Pet him

Six years ago, the night I… well, let's just say I took advantage of Ethan Miller. It rained as hard as he cried that night. I left around 4 AM, my body numb. I stumbled home, cursing myself, and spent the next few days recovering before blocking him on everything.

Six years later, he waltzes back into my life as my new boss. His first order of business? Firing me.

"He fired me! Can you believe it? Total payback!" I raged to my best friend, Olivia.

"What the hell did you do to my brother to make him hate you this much?"

"I… did… him…" I mumbled, regretting everything.

"Oh, come on, it's ancient history. Just smooth things over with him. He's a softie at heart."

Yeah, Olivia clearly didn't get what I meant.

The first day of unemployment, I wallowed. My boyfriend, Josh, heard about the firing from my mom and rushed over with a peace offering, urging me to apologize.

"Amy, you know my uncle pulled strings to get you that job. Getting fired makes me look bad."

I felt a pang of guilt. My mom called too, suggesting she talk to Ethan's mom. "We were neighbors, after all. Even if they're loaded now, we go way back."

Between Josh and my mom, I felt like a criminal for not wanting to grovel. So, I went to Ethan's house.

Olivia opened the door. The first thing I saw were the paintings on the wall. Olivia had mentioned they were worth… millions. I thought about the cross-stitch hanging in my living room that cost a hundred bucks and my mom still complained about it. The chasm between our lives suddenly felt vast.

We'd grown up together. Ethan and Olivia lived with their grandparents, right next door to us. Their mom would visit every summer. We were inseparable as kids. Olivia and I stayed close even after college.

Ethan, though, never liked me. He sabotaged every attempt I made at dating in high school, resulting in epic groundings from my parents. Fed up, I finally got my revenge during freshman year winter break. I "taught him a lesson."

"See? Dating is bad for you. I'm doing this for your own good," I'd said as he sobbed, clutching the blanket.

"Now you're sorry? Too late." He cried in his tiny bedroom all night.

I swear, I'd planned to give him a proper scolding, but things escalated. He was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. I got carried away. Maybe I’d been too rough; I didn't see him again after that.

Until the company welcome party for the new VP. I recognized him when he walked by, but he didn’t seem to notice me. I was relieved, until he fired me. He held a grudge.

At his house, his mom fussed over the gift basket I'd brought. "You shouldn't have! It's like you're a stranger."

"It's been a while, Aunt Carol. I got these for your parents."

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen his grandparents since they moved.

"So thoughtful! They're on vacation. I'll tell them you came; they'll be thrilled. It's been ages!"

"Where's your brother? Go tell him Amy's here! You two have so much to catch up on!"

"They've met. Ethan already fire...