My Pregnant Stepsister

A lot of people speculated about why she would choose to leave such a great, cushy job, but... let's just say, I had some suspicions. But that's another story.

Nevertheless, the job had opened up. And when it did, when the position working for Joshua opened up, it felt like a twist of fate. At that moment, it all clicked into place. The solution to all my problems—the glass ceiling I had hit, the way people in the office looked down at me, my obsession with Joshua. I could solve all those problems in one fell swoop. An insidious plan formed in my pretty little head. If I played this right, I would have to go down as the smartest person ever.

I'm sure within an hour, Joshua's inbox was filled with resumes. Mine was among them. Even though word was out and I was not likely to rise any higher in the company, they couldn't just not allow me to apply for new positions. They still had to at least give me an interview and at least let things play out. And this little bit of forced generosity was all I needed. For this job, that would put me and Joshua alone in a room, one-on-one. Perfect.

That was exactly what I needed to put my plan into motion. And with his unwitting help, I was about to turn his life upside down.

My plan was beautiful. A work of art. In one ambitious maneuver, I had figured out a way to not only get promoted and double my paycheck but also get to the bottom of my obsession with Joshua and, if I played my cards right, I could take control of this company in a manner so bold that even the hardened executives at the top of the company would have to respect it. And the most beautiful part was, this plan relied on me doing the thing I did best. Better than just about anyone.

What was my plan, you might ask? I was going to conquer him. I was going to make him mine. It was perfect. It was beautiful. And the sweetest part was, he was unwittingly the engineer of his own destruction. He had unwittingly created the blueprint for me to conquer him, and I was the first clever one to figure that out. Beautiful.

The Interview

Obviously, for the position of working next to Joshua, I would be interviewing with him personally. Even though he had only had a few assistants, that didn't mean he was inexperienced at the hiring process. In fact, his dad had put him in charge of hiring for his department.

His dad was so proud of him that he published his personal guide to hiring on the website, proclaiming it as if it were a guide to life. It was titled, quite simply, "How to Get a Job." Or, as it was known colloquially around the office, "How to Get a Fucking Job." The advice was fine, but the higher-ups shoved this guide so far down our throats that it became a bit of a joke.

The tips were as follows:

* Know Yourself Before I Meet You.

* Do Your Research!

* Control Your Image. Change the Conversation to Emphasize Your Strengths.

* Set Yourself Apart.

* Clichés Make My Eyes Glaze Over.

* Don't be Afraid to Blow Me Away.

* Think Outside the Box.

* Know When to Ignore This List.

Good advice, right? Nothing too world-changing, but he went into all of them in detail, and it was all good stuff. But I took it to heart, in my own twisted way. I had no illusions about being the first to interview with him to follow his list. But, I planned to do it in a way it had never been done before. Normally, I was more the type to let others do work for me, but for this, I did some serious work. Some crazy moving and shaking, things that could get me in serious trouble. But it was worth it. I was ready. This job was going to be mine. And Joshua was going to see the product of all that hard work. I was going all in. I was putting it all on the table. My frustration with the job, the glass ceiling I had hit, my annoyance and weird sexual obsession with Joshua, it was all coming together at this one moment in time. All of this work was for one clear goal.

It was almost a philosophical conflict, a battle to determine whose way of life is truly more built for success. The people who work hard and do things right, or the people like me, who are willing to play very dirty?

You might ask me why? Why would I want to work for Joshua, after all the bad things I've said about him? I mean, yes, I was attracted to him, but despite his intoxicating presence, would it really be worth working alongside the guy who so clearly annoys me? My feelings for him hadn't changed. It was just... I couldn't wait any longer. This whole thing had to stop. I still found him extremely annoying, but he still made my body tingle.

The more I thought about him, the more fascinated I became. That annoyance and fascination with him had grown into an obsession. My frustration and obsession had turned into desire. I just couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't stop wondering why it was that this guy just did it for me in the worst way. It reached the point where every time I was with a guy, it was Joshua I imagined in his place. It was madness.

I never liked the good guys. They were always just so unbelievably dull. But Joshua stood out. I hated him, and I hated that I desired him. My feelings were certainly passionate one way or another, but I had to figure out which way I truly felt. I had to get to the bottom of my feelings for him, for my own personal sanity. Either I had completely misjudged my own desires, or... I had misjudged Joshua. No... no. I was right about him. I was positive about my assumptions about him being true.

I became convinced that there was a wild side inside Joshua, bursting to get out, hidden behind his perfectly tailored suits, and I was the only one that could see it. That was the conclusion I had come to. That his whole act, this whole person he portrayed himself as... it was a total act. I don't think he was even aware of the act he was spewing. I think that he thought he was really that good of a guy. And to get to the bottom of this fascination I had with him, I had to prove him wrong. I had to prove that behind that nice-guy charm and amiable personality, there was a swaggering, cursing, wild man ready to be brought to the surface. All men had that side of them. Some acted like they didn't, some acted holier than thou, but in the end, they all came crawling, and he was no different.

The more I thought about him, the more fascinated I became. That annoyance and fascination with him had grown into an obsession. My frustration and obsession had turned into desire. I just couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't stop wondering why it was that this guy just did it for me in the worst way. It reached the point where every time I was with a guy, it was Joshua I imagined in his place. It was madness.

I never liked the good guys. They were always just so unbelievably dull. But Joshua stood out. I hated him, and I hated that I desired him. My feelings were certainly passionate one way or another, but I had to figure out which way I truly felt. I had to get to the bottom of my feelings for him, for my own personal sanity. Either I had completely misjudged my own desires, or... I had misjudged Joshua. No... no. I was right about him. I was positive about my assumptions about him being true.

I became convinced that there was a wild side inside Joshua, bursting to get out, hidden behind his perfectly tailored suits, and I was the only one that could see it. That was the conclusion I had come to. That his whole act, this whole person he portrayed himself as... it was a total act. I don't think he was even aware of the act he was spewing. I think that he thought he was really that good of a guy. And to get to the bottom of this fascination I had with him, I had to prove him wrong. I had to prove that behind that nice-guy charm and amiable personality, there was a swaggering, cursing, wild man ready to be brought to the surface. All men had that side of them. Some acted like they didn't, some acted holier than thou, but in the end, they all came crawling, and he was no different.