Chapter Eleven - The Revelation

Chapter 11
The Revelation

The back of Anderson Advertising was dark and quiet. Sorta like a cemetery. And the building was creepy as hell. Despite some lights, it looked completely different than it did during the day.
The fact that before I thought this was a stupid idea was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. How were we gonna get in? The security guards from the front entrance were definitely gonna see us and ask us what we were doing here at this time of night. And also, why was it so dark? New York is supposed to be the city of lights, but there weren’t that many lights back here. I didn’t like the fact that it was night time. At all.
I heard a sound coming from the garbage bins and almost screamed. What was that sound?


Every single thriller I’ve ever seen passed before my eyes. Technically, I’d only watch parts of the movies; I never dared to sit through a whole movie. I suddenly remembered a scene in a movie which I’d seen years ago (but still haunted me) where the people appear out of nowhere wearing masks and start killing the protagonists of the film. And I started thinking that some drunk or pervert could be hiding behind the garbage bins, waiting to attack me. I turned my head to the right in the direction of some other bins, and started imagining someone appearing from the darkness holding a knife and wearing a mask...
Ok, I had to stop. All of that was fake: stuff directors and screenwriters came up with. We agreed to meet here with Sarah, Derek and James. I’m sure they’d already arrived. And I should be thankful instead of making up my own scenarios with people wearing masks and holding knives.


I came to my senses and continued walking in the darkness towards the back door.
There, I discovered what had made that noise, and was taken aback. Because it wasn’t Sarah or Derek or James. Not even a drunk or a pervert. But someone who I also didn’t want to see: Ben.
“What are you doing here?” I asked after I managed to catch my breath.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, ignoring my question. “You’re white as a sheet.”
“No, you didn’t scare me,” I said coldly. “I never get scared.”
“Good. For you, I mean.”
“I just wasn’t expecting to see you here that’s all.”
“Didn’t Sarah tell you I’d be here?”
“She might have mentioned it,” I said. “But I probably just forgot.”
Ha! That was good! He was so cocky! He probably thought that the entire female population of the world was obsessed with him. Neither I, nor S, were that’s for certain. Speaking of which, where was Sarah? I wanted to strangle her for not telling me that Ben was in on this.
“I had to keep the key,” Ben said. “So that you guys wouldn’t lose it.”
“You got the key?” I asked shocked.
“Yea. Did Sarah forget to mention that as well?”
Yes, she had. Because we had agreed that I wouldn’t have anything to do with the key. So I guess, I didn’t need to strangle her after all. But how in the world had he managed to get the key?
“I borrowed it from John,” he said and shrugged. “It was a piece of cake. I just told him that I needed to use his office during his meeting with the board of directors since mine doesn’t have a printer yet. And he gave it to me.”
Of course. John recognized himself in Ben and trusted him just because of how annoyingly perfect and cocky he was. If I’d asked John, he would’ve dismissed me and told me to get back to work.
“And, obviously, I forgot to return it after I was done,” Ben continued. “I’m sure I can explain all that tomorrow.”
I wondered what that feeling was like; to always be sure of yourself and care-free, like Ben appeared to be. Wasn’t there anything that could make him feel vulnerable and wipe that cocky grin of his face?
Probably not. Or maybe, Paris. If she asked him to break up or anything. But even then, he’d fall into the arms of the next blonde who’d be waiting for him. That’s what guys like him always did. God, I hated him so much!


Shortly after, Sarah, Derek and James showed up. They appeared to have met on the way and they seemed very excited. They greeted Ben and I enthusiastically.
“Are you guys ready?” Derek asked.
“Of course,” Ben replied. “It’s gonna be awesome/”
“Are your flashlights ready?” Sarah asked.
We all turned them on, and nodded. We were set to go.
“Ok, then,” Derek said.” Let the adventure begin!”


We used our key fobs to get through the back door, and shortly after, we were in the building right at the back elevators. Where, of course, it was pitch black, except for a few dim lights on the walls, which, needless to say, caused the area to look like something from a horror film. Consequently, scaring the crap out of me. But of course I wasn’t going to let it show how scared I was. Not with Ben here.
We rode up the elevator in silence, and got off at our floor.
“There’s his office,” I said, after we’d stepped off the elevator.
We walked towards John’s office quietly.
“Let’s just listen for a bit to see if anyone’s inside,” Derek suggested.
We waited outside the door for a few seconds and then, Ben produced the key out of his pocket and put it in the lock. After turning it once to the right, we opened the door.
No one was inside, as Derek suspected. But Sarah and James weren’t disappointed. We had already discussed beforehand that if no one was in John’s office, we would look for some clues – notes, gifts, clothes, those kinds of things.
I have to admit that while we were looking around John’s office, we actually had a lot of fun, cracking jokes one after the other. We were all very elated and in those kinds of situations, it’s hard to be serious. In the end, we found a sticky note which read: “Gift stored in cabinet”.
“Here,” Sarah said locating the cabinet. “Our answer is hiding in this drawer. The answer we’ve been trying to get all this time... Let’s open it!”
Of course, the cabinet was locked. We should have known. Now we’d have to go home without having found anything.
“Wait! Check any of the other drawers to see if you can find the key,” Derek suggested.
James and Sarah started opening drawers and looking for the key. And they found it. It was thrown in one of the drawers, completely unprotected. Two pass keys on the same link. I guess John didn’t really care about security.
“Unbelievable,” I whispered. “What if someone had broken in looking for company information?”


Amid more laughter, we finally got the cabinet open. And what we found was definitely not what we were expecting to find. John, for whatever reason, had five books on... parenting!
“Oh my God, look,” I said and pointed at one titled “Becoming the Parent You Want to Be”.
“Shit, what’s that all about?” Ben asked confused.
“Wait, look here,” Sarah said jubilantly and she held up a pink piece of paper. “Can’t wait till tomorrow night, xoxo A,” she read out loud. “Huh, see, ‘A’, as in Amanda. Told you they were sleeping together.”
“Not necessarily,” Derek said and grabbed a small box from the bottom of the cabinet. “This says, ‘To Amanda: Elephant Shoes’,” he read. “I’m pretty sure that’s not a compliment.”
Anyways, long story short: our findings from the cabinet didn’t help us figure out whether or not John and Amanda were together. Each time we would find something, it would confuse us even more. One thing would be evidence that our CEO was in fact an item with Amanda and another that he makes fun of her. There didn’t seem to be a pattern.


“Great,” James said when we locked up the cabinet disappointed and put the key back in its place like good little spies. “Now what do we do?”
“Let’s go home,” S said. “We’ll never know the truth. I think we should just give up.”
I sighed relieved. We had, I’ll admit, had a good time but all the adrenaline was starting to wear off and I was beginning to feel really tired. It’lll be nice to leave the office and go home.
At that moment, however, we heard a sound. We turned off our flashlights and lied down on the floor.
“What was that?” James asked.
“Shh,” Ben said. “It’s probably the security guard. Be quiet!”


For what seemed like eternity, all five of us lay on the ground not saying a word. Outside we could hear footsteps and doors opening and closing. It did sound like the security guard. How could we be sure though? Maybe it was some serial killer walking around with a gun. That stuff happened all the time – in movies, at least.
The footsteps got closer. Suddenly the doorknob turned and the door opened. I was able to make out the silhouette of a man with a uniform. He looked around the office, closed the door and left.
I took a deep breath. It was the security guard after all. And the most important thing: he hadn’t found us. Maybe we’d manage to sneak out of the building without getting caught, in the end.


We stood still in the dark. We all knew that it would take a while for the guard to check the whole floor. And that we couldn’t leave, unless we were certain that the guard had gone back downstairs.
And then I felt a hand on mine. A warm hand which took mine and squeezed it. I squeezed back. S was such a good friend! Evidently she had realized how scared I was. Most likely, she was scared as well. Her laugh interrupted the silence. We let go of each other’s hand. It seemed like she was about to start laughing her infamous hysterical laugh. And, then, no one would be able to stop her. Not even the security guard.
“S, be quiet,” James whispered.
“I can’t,” she said breathless trying to contain her laughter. “It’s so ridiculous.”
“I think the coast is clear,” Ben whispered. “He left. It’s really quiet out there.”
We got up carefully. We checked to make sure we hadn’t left any evidence of us being there and opened the door making as little noise as possible. Derek stuck his head out and checked to see if anyone was in the hallway.
“I don’t see anything,” he announced. “Should we go?”
Derek, James and Sarah left first. Ben and I stayed behind so we could lock up, since he had the key and had to lock the door behind us. A few seconds later, we followed the others towards the elevators.
And suddenly we saw the security guard. He hadn’t left after all! On the contrary, he was walking towards us looking down at his BlackBerry. If he happened to look up, he would definitely see us.
I froze in place. Ben, on the other hand, acted fast and pulled me aside to a corner. At least there the guard wouldn't see us. But there was no way we could go to the elevators.
“In here,” Ben said and opened his office’s door which was near John’s.
I let him pull me in without objecting. I was freaking out way too much to be able to make my own decisions.


In his office it was fairly bright. The street lights were casting a faint light in the office even though the blinds were partly closed. Ben walked over to the window and pulled the blinds up. He looked satisfied.
“From here we can see the front door, so we’ll be able to see if the guards go out for a smoke. And then we can sneak out the back.”
I didn’t say anything. I sat in one of the guest chairs in front of his desk and waited for the blood to rush back up to my head.
“Didn’t you tell me before that you never get scared?” Ben said ironically, and leaned on his desk directly in front of me.
“Sometimes we say stupid things we don’t mean,” I muttered.
Why did he always have to make such stupid comments? I was so sick of this whole little game. Couldn’t he realize that this wasn’t the time? He should have realized it.
“I’ll admit that I also say, and do, a lot of stupid things,” he said. “Really.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said, surely sounding really mean.
“Yea, in fact, one time I laughed really loud at a girl who dropped some wine bottles at a self check out. That was really stupid and immature. And I regret it.”
“You could have apologized,” I said. “It’s wouldn't hurt.”
“I tried once,” he said. “But she didn’t want to listen to me. For a while I thought that she would never forget me. She’s very stubborn.”
He stared right into my eyes. And then the next shock of the night occurred. Ben smiled and placed his right hand on my cheek.
I stared back at him with my mouth open and I couldn’t move or do anything. I was frozen in place, while he caressed my cheek with his thumb causing me to feel butterflies in my stomach.
“I was so glad it was dark back there in John’s office,” he said. “Or else, I wouldn't have dared to hold your hand.”
“You squeezed my hand?” I asked shocked.
“Yea, you’d you think did?” he asked equally confused.
“I thought it was Sarah.”
The memory of the hand in the dark made my heart start racing. Because I knew how nice and warm it was and with how much fervor I had replied...


But wait, what did all of this mean? Ben stood up and walked to the window. And turned his back to me, sighing loudly.
“Well,” he said and shrugged, “just forget it. Besides I see the guards downstairs smoking. The coast is clear. We can go now.”
I thought about what he has said about the whole hand thing with Sarah. I started suspecting something. Perhaps Ben had felt a little embarrassed. Something or someone had managed to make him feel vulnerable. Was it maybe... me?
But no. No way. He was with Paris. I’d seen how close they were dancing at the party. And in general, how they treated one another. I stood up.
“But you’re with Paris,” I said, before I could stop myself.
“Paris who?” Ben asked and looked as though he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Oh, her... no, we aren’t together. Why would you think that?”
“I saw you at the party,” I explained. “And I thought...”
“Oh, God!” Ben interrupted me. “Jess, don’t you get it?”
I guess I was wrong. Ben was almost angry.
He came and stood right in front of me.
“Don’t you understand that I did all that at the party for you? Don’t you understand that...”
Ben stopped talking, but my heart continued to beat fast. We were standing there looking at each other. We didn’t know what to say. Or, actually, we didn’t need to say much.


TO BE CONTINUED... JUST ADDING SOME GOOD STUFF ;) WILL BE UP SOON!!

Chapter Ten - The Career of a Criminal

Chapter 10
The Career of a Criminal


As it turned out, Sarah and James weren’t like the couples that spent every waking moment together, holding hands and making out. And I was thankful for that. Whenever I was with my best friend, I never felt left out or ignored. Life was back on track.
That fact had its drawbacks. That life was back on track I mean. And that’s because Calvin and Rebecca were one of those couple who loved to walk around hand in hand, kiss every five seconds, and basically engage in a lot of PDA – especially since the party. But I slowly got used to it. At least I had S.
Even the attempt to find out if John was sleeping with Amanda was still on. Because don’t think now that S and James were together they’d stop trying to find the answer. No way.
John had challenged them at the party. He told them that they had to be more discrete, if they wanted to continue. And they decided to follow his advice and continue.
A few days after the party during work, a piece of paper landed on my desk from Sarah:
Jess!
I have a plan.
Or at least the beginning of one.
I’ll tell you the dets are lunch. This time you HAVE to be in.
You just have to!
xoxo S
P.S. Make sure you don’t say anything. This is a secret!


I read the note, which got me thinking. As far as the whole “Sherlock Holmes” thing, I hadn’t changed my mind. I still thought it was childish and kind of a waste of time. But on the other hand, Sarah was always there for me. So now I had to help it. It’s just the way it goes.
Besides, it was getting a little boring being the odd one out. Plus the whole thing was more interesting now that John was part of the game.
I quickly turned Sarah’s note over and wrote on the back:

Dear S,
What am I gonna do with you? Lol I’m in!! :)


It was official; I was part of the club. I couldn’t wait to hear Sarah’s plan at lunch.

During lunch, Sarah told me her plan. And I realised that my decision to join, was probably one of the stupidest decisions I’d ever made. Because the plan itself was stupid. According to it, we had to steal the key to John’s office and sneak in the office, when no one was there. Meaning at night time.
“That’s ridiculous, S,” I said.
“On the contrary,” Sarah said. “Think about it. The evening cleaning crew is done by six thirty the latest, and there are only two security guards, both of whom are dozy, so we can easily get past them if we enter from the back door. Then once we get up here, we won’t have to worry about running into anyone cause they’ll be at home. Unless, they’re doing Amanda,” she winked.
“Ok, so why do we need the keys to John’s office? It’s an all glass office, so we can see inside to see if anyone is in there anyways,” James asked.
“Because, I doubt that they get it on in his office. But I’m sure we’ll find clues of some sort. Maybe notes that John leaves for Amanda for when she starts work, or notes from Amanda to John when she finishes work.”
“K,” I interrupted. “How are we gonna get the key to his office, Sherlock Holmes?”
“Leave that up to me,” Sarah replied confidently.
“It could work,” Derek said thoughtfully.
“Yea, if we get the key,” James added. “That’s the hardest part, cause we can definitely get past the security guards.”
“Are you guys insane?” I said. “You can’t be seriously considering of going through with this. Stealing the key to the CEO’s office key I mean. Have you ever heard of CLMs? Cause that is definitely one.”
“What’s CLM?” Derek asked.
“Career Limiting Move,” Sarah replied before I could.
“And we wouldn't be stealing it,” James said. “We’d just be borrowing it.”
“You actually want to do this?” I said. “Are you guys out of your minds?”
Of course no one agreed with me, not even Sarah. Evidently, they thought it was a great plan. And S an amazing criminal.
And now what? I had promised to help. I didn’t want to seem like a coward, which I technically was. So the only thing left for me to do was suck it up and keep quiet.
“Ok, I think Jess can stay out of the stealing of the key,” Sarah said, seeing my disappointment. “Let’s not forget that she is the newest member of the club.”
“Coward,” Derek said looking at me. “But fine. Ok, so Jess will have nothing to do with the key. But she’s coming tonight.”
“Tonight?” I asked panicking. “Are we doing this tonight?”
“Only if we manage to get the key,” S replied. “But we’ll deal with that.”
Inside I was praying that they didn’t get the key. Today or any other day. They had to forget about the plan. I was only twenty five for God’s Sake. I didn’t want to have a criminal record. Not at such a young age.



Just as I feared, a couple of hours later, they had the key to John’s office in their hands. I should have known. My prayers were like my horoscopes – I could never count on them to have the desired result.
I had no idea how they managed to get the key. And I didn’t want to know. The less I knew the better. That way, I’d be more convincing in court (sadly, I was a terrible liar). Because that’s definitely where we’d end up – for breaking and entering, spying and all that stuff.
On the other hand, I found it kind of amusing thinking about the trial. I’d be cold but calm, I thought. Dressed in my new black Calvin Klein knee length dress; appropriate yet comfortable.
Calvin would be sitting next to me shaking and waiting to hear the jury’s decision. He’d hold my hand the whole time. From time to time he’d squeeze it, showing me his support.
And, then, the decision would be announced. No! Calvin would yell at the sound of the decision. She can’t go to jail! I can’t live without her!
Then, he’d stand in the middle of the court room, and give a touching speech. He’d narrate that he’d left Rebecca for me. He’d try to get the judge to understand that his life had no meaning without me. I was everything to Calvin... absolutely everything.
In the end, the judge, with tears in his or her eyes, would let me go. The judge would understand that no one could get in the way of such an amazing, rare relationship. And Calvin would hug me relieved. He’d look at me midly and say my name over and over again. Jessica, my dear Jessica...
“What?” I asked and looked at Sarah. “What happened?”
“Haven’t you been listening all this time?” she asked me. “We were asking you if eight is a good time to meet here.”
“No, I don’t think so,” I replied miserably.
“Perfect,” Sarah said. “We’ll meet at the back entrance right at eight.”
“And don’t forget to wear black,” Derek advised.
“And to bring a flashlight,” James added.
The three seemed excited when we parted. I was just freaking out and worried. How had I agreed to this? And why?



When I got home, while I was searching for a flashlight, I really started thinking about what we were about to do. Was I crazy? I was jeopardizing my whole career just to find out if John was sleeping with a cleaning lady. Surely, I was on nuts for agreeing.
In the meantime, it was already quarter to eight. For a sec, I thought of calling Sarah. To tell her that I had bronchitis or something equally serious, and had to stay home. But it was probably too late.
No, there was no going back. I had already agreed to do this. The only thing left for me to do was suck it up, and go through with it.

Chapter Nine - The Party

Ok, so I'm really excited about this chapter!! I'm hoping you guys will be surprised! I added a few twists and am very excited :D
Enjoy!!!!

Happy reading, gcg :)

Chapter 9
The Party


I know that it’s an ancient question – one that people have been asking since the beginning of time, without ever getting an answer – but I still have to ask it:
Why is that when we can’t find anything nice to wear, when it we really need to?
It was a few hours before the party and I hadn’t even decided what to wear or how I wanted to do my hair.
I had taken all my clothes out my closet and had spread them all over my bedroom. I had tried on every dress, shirt, pair of pants and skirt at least five times and I was on the verge of tears. I couldn’t believe that was happening to me. Plus, I had used up like half of my deodorant because I was sweating so much.
I wasn’t going through all this trouble because I thought that by some miracle I’d look drop dead gorgeous and attract every male at the party. My abilities to do that were almost always nonexistent and I was expecting them to remain that way. But I had to at least get noticed. I mean, how else would Calvin be able to see past my appearance and discover my inner beauty?
Inside my bedside table drawer I found my saviour: S had forgotten a copy of Cosmo. I started flipping through it like a maniac. Advice! I needed advice! Give me advice! “4 New Part Looks”, page 57. Perfect!
I turned to page 57. Immediately, I realised that I looked like the pale, miserable girls in the “Before” pictures, with frizzy hair and the lifeless expression. I looked the same as them. That much was obvious.
I should have realised it. I was the perfect example of “Before”. Unlike Rebecca, let’s say, and Paris – who were perfect examples of “After”. Nothing could change that. Or could this article maybe help me? I turned to the next page, to see what happened with my miserable doubles.
I was disappointed. Now they were smiling – under five tones of makeup and extreme hairstyles. The one blonde girl had an edgy haircut which I could never off. And another girl had so much makeup that it would have taken me hours to try to copy. I tried to look for a girl who I kind of resembled, and found a brunette with big brown eyes smiling back at me. Ok, at least she looked more normal. And her hair was something I could do myself.
I set to work on copying the “Mystery Girl” look, trying a smoky eye (to add intrigue) as opposed to my usual, black eye liner and double black mascara look.
After fifteen minutes, I raised my head to my dresser mirror to look at the final result of my whole face. Hmm, not bad, I thought. At least my eyes looked big. And I definitely had done a good job doing a smoky eye. I didn’t know if I should put on fake eyelashes like the article said. I didn’t want to look like too done up. And besides, my eyes lashes were really long thanks to Talika’s Eyelash Lipocils.
Next I set to work on doing my hair. I followed the tips to create loose waves which are “alluring and unpredictable” and after an hour, I was happy with the result. I still needed help with what to wear however.
“Why don’t you wear the sift dress with the contrasting trim from the Burberry London collection you bought last week?” Sarah said when I called her.
“You think?” I asked.
“Uh huh. Definitely. It looks gorgeous on you, and it has pockets, which we all know you love.”
“You don’t think it’s too plain?” I asked hesitantly.
“No, no, it’s definitely not too plain. But it is a little too PG for this event, don’t you think? Why don’t you wear that black Chanel dress you have with the deep v neckline?
“Hmm, okay then. I guess I’ll wear that one. But what accessories should I wear?”
“Um... let me think... Oh, k, wear the Bulgari long diamond earrings and the Calibre De Cartier watch, and for shoes... oh my god, wear the Banana Louboutin ones! Please, I beg you!”
“Hmm, that actually sounds good. K, will do. Thanks S, you’re a saviour!”
“You’re gonna look so hot! Calvin will definitely notice you.”
“Haha, thanks. What are you wearing?”
“I’m thinking my red DVF backless dress. But I’m not sure. I’m not too concerned.”
“Yea,” I said. “That’s cause you’re not in love. You don’t need to get your soul mate to notice you, and make him fall in love with you...”
“Oh, c’mon, stop that,” Sarah said. “You’re just nervous that’s all. Remember the horoscope? This is the big event that he’ll notice you at, so chill. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”
“Yea, that’s what you always say, but it doesn’t always turn out true” I said accusingly.
“Wear your Chanel dress, and you’ll have every guy in there drooling over you.”
“Yea, in another lifetime maybe.”
“J, seriously. K, I gotta go get ready. I’ll see you in an hour, my love.”
“Om my God, we only have an hour!?”
“Yes, which is plenty of time. Now stop obsessing and get dressed. See ya soon,” she said and hung up, leaving me alone to finish getting ready.



An hour later, I was entering the Waldorf=Astoria lobby in my black Chanel dress, water snake skin Louboutins, and Louis Vuitton Sunset BLVD clutch in Rose Florentin. I had touched up my hair and makeup on the way, so I felt confident that I looked pretty good. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting to have every guy drooling over me, but thanks to the dim lighting, I was optimistic that I’d look pretty good.
Feeling a little self-conscious, I entered the ballroom. And I had to admit that Paris and London had done a good job of transforming the usually sophisticated ballroom giving it a more romantic, contemporary air.
It looked even more beautiful, red and black roses where everywhere – on the tables, in the alcoves set into the oval walls, even in the center of the fabulous eight-tiered cake, by the dance floor. Their heady smell filled the room, and when added to the seemingly endless supply of Perrier-Jouet, it was enough to leave a girl positively giddy.
The half of the ballroom that was the dance floor was still empty, even though there was a live orchestra playing softly in the background. In the other half of the room, guests were talking, either sitting at the tables or standing by the bar enjoying some hors d'oeuvre.
I looked around for Calvin. Where was he? I was here – with my bright inner beauty. We were ready.
“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Sarah asked, appearing at my side with Derek and James, who looked very smart in their black suits (both from the latest Hugo Boss Black collection, if I wasn’t mistaken).
“Almost as gorgeous as you S,” James said, exchanging his empty crystal goblet for a full one.
“Will you stop it already?” Sarah asked laughing.
He winked at her and snagged a smoked salmon canapé from a passing waiter.
“You look hot Jess,” Sarah said turning to me.
“Thanks, I went with Chanel after all,” I said and then changed the subject. “Where’s John?”
“He’s over there talking to his secretary, Vanessa. We’re waiting till he gets a little tipsy before talking to him.”
“Haha, good I plan,” I said.
“Oh, look. There’s Amanda! Let’s go see if we can pump some information from her,” James said excitedly.
“Yea, let’s go,” Sarah agreed.
“You guys go,” Derek said, “I have to go to the washroom, so I’ll catch you later.”
I was under the impression that Derek was getting a little bored of this whole Sherlock Holmes game. But I definitely wouldn’t say that for S and James. The two left laughing, while Derek started making his way to the washrooms. I was left alone and I started to panic. I didn’t want to look like a loner.
I quickly decided to go the washroom as well. I figured that on the way, I could check to see if Calvin had arrived yet. Maybe he was just arriving and we’d meet in the hallway outside the ballroom.


When Calvin saw me he’d be stunned. He would look at me a little shocked, as if seeing me for the first time. He’s mutter that he didn’t recognize me right away. Perhaps because of the lighting. Or perhaps of the tight fitting black dress, or my hair. He wouldn’t know exactly.
Then, we’re just stand there, Calvin and I. We’d stare into each other’s eyes more and more intently. In the end, he’d ask me if I remembered that time when I first started working at Anderson’s, when... I’d tell him that of course I remembered. And then, we wouldn't need to talk about it anymore. We both knew we were soul mates, and that we were meant to be.
Calvin would take my hand and we’d start walking towards the dance floor, taking light steps, looking only at each other. And in the ballroom people would be saying: Look at what a lovely couple they make! They’re meant for each other! Then, in the crowd admiring us, I’d spot Rebecca, with tears in her eyes.
I’d say nobly that I hoped she wasn’t upset because of us. At first, Calvin wouldn’t understand who I was talking about. Rebecca who? Oh, yes... her. And then he’d say that people can’t control their true feelings, and that when love was involved, there was no use in resisting.


I walked in to the women’s washrooms which, thankfully, were empty. A quick look in the mirror brought me back to reality.
I remembered the “Before” and “After” pictures in Cosmo and wondered why I thought I looked as good as the “After” model at home. I regretted not wearing the fake eye lashed because my eyes didn’t look so big after all. And I probably should have put a bit more eye shadow on, but at the time I thought that a more natural look was more flattering. Big mistake. As least my hair looked pretty good. Thanks to its fullness and natural curly texture, it had managed to stay in loose curls, cascading over my shoulders and down the upper part of my back.
Just then, I heard laughter and then the door open, and I quickly made my way to the back of the washrooms, where it was more private. I heard some girls come in and unzip their purses. I could hear compacts and other makeup bottles being placed on the counter as the girls were talking.
“God, look at my hair! Please pass me your hair brush!”
“But you look amazing!”
“Stop it! I look awful!”
“K, I have some bobby pins and a “bumpit”. If you want I can give them to you. But in my opinion, your hair looks amazing just the way it is. I swear!”
I immediately recognized who they were. Paris and London. Great! Now I’d have to sit here and listen to all their bs, until they left. There was no way I’d come out of hiding with them there.
How much time can someone spend on touching up? Isn’t there a point in which you can brush your hair up to before you start damaging your hair follicles? After what seemed like eighty years, I was about to come out of hiding just so I could warn them about the side effects of brushing their hair. Besides, I was getting bored standing there listening to them. Plus, Calvin might have already showed up.
“I hope Ben comes tonight. If he does, I have a feeling that he’ll ask me to dance,” Paris said with confidence.
I took a step back. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to appear after all.
“Are you kidding?” London said. “Of course he’ll come. He is head over heels in love with you, everyone can see that!”
“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. I can’t wait! I’m so excited!”
“Speaking of love, did you hear about Calvin and Rebecca?”
“Oh, yea, I heard. It’s so stupid!”
Whoa, now we’re talking! What did they know that I didn’t? Maybe they were talking about the fact that Calvin and Rebecca broke up. Couldn’t they be more specific? Who wanted to break up – him or her? And how did it happen? I wanted all the details!
“Do you know who’s in love with Calvin?” Paris asked. “And I really mean in love, not just a crush. I’m talking head over heels in love.”
“Who?” London asked holding her breath.
“Jessica. Jessica Brown!” Paris exclaimed.
Oh, fuck! How the hell did she know? That was supposed to be a secret. Oh, God! How embarrassing. My life was over.
“Oh...” London said carelessly. “That’s old news. Everyone knows that. It’s like the joke of the department. The only thing I have to say is: Good luck!”
They cackled loudly, touched up their makeup once more, and then left.
God, I hated them so much! I can’t believe they were talking about me. Why couldn’t they mind their own business and not talk about other people behind their backs?
Immature and shallow, is how Calvin would describe them – when we’d take a break from dancing. People who only care about their appearance. Calvin would explain to me that normally, people like Paris and London are the types of people which we have to pity, because what did they know about life? What did they know about love and soul mates?
I gathered what was left of my confidence and I opened the door. I left the washroom without looking in the mirror because at that moment, a look in the mirror was not a good idea.


In the meantime, the ballroom had filled up. Sadly, I still couldn’t find Calvin anywhere. I spotted a few brave co-workers dancing to a Barry White song. Other than that, everyone else was talking by the bar or munching away at the tables by the dance floor in their cliques, as predicted.
The only exception to that were Sarah, Derek and James who were talking to John. He seemed to be in a good mood. Pleased, to be exact. He was probably flattered that he was suddenly getting so much attention from three of his employees.
I was ready to make my way there but first I wanted to grab a drink at the bar. I spotted the punch on a table by the dance floor, and decided to go drown my sorrows with something lighter instead.
“Make sure you leave some seeds for us,” said an all too familiar raspy voice behind me. “Don’t be greedy.”
Ben appeared at my side and smirked. I decided not to take his words too seriously. Not that we were even or anything, but we were at a party. And besides, he’d shown a shred of humanity when he saved me in the kitchen earlier. Plus, although I didn’t want to admit it, he actually looked really good in his dark grey Paul Smith suit. It fit him like a glove, and the color was the exact same as his eyes. Not that I’d ever thought of the colour of his eyes or anything. Really.
“Someone ate them all,” I replied. “I don’t know why but there isn’t a single seed in the punch.”
“Suspecting anyone?” he asked. “My guess is that it was one of the Anderson employees. That lecturer looks guilty. The one chewing like a cow. What’s his name again?”
I turned to my right and saw Giggles (our accounting lecturer) walk up to a waiter and snag three prosciutto wrapped grilled scallops without a trace of self-consciousness.
“Giggles. Er... Steven Arlberg, I mean.”
Ben laughed. And this time it actually sounded like a genuine laugh, not like the other times. Plus, he laughed with something I said. Maybe he had a bit of a sense of humour after all.
“Why are all people in accounting always so serious?” he asked. “Have you noticed that? It’s like they never laugh. The other day, I was joking around and said: When do accountants laugh out loud? When somebody asks for a raise! Everyone laughed, except him. Do you think not having a sense of humour is one of the qualifications needed to get an accounting job?”
That was actually pretty funny. Sarah and I could have thought of that. I had to admit that he was actually funny.
“Haha, probably,” I said laughing.
“It’s like that joke: What’s the difference between a lawyer and an accountant? The accountant knows he’s boring,” Ben said laughing. “Or there’s one that goes: How was copper wire invented? Two accountants were arguing over a penny.”
That was actually hilarious. So much so that I started laughing like an idiot. He smiled at me, a kind, genuine smile, and then he took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. Of course, the band immediately switched into a Frank Sinatra standard. “I’m not a good dancer,” I squeaked, as his hand found my waist.
“No worries. I’ll lead. Is that ok?”
I was suddenly aware of close we were standing to one another. And all I could do was nod, numbly, my voice deserting me altogether.
My memories of that dance are limited to the way Ben moved, looked, and smelled. For some reason I suddenly felt self-conscious. Had I put on too much perfume? Not enough maybe? I had just bought the new Chanel Chance, and I wasn’t sure how strong it was. Not that it mattered how I smelt or looked. It was just Ben, after all. I had to admit he was a good dancer. He seemed to move with grace, the results of private classes I assumed. I wondered if he and Claire had gone to classes together. I asked him this, because for some reason, I was also curious to find out what exactly was his relationship with Claire.
“Haha, is it that obvious?” he grinned, and I found myself lost in his gorgeous grey eyes. “Well Claire has been dancing since she was little, so she didn’t have to go to any classes. But I did when our mom got re-married. She wanted to have the father-daughter dance with me since her dad passed away a few years ago. So I didn’t really have a choice. I wasn’t exactly a fan, but I guess it paid off if you noticed,” he said.
“Wait, isn’t Claire your girlfriend?” I asked confused, trying to ignore the feelings his warm breath on my cheek brought forth.
“My girlfriend!?” he asked taken aback. “God, no. Claire’s my younger sister. My only sister actually. She’s twenty five, same age as you, and an incredible chef.”
“Oh,” I said, unexplainably relieved.
“Haha, I can’t believe you thought Claire was my girlfriend. God! That’s way too funny. We wouldn’t last a day together. Although I do owe her, big time. She’s the one who got me that apartment. Hey! Wait a sec... are you the girl who went through my boxes?” he asked incredulously.
“What? No!” I said feeling my face turn red.
“Hey, you’re blushing. Oh my God, it was you! Wasn’t it? I can ask Claire, so don’t lie!”
“K, I might have been curious to see who my neigh neighbour was. And with good reason; the last tenant turned out to be a stalker. So I just wanted to see who I’d share the 15th floor with. Besides, I had just opened a box when your sister appeared and scared the crap out of me!” I said.
Ben chuckled and buried his head in my hair, taking a deep breath while doing so.
“You smell nice, by the way,” he said.
“You too,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
“And you’re funny,” he added.
He leaned back and looked at me, and for a moment my breath caught in my throat. Suddenly it seemed that Ben’s face filled my whole vision. All I could feel and smell was him.
I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t even notice when Calvin entered the room. I only became aware of his presence when he walked right by the table Ben and I were dancing next to.


And I guess I stared at him too obviously. The only thing I know is that I stopped talking and forgot everything that had to do with accountants. My God, he looked like he has just finished shooting an Armani ad! What a babe! And he appeared to be at the party alone. That was a good sign.
“From what I see, it’s true,” Ben said after a short pause.
“What is?” I asked, tearing my eyes from Calvin.
“That you have the hots for that guy. Cal or whatever.”
“I do not,” I winced. “Who told you that?”
I tried to relax and look calm but inside, I was cursing Paris and London. I bet they had gone around telling everyone. And what if – Oh, God – what if Calvin knew too?
But he didn’t even look in my direction. If he knew it, he’d look at me. Even for a quick second. Right?


“Do you want me to give you some friendly advice?” Ben asked, and suddenly he seemed to have gone back to his usual, cocky self. “Don’t stare so much. Cause you look really stupid.”
I didn’t even dignify that with an answer. I just looked at him. What the hell was that all about? Clearly I was mistaken – maybe he did have a sense of humour. And he could be nice. Sometimes. But deep down, he was a cocky jerk; just like I had thought from the beginning.
I let go of him and took a step back, putting some distance between us. I wasn’t going to stay any longer.
“Good luck,” Ben said with a cruel smile.
And then he disappeared. And I started to make my way towards Sarah, Derek and James. It seemed that John had ditched them, cause now they were by themselves.
“Where is your poor victim?” I asked.
They pointed towards the dance floor, where I spotted John dancing with his secretary Vanessa, who appeared to be having the time of her life.
He was dancing with the air of a professional, with confidence and poise. Vanessa on the other hand, was all over the place, not following the beat of the music. It was a scary sight.
“At the rate she’s going, she’s gonna knock him over,” James said. “He’ll fall and hit his head, fall into a comma and then we’ll never find out if he’s sleeping with Amanda.”
“You guys didn’t ask him about that?” I asked. “I could have sworn I saw him smiling at you guys.”
“John’s teasing us,” Sarah explained disappointed. “He knows that we find this amusing. That’s why he’s dragging it on.”
“Why, what did he say to you?”
“That we have to be more discrete if we want to be like Sherlock Holmes. That he has no intention of helping us. If that isn’t cruel, then I don’t know what is!”
At that moment, my eyes found Calvin once again. He wasn’t alone anymore. He was walking towards the dance floor – holding Rebecca’s hand.
They looked happier than ever. I felt sick when I saw him pause, brush her blonde hair behind her ear and kiss her cheek.
When had she gotten here? (And how did she get that Versace dress? It wasn’t in stores yet!) And what were they doing together? Couldn’t they decide if they were a couple or not?
But what did it matter anymore? They were together. And I was here. Alone.
“Look over there,” I said grabbing Sarah’s arm.
“Where?” she asked.
I pointed towards the dance floor, where Calvin and Rebecca were dancing, looking like they were competing on frickin Dancing with the Stars. Ok, maybe they didn’t exactly look like professional dancers, but they looked good together – and they seemed to be having the time of their life.
“Fuck,” was all Sarah said.
“And there goes my horoscope,” I said bitterly.
“Oh, yea. Shit. Sorry, Jess,” she said.
Sarah seemed a little distracted for some reason. Maybe she was sick of me obsessing over Calvin. The only sure thing was that she wasn’t as attentive as she was before. Not that I can blame her. I mean, why did I deserve to have a best friend? I didn’t deserve anything.


I went back to my sanctuary, the washroom. There I could be alone with my misery – and wait. I wasn’t gonna stay at this party for another second, there was no reason to. When it wouldn’t be too obvious, I’d sneak out to the coat check to grab my coat so I could go home and curl up in my bed.
I assumed that Calvin knew all about my feelings towards him. I’m sure he and Rebecca thought it was hilarious and had laughed about it. It’s probably what they were doing right now before they move on to more serious matters, such as their wedding, for example.
I’m sure Rebecca would want to go all out for the wedding. A princess cut Vera Wang wedding gown and a tiara from Tiffany’s, a eight-tier cake with the plastic figurines on the top, and the whole works. A wedding everyone girl dreamed of.
Here we have even more proof that I’m not the typical girl. I had never dreamt of such a wedding. I thought it was more romantic to elope somewhere private, like an island in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, just like they do in movies sometimes. (There’s no stressing out, plus you can wear whatever you like; I already had a Versace I’d like to wear, in mind – one which I could definitely wear at another function.)
Anyways. Why was I even thinking about that stuff? I definitely didn’t see a wedding with me as the bride happening anytime soon. Rebecca had Calvin – and I had my depression for the rest of my life.


The moment I went to leave the private area of the washrooms – to go look for S and tell her I was going home – I heard Paris and London come in again. Of course; they had to do touch ups again.
Ben had, of course, asked Paris to dance. And not just once, but at least six times. And, of course, she had accepted, and now it was obvious that they were meant to be.
When I went back to the ballroom to look for Sarah, I was shocked to see that Paris had been telling the truth. It seemed that the two had hit it off. She and Ben were intertwined on the dance floor, dancing like they were the only two people in the room. The only thing I could do is congratulate them. They were, without a doubt, made for each other – since they were both cocky and mean.
I spent a good ten minutes looking for Sarah but I couldn’t find her anywhere. After another five minutes of searching, I decided to give up and head home. I’d tell her everything tomorrow. The only thing I wanted to do was sneak into the coat check room, grab my coat and go home.


When I went to the coat check, I found more than just racks of the latest jackets and shawls. Just as I was about to take my black Roberto Cavalli bolero, I found Sarah. She and James were hiding behind a rack (with a gorgeous light blue Ralph Lauren shawl) against the wall.
What were they doing? And why did they look all flushed and happy?
“I think we like each other,” Sarah explained.
“Seriously?” I asked confused. “Who?”
“Each other, of course. Isn’t it obvious?”
No, it definitely wasn’t. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. This must happened the past few weeks I’ve been focussing with my own problems, and I hadn’t noticed anything.
“Don’t worry,” Sarah said basking in pure delight. “We hadn’t realised it till tonight.”


Suddenly, everything made sense. That’s why Sarah (who under normal circumstances falls in love with someone different every day) hadn’t declared a new crush after John Sr. That’s why all night she seemed distracted and in her own head. And basically: that’s why she’d spent so much time on the whole John thing. Because of James – with whom we worked in the same department!
I was so happy for both of them. To be honest: I wanted to be happy for them. Sarah was my best friend, and was like the sister I never had, and James was one of very few great guys I knew. And if they were meant to be together, it was because they were both kind hearted and nice people.
The only problem is that I was so disappointed with everything with Calvin, that it was hard for me to be genuinely happy for anything.
“Are you leaving already?” Sarah asked. “Why?”
“I have a headache,” I said – she didn’t need to feel bad, there was absolutely no reason.
“Are you sure?” she asked, concerned.
“Absolutely,” I replied. “I promise. I have a headache, nothing else.”
After a little while, I was entering my apartment building.
“Good evening, Miss Brown,” Sergio greeted me suppressing a yawn.
“Hey, Sergio. I didn’t know you’re working the night shift today,” I said.
“I changed tomorrow’s day shift with Mitch because it’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow and we are throwing her a surprise birthday party,” he said smiling.
“Aww, that’s awesome Sergio. She’s turning ten right?”
“Yes, she is. Unfortunately, she’s discovered Hanna Montana, and she wants to be just like her. That girl will drive me crazy!”
“Haha! Hanna Montana? You better be careful Sergio, cause next thing you know, your little girl will be rebelling, pretending to be a “woman”,” I said.
“I hope not! I can’t afford it!”
“Oh, Sergio, you’re too funny. Thanks for making me laugh. I needed it. Anyways, I’m heading up, have a good night,” I said.
“Goodnight, Miss Brown.”
I walked to the elevator and saw that one was just closing.
“Hold the elevator please,” I call out, walking briskly to catch it. As soon as I got there, the doors closed. Shit! I thought, but then I heard the familiar ping and the doors opened.
No. No.
This is a bad dream.
Ben was standing alone in the elevator, with the top three buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves rolled up to expose his strong forearms. His tie and cufflinks, I notice, had disappeared.
Before I could stop myself I took a startled step backwards. Ben put his BlackBerry away, tilted his head to one side and gave me a quizzical look.
“Are you getting into the elevator?” he said mildly.
Shit!
“Yes,” I said and walked onto the elevator with stiff legs. “Yes, I am.”
The doors closed and we began to travel upwards in silence. I had a knot of tension in my stomach. I was surprised he was alone. I wonder what happened with Paris. I’m sure she would have gladly come over.
“So, um...good party,” he said awkwardly, causing me to look up from my Louboutins.
“Uh... yea,” I replied.
God, I was so tired. All I wanted was to take off my shoes and crawl in bed. Why the hell was the elevator taking so long? I didn’t want to have to talk to him anymore.
The elevator stopped at floor five and the doors opened, but no one got on.
“So, did you have a good time?” Ben asked as we started travelling up again.
“Absolutely, I said at once,” giving him a fake smile. “You?”
“Definitely,” he said, his mouth, for some reason, twitching.
I quickly took my BlackBerry out, pretending to check my messages. I didn’t care if I seemed rude – I didn’t want to talk to him anymore. I was afraid I might slap him. Or cause him some kind of physical harm.
“I better find your love and I better find your heart I better find your love and...” Drake’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I stared confused at my BlackBerry Bold’s display screen wondering why the screen didn’t display who was calling me.
“Hey,” I heard Ben say. Incredulously, I turned to face him, and saw him talking to his BlackBerry.
Un-fucking-believable.
My sworn enemy had the same ringtone as me. He turned to me and winked, still listening to person on the other line.
Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Thankful, I quickly walked away, leaving Ben alone.
I had just turned the key in my lock, when I felt something behind me. I quickly turned around.
“Didn’t you forget something?” Ben asked, his mouth twitching.
“Um, no... I don’t think so,” I said confused.
“Really? Cause I definitely think you did,” he said.
I continued to look at him confused. I guess he got the hint, cause he continued.
“You never told me you were a Drake fan,” he said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I only know because your phone was ringing a few days ago at work, and I happened to be walking by your office and heard your ringtone,” he explained.
“Oh, I see. Yea, I like Drake. So?”
“Well, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to Bungalow 8 sometime,” he said.
Whoa. Bungalow 8 has topped the Manhattan club scene for many years in a row now. And considering Manhattan is famous for having some of the best clubs in the world, that was not something to be taken lightly. With its palm trees, concierge, and inevitable NO VACANCY sign, Bungalow 8 created an atmosphere which was a combination of the Beverly Hills Hotel and old Hollywood. The place only held about one hundred people, and guests had to the hottest thing in order to cross the threshold, so getting past the bouncers was considered a great accomplishment.
“I’m serious. I mean I know you think I’m an ass and everything but still...” Ben continued, looking a little self-conscious.
“I don’t get how Bungalow 8 has anything to do with Drake. I highly doubt he’d ever be performing there. Besides, it’s like impossible to get invites for Bungalow 8. Even Hollywood starts have trouble getting in one of Manhattan’s coveted hot spots,” I said playing for time, trying to figure out what he was up to.
“Well, Drake is on tour now, but he won’t be in New York for a while and I figured we’d go listen to some music somewhere nice first, and then maybe check out one of his shows some other time,” he said.
“Well, I’m actually really busy, so I think I’ll pass. Goodnight,” I said as I walked in my apartment.
He opened his mouth to say something and I quickly shut the door. I know it was immature but I didn’t care.
I quickly looked from the peephole to see if he’d left. He stood there frozen for what seemed like eternity. Then, he looked right at the peephole, his grey eyes with an unreadable expression, and after a few seconds, walked away.
What in the world was that all about?

Chapter Eight - Apple Seeds

Chapter 8
Apple Seeds


My decision to not go to the 4th of July party seemed like an even better decision over the next few days.
Calvin and Rebecca didn’t look like they were about to break up anytime soon. On the contrary, every time I saw them, they’d be together holding hands. And Sarah kept spending all her time coming up with plans with Derek and James, not seeming like she would stop anytime soon.
I felt more lonely and depressed than ever. The only I wanted to do was hide under my bed covers with a tub of Häagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream limited edition ice cream (my new favourite after Caramel Cone) and not think about the stupid party.
Unfortunately it wasn’t an option. Not to think about the party I mean. There was no way I was gonna go, but that didn’t mean that there was any way I could get out of helping with the preparations.
The day of the party, a department was chosen to prepare everything for the event. For as long as I had been working at Anderson’s, my department hadn’t had to do a single thing, but this year it was our turn. We had to go over to the Grand Ballroom at The Waldorf=Astoria, make sure that the room is set up the way we want it, check on the food (and in many cases help with the preparation, a tradition John Sr. when Anderson Advertising had their first 4th of July party, fifteen years ago), put together the party favours, get in touch with the DJ, and do anything else that needed to be done to ensure the party was a success – in short, work our butts off.
The only consolation for having to do this was that we got the day off work. But I didn’t really find this very comforting. I’d rather be left alone at my desk, focussing on my never ending misery. Besides, helping organize a party which you aren’t planning on attending isn’t exactly the most fun thing to do.
For that reason, I was trying to go by unnoticed when John was delegating the tasks.
“Ok, let’s start with the ballroom,” he suggested enthusiastically. “I think that we will need at least seven people to work with the Waldorf=Astoria people to arrange the tables. And we also need a few more people to help with the decor and any final touches. Any volunteers?”
Decorating was definitely not my area of expertise. After all, I wasn’t a girly girl. And moving tables and chairs around sounded too tiring. I decided to wait.
“I want too,” Paris squawked. “I’ve taken many interior design courses, and I love decorating!”
“Me too,” London yelled and raised her hand up in the air.
Perfect, I thought. That takes care of those two. I definitely didn’t want to spend my day with them.
“We also need a few strong guys to help with moving stuff around,” John said. “Any volunteers?”
“I know who,” Paris cried. “Ben can help. He’s really strong!”
Oh my God! Seriously, could she be any more obvious? Obviously, we all knew she was crazy about Ben – and the other way around (although considering he was with Claire, I don’t know why he would even look at Paris. Well... I guess they were both annoyingly perfect, even though Claire seemed somewhat nicer). Regardless, Paris didn’t need to degrade herself like that. It was actually really sad and pathetic.
John’s request for “strong guys”, had almost every guy raising their hand up to volunteer, and John was able to get the number of guys he wanted.
“Ok,” he said after that. “I’m going to take care of the music, but I will need a bit of help moving the equipment with the DJ. Who thinks they’re up for that?”
Who do you think volunteered for that? Sarah’s, Derek’s and James’ hands shot up in the air like springs before John finished his last sentence. Evidently, they thought it was a good opportunity to get him alone so that they get him to talk.
Spending my day trying to pry information from john wasn’t exactly my definition of fun, but at least I’d be with Sarah, Derek and James. I decided to raise my hand and volunteer.
“Ok, the rest of you can go help out in the kitchen,” John announced just as I was about to raise my hand. “Everyone know what they’re doing? Ok, let’s go!”
Great. I was stuck helping out in the kitchen with everyone who hadn’t volunteered. That was just my luck. I was left alone, forgotten by everyone...
“Why the hell didn’t you put your hand up, Jess?” Sarah asked me crossly. “Now we’re on two different teams.”
“I was about to put my hand up,” I explained.
“You shouldn’t have waited that long. Now you’ll miss out on all the fun. When we get to bug John about Amanda.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said bitterly. “Go have fun with Derek and James.”
“What are you guys gonna do in the kitchen?”
“I don’t know. Probably work our butts off.”
“K, catch ya later, Miss Grumpy,” Sarah said. “I’ll come by later to check on you, k?”
“Yup,” I said already eager.
Sarah left and I looked around. Great no one was there. It seemed as though my fellow colleagues had decided to ditch me and go to the hotel, so I decided to start making my way there as well.



After fifteen minutes, I was entering the hotel’s kitchen, which smelled like the inside of a bakery, causing my mouth to water. I could already see two marketing interns waiting there with a big pile of... apples. Oh, God.
“Do we have to peel all those?” I asked, my voice rising a bit.
“No, not peel them,” said the one intern. “We just have to cut them in eights. They’re for the cran-apple punch.”
“Not just those, we have to do the same for twice as many oranges, for the fruit punch,” the other intern added. “Ben just went to get them.”
“Ben?” I asked confused. “He’s here?”
“No. He’s bringing the oranges, but he’ll be back soon” the first guy said slowly, like he was talking to a two year old. “Anyways, take some apples and start cutting.”



I went over to a corner with a small knife and about a dozen apples. Hmm, wasn’t the new guy supposed to be helping out with Paris and London over in the ballroom? I guess not. Instead, he was helping out the kitchen team, just to wreck my day. I should have seen it coming.
I started cutting the apples, determined to finish as quickly as possible. At least they weren’t bruised. Just a little soft at the beginning. It took me a while to cut the first one.
When Ben came back with a huge case of oranges, I was already almost done cutting up my apples.
I felt so proud. Maybe I wasn’t so bad with cooking as I thought. Granted, I knew that cutting apples wasn’t exactly considered cooking, but at least it was related... a bit. Maybe I was going to be a brilliant cook and my special ingredient would be apples. Maybe Calvin would eat my... never mind. He had Rebecca.
Anyhow, I gathered all the slices in a big bowl and made my way to the big, industrial size container where everyone else was dumping their cut up apples in as well.
“What are those?” I heard someone ask. “Didn’t you core the apples?”
Whoa. No one said anything about coring the apples. I was told to cut them in eights, and that’s exactly what I did.
“Hey everyone, look! Jessica just cut the apples; she didn’t core them or anything.”
Evidently, the other idiots from my department thought it was funny, and started laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. Someone went up to the container, picked up a slice and held it up in the air.
“Wow, Jess. Why didn’t you take the seeds out? Now you’ll have to clean all of them.”
Ben walked up to the container and picked up another slice. I could see his face concentrating, thinking of some joke that would have everyone practically rolling on the ground laughing.
“What exactly is wrong with these slices?” he asked. “Why does it matter that the seeds are still there? It’s not like anyone is going to eat them. Besides, when I was growing up, my mom would always leave the seeds in. She said that was the Canadian way to do it. And if I were to cut an apple, I’d leave the seeds in as well.”
He let the slice fall back into the container. I was staring at him speechless. What has just happened? If it was someone else, I’d have sworn that he had done it from... yea, from pure kindness!
“I think we need to deal with the oranges,” he said. “Or else we’ll never get out of here, and I don’t know about you, but I would like to go home and relax for a bit before the party tonight.”
He grabbed a case of oranges and everyone else followed. Soon after, everyone seemed to have forgotten all about my apple slices; they were cutting up fruit and talking, just like before.
I stayed in my little corner with the apples. I had gotten rid of the seeds this time, and I was making my way to the container and to pick up a case of oranges. Coincidently, Ben was there, alone.
“Were you being serious?” I asked him.
“’Bout what?”
“When you said that your mom leaves the seeds in.”
“Are you crazy?” Ben asked. “That would be awful. I wanted to help you out, didn’t you figure that out? Even brats deserve help from time to time.”
Uhh, why did he have to act like such a jerk and make it difficult for me to thank him? I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but I certainly hadn’t forgotten about the wine incident at the Food Emporium, so I wasn’t about to suck up to him either.
“Well, thanks anyways,” I mumbled. I turned and stared walking back to my corner.
“Jessica!”
What did he want now? I turned around barely caught the case of oranges he threw at me.
“Di you think that just because you’re useless in the kitchen, you’d get out of cutting up the oranges?” he asked sarcastically. “Oh, and by the way, you have to peel these, in case you were interested.”
He cackled in a way, I knew too well, and got back to work. I went back to my corner and started peeling and cutting the oranges without looking up. Every time I finished a case, I’d check to make sure Ben was busy and nowhere near the other cases.
He really was a jerk, I thought after thinking about it. I mean not as much of a jerk as I thought when I met him. I’d stop calling him “the new guy”, but I wasn’t going to push it. No way.



After about three cases, Sarah came. She looked really excited. She was literally was beaming. Of course! It’s not like she was forced to stay in a kitchen peeling fruit for hours on end, like some other people.
“Hello, hello,” she said. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” I said. “If you don’t take into consideration the fact that I personally made sure tonight’s cran-apple punch is served with apple seeds.”
“Ew, how come? Seeds are gross.”
“Yea, I realised that, it just took me a while. So tonight you guys will have at least one bowl of punch with seeds.”
“Don’t say “you guys”. You’re coming tonight. I already told you that.”
“No way! Anyways, how are you?”
“Good, amazing.”
“Did figure out if John is sleeping with Amanda?”
“No, but it was still a ton of fun. James can be so funny... obviously, Derek can as well. Both can be funny, I mean. But anyways, that doesn’t matter. I came here practically running because I have god news for you. News that will make you come to the party.”
“Whatever it is, it won’t work. Thanks but no thanks. There’s no way I’m coming no matter you say, S.”
“I mean good news,” Sarah said, practically beaming. “Don’t you get it? Amazing news.”
“Really?” I asked anxiously.
“Yes. They broke up this morning. James told me, who heard it from Caleb, Calvin’s friend from customer care, which means that it must be true. It’s over! Finito!”
I had to sit down right away. I couldn’t believe it. Finally, the endless, miserable days were over. Calvin and Rebecca had broken up. They weren’t together anymore!
“So don’t ever say again that you don’t believe in horoscopes,” Sarah said. “The prediction came true. You were patient, and now the person you are “hopelessly in love with” loves you back and you will find this out at a big event.”
She was right. My, God. Could it be true? Would Calvin and I actually be together soon? But when?
“I’m assuming the big event is the party,” S said reading my mind. “Cause you’re coming to the party tonight right?”
Of course I was going to go to the party. I’d run to the party. I’d get ready in no time and race to the party!
I love Sarah. I love my life. I’m so happy, that I even love myself. In other words: I couldn’t be happier.

Chapter Seven - The Non Girly Girl

Chapter 7
The Non Girly Girl



That’s how women should behave, I had noticed. Positively. They had to laugh with anything, and think everything is super-fantastic-amazing-perfect. Even though, it turns out, everything sucks. Sadly, how that’s the way it works. And whoever didn’t follow that rule was... in a way, not a female. At least not the prototype of a female.
It’s sad really. It’s almost like cleaning or going to the dentist. You are, in some way, forced to do it. Even if deep down you don’t want to. Suddenly I realised why so many women are miserable; because they can’t follow that rule.
Mentally I made a list of seven sins for women:


1. Bitchy remarks (girls must always be polite and think positively all the time).
2. Bad mood (girls must always smile and laugh - even if they don’t think something is funny).
3. Smart only in certain areas (girls must only be good at art, music and gym).
4. Show angrer (on the contrary, girl must cry).
5. Dislike for animals and kids (we must think they are adorable).
6. Short nails (women must always have perfectly manicured nails and toenails – preferably in a French manicure).
7. Dislike for organization (a woman must love order and always have a schedule).


Afterwards, I re-read my list. And I came to the sad realization that I had six out of seven points.
At school I wasn’t the smartest student. But I was so bad in art, music and gym that I got only half a point. And I did like kids, unless they were spoiled little brats who cried all the time and never did as told. But I was definitely scared of most animals, especially kittens (apart from the fact that cats in general are evil, they have nails and will scratch you at any time for no reason; the fact that this doesn’t keep parents from buying kittens for their kids is definitely a mystery!). That’s another half point. Therefore, that’s six out of seven.
In other words: now I had it writing (or at least in the form of a list). I had no trace of femininity. I wasn’t a “girly girl”. It made sense, then, that Calvin would prefer Rebecca over me. Without a doubt, she would always be a perfect woman, without any points.

I woke up when Sarah started poking my stomach.
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
“Nothing.”
“Your socks are dirty by the way.”
“I know,” I said. “I don’t feel like washing them. I’m not a girly girl.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“Ok, listen to this,” Sarah said. “Gemini...”
“Wait, why are you reading Gemini?” I asked. “You’re Pisces aren’t you?”
“Yea, yea,” she said impatiently. “But John is a Gemini.”
“And you want to read his horoscope?” I asked her. “How is that gonna help us?”
“Can you please stop talking for a sec? I found something interesting.”
I honestly couldn’t figure out what could be so interesting about John’s horoscope. But nothing could stop Sarah. The only think I could do was shut up and listen.
“You might found yourself in a position where honesty is a must. Perhaps you’ll need some help in order to tell all. Just think, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Sarah’s eyes were wide with excitement. Her expression was that of someone who just won the lottery. Like actually.
“Do you get it?” she asked.
“No.”
“He needs help. It says it here. John will admit if he’s sleeping with Amanda only if someone helps him.”
Oh, God. There was no saving her. The only thing I could do was call a psych ward and ask them to send over a representative, and a car to take her.
“The tricky thing is how,” S continued oblivious to my thoughts. “I think I have to call Derek and James and ask them what they think.”
“Wait, how do you know that John is a Gemini?” I asked suspiciously.
“We have our ways, darling.”
Nostalgically I thought of the old Sarah, before this whole thing with John started. The old Sarah. The one who fell in love with a different guy every week, and with whom you could have a normal conversation.
That was the Sarah I knew and loved. And I wanted her back. Plus, to be completely honest, I was a little jealous that she was having so much fun acting like Sherlock Holmes with Derek and James.
“Why don’t you fall in love with someone?” I asked. “That way you might be able to forget about all this crap.”
“You’re the only one who thinks this is crap,” she said defensively. “And maybe John. But that doesn’t matter. We think this is a lot of fun.”
“By “we” you mean you, Derek and James,” I said sulkily.
“Exactly. And you’re welcome to join us. After you set free your fun side. You know, the one that’s been hiding lately.”
“You know what? I think that deep down you’re in love with John and that’s why you’re obsessed with finding out if he’s sweating it up with Amanda every night.”
“Yea, of course,” S retorted. “How could I resist an asshole?”

No, there was no way I’d join their little club. I already had my own problems with Calvin I had to deal with. Plus, yea John was hot, but every time he opened his mouth, I pretty much wanted to slap him.
And in the meantime, I had discovered that my new neighbour, Ben, had managed to pretty much become bffs with John and all the other jerks from Anderson Advertising. Even John Sr. was impressed by him. You’d think a smart business would be able to see what an ass Ben was. Basically, the guy had managed to get on everyone’s good side and they thought he was amazing. Especially Paris. She was always either talking to him in his office or having lunch with him or going to meetings with him. Basically, she was everywhere he was.
Whatever. It’s not like I cared.



“I got it!” Sarah yelled, startling me.
“What’d you get?”
“The summer barbeque!” she exclaimed. “That’s when we’ll get him.”
Every year Anderson Advertising holds a semi-formal 4th of July party in celebration of our country’s national holiday and to celebrate the company’s anniversary. It’s a big deal, and all employees take part in preparing for the event. (John likes to make people do most of the work, even prepare some of the food, in order to honour those who had to do everything themselves, back when Anderson had ten employees and no money to spend on a venue or any helpers.) Everyone from the members of the board of directors to the interns does their part in ensuring the event is a success. It’s an event in which we are supposed to “get to know each other in a more relaxed environment”. It’s actually a bit of fun.
“It’s the perfect opportunity,” S continued. “John will be relaxed and calm. In a party mood... and hopefully a little tipsy! The only thing we need is to get him alone for a bit and ask him. It’s perfect!”
She jumped up from my bed and quickly folded the magazine in her purse.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Home, to call Derek and James. We have to come up with a plan,” she said and then practically ran out of my apartment, leaving me alone.

Chapter Six- The New Neighbour

Chapter 6
The New Neighbour



I hadn’t seen the new guy since the test on Wednesday, and seeing as that it was Friday, I actually felt a little better, even though I still hadn’t heard of any news in regards to Calvin and Rebecca.
Thanks to my good mood, I had decided to try to cook something I had seen Bobby Flay make last week on the Food Network.
During the elevator ride up to my floor, I was trying to remember if I had all the ingredients I needed to make Philadelphia Style Steak. I had gone grocery shopping at the little market by my apartment building just the other day, - because I knew I wouldn’t be home until around five o’clock, which meant there’d be no fresh produce left – so I was pretty sure I had everything I needed.
I got off on the 15th floor, and was surprised to see moving boxes all over the hallway. I immediately looked to my right, where apartment 15B was, curious to find out who my new neighbour was but was disappointed when I saw that the door was closed. Not making any noise, I walked towards the door to try to hear if anyone was inside. Not having heard anything, I decided to take a peek at the boxes surrounding the apartment. I mean, a quick look to see if my new neighbour was a guy or a girl wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t invasion of privacy or anything. I was just curious. And since there were only two apartments per floor, I had every right to know the sex of the person I’d be sharing the top floor with.
I reached down to a big box a good four meters away from the door, only to find it taped shut. Disappointed, I started looking around for a box that didn’t have tape on it and spotted one tied with a string to the left of my neighbour’s door. I quickly walked over and started untying the string. Ok, to meet my new neighbour, I thought just as I was opening the flaps.
“What are you doing?” I heard a voice ask curiously.
Fuck! I looked up to see a beautiful woman, about my age, leaning against the door frame, looking at me with a quizzical expression.
When had she opened the door? And how hadn’t I heard her?
“Um... hi. I’m... I’m your neighbour,” I managed in a strangled squawk.
She had continued to look at me, her expression not changing, until she burst out laughing.
“I’m assuming you were just trying to make sure that box was closed properly,” she said after she was done laughing.
“Uh... yea... I mean, yes, of course,” I said.
“I’m just kidding. No need to worry. Been there done that at my last building. And I’m not moving in here, so you don’t have to worry. I’m Claire by the way,” she said with a friendly smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jess. And I’m really sorry about all this... I’m going to go hide in my apartment now if you don’t mind,” I said embarrassed.
“Haha. Ok, catch you later.”

I quickly walked over to my apartment an let myself in. My God, that was so embarrassing I thought as I took off my shoes and left my purse and keys on the accent table. I wonder if she meant it when she said that she’d snooped in other people’s moving boxes. I hope so. I really didn’t want her to think I’m some weirdo. Hmm, maybe I should take her a steak when I’m done cooking them, since I had purchased two. (This wasn’t by choice, by the way. Steve, my butcher, would always laugh at me when I’d ask for one steak, so to shut him up, about three months ago, I started buying two steaks, letting him think I had a boyfriend. Technically, it wasn’t exactly a lie. I mean Calvin was bound to see that we were mean to be together, and before long, I’d actually need to buy two steaks.) But she might think that’s just weird. I guess I’d have to wait and see how they’d taste, and then decide.
I turned on my laptop and while I waited for it to power up, changed out of my work clothes into my “home” outfit of boxers and a tank top. Carrying my laptop, I walked over to the kitchen and after selecting my latest playlist on Grooveshark and turning up the volume, I started looking over the recipe to make sure I had everything.
David Guetta’s latest hit Commander came on, and after turning it up louder, I began cooking. This was going to be so much fun!


By seven o’clock, I was still cooking.
At least, that’s what I thought I had been doing. The oven was roaring with heat. Pots were bubbling on the stove. The blender was working away. I’d burned my right hand twice when placing things in pans. My recipe print out was open on the kitchen counter, drenched with spilled oil and hot milk. I was puce in the face, sweating hard, and trying every so often to run my hand under cold water.
I’d been going for a solid two hours. And I hadn’t yet made anything that could actually be eaten. So far I’d discarded the one steak, two pans of burned onions, and a saucepan of steak sauce.
I couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. I mean I had been following the recipe word for word, so it didn’t make sense. Plus, I was starving so there was no time for analysis. Every time something went wrong I’d just dump it and start over again.
Suddenly I smelled something burning and turned to see my steak on fire. I grabbed an oven mitt to handle the pan, when the smoke detector went off, startling me, and causing me to drop the pan on the ground, barely getting a chance to move out of the way.
“OH. MY. GOD!” I yelled. “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. This can’t be happening!” I hurled the pan across the kitchen, where it smashed against the dishwasher.
“What the hell –” a male voice exclaimed in surprise.
I looked up to see the new guy from work standing there, with nothing but a pair of boxers (black, Calvin Klein ones), and I knew that I was hallucinating. There was no way he was actually in my apartment. And in a pair of boxers, nonetheless. “Oh my God, it’s you! You work at Anderson Advertising right? Is everything ok?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said rattled. “Thank you.” I made a dismissive motion with my hand, but he didn’t move.
“Um, you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here... I didn’t stalk you or anything. I actually just moved in next door. I was packing away some stuff actually, and then I heard the alarm go off, and I came knocking but there was no answer, and then I tried the door and it was unlocked, so I just came in to see if everything was ok,” he said, surveying the mess.
“Oh. Right. Well, um, everything’s fine. I’m just in the... most complex stage of the... um...” I glanced down at the stove and gave an involuntary scream. “Fuck! The steak sauce!”
“Get it off the heat, for God’s sake!” he exclaimed while reaching for an oven mitt and putting it on his hand. He snatched up the pan and moved it to another burner. “What on earth is in that?”
“Nothing, just the usual ingredients: mustard, honey, horseradish...”
He takes a wooden spoon and tastes the sauce. “Baking soda? You put baking soda in gravy? There is no way that the recipe calls for –” He breaks off and sniffs the air. “Hang on. Is something burning?”
I watch helplessly as he grabbed a pot with a thick, black mixture.
Oh, no. My provolone sauce.
“What is that supposed to be?” he asked incredulously.
“It’s provolone sauce,” I retorted. My cheeks were burning but I lifted my chin, trying to retain some kind of dignity. “I guess, I left it over the fire too long.”
He placed the pot in the sink and turned to look at me, his face working with disbelief. “Want some advice? Don’t ever cook again. I’m serious. I just moved in and I actually really like my apartment. Plus, it took me like three months to find it and I don’t have any time to go apartment hunting.”
“I can cook, smartass. I just must have missed a step or something. I was actually cooking a Bobby Flay recipe, thank you very much. Very complicated,” I said pissed.
He was leaning against the counter, his arms folded. He reached over to where I had the recipe, and started reading over it. “Hmm, not exactly beginner but not advanced either. Wait, why were you making two steaks?” he asked confused.
“Um, I wasn’t,” I said.
“I guess it’s none of my business. But if you’re having a guest over tonight I would suggest take-out.”
I sank down onto a bar stool and massaged my aching lower back. I hadn’t realised how exhausted I was. “I wasn’t cooking for two. I just always buy two of everything when I go to my butcher,” I explained.
“Why in the world would you do that?”
I felt a painful wrench inside. I couldn’t face telling the whole dreadful story. Besides, it’s so pathetic.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
“I’ve got time,” he replied, a smile playing on his lips, “but first, I think we should clean up, because it will be a pain to clean it up after everything’s dried up.”

Compationably, we emptied pans and pots into the bin. I scrubbed all the smeared surfaces while he mopped the floor.
“So how long have you been working at Anderson?” he asked as he was rinsing out the mop in a bucket.
“Four years. I did my co-op there during my last year at NYU, so I was hired right after I graduated.”
“Oh, cool. Well, it seems like a good company to work for. I grew up in Connecticut, so after Yale, I worked for an advertising company in New Haven.”
“Wow, you went to Yale?” I asked impressed.
“Yea. Well, everyone in my family went there so I didn’t really have a choice.
I opened my mouth to ask him when he went to university – then on second thought, closed it and shut the dishwasher. I didn’t want to start getting into details, going down the “do we know anyone in common?” road. Besides, he was an ass, so why get to know him?
A quick glance at the clock told me it was eight thirty but at last the kitchen looked a bit more normal. I picked up a bottle of Chardonnay from my wine rack, and poured some into two wine glasses. I offered one to my new neighbour who took a large gulp and then placed his glass on the counter. We sat there in silence for a while; the music having stopped playing a while ago.
I guess he isn’t that bad, I thought. I mean he had helped me clean up. Although he still hadn’t apologised for the whole “acting like an ass” thing at The Food Emporium. But maybe he was going too.
I looked up at him and saw that he was studying me with an... amused expression.
“BEN? BEN WHERE ARE YOU?” I almost fell out of my chair at the sound of someone yelling. A few seconds later, Claire appeared in front of us looking like a frickin movie star in a gorgeous green dress which brought out her eyes.
“Ben, my God, I was getting worried. Sorry for barging in like this Jess, but your front door was open and I couldn’t find Ben, so I thought I’d come ask you if you’d seen him,” she said looking relieved to have found him.
I had totally forgotten about her. Oh, God. They were probably a couple. Probably engaged to be married, I thought bitterly.
“Claire, you look incredible,” I heard him say.
And she did. The bitch.
“Thanks Benny. But you can’t take me out in your boxers so get your butt back to the apartment to get dressed. Your tux is hanging up in your closet,” she said smiling. “Oh, and I made you a grilled sirloin with a red pepper sauce and goat cheese with fucilli and creamed spinach on the side because I knew you’d be hungry when you came home from work,” she added.
“You are the best. Have I told you that I love you?” he said.
“Only a few hundred times today,” she said sweetly.
Can someone please hold my hair back while I puke? Seriously, couldn’t they do this somewhere else? Like in their apartment? Oh my God, they better not have chosen any of the rooms next to my apartment for their bedroom, cause if I heard anything, I will definitely burn the place down.
“Ok, well, we should go so I can change,” “Benny” said.
“Oh, yea, of course. Thanks for the help,” I said.
“Uh huh. Don’t mention it,” he replied.
“See ya later Jess,” Claire said before turning to go, with him following close behind.
“Yup, see ya.”
“And don’t attempt to cook anything,” he called out to me from the door.
“I won’t,” I promised.
“Why did you say that?” I heard Claire ask.
“Trust me, you wouldn’t believe what a mess she’d made before. You should teach her how to cook. She’d learn a lot from an amazing chef like you,” I heard him reply.
I heard them laugh together and their laughter was shortly silenced by whoever closed the door behind them.
Asshole. It’s not my fault that the recipe was so complicated. “You should teach her how to cook” blah, blah, blah. Please, my cooking skills were fantastic, thank you very much. UHH, God I hated him so much!
I filled my wine glass up to the top, and decided to call Sarah to tell everything that had just happened and to invite her over so she could cheer me up.

About thirty minutes later, I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
“Your door was unlocked,” Sarah said walking in. “You need to learn to lock it Jess. Especially since Ben and his gf like to walk in without knocking. I mean they obviously aren’t like your last neighbour, but still.”
“Don’t worry about it, my new neighbour definitely won’t want to stalk me, like Harry did. Not when he’s dating a movie star, who not only cooks for him, but who also cooks him gourmet meals.”
“Hmm, clearly your mood hasn’t improved since we talked on the phone. What are you up to now? You looked like you were deep in thought when I walked in” she said ignoring my comment and sitting on my bed.
“I’m imagining how happy Calvin and Rebecca must be” I answered honestly. “And the more time that goes by, the more depressed I get.”
“You shouldn’t think about it.”
“Yea, I know. But I can’t help it. That’s just how I am. How about you? How are you?”
“On a scale of one to ten,” she said thoughtfully, “probably six. Maybe seven.”
She reached for her purse and took out the latest copy of Cosmo.
“No more tests,” I pleaded. “Either way, I’m gonna get a zero, regardless of the subject.”
“I didn’t say anything about a test, but I do think you need some advice,” she said. “Hmm, ok. Here we are. Cancer. Listen carefully.”
I signed. Here we go again. Wasn’t my life miserable enough without all that stuff?
“Your love life is very slow at the moment,” Sarah read out loud. “Isn’t that right? See the horoscope is right!”
“S, my love life is always very slow,” I pointed out. “It’s actually nonexistent. And evidently, Cosmo noticed it too.”
“Be patient though, nothing is what it seems. Soon you’ll find yourself hopelessly in love with someone who also loves you back.”
S looked up from the magazine with a thoughtful expression. “Hmm. Enigmatic but interesting. You have to be patient. So basically, you have to wait for Calvin and Rebecca to break up again. Which will definitely happen, just I told you.”
Nothing makes Sarah happier than when a horoscope mirrors her great advice. Maybe she will be a psychic or something. She’ll make a ton of money – from housewives of various successful men and desperate teenagers, all part of her future clientele.
“What if they never break up?” I asked. “What if they stay together till they’re eighty? Then I’ll have to wait till Rebecca slips and breaks her hip. But by that time, will I still want Calvin? I mean eighty is really old. What am I supposed to do till then? Learn how to play bingo so that I can entertain him when finally get together?”
“Baha! Seriously Jess! Haha! How do you even come up with these things?”
“It’s my sick imagination talking.”
“Anyways, you gotta stop that. You have to start living in reality.”
Sarah turned back to the horoscope. And she said I didn’t live in reality! God, I think we’re both losing it.
“The part about not everything being what it seems like definitely relates to Calvin and Rebecca. On the outside they seem happy. But in reality, they’re miserable and they fight all the time.”
“Really?” I asked. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. It’s only a matter of time before they break up. And then, it will be your turn to strike.”
The way Sarah made it seem, it sounded like a very easy thing to do. Maybe she was right though. I just had to be more optimistic. Or else, I wouldn’t be able to get anyone.

Chapter Five - The Moment of Triumph (6.8 seconds)

Chapter 5
The Moment of Triumph
(6,8 seconds)


The next day I found out that Calvin had been dating his annoyingly perfect secretary, Rebecca, for the past week. But then, they had broken up – until Calvin wrote her a letter and then they got back together.
In other words: my pen had been useful. For Calvin and Rebecca. For me, this meant a whole new level of depression which, not even my usual remedy of watching Pride & Prejudice while eating chocolate and crying until I was literally dehydrated, could fix.
What more did Rebecca have that me? Answer: everything. Perfectly straight hair, for example.
And, most importantly, she had Calvin. My Calvin.
Grrr! I was sure that they were unbelievably happy together. They would go on long walks holding hands, and they would talk about what they should name their kids. She’d definitely choose sophisticated names like Nicole or Oliver. Poor Calvin, he wouldn’t know what hit him.
And if that weren’t bad enough, Sarah was not being supportive at all.
We went out for lunch at a cafe. (There was no way I could stand seeing Calvin and Rebecca feeding each other that day’s special in the caf!).
“Don’t worry Jess, everything will be ok” Sarah said. “Hakuna matata!”
Ok, my world was coming to an end and she was quoting Lion King?
“Nothing’s gonna be ok,” I snarled. “Unless I get my hands on some arsenic.”
“Hmm, a little extreme, and also quite impossible.”
“I mean so that I can give it to Rebecca.”
“That’s also extreme. Not that it’s not a good idea. But a little extreme. Besides, no offense, but I don’t think a striped suit would suit you.”
“I’m pretty sure that nothing suits me. I might as well wear a potato sack.”
“Hmm, it wouldn’t work.”
“What? The potato sack?” I asked.
“No, I mean between Calvin and Rebecca. Think about it. They’ve been together for a week and they’ve already broken up twice. I give them two more weeks... three tops.”
“Do you believe that?” I asked excited. “Like, for real?”
“Uh huh,” Sarah replied. “In other words, you can stop obsessing and focus on more serious things.”
She was right. After lunch, we had a test on income statements and, even thought I was really good at accounting, I couldn’t remember if revenue or expenses were first when writing an income statement.
“I’m referring to the mystery of John’s extracurricular activities,” Sarah said.
Oh! And I thought she actually meant important matter when she said “important things”. She, Derek and James has been talking about that all morning long. I was actually at the point where I felt sorry for John (not to mention myself, for having to listen to all their plans even thought I wasn’t in a good mood). Why couldn’t they just leave the guy alone? Did it really matter if he and Amanda were getting it on at the office?
“Why don’t you ask someone from the evening cleaning crew?” I asked bored. “I’m pretty sure about half of them are in love with John anyways, so I’m sure they’d know.”
“We already tried that,” S said. “James stayed till 5:30 last night and went around asking all the women. In fact, they were all flattered that he was talking to them. As for the secret affair, however, they didn’t know anything. They told James to ask Amanda or John.”
“What if they were lying?” I asked.
“Oh my God, you’re right! What if they were covering up for them? Do you think John has paid them to keep them quiet? Or maybe...”
I zoned out and started thinking about the test. At that point, that test – and I wish this were true for other tests – seemed like paradise. I looked down at my watch, and was relieved that lunch was over.
On the way to Kingston, Sarah realized that she forgot her notebook and went to her desk to get it.
I just kept walking down the hall with my head in my book, trying to memorize the rules for the test. It wouldn’t hurt to read over my notes right before the test to make sure I knew everything. Plus, I’d be busy in case I happened to run into Calvin and Rebecca.
Evidently I was really concentrating on my notes because, a minute later, I tripped and almost fell on someone. When I looked up from my book, I realized that my bad luck never stopped. Standing right in front of me was the guy from The Food Emporium.
Up until now, I had managed to successfully avoid him at all costs. Whenever he’d walk in a room, I’d leave, and if we were ever in the same room for a meeting, I’d look in every direction except his.
But, sadly, in this case, I couldn’t ignore him.
“Whoa,” he said when he found his balance. “That was a close one.”
Idiot, watch where you’re going, I thought, but didn’t say anything. I only gave him a cold look. And he laughed.
“Are you always this clumsy?”
I knew very well what he was referring to. He clearly hadn’t forgotten the whole wine incident and thought he’d keep bringing it up. But I was gonna show him that I wouldn't allow him to mention it again.
“It’s not my fault you’re standing in the way,” I said.
I wanted to leave it at that; superior and dignified. But what I actually sounded like was a spoiled brat. Damn it! What was it about this guy that brought out the five year old in me? Me, a person who under normal circumstances, is very mature!
“Uhh... Jessica, that’s your name right?” he said. “I just wanted to...”
“I don’t want you hurt your feelings, but I really don’t care what you want,” I interrupted him.
He was stunned. Yay! I finally did it! That definitely sounded superior, and not a bit childish.
At that moment Paris and London appeared along with a bunch of marketing and accounting employees for the test. Paris greeted him casually (and with flair), but he didn’t seem to notice. He had continued to look at me, and when everyone was standing within hearing distance, he said:
“The sure thing is that you act like a little kid. Like a spoiled little brat. I haven’t met many people who are like you.”
Of course everyone heard him and burst out laughing. Evidently, they thought it was hilarious. But I wasn’t going to let him come on top.
“Yea, see?” I said. “We have something in common.”
And with my head held high, I walked right past him into the room.
When in the room, I could hear him laughing like an idiot. He asked someone if I was always this immature. Probably Paris or London, or someone who hated me and would confirm that I was, but I couldn’t hear anything.
I sat towards the back of the room, and started sharpening my pencil pissed. From now on, I would go back to ignoring him.
S showed up at the last minute, out of breath, with the lecturer right behind her. The lecturer (David) shut the door, and placed the tests on the table.
“Hello, everyone,” he said. “Ready?”
Despite my anger, I was happy we were writing an accounting test. I was confident that I’d do a good job, and I definitely needed an ego boost.
David started passing the tests out (there were only 24 of us, so it wouldn’t take him too long).
When he got to where – in my opinion – no one was sitting, he paused and looked concerned.
“You must be Ben,” he said. “What are we going to do with you? John didn’t tell me anything. I’m assuming you haven’t prepared since you’re new here. You can sit this one out if you’d like.”
“No, it’s okay,” he said. “I can, at least, just try.”
“As you wish,” David said. “But I won’t mark you differently than I will everyone else. Just so you know.”
The idiot just smiled. And so did David, and then gave him a test.
Look at that, I thought. What a smartass. Look at him all relaxed and confident. Grrr! He was just like Paris and London.
“Well, Miss Brown,” David said as he gave me my test. “Are you prepared?”
“Uhh, yea, I think so,” I answered.
“Good luck,” he said and winked at me. He returned at the head of the table and announced that we were allowed 30 minutes to complete the test.
Technically, he wished everyone good luck, but I had the feeling that he said it especially for me, which I thought was really nice of him. Too bad he was fifty years old and twenty five years my senior, and happily married, because he was what I imaged Calvin would be when he’d be David’s age. A well spoken man who could see through artificial beauty and appreciate smart, real people.

My studying had paid off. I finished the exercises quite quickly, and I was almost certain that I had done them right. There were only a few minor things that I wasn’t sure about. I looked over the test once more and then handed mine up at the front.
The good thing about David is that he marked the tests in the order he got them. This meant that we’d know our test results at the end of the half hour. I was actually excited to see what I got.
“Okay, everyone, come get your tests,” I heard David say.
“What!?” Paris yelled. “Only fourteen right? That’s impossible. There must be some mistake. I was sick the one day. I don’t understand anything!”
You got that right, I thought. Anyone can see that you’re stupid. Oh, and you spend too much time brushing your hair.
“On average, you had twenty one out of thirty two questions right,” David announced. “I can’t imagine you guys being too happy with that. Do you people never study? This isn’t high school you know. In two weeks, you have the final exam so you better start studying for these tests if you want to pass.”
After that speech, I was reluctant to get my test, but I managed to put aside my insecurities, and with a slight tremor, took my test.
I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer, and then opened them and looked at the top right corner. Thirty out of thirty two right! Thank you God and whoever discovered accounting.
“Only two of you had a mark of thirty or higher,” David said while I was making my way back to my seat, holding my test paper with confidence.
“And those people are Jessica and... Ben. Jessica had thirty right and Ben had thirty one. Congratulations!”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a second. What!? Was it true that that idiot had come unprepared and managed to get almost perfect? How was this possible?
“I have to admit that I am impressed,” I heard David say. “Did you do a lot of accounting at your previous job?”
“No, can’t say I did. I think I was just lucky. But thanks.”
Grrr! He was being modest. At least that’s what it sounded like. It was impossible. It was disgusting.
Why, why couldn’t I have even a little bit of happiness? Why could I celebrate something for more than ten seconds?
He could have..., let’s say, have gotten fifteen right. Or even twenty five. Even twenty nine would have been ok. But thirty one – one more than me? UHH!!!

“Why do you look pissed?” Sarah asked me. “You should be grateful! I only got twenty two, and I’m not complaining!”
“I’m not pissed,” I hissed.
“Of course you are,” Sarah complained out loud. “It’s so obvious. You look like you’re gonna kill someone!”
“Can you shut up?” I said panicking. “There’s no need to yell.”
I didn’t want to give the new guy the satisfaction that I was upset. At least, not for a stupid reason, like the fact that he got one more question right than me. Why did I care, anyways?
Sadly, however, my wish did not come true. He had, of course, heard everything. He walked past Sarah and I, relaxed and with confidence and paused in front of S.
“Let her be upset,” he said. “She can’t control it. Surely, it’s the little kid in her.”
God, I hated him so much! I hated everything his cocky, confident, snob existence. Now my patience had run out. No more pretending he didn’t exist. This meant war!