Page 69 of Vitamin Sea
Opal, as supportive as ever, became the textual equivalent of Switzerland. Supportive of both parties but ultimately staying neutral. One thing she did tell Chloe to do, however, was to tell Jack.
In true Lala fashion, her friend encouraged her to agree to get back together with Liam, punish him and make him work hard to atone for his terrible behaviour, and then dump him in a humiliating fashion after he thought he was back in for good.
The advice of her friends had merit (okay, maybe not Lala’s idea of punishing Liam by making him buy her a G-Wagon), and Chloe felt as lost as ever.
It was only after a one-on-one meeting with Dasha that she really felt some clarity.
After going over her budget for the upcoming quarter and pitching a few travel features to her boss, their conversation turned personal.
When Chloe had arrived back from Costa Rica, she had been careful not to tell everyone, her friends and mom excluded, that she had met someone while she was away.
She knew how that usually went. Telling people that you had met someone special was akin to getting a love interest’s name tattooed on your body—it was one of the fastest ways to jinx things and send a potential relationship to a watery grave.
Goodness knew Chloe had seen enough of that with one of the junior interns at the office. It seemed like every other week Alisha was meeting a special someone whom she thought she was going to marry. When a colleague would ask her how herromance was going a couple of weeks later, she would scrunch up her face and announce that she was dating someone else. Eventually,Strutstaff learned to stop asking.
“How are things outside of work?” Dasha had inquired. “I must say, I know you were getting back on track before you went on your last assignment, but that trip seems to have really been beneficial for you.”
Chloe had beamed.
“But I have noticed the last few days you’ve looked a little stressed and sleep deprived,” she trained her piercing blue eyes onto Chloe’s. “Is everything okay?”
Howdidher boss have such a knack for reading people? Chloe wondered. She couldn’t imagine Dasha as a parent. Her poor kids wouldn’t be able to get anything past her.
“Everything is . . .,” Chloe searched her mind for the right words, “complicated.”
She briefly explained the predicament she was in, including the fact that she had met someone special when she was on her latest assignment. When Chloe finished the story, which ended with her getting in an Uber after dinner with Liam and feeling incredibly confused, Dasha leaned back in her chair and said nothing.
A mild bout of anxiety overcame her as she waited for her boss to respond.
“What do you want to do about it?” Dasha asked bluntly.
Chloe thought for a good few seconds and realized she didn’t have an answer. She shook her head.
“I honestly don’t know,” she said quietly.
“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” Dasha said practically. She picked up the sparkling water she had on her desk and took a drink. “But let me tell you a little story.”
Chloe’s curiosity was piqued.
“A scorpion,” Dasha began, a serious look on her face, “asked a turtle for a lift across a river. The turtle was concerned but the scorpion assured him that he would be okay:why would I sting you?he said.It would kill us both.So,” Dasha continued, “the turtle agreed to give the scorpion a ride and halfway across the river the scorpion stung him.” Her boss fixed her with that piercing stare again. “The turtle drowned, and the scorpion drowned along with him.”
“Do you know, Chloe, what the moral is of that story?”
Chloe thought for beat.
“Don’t trust a scorpion?”
Dasha tilted her head. “Don’t trust someone when they are, by their nature, untrustworthy.”
“Liam is the scorpion,” Chloe replied.
Her boss took a deep breath.
“When someone shows you who they are, when they show you what their nature is, believe them,” she advised. “I said I won’t tell you what to do and I won’t. I will just say that Liam has shown you who he is. I would tread cautiously and really think about how he treated you and the months of misery he put you through. Think about how he broke up with you, how you felt, and what he did in the aftermath,” she paused.
“Nothing is guaranteed in life. People do make mistakes, but people are who they are, and they rarely change. If it was me, I would think long and hard about that before you make any decisions, and I wouldn’t let daydreams of the future or of what could be cloud your thoughts and feelings.”
Chloe nodded and thanked her boss.
