Chapter 7

___________________

Rose

I HAD BECOME A master at avoiding Alex over the month that passed. The ease of it was more than likely because he was doing his best to evade me as well. Whatever the case, I didn’t care. If it meant I didn’t have to deal with him, then so be it. The few times I did encounter him we did our best to avert each other’s gaze or if communication was required it was one word or a grunt. They had hired a new assistant for Alex, so Lucy now primarily worked for me, helping him out from time to time when he needed her. In addition to Lucy, I had Marisa, who had just been promoted within the company, helping me out. She had overcome her ill feelings for me, and the three of us got along great. I was going about my business and loving my job, proving to myself I wasn’t as bad as Alex tried to peg me that day in his office. I made a point of befriending my coworkers and they retuned my congeniality toward them by befriending me back. I knew it was probably pissing Alex off big-time to see these people who he claimed I looked down upon wanted to be friends with me, but I didn’t care. That made me want to do it even more.

“So, everything with the job is going well?” my aunt asked as we sat down to Sunday brunch at one of her favorite restaurants.

“You know, it really is. I’ve got to be honest with you, I was planning on bombing the interview, just so I could get out of working, but I really like it. It’s kind of nice making my own money.”

She looked over her teacup and quirked an eyebrow. “Who are you and what have you done with the girl who used to be my bratty little niece?”

“Was I really that bad?”

“No, you weren’t, at least not to me.”

“Well, I’m still not dropping my standards when it comes to a man.”

“I would expect no less.” She laughed.

We finished our meal and my aunt headed to the charity event she was scheduled to attend. I went back to her place and took advantage of the quietness to get caught up on some work, even though Sunday afternoons were usually reserved for shopping. My aunt was right, what did happen to that girl from just a few months ago?

Tomorrow was the weekly staff meeting and I wanted to make sure I had my agenda all lined up for the week. I loved impressing Mr. Andrews with my fresh ideas and my ability to “think outside the box” as he’d put it, but I also enjoyed one-upping Alex with the concepts I brought to the table. I loved seeing the frustration on his face when his uncle would give a mere nod to one of his suggestions then gush over one of mine. He was like one of those cartoon characters with the steam coming out of their ears. So, if I had to take some extra time on my Sunday to achieve that result from him, it was worth every minute.

I scanned my email and my eyes widened to find a hit for my Miss Demeanor advice column. It had been up and running for the past two weeks and hadn’t seen much action except for some sick pervert asking what the best position for sex was and some spammers trying to sell me solar energy. I wasn’t getting my hopes too high that this would be a legit question either as I clicked on the mail icon.

Dear Miss Demeanor,

I don’t normally turn to the Internet for advice, but I’m all out of options. I don’t want to burden my family with this, and I’m too embarrassed to tell my friends. I’ve been seeing this girl for the past three months, and I really do like her. The problem is, I think she’s only with me for my money. I’ve been fortunate enough to become extremely successful at a very young age and am pretty much set for life financially. She’s been pressuring me after only three months to get engaged, which I find very odd because on our first date before she knew of my success, she said she wasn’t ready for marriage for a long while. So, my question is, should I confront her about this or just continue to see how things go.

Signed,

Confused & Unhappy

Wow, my first legit inquiry. I should’ve been excited, but I wasn’t. The problem was, I didn’t know how to answer it when I related more with the girl than the guy asking for advice. I bit my bottom lip and stared at the blinking cursor on my computer screen for what seemed like eternity before finally assembling some thoughts.

Dear Confused & Unhappy,

I can see why you may have doubts about this girl you’re seeing, and it could possibly be one of two things:

Maybe you’re right and after she found out about your financial status she suddenly saw an easy way to strike it rich.

Or

Maybe in the three months of you guys being together, she really did fall in love with you. People change all the time, and perhaps after getting to know you, she changed her viewpoint on marriage.

The thing is, you will never know if you don’t confront her. Communication and honesty

are vital in any relationship. If you don’t have those two things then you have nothing because without them you lose trust, and once trust is lost the relationship is doomed. So, if I were you, I’d let her know how you’re feeling and ask her about the sudden shift in her stance on marriage. It’s better to know now than before you invest more time into this relationship.

~ Miss Demeanor xo

I stared at my words in awe. I had given my first round of advice, and I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I was the last person who should be answering this of all questions…I could be that girl! Even though I was leaning more toward my first scenario than the second, I still had to give this guy a little hope that maybe in some off chance she did change. I was a testament to how much people could change. A month ago, work was a foreign word. Now here I was loving every minute of it. On the plus side, my advice on honesty and trust was 100 percent legit. I’d never been in a relationship that lasted past waking up in their bed the next morning after a wild frat party or maybe another date or two to try and get me back into their bed. But if I were to ever meet that special someone…and that was a big if, besides his financial status, trust would be the key factor. I could never be with someone who was dishonest with me. I hit the send button and closed my laptop, feeling triumphant. Another thing I could add to my list to impress Mr. Andrews with tomorrow and at the same time tick off Alex. I smiled with great satisfaction—my work was done, and now I was counting the hours until Monday morning and that look of dread on Alex’s face.