Chapter Four: In Which She Learns Revenge is a Double Edged Sword
Lucy sat across from Glory in the break room staring at her. She has been trying for the better part of the past ten minutes to ignore her friends odd behavior while she scrolled through the tweets people were sending to her work account.
"Why are you staring at me?" Glory asked without looking up from her phone.
"You look different today. I don't know what it is but I'm going to figure it out." She leaned forward, putting her head in her hand, continuing to stare. Glory looked up from her phone, "Alright Nancy Drew, you know its incredibly creepy that you're willing to just sit here and stare at me." She reached over and lifted her coffee mug to her lips, taking a sip. Lucy narrowed her eyes as if she was onto something, "Did you get highlights in your hair?"
"No, these are all natural but its sweet of you to think they could be professionally done." She gushed while her friend continued to analyze her through squinted eyes as if that would help her in someway.
Royce walked into the room and observed the scene at the table, "Dear god, what are you doing?" He asked Lucy.
She waved her hand at him dismissively never glancing away from Glory, "Shush I'm trying to think Boss man."
He turned his attention to the dark haired beauty in the room, "What is she doing?" She responded with a shrug of her shoulders, resuming her social media perusal, "Hell if I know. I gave up long ago ever trying to understand the ways of Lucy. You just have let her run free like a gazelle." Royce makes a sound like laughter before he walks over to the counter and pours himself a cup of coffee.
"You got kissed!" Lucy proclaimed louder then was necessary for the small space they were all in. Royce choked on his coffee, "And that is my cue to leave." He stated before he rushed out of the room, practically leaving a trail of dust behind him. "You got kissed and you got kissed good." She continued with a big victorious smile on her lips, as if she had just reached the top of Mount Everest.
"Was yelling that completely necessary?" Glory questioned with a mortified expression on her face. Lucy ignored her friends obvious embarrassment, "Who kissed you Gloriana Novacek?"
Feeling like she was back in high school Glory brought her finger up to her lips and looked around to make sure the coast was clear, "Promise you will never say anything about this to anyone and that you will never bring it up again after this moment?"
Lucy leaned forward with a wide grin and lifted her hand, pinky sticking out, "I offer you the sacred pinky promise." Glory rolled her eyes as she locked their pinkies together.
"Alright, now tell me!" Lucy chimes eagerly as she pulled there hands apart.
Glory let out a heavy groan, "Arden Fox." She was forced to cover her ears that the excited shriek that ripped through the small space, "Again very unnecessary."
"I can't believe this!" She smiled at her brightly, "How was it? He looks like a man of great experience." A dreamy sigh escaping her lips. Glory looked to her friend with disgust as she lifted her coffee and took a sip.
"I'm pretty sure he sent me to heaven and back, like twice." She replied bitterly, remembering clearly the feel of his lips against hers.
"Then why are you so cranky right now?" Lucy asked with a raised brow.
"Because he's completely ruined my lips. Now I'll never be able to enjoy your everyday kiss without thinking about THAT kiss, without thinking about HIM. I know he did this on purpose. I swear he planned it. This was his revenge for the his fiancé." She clenched her hand into a fist and slammed it down on the table in her fervor, "But I will avenge myself."
Lucy looked at her friend as though she had lost her mind, "Yeah? How do you plan on doing that exactly? Another revenge kiss?"
Glory stared at the blonde across from her, "I don't know yet but it is going to be diabolical and he'll know that Gloriana Novacek isn't someone you want to play against." She let out a wicked laugh, "I'm going to make him wish he'd never met me."
Lucy grabbed her coffee, "I'm sorry to tell you this but I think he already wishes that honey." She takes a sip.
Glory picked up her phone from the table as her mind swirled with thousands of ways to get back at Mr. Arden Fox. She opened her twitter account as one idea began to gain momentum.
She began tapping at the keyboard,
Got to interview Arden Fox Yesterday! Article coming soon! #ILoveMyJob.
She smiled to herself as she hit post, knowing that revenge would be sweet.
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Royce might fire her over what she had done but it was better to ask for forgiveness then permission. She had written the article just as he had asked her, and just like he asked she had given it the Gloriana Novacek flair. She wanted to see first hand the reaction Mr. Fox to what she had done, which is why she was headed toward Morgan and Beck Tower instead of her job. When the cab pulled up in front of the familiar building Glory found her lips parting in surprise. There was a long line of women, going down the sidewalk and wrapping around the building.
"What is going on here?" The driver asked as she handed him a twenty. "I have no idea." She lied as she ducked out of the cab and walked towards the door with a little less determination. She had expected there would be a certain response but she had never imagined that it would have been anything like this. The article had become live sometime during the night, it hadn't even been a full eight hours.
Women watched her like hungry wolves as she passed them. When she reached for the front door the woman at the front of the line grabbed hold of her arm, "You can wait in line like the rest of us." Glory glanced down at the hand on her arm before yanking herself free and resettling her shirt, "Trust me I'm not here with the rest of you." She place her hand on the cool metal handle and pulled the door open, separating herself from the crazed women outside.
Glory noticed Jackie at her desk, frantic as she talked on the phone. There was a security guard trying to deal with women who were already in the building. Jackie glanced up in her direction, her eyes narrowing, "This is your doing!" She crowed.
Glory dropped a bright smile on the blonde assistant before cutting through the line and heading straight toward Arden's office. "You can't go back there! No one is allowed back there!" Jackie screeched after her. She didn't pay her any mind, "Trust me I think he'll want to see me."
Glory pushed the big frosted door open to find Arden pacing back and forth in front of his big windows. There was another man in the room with him sitting where she had been sitting the other day when Mr. Fox had sealed his fate with that unforgettable kiss.
"It's complete madness out there!" Arden yelled as he ran his hand over his now disheveled hair, "You need to fix this Frankie. I need you to fix this."
She moved into the room the door closing heavily upon her entrance. The men bother turned their attention toward her with a bit of anxiety. Arden stopped his pacing, "You wench!" His feet carried him towards Glory with surprising speed, "I'm going to wring your pretty little neck." She started off across the room hoping to escape his obvious wrath.
"This is your fault!" She called to him over her shoulder, "Never mess with a writer!" She stood on the opposite side of his desk trying to use it as a barricade between the two of them. He was literally fuming in his anger, she could almost see smoke rising off of him. How was it possible that he looked hotter when he was in a blind rage?
"You're the one who wrote the article?" The other man he had called Frankie asked. She didn't dare look away from Arden, "The very one. It's nice to meet you." She greeted out of breath before Mr. Fox charged around his desk for her. Glory released a scream as she ran away back towards where she had originally begun this childish dance.
"Can't we talk about this?" She questioned out of breath.
"I think you've done enough talking for the both of us in your damned article." She watched her arch nemesis use his desk for leverage as he hoisted himself up and over it, closing the distance between them. She turned to run again but thanks to her heels he was much faster then her. He caught her by the arm and she began to beat at his chest with her free hand, "Let go of me you caveman!"
"Arden! Let go of her this instant!" Frankie yelled behind him. Glory looked up to find Arden staring down at her with clenched teeth, making his strong jaw even more defined. He didn't seem that willing to let her go now that he had gotten his hands on her. Hesitantly he released his hold on her but continued to hold her gaze with a terrifying amount of intensity. She swallowed the lump of hysteria in her throat, trying to remain calm herself down.
"You have caused quite the madhouse for us with that article you wrote." Frankie commented as he appeared beside Arden. She broke from the stare of she was having to look to the man. He was wearing a nice button up shirt and a pair of pinstriped slacks. He was not nearly as muscular as Mr. Fox, he was more on the tall and lean side of the spectrum. Frankie had the boy next door thing going for him, with his brown tousled hair and ray ban glasses.
"I do apologize for the craziness out there." Glory gave him an apologetic smile, "I didn't realize that my article would get this much of a response."
Arden's peeled back into a violent sneer. She could see that he was contemplating her death once again, "That's the problem! You never think before you do things! Everything that has happened to me in the past couple of weeks is thanks to you and your big mouth."
Her eyes snapped to him, teeth grinding together, "You should consider yourself lucky that me and my big mouth didn't do worse!"
"Worse? You announced to the whole world that I was taking applications for a future Mrs. Fox!" He exclaimed as his arms moved about wildly. Glory found her lips turning up victoriously, "It was definitely one of my best ideas. You did say that your love life had taken a sudden turn because of me. I was only trying to correct the mistake." The crazy look came back into his eyes and she took a step back, loosing her amusement.
"Let's all calm down huh?" Frankie said as he stepped between the two of us, holding his hands out like he was afraid we might attack each other, "I need a moment to think about how to handle this problem and I can't do that with both of you acting like children." Arden and Glory shared a look before stepping back away from each other.
"Who are you exactly? Arden's personal problem solver?" She asked as she readjusted her skirt that had gotten all twisted up during the scuffle. Frankie gave her a polite smile, "Something like that. I'm his PR person."
Glory nodded her head in understanding, "Oh you mean his professional liar." Frankie let out a chuckle at my comment. Arden turned his back to us and moved to the other side of the room where he has glass bottles full of different colored liquids. He pulled out a glass that was stacked under the table and pops open a bottle, pouring the liquid into the glass.
"Isn't it a little early for a drink Mr. Fox?" Glory taunted. He turned back toward her and took a big swig in response. She rolled her eyes.
"I think I know how I can spin this. We can use Miss Novacek's article to our advantage." Frankie said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Arden raised a speculative eyebrow, "How do you plan to do that?" Glory found herself equally as curious.
Frankie looked between the two of them, "You're going to accept the applications from the women." He gave pointed look to Arden before fixing his gaze on her, "And you're going to play the part of matchmaker. If anyone asks, we hired you after reading through your advice columns on the blog you work for. You came to us highly recommended."
"WHAT?!" Arden and Glory questioned in stereo.
"It could be very good publicity for you Arden. It will take the public eye away from Isobel leaving you and it will also make you appeared to be more approachable. Think of all the business it will bring you. As crazy as this sounds, Miss Novacek may have done you and actual favor. In a weird and twisted kind of way." Frankie wagered.
Glory could see that this guy was clearly good at his job, no wonder he worked for Arden Fox, the insufferable man must need his help on the daily basis with the way he treated people. Arden was staring across the room in deep thought. She watched him closely as his shoulders sagged a bit in defeat, "Fine but I am not happy about this at all and I certainly am not marrying anyone. I'll go along with the rouse until the media coverage calms down." She hadn't expected him to actually agree to play along with the madness. It had been a harmless prank, she hadn't meant for anyone to take it seriously.
"Woah, Woah! I am not agreeing to this." She scrambled for words to turn them down.
Arden's eyes locked onto her like heat seeking missiles, "You will do this because it's your fault I'm even in this mess in the first place and because if you refuse I will use every ounce of my power to ruin everything that is your pathetic life." His voice was full of malice as he threatened her. Glory quickly realized that she had been poking a rattlesnake with a short stick and it had bitten her. This was not how she had envisioned this whole revenge thing turning out.