Page 2 of It Must Be Love

Not the time and place to have a breakdown, Naya. Wait until you get home.

"Hi, Naya. How are you? I love your outfit. Very business." Ann was blonde, tall and supermodel gorgeous. She also had a mean streak.

I felt humiliated. Amias had said that I had no fashion sense.

I guess I didn't. I also didn't have the money to go shopping like Ann who was a big time executive and had a trust fund to boot. I was still paying off my father's medical bills, which Nolan conveniently decided he couldn't contribute to because he had just bought a house. And that is why I was living in a tiny apartment in South End while I chipped away at massive debt.

I shopped at Marshall's, Ross, and TJ Maxx. If anything cost more than twenty dollars, I didn't buy it. But I looked alright, at least until now, I thought I had.

Today, I was in black dress pants and a black sweater. Black was my go-to color, and I had plenty of clothes in black. Actually, nearly all my clothes were black. I wasn't a fashion plate or a good-looking woman by any means. I knew very well that someone who looked like Amias was way out of my league. I was average height, five feet five, size six to eight, depending upon the brand; my hair was some kind of brown. My face was nothing to write home about except for the small scar right above my left eyebrow, which was the result of an accident. That was the other reason why I covered my legs at all times.

To work, I wore professional clothes – blouses, shirts, and sweaters with dress pants. I wore comfortable shoes because I bicycled to and from work. I tied my hair in a ponytail because I didn't like it falling in my eyes when I worked. I wore little jewelry, just earrings I bought on sale, which were definitely not diamonds like the ones sparkling on Ann’s ears, hands, and neck.

I was your garden-variety Plain Jane.

"Thanks, Ann," I said politely and caught the scowl Amias threw his girlfriend's way and her smirk in response.

Amazing how some people took pleasure in making fun of others. I'd never be able to understand that. Why someone who looked like Ann, a Vice President of R&D for a big tech company—which was a clear indication of how successful she was—needed to make me feel small was unfathomable. And she needn't have bothered, I already felt pretty inconsequential.

Ann leaned down to kiss her boyfriend and walked out of the office after bidding me farewell. I sat down across from Amias. He looked like he always did: the king of the world.

As the CEO of a successful tech company in many ways, he was the king of the world. I'd been happy to get a job at Midas Technologies, one I assumed I got because of my experience as a programmer. Now, I had to find a new job, which sucked because I really liked working here. I loved my colleagues. My boss was great. The projects I worked on were challenging and motivating.

"Let's get this show on the road," Amias instructed.

I opened my laptop and connected it via Bluetooth to the monitor in his office. Amias turned his chair to face the wall where the large screen hung.

Usually, I wouldn't be meeting with him. But my manager, Ethan, was on paternity leave, so I was doing his job for the next twelve weeks. I'd been excited to show Amias my skills. I hoped to impress him so he would finally see me. Well, that wouldn't be happening, considering he thought I was only an okay programmer with a terrible body. And, let's not forget the boring as fuck part.

I walked Amias through the specifications and project plan.

"Tell me again why we're using up all our buffer?"

"Ah…Ethan told me that was a decision you and he made and—"

"Don't blame Ethan for your project plan, Naya, especially since he's not here to defend himself," he snapped. "I don't like that buffer. You need to move some things around because I don't want to see any delays with Phoenix. The market is expecting us to release this on time. Got it?"

I nodded.

Amias was known for cutting people down in meetings if they underperformed, which was why I over prepared when I met with him. Yet, he always found a way to pounce on me. It was unfair and confusing. I was always on time and within scope. I worked hard and knew I was smart. I never missed a deadline, ever. In the three years I worked there, I had the highest performance reviews. I knew that because Ethan had told me.

"Yes. I'll work on the plan some more and get it back to you."

"You should've fixed it before you brought it to me." He wasn't even looking at me when he spoke, his eyes were focused on the screen. "Look, if you're not ready to do Ethan's job while he's away, I can get someone else to run this project."

My heart almost stopped at that. Men may not think I'm attractive. But no one had ever said I wasn't good at my job.

"I'll take care of this. We'll be on time," I tried to assure him.

He finally looked at me and his eyes were cold, unyielding. "You want to get promoted, Naya? You can't do substandard work like this."

Substandard work? Wow! The hits just kept coming.

"Yes, I understand."

"I want to see the new plan by end of day."

I picked up my laptop and walked out of Amias' office, feeling like the world around me had collapsed.