When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie)

It seemed every time Clyde and I had a day in, it ended with slamming doors. He's had a way of getting under my skin for three years, always spewing the nastiest stuff.

Naturally, I gave as good as I got. It was just mutual destruction, right? Bring it on. I'd been through the wringer twice over. I was not scared.

I couldn't remember his last insult, only that I turned over and fell into a deep sleep. Lucky me, with my frail health, otherwise, I'd never get any rest. The next day, Hanley showed up at the office, all apologies. "Ms. Crawford, I'm sorry about last night. My buddies had a bit too much to drink. They didn't mean any harm. And, uh, I hope you could put in a good word with Mr. Patterson. He seemed steamed yesterday."

Hanley seemed genuinely concerned, probably scared after seeing Clyde's fury up close.

Clyde's reputation preceded him, being with different women, yet I was the one he called his wife. Everyone said he was deeply in love with me and that I hurt him, so he acted out. But he'd hurt me as much over the years. Did that make us even?

I shook my head, letting go of our past dramas, and smiled at Hanley. "Mr. Hanley, you jest. I was out of line yesterday, and Mr. Patterson probably scared your friends. Please apologize for me."

"And about our partnership?" My gaze sharpened. That was my genuine concern.

Hanley said, "You and Mr. Patterson reached out. Naturally, we'll continue our partnership. But let's keep the unqualified out of this project, shall we?" The "unqualified" was a dig at Clyde's latest fling, Kayla.

Maybe to save some face, Hanley made his statement in front of the whole Design Department.

Word got to Kayla in no time.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

When Clyde called me into his office, I saw Kayla's face streaked with tears. "Melanie, how could you go behind my back to Mr. Hanley, getting me kicked off the team? I was the project lead."

"Fine, you lead, I'm out." I rolled my eyes at her. "Clyde didn't tell you he was there, too? Deal with him."

The doc's advice was to keep my spirits up to prevent the cancer from returning. With chemo waiting in the wings, getting bent out of shape wasn't an option.

I'd decided to adopt a no-nonsense attitude. Cross me, and I'll clap back.

Unfamiliar with my temper, Kayla tried to say more, but colleagues from the Administrative Department were already signaling to her.

"Kayla, it's just one project. The Patterson Group has plenty more. Let it go this time."

Once Clyde spoke, it got practically settled.

Kayla looked at him, unwilling to give up. "But I've organized the materials..."

"Kayla, be good." His tone wasn't exactly warm but unmistakably suggestive.

Kayla blushed, looking down. "Okay."

Watching their nauseating exchange, I couldn't help but retch. I covered my mouth and rushed out of the office.

Clyde started to stand, but Kayla blocked him.

When I returned after throwing up,

Kayla smugly blocked the office door. "Mr. Patterson is on an important call. No outsiders allowed. But Mr Patterson said you're in charge of the Radiant Systems project. Don't worry. I'll step back."

I was surprised she gave up like that, barely hiding her smirk.

Kayla snorted "Mr. Patterson said these deals often involve dinners and drinks with the big shots. He's worried be taken advantage of, so he doesn't want me in that position. It seems you're better suited for it, Ms. Crawford."

Her gloating made me want to be sick again.

Mimicking her smirk, I replied. "Yeah, because only the best face for the Patterson Group should be out there."

I wasn't about to listen to her gloat any longer and turned to leave.

Revising the project plan went smoothly without the dead weight, though I still needed to inspect the site. Halfway through the construction, any change was challenging.

Arriving on-site, Hanley looked solemn. "Ms. Crawford, we must scale back by at least two inches here. And we'll need to recalculate these materials to minimize losses."

I was deep into the blueprints and the site's current state, feeling the headache build. Before I could take pictures, a mob armed with bats and shovels barged onto the site. "We won't leave without an explanation today!"

"That's right! Your construction is disturbing our peace. You owe us compensation!"

"If you don't pay, forget about continuing work here!"

Facing a protest was new to me, but Hanley seemed used to it, directing security to handle the situation. But as the two groups clashed, someone fell to the ground, and chaos erupted.

"They're attacking us! Call the police!"

"They're out for our heads just 'cause we want some compensation!"

As the shouts grew more absurd, I backed away fearing getting caught in the melee. My life was too fragile for front line battles. But the crowd seemed unstoppable, and someone charging with a shovel made me want to pull Hanley away for cover.

Instead, my legs gave over

fainted.

and I