Divorced, But Not Broken
Divorced, but Not broken Chapter 183

There it was.

A face full of makeup, long skirt, and a blouse that made me look... well... like I belonged, courtesy of Tom again having to lend me money I would pay back. Now, I just needed to stop speaking with this stupid accent, and I would be seat walking inside the office where the temp agency had sent me.

It was so big, so f*****g big that I had to turn my head upwards, staring like a stupid redneck when I just had worked smaller office. I mean, this place was huge, nothing like Angela's office, and she still was doing pretty good for herself!

Walking towards the security desk, signed in, and walked fast towards the elevators, trying to act like I belonged when I knew I didn't, but I knew I could do this! Having Sophia watching the twins was a blessing, especially when Tom finally could do whatever he was doing... for Jonah... the thought made me sigh. Standing in the crowded elevator, I was going off floor six, so I wasn't a big-shots secretary or anything, which suited me fine. I didn't want to go further, which meant attention I didn't need.

The sixth floor was plain, a workspace made of several squares and some stupid futons that needed to be updated asap. I guess this wasn't where you came to make a career.

"Are you the new temp?" a man looked at me head to toe like he didn't believe I wasn't twenty or anything like that. Yeah, I was a temp, and I was turning forty, and he better get over it fucking fast.

"Yes, I'm Theresa..." that still felt weird, don't ask me why I had that name. I didn't get to choose, it was all made up according to Tom, and he didn't want to talk about the details, so I didn't ask. The man made a sigh. He was middle-aged, he was, and I bet he was looking for some stupid girl to f**k behind his wife's back, the same as every other guy out there!

"Yeah, I'm Malcolm, and welcome..." he didn't sound that enthusiastic when I just nodded, giving him a fake smile. Glad he wasn't that interested. I just wanted to work and get paid, no more, no less.

"So, this is your desk, I'm right behind that door, but according to the agency, you don't need that much of an introduction..." he pointed to the kitchen, staffroom, and last, bathroom before leaving me by the small desk where I sat down.

Great.

A place to go where dreams died, and I didn't care. I bet none of the other people working on this floor had a mob guy after them, just waiting to get his claws into my kids so that his stupid mother would be pleased!

"Shit!" there was so much that the last temp had left. What the fuck was this anyway? Why did all this end up in my work folder, wasn't their more people in this big building doing anything!? Seems like this Malcolm guy wasn't pulling his own weight, either. No wonder they put him down here to die!

"I'm sorry, but.... This doesn't seem right...." I was handing the file to the man staring at me, acting like he was my boss. He wasn't, no matter how he was trying to make me feel like he was the power of this floor, sitting behind the stupid desk and watching me like he was maybe rethinking about wanting to f**k me or not.

"Yeah, no... this isn't my department.... That's upstairs...." he sighed, giving it back when I frowned; this wasn't his job then. What the fuck did he even work here for?

"Yes, I can tell...." I couldn't stop the snide comment when he didn't seem as relaxed as before. He clearly didn't expect anyone like me to actually want to do my job, not like him, that useless slacker!

"You know what, if you really care so much, Theresa, you tell them, tell that there is a fucking error in the system, and you see what happens..." he smirked when I did a gulp. Did he mean that I would tell some big dog that their system wasn't working or that this whole department was a f*****g failure? No, I did not risk losing this job, not for anything in the world!

"Yeah...that's what I thought... you all come here so fucking eager and...." I didn't listen more to his complaints when he made a snicker, making me close the door and walk back to my desk, still feeling like I should do something. I wasn't used to just seeing a problem and not wanting to fix it, not that my personal life was in order, it wasn't, but I sure was always professional.... Almost.... Intense nausea came back when I remembered working under James, my first workplace. I was trying to steer under another a*****e that didn't appreciate me or my talents!

I was sitting there, staring at the screen.... if you thought about this, I didn't need to talk to anyone. Just send a damn mail to one of the secretaries. They didn't give a shit who sent it, didn't they? I stared at the screen some more. Yeah... yeah that would be fine, nobody gave a shit about me anyway, and if I was lucky, someone would take the credit, and I could finish this temp job and move on to somewhere else.

Before I knew it, I sent the damn email and didn't care what happened, so what if they got mad and fired me? I was nothing to this company, just a dot meant to work and shut my damn mouth and listen to a man that didn't want to be here. A*****e. "What the hell did you do!??" I was hearing the angry voice of the clearly upset man that was coming out, having his phone out and looking like if we had been alone, he would have smacked me across the face for even making an attempt at doing my job more than just redirecting people telling them it wasn't my filiation that handles their problem.

"what you said, I told someone." My face was cold. I didn't have to explain myself to him or anyone else; if he was firing me, well... then fuck him! That slacker!

"You are so fired; this is not what I told you to do! This means that I have to..." he stopped when I was still staring at him, arms crossed and didn't care that he was trying to intimidate me. Whatever it was, the man looked scared from nowhere. Whoever was coming behind me was someone that he was scared of because it sure wasn't me.

"Mr. Packer, you are fired." I wasn't even surprised when the man above him gave him his papers, and I didn't know if I should feel bad. He seemed to hate this job, but maybe he needed it just as much as I.... Shit.

I was gathering my stuff, ready to leave, when the man that had come to fire the guy still giving me the evil eye, packing up his shit, stopped me with his arm, making me flinch from the sudden movement. Wait, I wasn't fired?!

"Not you." He pointed to the elevator when I made a big gulp, oh... so I was getting something other than another job on a different floor, perhaps? I didn't speak when I was following the suit, yes, this man had a suit, and he wasn't looking like he was taking no for an answer. I knew that type all too well.

The doors opened up, and I walked out, glaring at the floor, which said 38 making it almost at the top to my dislike when I was walking out behind the stern man with my purse and shoes that sounded cheap now that I was walking inside the flawless corridor with not a futon in sight, no. this was the real deal, where people far more important than a temp secretary was to be seen.

People around were dressed differently, and it showed; their hair and faces were made, much more than mine was when I made another sigh, already regretting that I had seen that stupid error that made the system bounce around cases and that dork that didn't want to fix it.

We walked by the floor reception desk when I still hadn't gotten why I was even there? Nope, just follow the man that told me to come along, just like the rest of your life, Andrea, just following guys that promised shit they didn't keep!

"Okay, you.... Whatever your name is, where are we going and why!?" I was sick of not getting answers when the man with glasses scowled at me like he couldn't believe I had just mouthed off against him. Oh, I had no idea how sick I was of blindly following people and trusting them. I was in enough over my head with having to meet up with Buck, telling him the truth, and now this!? Shit!

"My name is irrelevant, and so are yours, Miss Wilson." He made another scowl when I lost the color on my face. What the fuck did he call me, Wilson!? Tom told me his contact was real and that my papers could go through anything!

"Excuse you, but what the fuck did you just call me!?" I was panting the slightest over my adrenalin rushing all over. Was this a trap then, some kind of scheme of Jonah to get me back? Had he known all along where f**k I was!? I knew Tom would rat me out, and he always did!

I was grinding my teeth when he didn't answer. He looked more serious and turned the corner, making me follow, still trying to understand how he knew my real name. If he did, so did Jonah.

A man was sitting with his back against us when he knocked on the glass door. The view was amazing when the man waved inside us, me taking a deep breath, not knowing what to expect. Who the fuck had made sure that I came right from the basement all the way up to the top!? It didn't work like that, not unless I was here to either suck someone's d**k mop up the f*****g floor.

The call the man had ended, and I was holding my breath when the big chair turned around from the window, showing me the last person on earth I thought would ever see my face again, let alone here of all the places.

"Well, hello babe.... what has been two or three years?" He made a bright, charming smile when I still was stunned. Was he kidding me? How the f**k did he end up here of all the places in the world!? Chapeter 184

The man behind the desk was flawless, even more than Jonah ever had been, and had on a custom tailor-made suit, his earnest face giving me the same no-shit attitude even if you could see his obvious mocking glint behind the glasses that made him look even sharper, in short terms, he looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Joseph?!"

My voice stuttering his name the slightest, not sure what to say when he still was staring at me, like he was angry or upset, so that part hadn't changed then, him being this a*****e that was going to call me out on my shit and do it without any remorse. Why the fuck was he even here, in this office, looking like he owned it all? I was still unsure what to say when he got up and walked towards me, judging my outfit, and I knew it. He still had the personality of a f*****g cactus when I was frowning, that a*****e. Why the f**k didn't he tell me that he was the one that had made me come up here in the first place!?

"Yes, it's me, new and improved... and oh my, look at you...... Andrea.... What happened?" He was standing before me, sounding the slightest sadder, making me blush, and I hated that he made a stupid smirk. Knowing that I had done some shit and more, I left him, and here he was, Jonah's stupid tech guy that seemed to be doing way better than I ever did!

"Shit, that's what happened, Joseph.... Now, why the fuck did you call me up here? Are you going to boast in my face before you call Jonah and rat me out!?" I was tired of trying to cover up every part of my life when he made a confused face before it turned into a scowl. He didn't like me saying Jonah's name; that much was clear.

"Jonah!? Do you think I'm working for that fucker!? Andrea, fucking look at me! I own this fucking company, and you think I need that slimy bastard!? He never respected me and what I could do! Always calling me fat, well, guess what?! I'm not!" He was growling it when I made a sigh. Yeah, that was sensitive still... and he did look good. He probably had no problem getting laid, even if he didn't look good for millions.

"You look like shit, by the way..." he was still angry when I shrugged. Yeah, so what if I did? he didn't have my life. He probably had some cute boyfriend and two dogs that he showered with more money than I spent on myself over a year. "Yeah, I know... having three kids makes you look like that, at least when you're not a rich bastard...." He made a surprised smile hearing me say that; he looked happy, was he? Happy that I was poor or had three kids?

"Heard you got remarried, and I'm not going to lie, baby girl... I was laughing all night when I heard that Jonah went crazy, almost destroying whatever allegiances Fiona had worked oh so hard for, all over you... the stupid old fat woman...." I made a slight hurtful sound, not over what he was calling me; as I said, Jonah had called me fat, and so had everyone else, the only person that really hurt me, because he fucking meant it when he said it, was Buck, that ungrateful idiot!

"Yeah, I did, but now I'm divorced... again...." I was feeling tired when he lost his smile. To my surprise, again, wait? So, Joseph was serious when he said that he was happy for me, that I had run away, kind of like maybe he did; still, he was here, not too far from big bad Jonah, that always seemed to get back inside our lives, or at least mine.

"I'm sorry about that, really.... Andrea.... Why did you come back?" he was nodding for the armchair when I sat down, defeated. Yeah, that was part that was still kind of hard for me to get to. Why did I come back here?

"I don't know.... Okay... I don't know... my husband Buck, he returned with his old wife and.... I couldn't stick around in the same town where everyone has seen me naked... "I was closing my eyes, not caring that Joseph's face had changed. Was he angry again? How unusual....

"Naked!? Please don't tell me you did some stupid shit. You did, didn't you?" He sounded condescending again; a woman knocked softly, walking inside with a tray that she had put down at the table I was sitting with him, still standing up. Sandwiches, really? Now? I was rolling my eyes when he looked at me with serious eyes. He always was a fun guy, wasn't he?

"Eat." He just said that like a commando when I made a sigh and did take on of the fancy things, eating the slightest from the crust-free bread, f*****g luxury everywhere...

"How did you know it was me?" I was still chewing when he made a smirk, constantly looking so calm again with his dick attitude. No wonder he had made a fortune by the looks of it. He didn't care about people's feelings; he just didn't and look where it had gotten him. I should take f*****g notes...

"You are just as stupid as you always are, signed with your own name, didn't you?" He was still standing when I put the sandwich down again. Oh shit, I did, didn't I?! I made a complaining sound, thinking how I could be so stupid when I felt the hand on my shoulder. He wasn't a touch kind of guy, never was, but I wasn't going to smack it away like I would have it been anyone else. No, he was friendly. Deep inside all that a*****e, he was nice... and he was the only one to stand up against Jonah, walking away from him and making all of this from scratch, probably, that smart bastard.

"I did.... I fucking... oh god.... Joseph, who the fuck am I kidding? Jonah is going to find me, and he is going to take my kids!" I was sniffling now, leaving the strange but tasteful snack in front of me, burying my head in my hands, hopelessly like I was these days. "Andrea...... please..." Joseph sounded tired, too; as soon as Jonah's name entered the room, he didn't look as good anymore, and I understood he didn't want to be involved with Jonah no more than me. He had left, and I was dragging his a*s back inside a life he didn't want to have.

"I know, I know... stop being a bitch that cries all the damn time.... And get the fuck out...." I made a small giggle that sounded awful, still crying like a baby, worse because I knew that in the end, everything I did was just prolonging Jonah's coming for my Kira, even if he couldn't have the twins. Some of me believed that he wouldn't care, or at least Fiona wouldn't if she needed them.

He didn't speak back when I walked towards the big glass doors that made this place look incredible, like him. He really had made something for himself, hadn't he?

"You take care now.... Oh, and I do miss the trench coat...." He made a suffering face to my last smile, still standing in the big office, knowing I was walking away from this job, company, and him right back home to go even crazier.

"Andrea, wait.... Just fucking wait...." He made another suffering face when I stopped. Honestly, he didn't need to twist my arm that bad. I had nowhere to go and ran out of options for what to do.

"Let's just fucking think about this......and.... I don't know... let's eat something... I'm f*****g starved anyway...." I was looking over him, starved? That's not how I would describe him these days. Nope, he was fit as hell compared to me. He didn't lift a finger more than I needed regarding exercise.

"Sure...." He sighed like he would regret this, telling his secretary and at least three more people he was leaving; to my surprise, he really was the boss around here, wasn't he?

"Don't gawk, I am way smarter than every one of you together... besides..... I told you that I was done with that shit when I graduated..." he beamed now, walking inside the elevator with me along, people staring, so yeah that this was weird and awkward, not what I had expected to happen waking up this morning, finding Joseph and that he had made himself so successful, I was f*****g proud of him.Chapter 185

"Look at that... just look at that... f**k Andrea... they are so cute..." he was looking over my phone when I was stuffing my face. I was. There was no way around it at the fancy place he had taken me, coming inside easy with me that still didn't look like I belonged anywhere. On my second plate of pasta with some seafood, it was the best thing I had tasted in years!

"Yeah... yes... that's Kira... and that's Noah and James..." he made a frown hearing me say James to my sigh when I was still chewing, not giving a shit that I looked like a pig eating; it felt like I hadn't been hungry since I the twins and suddenly, wanting to eat again before the serious man that was my friend.

"Kira.... Yeah, that's all Jonah right there...good fucking luck..." he made a more genuine smile when he was still staring over my pictures of the kids, that still was back at the crappy apartment with Sophia, that probably was spending half her time with her tongue down the throat of Tom.

"Yeah, don't have to tell me.... She is a fucking devil when she wants something...but...she is great......" I snicker, taking a sip from the wine in front of me, looking back up at the warm eyes meeting mine. He really was something, wasn't he? Too bad he was gay, and I couldn't see him as anything other than some weird asshole I cared for; otherwise, he would have made a great boyfriend.... I made another sigh that he followed, smirking like he had been reading my mind, retaking my glass. What the fuck did I know? Maybe he could; he did all this, and he didn't have anyone from his past, unlike me. I got all the fucking help I needed from Jonah, no matter if I wanted it or not!

"It's good to see you, I mean it.... It's not like I keep up with anyone. I got my own circles, and... yeah, I'm one of the few people around these parts that don't do business with the Sullivans..." he made another smile. I bet that was hard. I bet it was hard running a business in a town that had f*****g mob in it and not cooperating with them as everyone else would do, willingly or not.

"Fucking Sullivans....." I was drinking more deeply, and my plate was gone when the waitress made a cute smile towards Joseph that, to my surprise, was returning it. He had a great smile; maybe he did smile at people who weren't ruining his life? "Don't even try that shit with me, Andrea; if Jonah were to walk inside this place, you wouldn't hesitate to talk to him for one second. No matter how much you are cursing his name, you are going to end up on your back, legs apart, and... yeah..." he drank a small sip from his own glass, not even touching his food, and here I thought he said he was fucking hungry!?

"No! no, I wouldn't, fucking hate him...." He made another snicker when I was murmuring into my empty glass. What the hell was he talking about anyway? I just surrendered to Jonah, letting him f**k me; that was insulting!

"Oh shit, it's Jonah!" He made a mocking shocked face when my head flipped around, my heart pounding so hard that I thought that everything I had would come up again, thinking for a second that Jonah was coming inside the busy place.

"You fucker!" I scowled way louder than I intended when he chuckled back as he got me. Yeah, well, maybe I still had some feelings for him. Was that so weird, then!? Still cursing under my breath when the waitress returned to refill my glass, only to be dismissed by Joseph, that clearly thought I had enough, which was ridiculous. I wasn't drunk!

"I hate him, you.... I don't know what the hell I'm going to call it.... Love or whatever... take your pick, but you don't hate him.... not like me...." He took another bite when I sank into the comfy chair, feeling even sicker.... Oh god.... He was right.... that was the worst part, during the one second that I thought Jonah was here, my brain was wondering if he would see me, would he care, would he have his wife with him, and would he think I was still pretty?

"I hate you...." I sighed. What was the point of this anyway? For him to make me see that I still had feelings for Jonah. How could I not have that? I had Kira and ... well, he was the first guy I really loved, like really loved... no matter how stupid or pathetic that sounded....

"Sure you do, babe... now... drink some damn water..." he pushed over the glass when I made a whimper, still drinking... shit, I was a little drunk, wasn't I? I am still not sure how it happened. I wasn't counting on getting drunk in the middle of the day with a friend that I knew wanted me to do well, he just didn't know how to help me, and I didn't know either...

"It has been so long, and he promised me he was leaving his wife, and then I meet Buck, oh it's still such a mess...." My head back and sipped the water, trying to breathe out nausea that was happening, suffocating me; when I was thinking back, it felt like another life, a life that was so good and so bad. I was so stupid back then and still am.

"You are always a mess, Andrea... it's a fucking personality trait of yours... that's why you fit so good with that fucker..." he snorted, obviously done, not even eating half of his plate to my frown. What a waste... too bad I would hurl if I made even a bite more right

now.

I was still sitting down when he pulled me up, meeting my eyes when he was still only an inch taller, and I had high heels; it would look like intimacy if he didn't smirk when I was wobbling. I really hated him now, getting me drunk on a f*****g Monday! "Yeah, I am, so what else is new? Not everyone got their shit together as you do, Mr.... fancy pants!" snickering when he did one as well. He was laughing at me, and I didn't care, f*****g let him. I have been through worse.

He didn't answer me at first, just stared at me with cunning eyes. Oh, he was the most cunning guy I had ever seen, more than Jonah or anyone else, and at least he was smart enough to actually not look stupid when he did.

"Alright, let's talk business here, Miss Wilson; this isn't just a catch-up date. I want to know how the fuck you picked up on that error in my system?" Joseph was staring at me like he couldn't believe it; of all the people in the world, he had seen something he had missed. I bet he hated it, every second of it, that pompous prick.

"I don't know, I just saw it and couldn't keep quiet. Shit like that bothers me. I used to run a fucking store, you know, on my f*****g own, didn't know that did you!?" I was waving at the waitress when she turned off again when Joseph made a face telling her to fuck off. Shit, I wished I could do that!

"A store, what? You mean one of the supersaver shit places you worked over here?" he was annoyed when I was nodding, still drinking water when he sighed like he wasn't that impressed over that. I was. I was a fucking good manager too! Trained by James, and he was a dense fucker.

"What... you want a new secretary? sure... sure... I got nothing else going on...." I was staring back at the table, missing my old home, missing fucking everything, how the hell my feelings were all over the place, first with Jonah and now Buck, I missed that life too; it was a good life to have...... shit... I was sniffling when he looked at me grimly, not wanting me to cry again when I was wiping my eyes fast. Yeah, nobody wanted to see that, me crying.

"I have a secretary and all that shit.... I was more wondering if you could take over after that lazy a*****e that I fired, it's not the best position to have, but at least it's something." I inhaled upon hearing that. He wanted what, me to take over that dying floor that I had walked inside today? Why!?

"Listen.... listen right there, I don't know what you are thinking, this is some kind of charity, but I don't want it and..." Joseph made another smirk when I was sighing, he didn't even listen to me did he, a*****e.

"Charity would be me telling you to take my money for free, this is a f*****g job, Andrea, and from my point of view, you need it." He was waving down the waitress, that perked up right away; seeing his charming smile, I was more amazed he even had one; it still blew my mind.

"Fuck, I do... I need it...." I was stroking my hair. It looked like shit after drinking, and that was some kind of magic. One and a half glasses of wine and my hair looked like I had been sleeping for a week, nothing like the perfection across from me, paying the tab and chitchatting with the flirty waitress smiling. He really was different these days.

"Good! Let's get you home then. I want to see those kids of yours someday. I bet they are better behaved than you are anyway...." I didn't respond to that, just leaned heavily on his body. Shit, he really was something these days, wasn't he? I bet he had a whole f*****g mansion, and I was still struggling to make every week's end, even with Tom helping me.

"Fuck you..." I was murmuring it when he smirked, leading me along the tables, the women staring and men too; he looked so handsome, that piece of shit even made some damn handshakes along the way, making sure that everyone saw him holding me before putting me in the back of a car that was going to take me back to the crappy place where my kids were.

"Love you too..." he was putting me in the car when I flipped him off, closing the door when I closed my eyes, thinking about how lucky I was, in some cursed way, I was.