A Chubby Girls Need Love Too Collection

Millicent’s POV

“Are you even listening?” Yelena snarls, breaking into my thoughts.

I blink and try to recall whether I did hear her. I didn’t.

“Sorry,” I whisper.

She shakes her head and looks me up and down. “Why are you wearing a skimpy outfit at work?”

Heat rises up my neck and I look down at my outfit. She's not exactly wrong. But she knows I don’t have that many clothes. It’s been three weeks since I’ve moved in with them and I haven’t had my first paycheck yet. So I can’t afford any new outfits.

Uncle Damon took me in when I had nothing. I walked out of my mother’s house straight into his, with nothing but a small suitcase in my hand.

Yelena wasn’t exactly thrilled with the setup. But I had just left home after finding out my boyfriend had been sleeping with my little sister for months, and my mother knew the entire time.

I run my hands over the short skirt and try to keep my heart from climbing out of my throat.

“Sorry,” I murmur, still looking at the outfit.

I hear her chair scrape as she stands. “All you do is apologize. I just need you to do your job.” She comes to a stop in front of me. “And move out of my house as soon as you get your first salary.”

I swallow and look up, then I nod.

She turns back to her desk, making it clear that our conversation is over. I scurry out of her office and return to my desk, hoping nobody noticed how close I was to falling apart.

I pull up the invoices I was working on before Yelena summoned me and get back to it. There are several payments to reconcile and a report that needs to be finished before the end of the day. And I’m desperate to prove myself, fresh out of college.

I finish the report just before lunch and send it to Yelena for approval. She replies with a short email asking me to correct two entries. I check them, fix the errors, and send it back without making a fuss. When she approves it ten minutes later, I quietly celebrate my victory and move on to the next task.

By five, my eyes are tired, my back hurts, and I’m more than ready to leave. I save my work, shut down my computer, grab my handbag, and head towards the elevator.

“Millicent.”

I turn around. Yelena is standing outside her office, slipping her phone into her handbag.

“Yes?” I answer.

“Are you leaving now?”

I glance at the clock on the wall. “Yes.”

She nods with a smile. “Come with me, then. I am going home.”

I stare at her for a second. She does this every day after work and it still catches me by surprise. I know she’s doing it to impress uncle Damon, and have him thinking she’s taking care, but I can’t blow her cover. She let me stay in her house.

I head straight for the kitchen as soon as we get there. I’m hungry enough to eat whatever I find, provided it doesn't require more effort than putting it in the microwave. I open the fridge and spot a container of food on the middle shelf.

“That's for Damon,” Yelena says behind me.

I turn around. “Oh. Sorry. I'll find something else.”

“You can make yourself something. Just clean up after yourself when you're done.”

“I will.”

She places her handbag on the counter and takes out her phone. For a moment, I think she is going to say something else, but she walks away without looking at me.

I make myself scrambled eggs and toast, then eat at the kitchen counter. Then I wash my plate before Yelena finds another reason to complain about me.

I switch off the kitchen light and head upstairs with my phone in my hand, already thinking about getting into bed. I reach the landing and hear Damon’s voice downstairs.

My steps slow.

I can’t make out what he is saying. It sounds like he’s on the phone. My heart starts beating faster, and I glance towards the staircase. For a ridiculous second, I consider going back down to say goodnight, even though I have absolutely nothing to say to him.

A goodnight wouldn’t hurt, right?

But I decide against it and continue towards my room.

I reach the door and wrap my fingers around the handle, but Damon calls for Yelena from downstairs, his voice carrying through the house. My heart gives another stupid thump before I gently shut my bedroom door.