Chapter 26: Shelley, Down!

The next day Maryanne enters work with dread filling her chest. She does not want to face Shelley or really any questions about what had happened. She is emotionally exhausted after her talk with Max and the pressure of the woman's constant nagging only causes the stress to weigh down on her shoulders. Max has refused to talk to her since then, but every time that she caught him looking at her, he would smirk. It causes irritation to be her constant companion. He is toying with her; he has to be.

Why does he decide to be nice only some of the time? He buys her a car, and yet ignores her. He is too complicated for Maryanne to figure out.

It technically is her fault for using him in the first place, but his reaction is unnecessary. Maryanne was only trying to protect him from Shelley, right? What other reason would she have?

She reaches her desk and sighs, placing her rugged purse next to her chair and taking off her jacket. The winter cold still bites at her bones and she finds herself