I Love You is Eight Letters, So is Bullshit

Chapter <3 3

My fingers float over the rack of shirts in front of me before I pick out two. It is now mid-afternoon. After paying for my things, I decide it's most definitely safe to head back to the office, knowing that I need to work. I walk in with bags from shopping hanging off my arms. My colleagues send me hate-filled stares, but I decided to ignore them, grinning silently to myself.

I climb out of the elevator.

"Hey, Eric, what other assignment is there for me?" I ask, not looking around at my surroundings. Big mistake on my part, might I add. The bags bang against the side of the elevator, hanging off my arms like they are ornaments. What? I like my shopping, so sue me. Eric steps out of his office, his eyes watching me slowly as I set my bags down.

"Ummm ...," he begins, rubbing the back of his neck as he slowly approaches me, resting his hands on my hips as he turns me to face him. I think I hear a low sound, but pay no attention to it. "Estella, you have to take the job..."

"I what?!" I shriek, pushing him away from me as I glare up at him.

He reaches out for me again, "Estella, I'm sorry, they requested you, and they demand to have you!"

"I don't give a fuck!" I scream, pacing back and forth in front of him, my relaxing hours before hand completely demolished. I pull out my cell phone, calling an oh-so-familiar Italian number.

“*Katie,” I gasp into the phone, pressing a palm to my forehead.

"Oh, lord, what's up now?"

I let out a long sigh, "You got room up in that *villa of yours?"

She squeals on the other line, "You know I always have room for you my friend!"

"Good, I'll be up in like three days," I say into the phone, clicking it off. Katie is my friend that I met in hit Italy, she's amazing. She's so outgoing and fun, I just wish I had one ounce of her energy, I'd be set for life.

"You'll be up in three days?" Eric asks me, a risen eyebrow. I smirk at him.

"Yeah, I said I'd be in Italy in three days. Which I will be." I smirk, approaching him slowly, a seductive sway to my hips.

"Really now? And if I just so happen to not to let you go?"

I smile at him with a sugary sweet overcoat to it, "Then you'll have one very, very pissy co-worker to work with, won't you, babe?"

He grins at the pet name, and latches my belt loops with his fingers. I must admit these simple touches and vicarious flirting is actually quite fun. I forgot what it was like. I know you're probably wondering if we used to do this, before I agreed to actually let him come to my house, and the answer would be no. We strictly had a no touch policy.

"Seriously, Estella, Italy?" He asks, staring down at me.

I nod my head, smiling, "I love Italy, and I think I might be able to drag Katie back with me."

"Fine," he sighs, shaking his head slowly. "The things I allow you to do."

'You said it yourself, Eric, I'm the best, you can't fire me." I smile sweetly over at him, plopping back down in my rolling, leather chair at my desk as I prop my feet out in front of me.

He playfully growls at me, narrowing his eyes. "Yeah, and you do every little thing to remind me of it, too."

I paint a shocked expression on my face, placing a hand over my heart. "Ouch, Eric, that hurt right here."

He chuckles, "Will you do it, please, Estella?"

So now he's resorted to begging, I see, as he gives me a pained expression. I sigh, blowing the bangs out of my face.

"Fine, I'll do it when I get back." I grumble, begrudgingly.

An one-thousand watt smiles spreads across his face and he steps around my desk, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on my lips. This man has guts if the noises I'm hearing behind the doors belong to A7X. I chuckle, pecking his lips once more, before swiveling away from him, and beginning to type on my computer, grabbing the designs that I filed away earlier.

"Oh, now it's the cold shoulder," he mumbles, walking over to his office door and flinging it open to reveal the five members of Avenged Sevenfold all crowded around the big, glass, black tinted windows. I chuckle under my breath, looking over at my cell phone as it begins to ring.

"Estella's house of sex and torture, how may I pleasure you today?" I ask into the phone, hearing the laughter that erupts around me.

"You know, Star, most people are joking when they answer like that," Quinn's voice comments.

I giggle, "Who said I wasn't joking, Quinn, my dear?"

"The scrumptious guy laughter I hear, maybe?"

"Oh, eww, no!" I exclaim, laughing myself.

"Don't you 'oh, eww, no' me, the people you work with are fine, honey bunches," he chuckles.

I giggle, thinking about Jacoby Shaddix on high priority list. "True enough, true enough."

He giggles with me. Did I mention Quinn is my gay guy friend? No? Well he is. I met him about two years ago at some club that I stumbled into it. We danced, we talked, and then I found out he was gay. I went home after that and moaned about how all the hot one night stand possibilities are always gay or taken and truthful to my roommate at the time. All of this was of course before I had gotten the pay raise by another two figures, making my salary seven figures long, and pushing eight.

"Hey, babe, you wanna stop by? From the background noise it seems you're out and about."

"Sure thang, sugar, I'll be there in five," he says, clicking the phone off before I can get a word in edgewise. He probably knew I was going to have him come over so he most likely already started heading this way.

Eventually, after what feels like gruelingly long hours, the elevator tolls, signifying that someone without a pass is trying to get up here. I squeal, propelling toward the red button and clicking. Eric has been holed up in his off withthose fucking asshole jerks the new clients, going over the new contract before they sign things. Really I should probably be in there too, but I'm not, of course.

The elevators open up, and I tackle the person to the wall, my arms wrapped tightly around Quinn's slim waist.

"Quinny!" I squeal, practically squeezing the air out of him.

"Star!" He squeals back, trying to do a very pathetic imitation of me. I glare up at him playfully, squeezing him even tighter.

He gasps, trying to push me off of him. I cackle evilly, running back into my office, he, of course, trailing behind me.

"So, little star, who are the scrumptious people that Eric's with right now?" He asks, settling on the edge of my desk and facing the door. I sigh, my eyes hollowly looking at the computer screen.

"Avenged Sevenfold," I whisper, fiddling with the hem of my tank top. He gasps and comes around to my side, lifting me up off the chair before placing me in his lap.

"Aww, everything's okay," he cooes to me, gently stroking my hair.

I nod once, leaning into him as I continue to type away some business reports.

"Thanks, Quinn," I murmur, pecking his cheek lightly as I decide to not focus on who's in there, but what I have to do.