awaken in me. I was mad at Edward, terribly mad. And about Anna. “Wait anger. There is no direct evidence yet, maybe things are not what you think.” I told myself, trying to calm myself.

I sighed. One, two, three. I exhaled. One, two, three. I sighed again…