Rejected by the boss who called me fat

"God, Adrian... f*ck me harder," Sarah moaned with her eyes closed, unaware of my presence.

I stood in the middle of the office, paralyzed to the bone. I could not move or even utter a word.

My heart felt as if it had exploded when I saw Sarah bent over Mr. Thorne's desk.

Her skirt was bunched up to her waist, and her underwear was shifted aside.

Mr. Thorne was behind her, f*ck*ng her with his face buried in her hair.

Suddenly, he slapped her *ss hard.

The sound made me jerk so violently that the cup of coffee slipped from my trembling hand and shattered on the floor.

They both pulled away from each other immediately, staring at me in shock.

"Jesus, Avery! Can't you knock?!" Mr. Thorne yelled as he struggled to fix his pants quickly.

"Uhm—I'm sorry. I—I brought your coffee, sir," I said softly, my eyes darting to the now-spilled coffee that I had taken my time to make.

"God, I told you this was insane!" Sarah hissed, her face burning a violent red as she aggressively tugged down her skirt. "I told you someone could walk in!"

Adrian grabbed her hand when she tried to leave. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I got carried away. I couldn't help myself..."

"Is that what you'll say if she spreads rumors about us? What if this goes public? I don't want to lose my job, Adrian!" she yelled.

He reached out, cupping her cheeks with a desperation I had never seen on his face before.

Before I walked into Mr. Thorne's office, my plan was simple: confess that I had been in love with him for three years and pray that I would not get fired or die of embarrassment.

I knew telling Mr. Thorne I loved him could cost me my job, my pride, and the life I had built—but keeping the secret was slowly destroying me anyway.

I had perfected the art of loving Mr. Thorne in silence—and I fully intended to take that secret to my grave.

But yesterday, the impossible happened.

He looked at me and complimented my outfit.

It was the first compliment he had ever given me in three years.

It was just one sentence, but it was enough to spark a dangerous, blinding courage to tell him how I felt.

But now, as I watched him stare at her like that, my heart didn’t just break—it turned to ash.

The raw desperation in his eyes, the tenderness in his touch... it was everything I had spent three miserable years dreaming he would one day give to me.

But it wasn’t meant for the unattractive girl who made his coffee. It was for Sarah.

"Adrian Thorne doesn't mix business with pleasure." The marketing girls' words bounced around my skull, mocking me.

They were wrong. He mixed it just fine, as long as the pleasure came in a slim, societally approved package like Sarah. Of all the people he could have fallen for, why Sarah?

Sarah and I had gone to the same college and studied the same course. By some twisted fate, we ended up working at the same company.

We were not exactly on good terms because she always found ways to mock me for being fat.

That's right.

I am not the slim, gorgeous woman with killer curves who can make a grown man fall to his knees.

I am overweight.

Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to look in the mirror and actually like what you see.

"Listen to me, my love. She won't say anything, I promise. And I won't let you lose your job. You don't have to be scared, I'll handle it."

"You don't get it," she choked out, tears finally spilling over her lashes as she shoved his hands away. "Avery hates me. She'll use this information and try to destroy my reputation!"

"What?!" Mr. Thorne and I said in unison, staring at her with identical expressions of shock.

“Yes! We went to the same college, and she was always finding ways to bully me because she was jealous of my beauty. She hated the attention I got from the guys, especially when they’d choose to talk to me instead of her. She made my life miserable just because she couldn’t stand seeing me get the attention she wanted.”

Mr. Thorne shot me a glare that made it painfully clear he already believed every single word.

"Is that true, Avery?"

"I—I don't... yes, we went to the same college, but I've never bullied her before..."

Sarah let out a sharp laugh, wiping away a stray tear. "Why would you admit to it? Nobody wants to call themselves a bully. Bullies rarely remember the people they hurt. It’s easier to pretend it never happened when you’re not the one who had to live with it.”

The hatred burning in Mr. Thorne's eyes made me want to throw a punch at Sarah.

I desperately wanted him to believe me. The thought of the man I loved thinking I had been a bully made me feel physically sick.

"I'm serious, Mr. Thorne, I have no idea what she's talking about..."

"I guess all those times you made my life miserable were just friendly gestures I misunderstood," she snapped, cutting me off.

I clenched my jaw, glaring back at her. "Stop accusing me of things I didn't do, Sarah. I never bullied you. I won't stand here quietly while you dump all your bitterness on me and twist the past just because you're desperate to make yourself look innocent.”

"How am I a bitter person? God, why do you always have to be so cruel to me, Avery? I’m not the one who made you fat. If you’re unhappy with the way you look, maybe stop taking it out on the person who reminds you of what you wish you could be.”

I shook my head in pure disbelief. "Wow. You really are determined to make yourself the victim while insulting me in the same breath. Yes, I never liked you, Sarah, but I didn't hate you because you were prettier. I hated what you did to me, and you know exactly what you did.”

Her jaw clenched tightly. "Maybe if you spent half as much time working on yourself as you do hating me, you wouldn't be so miserable every time you looked in a mirror.”

She grabbed onto Adrian's arm, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"You can see how much she hates me, Adrian. She made my life a living hell before, and now that she knows the truth about us, I'm terrified she's going to use it to destroy my reputation all over again."

Adrian immediately cupped her cheeks. “Hey, look at me, don't be scared. Whatever she knows about us stays between us, and I'll make sure of that. I’ve got you, and I’ll protect you from her.”

She shook her head. “But how can I stop being afraid when she’s still here, Adrian? If you really mean what you’re saying, then please prove it to me. Fire her. Once she’s gone, she can’t use what she knows against me anymore. I just want to feel safe again, baby.”

Typical Sarah, still finding ways to ruin my life.

I knew she never liked the fact that we ended up working at the same company.

She’s scared that I might spread rumors about her being a bully in college and that everyone who once liked and admired her would start seeing her differently. That’s why she’s trying to make sure I lose my job.

She already has the heart of the man I love. Now she wants to take my job as well? I won’t let that happen.

“Fire me? You want to fire me because I know your secret? You can't be serious. What exactly have I done wrong? I haven't threatened her, I haven't told anyone about you two, and I haven't used this information against anyone. You can't punish me for something I haven't done just because Sarah decided I'm a threat. That's not fair!” I yelled.

"No, Adrian, don’t wait until she actually destroys my reputation before you do something. She’s already shown me what she’s capable of. Fire her now, before she can hurt me again. I’m asking you because I trust you to protect me. Please, Adrian… fire her before she gets the chance," she pleaded softly, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Panic gripped my chest. Would he actually do it? Will he fire me?

Adrian reluctantly pulled back from her embrace, staring deep into her teary eyes.

“Uhm, baby, that's too extreme. I know you're scared, and I understand why, but I—I can't fire her simply because you're afraid of what she might do. She hasn't done anything wrong. Just go home and rest. Take the rest of the day off. Let me handle this another way, okay? I promise I won't let her hurt you.”

I can't believe this. With the way he treats Sarah, I thought she already had him wrapped around her finger and that he was willing to do anything she asked. But now I see that isn't the case.

Either he cares about me, or he simply considers this extremely unfair and is trying to do the right thing.

Either way, hope flared in my chest when I realized he hadn't listened to Sarah.

Sarah frowned. “So you’re choosing her over me, Adrian? After everything I’ve told you, after telling you how terrified I am, you're still more concerned about hurting her feelings than protec