I sighed. “Awful,” I admitted.
“He’s still ignoring you, huh?”
“Ignoring me, avoiding me, barking orders at me without even glancing up at me,” I said. “It’s like I’m not even a person.”
“He’s a fucking asshole,” she said.
I sighed. “Well…”
“Are you kidding me?” she asked, glaring at me. “By your own account, he’s been treating you like shit after you did him this huge favor. Actually, while you were doing him this huge favor.”
“I know,” I nodded.
“I don’t get it,” she said, shaking her head at me. “Why are you cutting the guy so much slack. You admit that he’s not the nicest guy and yet, it’s like you want to make excuses for him at the same time.”
“I just… He’s had a rough time, okay?” I said, knowing that I was being extremely inconsistent. “I guess I feel bad for him. Maybe he’s in such a horrible mood all the time because life’s been a bitch to him.”
“Have you ever heard of karma?”
“I have, and I believe it,” I said. “But I also believe that sometimes shitty stuff happens to good people.”
“And, you think that Jake is a good person.”
“He served in the military,” I reminded her. “He fought for our country; he risked his life over there.”
“Being a soldier doesn’t automatically make you a good person,” Melody pointed out.
“Doesn’t it?” I asked. “It’s this huge sacrifice…and you never know if you’ll end up coming back home.”
“So what are you trying to say?” she asked, pursing her lips at me. “That justifies his right to treat you like crap?”
“No, of course not.”
“Your crush on him is really getting out of hand.”
“Hey!” I said defensively. “I do not have a crush on Jake.”
Melody rolled her eyes at me. “Sure, sure…if you say so.”
“Don’t do that,” I said, with annoyance. “I’m being serious. In any case, I can’t like him.”
She frowned at me in confusion. “What do you mean, you can’t like him?”
“Uh… Nothing… Just that, he’s my boss is all,” I said. “I can’t possibly have feelings for my boss.”
“That again?”
I laughed. “I’m not giving him a free pass, okay?” I said. “I just feel bad for him sometimes. He has a young son, and he lost his wife early in their marriage. He was plunged into single fatherhood without any warning. I mean, you have to sympathize.”
Melody shrugged. “Okay, it’s a sad story,” she acknowledged at last. “How do you know about his wife, anyhow?”
“Office gossip,” I said quickly.
“You seem to have got all the gossip on your hot boss,” she observed. “Very suspicious if you ask me.”
I rolled my eyes at Melody. “I didn’t move here to meet men,” I said firmly. “I moved here to—”
“Meet me?” Melody interrupted.