Pink Apartment

"Hey, Stan." I spoke into my cellphone, gasping for breath. What was wrong with this entire city? Did cabs no longer know when they see a blond chick chaotically throw her arms around and yelling at the driver, that they were supposed to stop?

Seriously. Was I insane?

"Oh, hi, Remy." He answered back and I could swear I almost heard the slightest hint of surprise. Like I was the one that called him. "I called you to say that we need to do some more paperwork. So be ready for an almost-all nighter."

I huffed and shut my phone. Things were certainly not going as I planned. The last two days, I've been working with Stan. And by working, I'm not referring to the endless chats and tiny gossip sessions I had with Brandi. No. I was talking about getting coffees for every freaking person in this company. I was talking about pulling two all nighters and getting no recognition for it. I was talking about Rupert almost moving out. I was talking about how my life was slowly falling apart. Piece by piece, shining in the sunlight. I could only watch them fall; I could not make them stop. I could not save them. Or myself, for that matter.

I tried to do my work with the same excited smile etched on my face but I couldn't. Stan basically made me arrange and then rearrange every person's file in the company. My fingers were sore, my eyes were swollen and my back was aching.

I hope Mr. Dunn goes bald and the rest of his hair goes on his back.

My phone rang again. I growled and opened the phone again, almost breaking it. I could not take his obsession with work anymore. Super-Stan. That was my new nickname for him.

"What, Stan?" I snapped and opened the big glass doors of the building. I started coming through the back door just hoping Stan wouldn't find me before work. I could only hear so much about Transformers and Megan Fox.

"It's me, Rupert." His voice broke my thoughts and my eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Rupert! I'm so glad you called. I needed someone sane to talk to me before meeting up with him." I whispered the last word. I had had a lot of long conversations about Stan with Rupert. He found a solution to my problem. He offered to pluck his nose hairs. I passed.

"I don't trust that guy, Remy. He feels a lot more for you than he lets on." He said. In the background, I could hear the clanking of some dishes.

My thoughts immediately flew to the expensive China my late grandmother bought me. She said she'd give it to me when I get married. I stole them after she passed away. Marriage wasn't coming soon.

"Rupes, what are you doing there?" I asked a bit frightfully. The elevator reached my floor.

"Oh, sorry, what?" More clanking. "Nothing. Just looking for something." He finished and something fell. My heart leaped from my chest.

"Rupert, I will personally remind you, if by any circumstance, you break the china my grandmother gave me, I will castrate you." I announced, walking slowly to the door that connected my freedom, to my personal Hell.

"You mean the china you stole?"

I could almost hear the grin on his face.

"Shut up. I gotta go. I'm here." I groaned. "I love you." I said shyly and he laughed a bit.

"Love you too."

Funny how those words made me forget about who and what was expecting me. I trudged in the office with my head held high and my back straight as could be. Nothing in this office scared me. Nothing in this office could touch me. Nothing could hurt --

"Ms. Williams!" Mr. Dunn's voice boomed, cutting my mantra short. Every body's head shot up to stare at me. It felt like high school all over again where Mr. Dunn was the scary and mean Math teacher.

I shuddered while walking to my boss' office. A few co-workers shot me sympathetic glances and smiles and I gave them ones that I guess looked like they were unsure, unsteady. I honestly wondered what more wrong could he do to me.

He already punished me in the worst way possible. Working with Super-Stan, the ass-licking, always enthusiastic nerd was proving to be torture. And apparently everyone knew this before I did, yet no one seemed to give me a manual about his On and Off switch.

I was starting to believe he didn't have anything like that. The only thing that kept the corners of my lips slightly raised was the amazing man that was waiting for me at home. The annoying, immature, know-it-all man that I fell so hard for.

Rupert Sylvest.