Dandelion Lover

"Good morning Ann!" I forced my voice to mold to a sweet and calm tone when talking to her. My insides felt ready to spill out any second but I tried my best to keep a cheery attitude and hold my real opinion to myself.

"Morning Kat!" she replied and her lips turned into a small pout. "Why didn't you pick up my calls over the weekend?" Her pretense to be upset sickened me to the core. I knew she was a good actress but I'm surprised at how nice and innocent she still seemed to me although I already knew the truth. I was surprised at my own naivety, as my heart still felt close to her every time she smiled at me. Then, the memory of her and Rob hidden behind the trees, laughing and kissing, with hands moving all over grasped my heart and squeezed it dry of any dreams that it was all a misunderstanding.

"I was a bit busy." I simply wanted to get this conversation over before the disgust would show on my face. Not being a good liar has never been a trait I was proud of, but now it was time to start working on polishing my acting skills myself.

"So what are you doing tonight?" Ann asked while gently moving her eyelashes and raising her eyes at me with a pleading look. "Want to grab dinner together?"

"Ah tonight, sorry I can't, Rob asked me over to meet with one of his future clients." I was waiting for her to invite me out since I knew Rob would be busy schmoozing over the client he stole from the company. "He said he wants to introduce me to Mr. Roman and his wife. We're all going out to dinner for a double date." I continued pretending not to notice the paleness of her face underneath the light layer of makeup.

"Oh... That sounds like fun..." She responded with a low voice. I could almost hear her thoughts, and now I wondered just why was I so blind to her real character.

"Yeah, it should be, he even bought me a dress for the occasion. I'll send you a picture tonight, it looks really good but it was so expensive..." This little detail should put a stop to her high and mighty ideas, I could already see how she wanted to slap me and then run over to his side but she kept control of her own body, only her eyes shined with malice.

"You're not going out with Adrian today?" I innocently asked while looking over the young man standing at his desk, concentrating on the task at hand.

"Umm, yes, I just might do that..." She added and holding her coffee mug tightly returned to her desk. I saw Vivian entering Gray's office and giving me a sly smile after her eyes went over to Ann. Soon enough she was out the door and I knew she was on her way to arrange everything for tonight.

While going over the assigned tasks I looked over at Jonny and noticed he was looking intensely at Ann with an expression that seemed really similar to mine when I first learned about her and Rob. Gray was out of the office for the next few days so my heartfelt more at ease in the office, this left me to quietly mull over how to handle the rest of Vivian's plan. I knew I was doing this not only for me and to heal a bit my broken pride, but also because of Gray and Adrian, they were both good guys who didn't deserve to be played by such ruthless people. My stare was noticed rather quick and Jonny turned his gaze towards me, with a softened look that seemed shockingly similar to that of pity.

"Hey Jonny, can you help me carry these doc.u.ments over to the recycling bin? We're done with these projects." I pointed towards the pile of doc.u.ments on my desk and rose up starting to split it into two piles.

"Sure..." Jonny said and with a quick move, he was at my side grabbing his own stack and moving towards the door.

We both took charge of our own heap of papers from the desk and made our way outside. Once we emptied everything at the recycle bin, I stood for a bit looking over at the entrance of the office.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jonny asked while pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up.

"I think you want to say something." I returned to face him and noticed a small smile gracing his lips before a frown turned his expression darker than I ever saw it.

"Indeed. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Why do you ask that?" I replied perplexed by the look of pity he was throwing my way. Just how much did he know? "What do you even know?" My voice was a bit more aggressive than I had wanted it too, but I was feeling cornered and alone. I could just imagine the look of contempt on everyone's face when they found out how stupid I've been.

"Just what Vivian told me." His words made my mouth drop and I was left without any strength in my voice.

"Vivian... told you?" My question was directed more to myself rather than to him and my eyes started feeling heavy as the thought that Vivian was actually making fun of me instead of helping.

"Well... She needs to let off steam as well," he added with a guilty look on his face. "Who better to do that with than her boyfriend."

My mouth dropped even more and I was staring wide-eyed at him.

"You... and Vivian?" A small nod answered me and I was strangely calm at the revelation.

"We're not really bragging about it but we've been together for a full year now." He added moving his cigarette to his mouth and breathing in deeply. His eyes were looking at his hand but I could see a small glint of excitement when Vivian's name came from his mouth.

"I see..." I barely said and then the realization of what that meant came over me. "So you're telling me you know about Ann? What about your brother?" I was a bit in a bind over how to let Adrian know about Ann without hurting him too much but now I saw a light of hope in Jonny.

"He doesn't know... yet, but don't worry, I will take care of it myself if it's the last thing I do," Jonny said and threw the stub in the garbage bin after thoroughly putting it out.

"Glad to hear Adrian has such a good brother." I could feel the brotherly bond and love in his last sentence and although the news of his relationship with Vivian caught me by surprise, it was a welcomed distraction from the thoughts tormenting me daily.

"Let's go! You have to get ready for tonight." Jonny turned and without looking back headed to the office.

"It's going to be a long day!" I said as a smile tugged at the corners of my lips and I felt better knowing I had more allies than I ever imagined. It was days like these that made me happy when things looked gloomy and I felt like despairing, I suddenly found hope and encouragement from my colleagues.

For the first time in forever, I wanted to do something for me and the people close to me. I felt like nothing could go wrong.

But that soon became only a short-lived dream...