Lunchtime rolled around ever so slowly, mostly because she had already finished her load of work in the first three hours. She had not heard or seen Talia or smelt her eau de whore which was another Godsend.
She had spent the remaining time trying to guess what had happened that had completely changed everything in the past weeks she was gone.
Sure the investigation surrounding Theo and the trial might have brought down the iron hand of the new CEO, as she had heard used to describe the man’s actions. But the repercussions of any of that would have most likely resulted in a closer watch on every employee, especially vampires and greater punishment.
Clearly, the man thought that was not enough and decided to do some renovation. Some large-scale renovation.
She went for salad with some French dressing and a bottle of water while she waited for Anthony to appear. After the hospital discharged her, she had gotten so depressed a few days later that she had stopped eating for weeks.
Her mind just kept going back to the trial and every mean thing those treacherous bitches said about her. They managed to destroy every single good memory she had of them. If she could take them out of her head and watch them burn to ashes in front of her, she would.
She knew that she should not have let their words get to her, but they did. The evidence was right there on her plate and had been for the past two weeks. She had started the diet she wanted, the only thing was, it did not make her feel good about anything.
It got her wondering as to how many people here in the office, on her street, virtually anywhere in general thought she was fat, walked awkwardly, had poor taste in clothes and had bad breath.
Repeating the scenes in her head and even just thinking about it brought forth insecurities she had once managed to destroy or bury. Now they reared their ugly heads and bent her to their will.
Rita knew they could have said those things out of spite. Just to get one final jab at her before they went to the big house, but what if they were not. That thought plagued her the most.
She knew she was not all that chubby in the middle. She did not have bad breath, at least she thought so. Just in case, she would pop some mints in her mouth. And she did not walk awkwardly, that part she knew for sure. Definitely.
Anthony finally made an appearance and although there were times one or two employees would show up to the cafeteria looking like they got hit by a bus, Anthony looked like he had been run over. Repeatedly. By a monster truck.
His usually well kept brown hair looked like it had not meet a comb in a week. His reddish brown eyes, usually bright and keen, lost their shine and had several bags under them.
Anthony always had a clean shave, almost like he had never even grown a single follicle of hair on his face in his entire life but now dark spikes jutted out of the skin and had rampantly grown everywhere. He had side burns now for crying out loud.
His clothes that were always so fashionable, clean and added an alluring touch that his eyes completed were not fashionable anymore and they hosted several stains. Coffee, tea, glue, blood and even machine oil.
His usual way of walking, exuding just the right amount of confidence and cockiness in each step. The way he carried his head and dignity high was gone.
He had none of those things in his stride anymore and his head was not high, it was bent down so no one would see his expression. He looked just about ready to turn back and hide. Like some helpless and absolutely destroyed kid that even a four year old could break with just the right words. The worst part was he knew it.
He went over to the food display to pick some food and when he turned around his tray was full. Three chocolate cupcakes, a fruit salad, a jelly filled donut and a jumbo sized cup of coffee.
For anyone that might have been…Ok, for anyone that was too much. To anyone looking the way he did, it might have been understandable but this was Anthony, the guy that flinched away from anything that had more than five cubes of sugar and average amount of carbs in it. The guy that everyone who wanted to eat healthy envied was now eating eighty percent junk food.
He looked for her in the crowd and spotted her almost immediately and started briskly in her direction while trying not to spill his tray.
As he got closer to her table, she saw he had gained weight. A lot of it. How had she not realized that?! What the hell had that woman done to him?!
It picked a bit at her heart that some people were just snickering at him, outright staring at him and just shifting away from him when he passed. Clearly not wanting to be associated with him at all anymore. He knew that too. Poor guy.
When he reached her table he gave her a small smile that said ‘I’m sorry for being late’ and just the a smidge of ‘forgive me’? Before he sat down opposite her. He tried to hide that part of his smile though.
“Long time no see Rita. How are you feeling?” He asked, before digging into his fruit salad with a gusto that could have shamed a hungry bear.
It seemed everyone had been asking her that question. Some just out of politeness, some with spite and others to get some details out of her for gossip.
“Pretty good, especially for my first day back.” Rita replied. “How are you doing?” She asked, before she put some salad in her mouth.
The question was straight out of politeness 101 but under the circumstances, it was a bit…ish.
By the time the words left her mouth, Anthony had already started with the donut and was making quick work of it. He stopped between chews and did not make eye contact when he replied her. “Not so great…as you can see.” His voice was small and he held onto the donut as if it was a miniature lifeline or an anchor to keep himself composed.
Rita uncapped her bottle and took a sip of water. “I can, but I don’t understand. What the hell happened? To the office? To you?” She asked, putting the bottle cap back on and keeping the bottle on her right.
It took Anthony a few seconds to respond. “That’s why I’m here isn’t it.” He stated and gave a small smile that did not reach his eyes. “I’ll tell you everything but after I finish. Okay?” He pleaded.
This time he made eye contact with her and she could see the pleading and sadness in them. She could not refuse. She was not going to at all but it felt like he was asking her permission. “Go ahead. You seem pretty hungry.”
He thanked her with his eyes and wasted no time polishing off the donut and washing it down with a gulp of coffee. “You have no idea.”