I feel my anxiety grow with each step I take towards Shane's office. Instead of waiting for him to come and get me, I know it will be best if I just go to him.

I knock on the door before entering to see a very aggravated Shane looking up at me. He uses his hand to gesture towards the seat in front of his desk. I take a seat without hesitation.

"Natalia." Shane sighs.

"I already know." I mutter in reply.

"What in the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea the kind of issues this can cause?" He asks.

"I don't know, Shane. I was just mad."

"Okay, well just because you're mad it doesn't give you the right to treat someone like that. Let alone threaten them." He replies.

"I already know. Grayson already got onto me about all of this." I reply with annoyance.

"And what exactly did he say?" He asks.

"He said that you were going to write me up and that he agreed with you."

"He said that he agrees?" He asked, completely unconvinced.

"Yes. So can we just get me written up and move on? I've already gotten the lecture from Grayson."

"Fine. I'll have you sign this." He says, sliding the paperwork towards me. "This just says that we have spoken on the issue, you understand the problems it has caused, and that you aware of this write up. It will only be on your record for 6 months. After that, it falls off and starts over again." He explains.

I quickly sign my name and stand up from my seat. "There. Can I go now?" I ask in annoyance.

"You need to drop the attitude." He replies in warning.

"I don't have an attitude." I reply with crossed arms.

"Listen." He sighs, filing my write up away. "This might fly with Grayson, but you don't work for Grayson anymore. You work for me. So this attitude that you most definitely have right now needs to go elsewhere. I'm not going to deal with it. Don't make me write you up for this, too." He says in a calm tone.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have an attitude if you guys stopped treating me like a child." I snap in reply.

"Well maybe we wouldn't have to treat you like a child if you just acted like an adult. I'm done with this conversation. I have work to get back to and so do you. So go do that. Now." He says in his authoritative tone.

I roll my eyes and leave the office before he can say anything else. I know he's right, but this is most definitely not what I want to hear right now.

I message Sofia, knowing that no matter what, she'll take my side. Hell, she probably agrees with me on all of this.

"Are you busy right now?" I send.

"Nope. What's up?" She replies.

"Come to the office. I have to vent."

She sends her reply telling me that she would head my way right now. This is one of the many reasons that I love Sofia. She always makes herself available.

-

Sofia must have rushed here, because in less than ten minutes she was walking into my office.

"Okay, I brought you Starbucks. Don't get me wrong, the drinks at the coffee bar here are good, but the cups are hideous. We need something cuter." She says with a smile as she hands me my drink.

"You're the best. Seriously, I needed this." I say, taking a sip of the pink liquid in front of me. "God, how did you know that I loved this drink?" I sigh in pleasure.

"Because I'm a mind reader." She jokes. "And who could ever hate a drink that takes and looks this pretty?" She asks.

"This is why you're my favorite Parker sibling." I tease. "And this is why I love you." I say, giving her a hug.

"I love you, too." She smiles. "Now tell me. What did my asshole brother do this time?"

"Not just your asshole brother." I correct.

"Oh no. Don't tell me...my asshole of a boyfriend, too?" She asks.

I nod in reply and she groans.

"God, what did he do this time?" She groans in frustration. "I swear, I'm going to have to put this man on a fucking leash."

"I'll get an extra one for Grayson and we can take them on walks." I laugh.

"I'm anxious. Please tell me everything." She sighs.

"Okay, so basically Grayson's new intern is a bitch who is trying to get with him despite the fact that he has a girlfriend." I reply.

"And does she know that this girlfriend in question just so happens to be you?" She asks.

"Nope. Well, she didn't. Now she does. Which goes into the second issue at hand. Once I found out that she tried lying to me about a meeting that Shane and Grayson were having just to get Grayson alone at lunch, I made she that she knew who it was that he was dating."

"Oh God, what did you do?" She groans.

"Nothing too bad! Just...maybe threatened to fight her if she even thought about trying something like that again." I say in an unsure tone.

"Okay, fair enough." She nods in approval.

"But here's the issue." I mutter.

"Let me guess. She told Shane?" She asks in a bored tone.

"Has he already told you this?" I ask.

"Nope. He doesn't tell me anything concerning work. Not about this kind of stuff, at least. It's really annoying, actually." She adds.

"Okay, well you're right. She told him. And he...flipped. Grayson, too. God, I've never felt like such a child in my entire life." I sigh, running a hand over my face. I really need to stop touching my face like this. Otherwise, I'm going to start breaking out again. The stress doesn't help, either.

"Well maybe Grayson should tell that bitch to back off and maybe Shane needs to mind his own damn business." She replies with a shrug.

"God, see! This is why it's so much easier talking to you than to them. At least you don't make me found crazy." I reply.

"If I were you, I would have done the same exact thing. Actually, I would have done much worse. I would have just fought the bitch without warning." She laughs.

"I know you would have. They're lucky that I didn't just do that." I huff.

"So...I get why you're mad about her saying that. Trust me, I do. I'm completely on your side. But...did Grayson know that you had these concerns about her already?" She asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"And did he do anything to make you think that...I don't know." She mutters.

"That he would cheat on me?" I ask.

"Yeah, basically."

"Well, no. Not exactly. But I told him that I didn't want him getting too cozy with her. I told him that it made me feel uncomfortable. Despite knowing this, he still went to lunch with her. Alone!" I exclaim.

"Where did they go? She asks.

"Well, she brought Subway for the two of them and they ate it in the office."

"Ew. He hates Subway." She replies with disgust.

"I know."

"Listen, I don't think that you're in the wrong in this. Really, I don't. But I know my brother. He's absolutely crazy about you. He would be insane to give all of this up for some girl he just met." She says.

"I don't know. He calls her 'Gen'. I mean...why does he have to give her a nickname and everything? It's annoying." I sigh. "Plus, Shane isn't making anything better."

"Okay, well Shane is an asshole. I already know that. Grayson however...he doesn't get mad unless there is a reason to be upset. I'm sure he's not mad about you threatening her, per say. I think he's more so upset that it could cost you your job." She explains.

"I know. God, maybe I'm the asshole in this situation." I say.

"No. Shane is definitely still an asshole. What did he even say to you?" She asks.

"Basically told me to drop the attitude. Because apparently I can have an attitude with Grayson all that I want, but that it's not going to fly with him." I say, rolling my eyes.

"He's annoying." She huffs. "He's just trying to assert dominance. He's like an animal." She laughs.

"Yeah well, he's threatened to write me up for my attitude, too. Told me to stop acting like a child if I wanted to be treated like an adult." I sigh.

"Wow. What an asshole." She says.

"I know. I don't know, I just wanted to vent to someone who actually understands and doesn't think that I'm insane. And right now, I'm feeling pretty insane. The guys have done a good job at making me feel crazier than I actually am." I mutter.

"Hey, you're not insane. Okay? Fuck Grayson and Shane for even trying to make you feel that way. They'll come around, okay? It's annoying. This entire situation is annoying, but it'll be okay. If it makes you better, I'll tell him to fuck off for you." She says with a bright smile.

"Tell who to fuck off?" I hear behind us. When I turn around, Shane is standing in the doorway looking anything but pleased.

"Shit." Sofia mumbles.

Shit is right.