I arrived at 155, White Boulevard at 8 pm. It was the house of my boyfriend's boss, Geoffrey, and I had to admit I was stressed. Nicolas had to go see his mother urgently tonight, so he had asked me to bring his boss some documents. I had never met the guy, but Nick said he was very friendly and was expecting me. Just give him the papers and leave, he said. He knew I wasn't really good at social interactions. I was an introverted artist, not a hotshot marketing manager like him. But it was important for him, so I made an effort. Nick was the love of my life, and I would do anything for him.
I rang the doorbell, and the door opened only seconds later. Was he watching me through the window?
"You must be Simon?" Asked a handsome man, a thirty-something with dark brown hair and piercing black eyes.
"Yes, N-Nicolas sent me. He-he's sorry he couldn't be here." My God, I just sounded like an idiot. My face grew hot—speaking to strangers was hard for me.
"He told me, don't worry. Please, come in, welcome to my home."
I followed him into a sumptuous house, and we made our way to the living room. It wasn't a large place, but it was well decorated, with antique carpets, a mix of modern and classic furniture, and magnificent paintings. This is the kind of house where I would feel good. I loved our apartment, but it was simple and small. Nick was working hard to give us a good life. We were living on his salary, and he was the one paying for my fine-arts studies. I owed him a lot. God, he would not be happy if I said that in front of him. He'd told me countless times that we were together, it was the normal thing to do, and that he didn't think twice when the time came to pay for my tuition. What did I do to deserve a guy this good by my side? Thinking about all of this often overwhelmed me. I was surely too sensitive.
"Please sit down," said Geoffrey as he pointed toward the sofa. "Do you want something to drink?"
"Oh, no, thank you, I'm good."
"Come on, it's the first time we meet, let's have a drink, something not too strong. Do you like red wine?" His smile was friendly. I needed to act civilized in front of this guy. I didn't want Nick to look like a fool because of me—and I liked red wine very much.
"Yes, red wine would be nice."
"Perfect." He went to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later, with a bottle of Château Cheval Blanc 2008. Fuck, the guy must be loaded. Who opened a five hundred dollars bottle for the boyfriend of an employee? He poured the wine and gave me a glass.
"Cheers," Geoffrey lifted his glass in the air. I did the same and tasted the wine. It was fantastic. This guy had class. Now I understood why Nick enjoyed working for him.
"Here are the documents I brought," I said, giving him the folder.
"Thank you, Simon, I'll take a look at it later." He took the folder and tossed it on the table without even a glance at it. Instead, his eyes fixed on me, and his reaction made me feel uncomfortable.
Geoffrey continued speaking. "First, I have two things to show you." He picked up papers from the coffee table and gave them to me. "Please read this and tell me what you think."
Still smiling, I unfolded the paper and read them. I had two letters in front of me; one was Geoffrey firing Nick, and the other was an eviction notice from our apartment. Geoffrey was also our landlord. My heart stopped, and my hands started shaking, as tears filled my eyes.
"What... What is this? I d-don't understand."
"It's very simple, Simon. If you don't want your little boyfriend to be fired and for you two to live under a bridge, you'll do exactly as I tell you. Do you understand?" He said with a broad and cruel smile. His eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion. I couldn't stop myself, and tears rolled down my face. Geoffrey sat next to me on the sofa and caressed my hair, petting me like a dog.
"Come on, don't cry. I've had my eyes on you for a long time, you know. Ever since Nicolas showed me a photo of you, I knew I had to be alone with you. To be able to hurt you."
He said it with such indifference that I gasped. "Why do you want to hurt me?"
The guy laughed. Oh, my God, he looked so dangerous. "Because I'm a monster, and I want to break you."