44. Jealousy, Jealousy.

[Claire]
"The black and white masquerade ball is the most prestigious event of the year and you'll bet your asses we're going to try and get as much scoop as we can." Mr. Anders tapped the whiteboard and smiled in satisfaction.
I tried to keep my concentration but unfortunately, I zoned out a couple of times.
After Ivan left my apartment that day, he tried calling me and my father also kept calling me but I ignored them both, he then started showing up at my place of work but when I threatened to call the police on him, he started staying away from me.
Jean told me that he had asked a buddy of his in the police department for help with finding my mother and it was the only hope I had now.
I did not know what happened to my detective, he just stopped picking my calls and when I went to find him at his office I was told that he had vanished without a trace.
I felt dejected because he had taken a lot of money from me and scammed me because he hadn't found my mother before he left.
I found my hope back in Jean and I was very grateful for him. He was my strength now, along with Sophie and Michele but they were so busy making and delivering dresses that I rarely saw them anymore.
I did not blame them though, it was the season of events ranging from charity events to music gala's to balls, they were both horribly busy.
"Miss Claire, are you listening to me?" Mr. Anders frowned at me.
"Y-yes, sir." I cleared my throat and sat upright, he had caught me zoning off again.
I tried to concentrate on the board but the look he was giving me made me feel a bit uneasy. I followed the direction of his gaze and I found that he was openly checking me out and looking at my exposed cleavage.
"The ball is a top notch event, how many of us will be able to get in?" I asked and stylishly covered my cleavage with a notepad.
"Indeed it is." He licked his lower lip and raised his eyes back to the board.
I'd caught him staring creepily at me on more than one occasion but I always brushed it off because he was kind of a creepy person and I did not know how to approach that conversation with him.
"We got only two tickets and I will be giving one to the most productive employee of the month." He grinned at us.
Peggy grumbled behind me but I didn't say anything, Jean had told me about the ball and I knew that I'd have an invite if I wanted one, Sophie and Michele we're also working at the event so even if they couldn't get me in officially if I wanted to attend I could always to with them as like an assistant or something.
Some of the men in the boardroom were smiling because they knew that it had to be one of them the invite would fall to.
"I will be going to the ball and Claire would be accompanying me as the second person." He announced and I almost choked on my water.
There was no way I was the most productive employee, just the other day I had given his files to Peggy and I'm sure she must have delivered them to him.
"Slut." Peggy coughed beside me and I glared at her.
Everyone in the room burst into a spontaneous round of applause and congratulations but I knew that it was fake, they were all upset that the invite had gone to me and they all probably thought I was sleeping with the boss.
"Thank you very much Sir but that day I have an—"
"It's work and you don't have a choice." Mr. Anders said with a note of finality and I sighed.
He wouldn't let me reject it and everyone else just thought I was snobbish and a slut.
"Okay, Claire, I will have my assistant forward the details to you and I've also booked you an appointment with Sophie and Michele so you're all good to go." Mr. Anders said switching off the PowerPoint presentation display.
"Thank you very much, sir." I smiled and started packing up my stuff.
"Okay guys, that's all, I expect you all to come to work early on Monday and be ready to work till late editing the pictures and news we will come back with."
"Okay, sir." Everyone grumbled and got up to leave.
"Claire, please stay." Mr. Anders called me back and I stopped.
"Yes sir."
"Um, if you'd like I could pick you up on Saturday and we could go to the ball together." He smiled and came closer to me, too close for my comfort.
I couldn't deny it, Mr. Anders was really handsome but I just wasn't into him because my heart already belonged to someone else and I decided to let him know about that once and for all.
"Thank you, sir, that's very nice but I'll be attending the ball with my boyfriend," I told him and he backed away from me instantly.
"Fine, you may leave now." He seemed visibly annoyed at my response.
I walked out of his office immediately and shut the door behind me, as I walked to my cubicle, the sound of clapping drew my attention and I turned back to see Peggy and a group of my other colleagues glaring at me and clapping.
"Well, well, well, I told them all your innocent behavior was just a farce." Peggy stepped closer to me.
"I don't know what you're talking about Peggy, I'm honestly tired and I still have a lot of work to do."
"How did you do it, tell me?" She asked.
"Do what?"
"How did you fuck the boss." She smiled at me.
"Oh, she must have fucked him pretty well, she's got him wrapped around her little finger." Another colleague spoke.
"Okay, now you're just being offensive." I hissed and turned to go back to my office.
"Oh, no you don't, you don't get to walk out on us." Another colleague yelled and pulled me back by my hair.
"I think it's the red hair, haven't you heard the rumors about redheads?" Peggy mocked.
"Let go of me this instant." I threatened the woman who held my hair and I tried to free myself from her grip.
"You're not even trying to deny it, you're a slut, you're a whore, you hear me."
That statement provoked me and I shoved her away from me.
"Don't you ever lay your hands on me again and don't you dare call me a slut."
"And if we do, what are you going to do about it?"
"Look, I don't know where y'all got the information that I'm sleeping with the boss but it's not true, I would never do that because I have a boyfriend, you always see him when he drops me off and picks me up from work." I defended myself.
"Well, we don't believe you." One accused, glaring at me.
"Ever since you came here, the boss has been giving you preferential treatments, you think we don't see it." The other added.
"We see how he looks at you, the first gala at the palace, he had just one invite and he gave it to you when normally he would have gone himself, a little bit suspicious, don't you think?"
"Stop, just stop all of you, I'm telling the truth, if you want to know who is really sleeping with the boss then you should ask Peggy, she's the one that is crazy about him and asking every female staff member to stay away from him." I snapped and yelled angrily.
"Y-you, you." Peggy's hand shook as she posted at me. "You will pay for this." She frowned and walked away with her minions behind her.
I sighed and proceeded to my cubicle to get my work done. I wasn't going to see Jean for a few days because he had informed me that he would be busy with the ball preparations and that already had me in a foul mood.
"You shouldn't mind them." I looked up into the eyes of the quiet colleague in the office.
He was really good but he never really talked to anyone, he had a corner office and he was one of the decision making bosses of the magazine.
"Sorry, what?" I asked surprised.
"I said you shouldn't mind them, they're just jealous of you, you do a great job and you should focus on that."
"Um, t-thank you." He walked away before I could say anything else and I just stared at him in shock.
Did he just talk to me?
I went back to my work and ignored what had just happened. I knew that gossip would spread to the office by the next day and I wondered if he had done me a favor or made my situation worse.
My phone rang and I picked it up immediately.
"Hello." I smiled expecting to hear Jean's deep voice.
"Hello Claire, it's Ivan."