Chapter Five
757 Words
Chapter Five
Ellie’s POV
The phone rang, cutting my thoughts. I grabbed the receiver. Harriet from the front desk. "Ellie—Miss Wood is on. She wants Oliver. I said he’s busy. She insists."
I pressed my fingers to my forehead. Oliver’s rule was simple: dates must use his personal line, and if he ignored them, he was busy or uninterested. It amazed me how many women still called here, clinging to hope when the answer was clear.
Some ignored the rule, desperate for more than silence. Maybe they thought persistence could win him over. All it did was make him retreat further—his disinterest broadcast in each unanswered call.
"Thanks, Harriet. I’ll handle it." I cut her off and switched lines.
After a pause: "Patch me to Oliver. Now," Miss Nicole Wood snapped.
I clenched my teeth. "Sorry, Miss Wood. Oliver’s tied up. You have his mobile."
She shot back, "What good is his number if he never answers?"
I looked up, counting to ten. "He’s busy, Miss Wood. This is important."
"I don’t care what’s important. You’re just his secretary—your opinion doesn’t matter."
My patience thinned. "I’m not allowed to put you through. Leave a message or text."
Next, the insults started. “You little b***h, listen up.”
That was it. "I’m following orders," I said, voice colder than intended.
Sniffling now. "I’ve heard he’s trouble. They warned me to stay away. He’s not a commitment guy. He never changes…"
The absurdity made me almost laugh. Oliver was upfront about wanting no strings attached. Thinking he could change was delusional.
Miss Wood kept talking, her words blurring. I thought of Sebastian—how I’d sworn I was different, but here I was, playing the same part. Was I one of the women I pitied or just deluding myself? Sebastian wasn’t the exception. He was just another liar, no better than my father, no matter how much I tried to tell myself otherwise.
I rolled my eyes. "I don’t know," I said to end it.
She sneered, "As if you’d know. Ryan doesn’t sleep with staff. Who’d pick you, anyway?"
I was done. "Goodbye, Miss Wood." I hung up.
As silence blanketed the other end, relief briefly flickered and then drained away. I sat unmoving, letting exhaustion and disappointment seep in. I closed my eyes and drew a deep, steadying breath. It wasn’t worth it.
The clank of the door disturbing my brief silence. "Ellie?" Oliver spoke from the doorway, and I scarcely bothered to raise my eyes.
"Miss Wood called," I said, fingers back on the keyboard. "She’s upset."
He sighed. "Remove her from the Christmas party list. I don’t need drama."
You don’t say, I thought. I had no use for his drama, or my own. I already had enough to deal with.
I forced myself to keep working. The Christmas party loomed—each task on my list feeling heavier now. If I didn’t stay focused, I’d fall apart, and there was nobody left to pick up the pieces but me.
"Want me to get her farewell gift?" I asked. His eyes were dull.
Originally, I was appalled when he asked—spending money on extravagant gifts for women he was cutting off. But now it was routine, and worse, it seemed effective. The gifts were his trophies. Flowers and presents the next day—a token marking the end. I despised it.
Today, I could barely react. I just felt exhausted.
Oliver shook his head. "No, Ellie. I’ll handle it."
I watched him. That was a first. He was actually going to handle it. The man who always passed everything to me now stepped forward.
I raised a brow. "Really? You’ll handle it?" I muttered.
He caught my stare. For a moment, his eyes flickered—a rare break in his detachment. "It’s nothing."
He slipped into his office, the silence stretching after him. I watched for a moment, fighting the emptiness that crept in. My engagement ring felt unbearable, as if it branded my skin—some proof of my mistake.
I hadn’t noticed slipping off the ring until it hit the drawer with a metallic clatter. That absence felt final. I slammed the drawer shut, the noise echoing more than I wanted to admit.
When the ring left my finger, the cold clarity set in. Sebastian—a liar, a cheat—left nothing behind except anger that quickly faded into exhaustion. I was finally alone with the truth I’d avoided.
And the world kept turning.
- Writer
