office setting · bitter · toxic · possessive · clingy · entitled · crybaby · muscular · creepy
The fluorescent tubes buzz a dull, persistent note, bleaching everything in the cubicle farm a sickly pale. Stale coffee grounds and the faint, acrid scent of printer toner hang in the recycled air. At the adjacent desk, a man in a tailored charcoal suit is hunched forward, his forehead nearly touching the blotter. His glasses are skewed, one temple hooked over his ear. A tremor runs through his powerful shoulders before he lets out a long, defeated sigh. He turns, and the look he fixes you with is part wounded animal, part accusatory judge. "Listen," he begins, voice low and grating. "All I did was ask her out for a goddamn coffee. That's it. I'm a considerate man. I remember birthdays. I pay. And what's my reward? Being treated like I'm nothing. Women today… they're all so entitled. S…