38 The Wrong Turn

"It is quite common than you think to marry this way in our community. Even my grandpa.." Dylan started explaining as he felt the silence growing heavier and heavier in the car. I turned to him, which made him stop for a moment and looked at me. He must have sensed that he was not being reasonable in any way at the point.

"Dylan, drop me at my office and give me some time. This is all very overwhelming for me, and I can't deal with your communal things or even hear about them at the moment," I didn't realize that tears were coming down my eyes as I spoke. It was more than my heart could take, and he was sprinkling salt and pepper with a smile.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Meg! I never said anything to hurt you. All I ever did is to be as straightforward with you and never play any games. I am just trying to understand if you would be open to me being polygamous. Or do you want me to be exclusive to you?" I looked at Dylan as he ranted about being honest like always. It was a question that arose in my mind, why don't men understand the difference between being honest and being a dick to someone.

"It is not about offending me or deciding how the relationship will go, Dylan! It is about knowing that I have feelings for you and respect that," I said without really facing him. And all his response was the silence, which was even more taunting than his words at times.

We soon arrived in front of my office building. I resolved to myself that I am not going to talk to Dylan again unless he makes me feel better and start understanding what I am feeling to the least. I opened the door to my side, stepping onto the pavement, and without saying a word, I closed it behind me as hard as I could.

"Hey! Meg, at least say something before you leave!" he called out behind me, rolling down the windows to which I paid no attention but just sprinted towards the building as fast as I could.

I realized I was fairly early when I saw an empty office with only a few staff walking around here and there. I walked to my cabin, my haven where I could unwind and do my job without having to worry about anything else. As I stepped in, to my surprise, I saw a beautiful bouquet of Lillies on my desk.

As I stood there smelling them, I heard my cabin door open, making me look up at Jefferey, who stood there with a welcoming smile. "Oh! You found them. Hope you like Lillies," he said, and I could see right through his confident demeanor that he was very nervous. It was a bit strange gesture from a boss, but he never really treated me as just a subordinate, so I didn't feel there was anything to nervous about.

"These are beautiful, Jeff. Thank you so much for this, is there a special occasion?" I asked, hoping to not sound interrogative or making him feel awkward. Jeff smiled, his eyebrows lifted, which I assumed was a result of being nervous with me.

"Well, I was hoping to thank you for making our day special. My daughter loves you, and she is hoping to see you again someday," he said as he walked into the cabin. I was not sure how to respond for a minute as it was a sweet gesture, and I was never hoping for it.

"This means a lot, Jeff, and I will love to come to visit Tiffany again," I replied, hoping that he was not expecting anything more from me. I was not able to understand why I was being so compulsive about committing to a man who didn't care about me. But here I was being appreciated for just gracing them with my presence for a few hours.

I knew for sure if Dylan was not in my life, Jeff would have been the ideal man with whom I could hope to have everything in my life. "That sounds wonderful, well, I will leave you to get settled and good morning, have a nice day!" he said as he left the office, trying to sound normal but, his voice was giving him way too much that he was nervous and awkward which made me feel a little uncomfortable in the process.

"Thank you, Jeff. Good morning to you," I said as he left the cabin. I sat there wondering if I should be missing out on good people like him for a man who shoves me with his knife life words letting me bleed to death every time I am with him. I was purposefully letting someone take advantage of me, and I was not even moving a finger to stop it.

I took my first file of the manuscript, which I had to finish within this week, trying to forget the messed up life I have, which usually worked. Whenever I sat down with a manuscript to work on, I forget the world around me to get engrossed in the world of words where I felt comforted and loved. It is like all my fantasies could come true there and only there.

The work I was editing was a gothic love story, very similar to Wuthering Heights, and I couldn't help but feel the similarities between what I was going through with the woman that was leading the story. She fell in love with a man who only cared about him, but the woman couldn't let go just because she felt the need to be around the man for a reason, that was not clear to her.

My attention got finally drifted as I heard the knocking on my cabin door. I shook my head, darting it into reality as I looked up from the pages and said, "yes?" Jeff stuck his head in through it with a smile and asked, "You don't realize it's evening already, don't you?"

I spun around in my chair to look through the window and saw the sun was already setting behind the concrete jungle of New York City. "Oh my god! I didn't realize the time just swept past like that. Thank you for reminding me, Jeff," I said with a nervous smile as I turned to face him, closing the manuscript.

"It is hard to find employees like you, so it's my pleasure to remind you, Megan. So, going home now? Maybe I could drop you," he asked, now I was very unsure of this man's intentions. I didn't want to make him feel in any way that I was avoiding either. It was after so long that I have finally loved the place I work, and my boss is not an asshole.

"Umm... That is okay, Jeff. I have to stop by a few stores anyway so I can manage. You go on and tell Tiffany that I said hi!" I said, hoping that he would take the hint that I wouldn't want to proceed with whatever that he was trying to establish with me. "I hope that you are not mistaking my affections for you in any way. You seem very sad and thoughtful all the time when I see you. Even at the store, you seem like you needed someone to talk to know that we are here for you."

Hearing him say that it hits me that probably what I was thinking about him or anyone at the office who just stared at me and never came up to introduce themselves was all my fault. I was consciously had been displaying all my worries on my face, and they were all treating me nice or leaving me alone for the same reason.

"I am alright, Jeff. Thank you for your concern. It means a lot to me," I said as I packed up my things, preparing to leave. He waited for me at the door and kept the door open for me as I walked out towards him. "You don't seem like it, though. We want to assure you that our employees are comfortable and not going through anything which will need to you know bad outcomes." I nodded at his words as I understood that probably the events in my life did affect my work and my general wellbeing.

I was absent-minded most of the time. I felt like I was being given something but not fully, which made my life even more miserable than it already was, my life was shattering little by little, and it only got worse. And I am just standing there and watching it go bad.

Like in a trance, I entered the elevator along with Jeff, which was finally broken when my cell started vibrating inside my bag. I picked it up to see 'Mom calling...' flashing on the screen. A sudden splash of sadness that I couldn't control any longer swept through me, making me break down into tears as I slid down to the floor of the elevator helpless, making Jeff scared and reaching out to me in the split second.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked, and all I could do was stare at his face trying to rebuild the dam, which was broken now, letting all my emotions flow out beyond my control.