“Don’t be a dick Zach, you don’t know what’s going on in her life.”

“Don’t be a dick Zach, you don’t know what’s going on in her life.” You scold him.

Zach shrugs his shoulders, “Fuck that man. She’s a baddie, you know she likes it rough. I can tell.” He nods his head as if confirming an unanswered question.

The quintessential fuckboy, Zach worldview was that of a semi-graduate college frat boy. His hair was spiked, with flared flame tips and he wore a muscle shirt that showed off strong pectorals and biceps, as if that alone was enough to attract ladies. He was 6 foot 3 inches, towering above most in the office in a way that accentuates his alpha male persona.

“Don’t tell me you’ve thought this through Zach,” You reply, turning back to the TPS report on your desk. “You’ve talked to her, like once in the past month? And you can give one look at her, and you can tell she likes it rough? Give me a break.”

“Oh do I?” A melodic voice sounds behind you.

You spin in your chair in horror as you come face to face with Maisy. The color drains from your face and you fumble, your pen slipping from you hands. “Maisy… er ahm… I mean Miss Johnson. I wasn’t saying,” you blunder in reply, “I was just pointing out to my colleague Zach here, the inappropriateness of talking in such vulgar fashion.”

She raises an eyebrow, “Oh really?” she replies with a bemused expression on her face. “Relax Jake, your first mistake is sitting next to this degenerate. All the new hires make that mistake.”

“Uhh, Miss Johnson, i’ve been here a year…” you correct her

“Oh have you now?” Maisy replies absentmindedly, “Zach, where’s your last expense report?” She addresses Zach, as if dismissing your existence and not acknowledging your presence.

Zach and Maisy proceed to exchange pleasantries, as if an old married couple. You feel as if you fade into the background, a mirage or a visage of what was once there, to be addressed and ignored. You stare in disbelief on how easy it is to ignore you and at the same time you are wholly unsurprised at the situation. You fall into a familiar pattern, to be the third wheel of a conversation you were neither invited to nor were welcomed.

“You know what your problem is?” Zach jokes, grinning ear to ear, teasing the willing Maisy.

“Don’t say it! Don’t you dare say it.” Maisy says hastily, holding back fits of laughter. “I’m your boss Zach, you’d better not.”

“Not enough rest Maisy,” he finishes, not missing a beat. Zach raises his eyebrow, “What did you think I was going to say?”

Maisy bursts out laughing, leaning against the cubicle wall lazily. Her soft, porcelain skin held a soft sheen emanating an angelic glow in the afternoon gleam. There’s an ease to her movements; as if this was an exchange that they’ve had time and time again. She’s lingering, despite the fact she was supposed to log those TPS reports.

You dive into your work, which entails logging pointless procedural documents and timecodes. Your thumb the scroll wheel on your mouse, circling back through the same leads you’ve pursued through this morning, all in an effort to take your mind away from the conversation happening right in front of you.

You can’t help but admire how Zach converses with the goddess that is your superior. There’s a manipulation there, sure, but a easiness that you envy. The twinkle in this eye means that Zach knows what he’s doing and he works as if a gilded grandmaster carefully practicing his craft with ease. You get the sense he’s done this before, complements mired with slips of danger. A comment here. A half-insult there.

It takes awhile for their conversation to ease, and you wait until Maisy it outside of earshot, before sneaking a peak.

Zach is leaning back in his chair, hands behind his back, grinning ear to ear. He catches your eye, and gives you a wink. “That, my dear Jake, is how you do it. “ he says in a low voice.

“I don’t get it.” you reply.

“Get what?”

“How do you do it? Who taught you to do that. Especially a guy like you…”

“What do you mean a guy like me?” Zach smirks

“Oh fuck you Zach, you know what I mean. Don’t tell me your not the type of guy who keeps a list of women you’ve scored with.” You reply, with more than a little of jealousy in your voice.

“Look Jake,” he says, “you know what you’re problem is? You’re putting pussy on a pedestal.”

‘A what?”

“You’re worshiping these females. You see my dear padawan, women are simple creatures.” Zach raises his arms wide, “What you must remind yourself is not of the prey, but of the hunter. You know who the hunter is right?”

You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m going to die alone. “Give me a little credit Zach.”

Zach scoffs, “Woah! Hey, I’m not the enemy here.” He feigns shock, then hammers the point home. “Look you’re a young guy, you’re what? 25?”

“26.” you correct him.

“Fine. 26,” Zach replies, “You’ve heard this before, you’ve searched youtube for this video right? What do you think that means? Be the hunter? Guys like you, they don’t know how lucky they have it, they don’t know the gift that life has given you. You’ve heard the influencers and you think they're idiots.”

“I know what you’re going to say Zach,” you respond, “that’s the same masculine bullshit I've been fed most of my life. You know my uncle told me the same shit, and he died alone with no kids or money to his name.”

Zach throws a small packet at you, catching you so off guard that you barely stop it from smacking you in the face.

You look down at what you now have in your hands, it looks like a ticket of some kind.

“Prove it virgin," Zach says "come out with me tonight. There’s this club I've heard across the river that I’ve been meaning to check out.

You stare at him, and a thought crosses your mind. “Wait a minute, you planned this did you? You’ve been trying to get me out for weeks now.”

A cheshire smile forms on Zach’s face, “You’re just as easy as these bitches Jake, that’s why I like you. Now you have , you have to come out with me.”

You wonder if it’s that simple. On one hand you have nothing to lose, on the other hand, you don’t trust Zach and can only imagine what trouble is about to befall you.

Zach looks at you.

You have to make a decision.