Selena walked into the cool, air-conditioned room of Valentin's office. A flash of memory came to her, of how she would snuggle up to him on his couch, complaining that she felt like she was in the North Pole on most days. And he would wrap his hands around her and hold her tight.
"I do it so you'd never leave my side," he joked, slathering her face with kisses.
She remembered how happy, warm, and safe she had felt in those times; he clicked away on his keyboard while she'd doze off, head on his thighs, and phone put on 'do-not-disturb' mode.
Maybe it had always been a sign, she thought as she stared at the couch, the ghost of the image of both of them seated there filtering away like mist. A sign that he'd leave her out in the cold when he would eventually break her heart. The couch had been replaced by another, a boring mahogany one that matched his desk.
"It's all the way from Turkey," Valentin said, standing next to her. She could feel his eyes on her, standing way too close for comfort. "Do you like it?"
"How many ladies have you slept with on it?" She asked.
"Selena…"
"You know what? I really don't care what you do with your office," Selena said, walking away from him and taking her seat on said couch. She crossed her legs, thankful she hadn't worn anything to expose any skin on her body. Her long beige trousers and white shirt combo didn't give any room for Valentin's eyes to linger.
He pocketed his hands and smiled at her. "You look stunning."
"Where's Reema's documents?" Selena dove straight to business.
"You should wear your hair down, though," Valentin walked over to the couch and sat next to her, not leaving any space between them. Selena kept her eyes straight but didn't stop Valentin as he removed the scrunchies holding her hair up and allowing it to fall down her shoulders.
"Much better," he said, satisfied.
"Reema's documents," Selena requested again.
"You know, I still don't understand why you didn't want to speak with me after LeCroix," Valentin said, ignoring her request. "I called, texted, everything. But you went cold on me." He shifted the curtain of hair blocking his view of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Is it the "boyfriend" that told you to do so?"
She hated the way he said boyfriend with a mocking undertone, but she kept her cool.
"The Lena I know…"
"Selena." She corrected him.
"Fine." She could feel the smile in his voice. "The Selena I know wouldn't let anyone dictate how she should live her life, or am I the only one seeing the red flag here?"
This time, Selena turned her head to look him dead in the eyes. For a moment, she wondered about love and its spell, how it made someone so special and once it's gone, reduces them to nothing. She had once loved this man, once believed they had a future together, children, a white picket fence, and holidays around the world.
"Reema's documents," she said slowly this time.
Valentin didn't look too happy. "You know very well that it isn't Reema's passport I wanted you down here for."
"It was what I was told."
"You know," Valentin smoothened his hand on the couch and smiled at Selena. She didn't like the sly look on him. "This couch is new, and we could, you know…" he winked at her, " for old times' sake."
Irritation built up in Selena. She rose from the couch, trying to put as much distance between both of them, but his strong hand came upon her arm and dragged her back down. Before she could speak or protest, his lips came upon hers.
She pushed against his chest, but that didn't make him stop. She slapped at his face over and over again, revulsed and very, very angry. It wasn't until she bit down on his lip hard did he jump away from her in pain.
She wiped at her mouth, her eyes blazing at him. How dare he!?
"What's going on here?" A voice asked. Both of them looked at the door, and standing there was none other than Valentin's girlfriend, Patricia Heaton herself. "What were you doing?" She had her eyes directed at Selena.
"Darling, it's not what you think," Valentin said, approaching her.
"Oh? That this slut came over here and wanted to shove her tongue down your throat?" Patricia was loud enough for people outside the door to hear her, but Selena was having none of it.
"Or you should tell your swine of a boyfriend to leave me the hell alone," Selena yelled back.
"Leave you alone?" Patricia put a finger up to stop Valentin from coming any closer to her. "You are in his office, need I remind you? And you try to turn it around so fast and blame him? How disgusting can you get?"
"Ask him why he told me to come over here," Selena said. "I have my boyfriend and I certainly wouldn't trade him for…"
"Oh? The boyfriend," this time, Patricia gave a hearty laugh. "The boyfriend that came with another girl and left you cold in LeCroix, isn't it?" Patricia tossed her bag on one of the chairs and folded her arms. "I did my research after that, turns out Alexander Sterling is single. You're the one leeching on him because you don't want to world to know how pathetic you truly are right? Well, now we all know."
If it were possible, Selena would have combusted from the rage in her. She glared at Valentin who was simply standing there and watching the exchange. If she hated him before, she detested him now.
"I'm out of here," Selena said, grabbing her purse and heading out. Patricia however, wasn't done. She stood in her way, halting her.
"Get over him, Selena," She said. "He's mine now."
"I'd rather jump into boiling lava than ever imagine getting back with your public property of a boyfriend," Selena said. "While we're at it, you might want to bleach every inch of this office before you sit here, if it's possible to erase the number of women he's slept with in here."
Patricia's eyes flashed. Before Selena knew it, a hot slap landed on her face. Selena was quick to react with a resounding slap of her own, and before Patricia could recover from it, Selena grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head up.