Page 8 of Obsession

“Excellent. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Cody. Bright and early at 7 a.m. so we can get started and finish as quickly as possible.”

I nod.

He walks past me and enters the back room, leaving me alone with Bitch Face. Although, that’s not the word I would like to use right now. A bitch is also a female dog, which can be quite cute. And there is certainly nothingcuteabout this, this tramp in front of me.

“You scraped through that one by the skin of your teeth,” she tells me. “I hope this proves to you that I don’t give a fuck whoyou are. You piss me off, and I will bring you down really quickly.”

“You got what you wanted. I’ve kept my distance from Aiden. What more do you want from me?”

“I want a raise. And Iknowthat only you and Aiden have the power to authorize that. So, make it happen and I’ll keep your little secret.”

“And how am I supposed to authorize that?” I question.

“That’s your problem. You have one week. Have a wonderful evening,boss.”

Her constant emphasis on the wordbossis really getting on my nerves, but I know better than to start trouble in a workplace where there are a ton of witnesses around. Instead, I give her my best, fake smile and walk out of the store as quick as I can.

When I get to my car in the parking lot, I don’t leave straight away. There’s still thirty minutes before the mall closes, so I decide to just sit in the car with the AC blaring in my face. I place my phone on the holder and plug it into the CarPlay unit and wait for it to connect. Ginuwine’s “Pony” starts playing and I roll my eyes at the irony, and timing. Just as I’m supposed tonotbe thinking about fucking my boss, a song aboutridingmy pony plays through my speakers. I scroll through my socials and then TikTok. Not noticing the time, I clip on my seatbelt, and I’m about to exit the parking lot, when I notice Aiden walking out of the mall with Kora beside him. I take my phone from the holder and rest it between my legs, keeping a close eye on Aiden and Kora as they walk through the parking lot. Neither of them has seen me, and I try to keep track of them, without either of them knowing that I’m watching them. I unplug the cable from my phone and open the camera, then hold the phone up to my window and zoom in.

I try to find the right moment to snap the photo, but the twoof them keep walking. When I finally manage to capture the first picture, it’s a close-up of his lower back and ass. After a few minutes, the two of them stop walking. Kora gets inside her car and lowers her window, I sit and watch as the two of them have a conversation. When Kora leaves, Aiden walks a little farther until he gets to a white Hyundai i30, the same car as mine.

Aiden turns his head in my direction, giving me the perfect close-up of his face, and I snap the photo, just as he opens his car door and sits inside his car. I wait a little longer and watch as he pulls out of his parking space and drives out of the parking lot. Okay, so this has now gone way beyond obsession. We’re talking major, creepy stalkerish, but as long as I’m doing this discreetly and for my own personal pleasure, what harm could I do? I open the photo album on my phone and tap on Aiden’s picture, and after editing the photo to my liking, I save it as my new wallpaper.

Damn the guy is gorgeous.

I have to make sure this photo is not seen by anyone else, and by anyone, I mean Kora. That would be the last thing I need. So, I’ll make sure to change my wallpaper before every shift, then change it back again when I get home. It’s a pain in the ass, I know. But if it’s the only way I get to perv on Aiden, even if it’s just a picture, without having that bitch watching my every move, it’s totally worth it. I place the phone back on the cradle, then shift the car into gear and head straight home.

AIDEN

I could really use a coffee. I’ve been awake since 4 a.m. and was out of the house so fast, I forgot to make myself one. I got to the store early so I could prepare all the paperwork for inventory with Kora. It’s not even 7 a.m. yet and already I want to go home and sleep. I place my mug underneath the spout of the coffee machine in the back room, when I hear the door open. I turn around to see Kora holding a takeaway coffee in one hand, and she places her purse on the table.

“Morning,” I say.

“Good morning. How many coffees have you had already?” she asks.

“Actually, this is only my first. I left the house so early this morning, I didn’t have a chance to make one.”

“Cody’s not here yet?” she questions.

“Nope. But it’s not quite seven yet, I’m sure he’ll—” The door opens once more and this time, Cody walks into the room. “Speak of the man himself,” I say.

“I’m sorry?” Cody asks.

“Nothing. Kora was just asking if you’d arrived yet. I wasabout to say it wasn’t quite 7 a.m. yet and that you’d be here on time. And here you are.”

“Oh,” he says, looking at me and then Kora.

I don’t know why, but I can feel a sort of tension between these two. While a part of me wants to ask the question and find out what’s going on, the other part is telling me to shut the fuck up and let them sort out whatever it is that they’re going through. I’m sure that if it’s anything that requires my attention, I’ll know about it one way or another. I’m also grateful that there have been no more unwelcoming advances from Cody. Not that there were technically any advances from the guy. It’s not like he’s made a pass at me. But the fact that he’s stopped having his eyes all over me is a relief. Now I can just concentrate on getting through the day and not worrying about another single thing. I hand Cody and Kora a clipboard and pen each, then after they’ve each punched in for the day, the three of us head out onto the store floor.

“We have two hours before the store opens for trade. That should give us enough time and allow for recounts in case of human error etcetera, etcetera. The final count needs to be submitted to the head office by 5 p.m. tomorrow, which means we keep doing this until we get it right.”

Cody nods in acknowledgment, and Kora smiles. I then separate them into different areas of the store, while I go to the accessories counter and begin counting thestock.

It takes us the entire day to get through the inventory, in between helping customers and dealing with the everyday running of the store. Cody and I scheduled all the team to come in and work today, so the three of us could concentrate on the inventory, and of course, all but one called in sick. So, Kora, Cody, and myself still had to assist customers while counting stock, which can be difficult when there are customers in the store. It’s after 5 p.m. when we add the figures of the count through the database and close the store, and once it’s submitted, I tell Kora that she can leave and Cody could close the store with me.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else you need? You can send Cody home and I’m happy to stay back and help you close,” Kora offers.

“No, it’s all good. Besides, I have to run through some reports with Cody anyway, and it’s probably better we do them tonight before the figures are updated. Also, I can’t really afford to go over the wage budget anymore, and since Cody and I are on salary it doesn’t matter how late we stay back.”

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