E.S. Chapter 1

“Can I have a double chocolaty chip frappuccino please? Low fat, and I mean like, minimum…fat. How much do I owe you?” Standing right in front of the Starbucks counter demanding for a low fat chocolate drink, appears to be a 5 foot 5 tall babe, wearing huge sunglasses. She had on a pretty ocean blue tube dress, paired with a wonderful pair of white satin heels with a beautiful white rose sewed on. Her hair was perfectly done, with two pins securing her long fringe on top of her hazelnut hair. A Coach Legacy Leather Duffle chambray was draped on her revealed left shoulder. Her body was perfect; she has the curves and the lumps right where they should be. She looked just like a cover model that magically walked out from the front page of a fashion magazine.

Picking up her ‘supposedly diet chocolate drink’ at the receiving counter, she walked over to a short table with 2 chairs and popped her duffle on one and her ass on the other. Taking off her sunglasses, you can see her weariness straight from her tired eyes. She dapped under her eyes with her finger tip, carefully not to smear off her ultimate layers of concealer used to hide her dark circles. A sip of the ice blended chocolate is all it takes to freeze off all her worries. Job, she needs to have a job. Well, a career sounds better in her situation. It has been a year since she graduated from her business school, and she is reluctant to crawl back to her small town, and take over her mother’s name card business. “Can you imagine me, of all people, sitting around printing name cards? NO!” That’s what she told everybody, including her mother. Now she has to prove herself worthy of this cruel urban place before her mother comes and drags her back to where she belongs.

She has been to countless companies, applied for positions from secretary to receptionist, and now she even considered being an office girl, you know, the one who make the coffees, prepare meeting materials and manage mails plus all the weird stuffs. "What did I do in my past life to deserve all these shit?" She often asks herself. "It must be the dog, that dog I left outside the gates to starve and now it came back to haunt me! Maybe I should be a stripper, they earned enough to supply their daily weeds and liquors, I should be able to make a living."

Just when she was immersed in her own thoughts, her cell phone rang. She suspects her mother at first, but a glance tells her it’s her college rival, Molly. She hesitates, but picks up the call still.

“Bonjour Molly, quoi de neuf?” She answered.

“Oh cut off with the French bubby babba thingie, we’re so over college right now. Anyway I’m fine, thank you very much. So, Charl, having any luck looking for jobs?” Charlotte couldn’t resist from detecting a huge dose of sarcasm in Molly’s voice.

“Well first of all, I’m more comfortable to be called Charlotte, especially from you bitch.” well of course she didn’t say the last part out loud.

“Everybody calls you Charl, Charl, or is it a privilege for Seth only? Well fyi, he’s doing great at my dad’s company, all the executives loves him, and I think we’re just a few steps away from our engagement, I hope you’ll be able to attend, and I hope you don’t hold any grudge against us.” Molly pauses, waiting for a response from Charlotte.

Charlotte bit her lip, hard. Counting from one to ten, she forced herself to keep a cool mind. Tears threatened to fall and she could feel her heart starting to quiver. No, she will not allow herself to break down right here, right now. Especially not in front of Molly.

“ Is that so? I’m really happy for both of you. Well, I’m kinda busy right now, say hi to Seth for me aite? See you when I see you, bye!” Charlotte let out a soft sob as she disconnects the call. It has been 2 years since she and Seth broke up, and it was a tough time for her. She loved him so so much, and she had never thought that a betrayal will ever come between them. And now Molly is telling her straight, that there is no way Seth would come back to her. She puts her sunglasses on so no one could see her red puffy eyes, but her Rudolf nose is just as obvious as her smooth long legs under the table.

Charlotte hardly noticed the approach of a gentleman until he shoved a chair to make himself comfortable at her table. She looked straight into the familiar sea green eyes, so charming that she could feel her legs struggling to make a stand. The man smiled at her, so warm, so flirtatious that she had the urge to taste those luscious lips right there and then, but she manage to stop herself, just like she always does.

“Babe, seriously stop doing that!” Charlotte playfully kicked him under the table. She extended her hand for a polite kiss from the lovely young man.

“Why? Did I make you wet?” he asked with a serious face.

“Well yea, considering the fact that I almost pounced on you, Nick.” Charlotte and Nicholas used to be fuck buddies, both of them got off a long relationship at almost the same time, well there’s still some needs that needed to be fulfilled aren’t there?

Nicholas stiffed a laugh, grabbed Charlotte’s frappuccino and took two sips. “Eww, low low low LOW fat frappuccino again? How could you live with these?” Nicholas handed over the cup in disgust. Charlotte laughed, temporarily forgets all her sorrows.

“What are you doing here, Mr. Underpants?” She enjoys calling him that, ever since the time when he wore Spongebob boxers to an unplanned sex with her.

“I work right opposite, remember darling?” They too, are fake couples to scare off unwanted pursuers.

“What’s with the sunglass and the red nose? Did someone mistreat you? Tell me Charl.” He looked at her with much worry and care that she could not bring herself to tell him the truth, she knew what Nicholas would do, she knew he would knock down Seth and Molly’s door and scream at them for making her sad. She doesn’t want him to worry about her anymore.

“Nobody bullied me babe, really, it’s just so frustrating that no one wants to hire me. How bad could I be? Even the last in our class got a job last month. What am I doing with my life?” Charlotte cupped her face so hard that she knocked the sunglass against her nose bridge, which instantly turns bright red. 

“See? That’s why clumsy-pot, who could tolerate with your extra clumsiness except me?” He gently rubs the red spot that she’s probably in immense pain now. He lifted Charlotte’s icy cold cup and held it against her nose as replacement for ice. Looking at her pouted face, he added “Come work with me babe, come work for me, I have a vacancy as my assistant secretary right now.”

Charlotte held on to his hand and squeezed it tight. She loved him, loved him as a friend who has always been there for her, who appreciates her for who she is. “You know I can’t rely on you forever Nick, sooner or later you’ll find that person, the girl whom you will spend the rest of your life with, by then I’ll be just a burden to you babe.”

Nicholas sighed. He took another sip of that frap that now seemed tasteless to him. “You will never be a burden to me, if you don’t mind, I would bring you together for my first night with my official wife, we could have a threesome.” He said it, and she knew that he meant it.

“Nick…I don’t know what to say. You’re undoubtedly the best friend ever, but it won’t work. I’ll be assassinated by your wife before I could get my bras off. I know you meant good, but you have to let me build my own path.” Charlotte looked at him with her puppy dog eyes, giving him such intense gaze that he threw his hands up and surrender.

“Alright, but if anything goes wrong, you’ll be my assistant secretary, deal?” Nicholas held up his pinky, wiggling it left and right, signaling Charlotte to bond the promise. Charlotte couldn’t resist but laughed, and of course, seal the bond with her pinky and a kiss on the cheek.