"Robert, stop making things difficult for me over Matt. We really have nothing going on, and this is just so disappointing!"
With that, she hung up the phone.
I shook my head with a wry smile, not particularly fazed. This was how every argument over Matt ended.
Ariana always knew she was hurting me and stepping on my dignity, but she never changed her ways. Instead, she'd turn things around and accuse me of being the problem.
Every time, she'd go cold, only thawing out when I made the first move—calling her, buying her gifts to smooth things over.
It was a pattern I was used to, and she seemed to be as well.
But this time, I felt an unexpected calm. I was surprisingly at ease, not stirred by her usual games.
We lived in a world with plenty of good people, after all. I remembered my colleague Rebecca Amore offering rides in her car after work, so I gave her a call.
She picked me up and drove me home, asking me questions about the company's business along the way.
Rebecca was actually a very interesting girl, beautiful, with a great personality, and coming from a well-off family. Despite all this, she wanted to be a truly independent woman, so she worked hard.