"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Helping you store,"

Andrew brazenly took my bag. I frowned and didn't let him grab me.

"I don't need anything from you!" I'll go back to the store and…

“I already appreciate your dramatic talent. Do you want to be an actress? I'll buy you a role.”

Confused, I hesitated, and he grabbed my hand.

“This is my girlfriend, we had a little fight.”

I was completely confused, not understanding what he was saying. And then it hit me when the salesperson started trying hard to force a smile out of himself. The whole line snickered, trying not to laugh so obviously. Angrily twitching, I ran into his grin. No one was in a hurry to help me; on the contrary, everyone was looking at the scene with interest, as if it had been ripped out of a melodrama with a comedic twist. Even the guard and the policeman standing in the next line were laughing. People would not react even if he dragged me to the car by my hair: you bet, a tall handsome brunette in a dark suit, white shirt, strict black coat, well-groomed (even his hands were in order), calmly approached and paid for my purchases with his card. The sympathy of all present instantly shifted to his side. Feeling my hesitation, Andrew led me out of the store. At the car, I tried again to free myself.

"Do you want to be filmed again?" he asked, moving closer.

I shrank back in fear, which he took advantage of, by pushing me into the car.

"Don't tell me you want to talk too," I said venomously.

“What, did Alex come crawling back? So what are you?”

“And you have options!” I snorted angrily.

Andrew glanced at me and turned the ignition key.

“I have one, but I see you were smarter than Diana.”

“Did she take it back?” I asked in a strangled voice.

I was so hurt, I felt like drowning or, more effectively, jumping out of the car at full speed right now! I could see it all written on my face. Andrew grinned sarcastically. I immediately tried to pull myself together.

“However, I have more important problems now!” I muttered.

“I wondered what they were. “

“I'm getting fired from my job.”

“For what?! “

“Do you think a school would keep a teacher with a reputation like that? You saw the video!”

“Oh, right, you're a teacher.”

“Uh-huh, Russian language and literature.”

“I liked the video. I even downloaded it.”

I sniffled, wishing I could fall through the ground and never see it again!

“Well, if it's such a problem, Russian language and literature are good education. You could work at some magazine. I know a couple of people, I'll call them today and take them to an interview tomorrow.”

“Work for what?” I was confused.

“Editor, of course. Not as an editor-in-chief, of course, not yet, because that would require experience, but as a staff member. “

Suddenly I felt like Winnie the Pooh, when you want honey, but also "zh-zh-zh" for a reason!

“Why would you do that?”

“My plans haven't changed. I'm gonna get Diana away from Alex.”

“And you need me to do it. Are you going to make me look like an even bigger idiot than I already am?”

“I'm going to take you to the campground and introduce you as my girlfriend. I kind of like you, so I thought I'd clear the territory first.”

The man's smugness was off the charts! With a hiss, I turned toward him. I wasn't afraid to hit him now, since we were stopped at the curb.

“Let's go into the coffee shop and talk. You girls seem to like places like this – lattes and pastries. Or do you prefer champagne?”

He caught my upturned hand and yanked it toward him.

"How much passion you have in you!"