Chapter 4
Celia’s targeted jabs seeped into my work life like a slow–acting poison, little by little.
The first day I showed up in a Lolita dress, she let out an exaggerated gasp. “Oh my god! For a second there, I thought I’d wandered into Disneyland!”
A few of the guys nearby snickered under their breath.
At lunch, when I wiped my utensils with a disinfectant wipe, Celia tapped her fork against her plate and announced, “Attention, everyone! Princess Gracie is about to dine!” Her little clique followed her lead, bowing with ridiculous flourish, and someone even whipped out their phone to record.
But the worst was moving day in our department.
I was struggling to haul a heavy box when Celia clapped her hands with a laugh. “Look! Our Disney princess can’t lift her own things–where’s her prince to save the day?”
She gave a not–so–subtle shove to one of the guys. “Come on, helping out our Disney princess is an honor. Get to it!”
At first, Jaime would still frown and say, “No horsing around at work.”
Celia would just cling to his arm and whine, “You’re no fun at all; you can’t even take a joke. Gracie doesn’t mind, right?”
She leaned in close to his ear but made sure the whole office could hear. “Don’t you think… that fake innocent act of hers is just so out of place. here? I’m just trying to help her fit in, so we can all work together.”
Chapter 4
I saw Jaime’s eyelashes tremble..
He was silent for a moment, then actually murmured a soft, “Yeah.”
In that instant, I understood.
To him, my love of Lolita dresses was just pretentious.
So when I saw Celia fiddling with Jaime’s tie clip, flashing me a smug little eyebrow raise, for the first time, I didn’t feel jealous. I didn’t even try to explain myself to him.
The first day back at work after the holiday, I’d barely sat down when Celia greeted me with a mocking smile. “Girl, if I had your confidence, I could do anything. Look at you–so tanned and still rocking a Lolita dress? If I were as dark as you, I’d never dare. But hey, Gracie, is today’s look ‘Black Snow White goes tribal“?”
Jaime was in the middle of a sip of coffee. At her words, his hand jerked, sending ripples through his latte.
Celia only doubled down, “Seriously, Gracie, you’re way too old to be playing the cutesy card…”
Before I even realized it, the glass of water in my hand flew across the
table.
Her carefully drawn brows started to melt, eyelash glue shining white, foundation running in streaks down her face–she looked like a cheap painting left out in the rain.
“Gracie!” Jaime seized my wrist, his grip so tight his nails dug into my skin, making my pupils contract in pain. “Where are your manners? Apologize to Celia right now!”
I stared at his cold, impassive face and let out a laugh. “Why should I?
Chapter 4
Give me one good reason.”
Jaime looked down at me from above, brow furrowed, voice icy. “Because you just threw water in her face, that’s why!”
My eyes burned as I glared back at him. “Did you not hear her mocking me all this time? She started it!”
“You could’ve told her to stop or snapped back, but you can’t get physical. Now, apologize for throwing water on her.
This is work, not your home. No one’s going to coddle you here, so apologize now.” His tone was so matter–of–fact, so certain.
I gave a cold little laugh. “No. I won’t apologize when I did nothing wrong. She doesn’t deserve it.”
Jaime looked at me, wounded and disappointed. “What happened to you? Gracie, you’re really letting me down.”
“Funny, I could say the same about you.”
“You-”
He wanted to say more, but I was done listening.
I cut him off. “Are you finished? I said I’m not apologizing, and I mean it. If you think I’m a criminal, call the cops.”
Jaime let out a bitter laugh, grabbed his coffee, and, without hesitation, flung it at my face.
I froze.
So did Jaime.
=
Chapter 4
I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to remain steady. “Jaime, we’re done.”
