Chapter 1
I sat at the kitchen counter, eating while I finished the last parts of my project for the hotel chain that our company wants to secure for a client. Checking the clock, I noticed that it was a little after two in the morning. Letting out a sigh, I got up and saved the last of the slides I was happy with, then closed the MacBook.
Looking around the apartment in the wee hours of the morning, I took in the mess that Petra left all over the couch and coffee table. She was a slob. Has always been ever since I met her in third grade when she moved to San Francisco. Her parents paid maids to come and clean their house so that it was always clean for her, and she didn’t have to learn how to clean up after herself.
It didn’t help her keep anything clean, even when we were at Illinois State University. She just seemed to get slovenlier every day. I knew that if I wasn’t cleaning once in a while, we would be in a pigsty. I didn’t even like cleaning all that much and would barely do it when I was alone. When I was at home, my mother always kept our house spotless, and I guess it was because her being a housekeeper.
I really missed living with my family, but I was happy that I had my best friend while I was here. That is what made it easier to work so far from home. I had to get used to Chicago over the last three years after we graduated, and soon it would be our fourth year here. We would both be twenty-six soon and hopefully full-time. That was our dream. To be full-time in the same company and working together.
Looking at the time again, I saw that it was getting close to when Petra would be getting up. I would need to go to bed before she gets up, or I won’t be able to sleep again until tonight. As long as I was asleep when she got up, then I would be left alone. I really wanted to have a nice, relaxing weekend and not go out partying. As long as I have that, then I will be able to relax and plan for my presentation on Monday.
I really hoped that I would be able to get the job. I knew that we were competing for the project with a few other people. The only downside was that it would only go to one person. I had put my blood into the project. I wanted to know why this company wanted an interior designer when they have a multinational conglomerate and hotels in forty-five countries, and more resources than this little company. I heard that they wanted to come here for a consult two months ago. So our boss decided that this was the best time to whittle us down to the only one that he would keep on and let the rest of us go. I just hoped that all the work I put in was worth it. There was no plan B for me. Well, there was, but that was essentially going backwards and making it seem like nothing changed from before.
Closing my door, I changed into a sleep tee that I stole from my brother and tied up my curly hair before I went to bed. I needed sleep more than I thought. As I closed my eyes, I went back to two weeks ago when I decided to go out to a club by myself for once. The pictures flashed before my closed lids of being in Tempo and the strobe lights with loud music making it hard to order my drink, besides the bartender looking at me a few times and then away to another girl that had her cleavage out in full view. I guess I should have worn the dark yellow dress I had that was sexier than the blue dress I wore that I would wear to work. I didn’t want to change when I got off from work, so I figured it would work if I made it look more like a club dress. How wrong I was.
I was starting to get more and more annoyed with being ignored and pushed against the bar to move away and leave when a man came up and motioned to the bartender. Turning away, I was stopped by a large body. Looking up, I noticed that he was built like an MMA fighter, and his brown hair was in his brown eyes. There was a slight curl to it, and it made me think of my older brothers back home. “Excuse me.” I then tried to move around him, but I was stopped by his arm. Looking up again, he motioned for me to face the counter again. When I did, I noticed that the guy who was standing next to me was looking at me. His blue eyes pulled me in when they locked with mine. “Sorry?” I was confused about what he wanted from me.
“Babe, what do you want to drink?”Babe, who’s your babe? He kept looking at me and then grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. I guess I’ll go along with it just this once because I really needed a drink.
“A Finding Nemo, babe.” I tried to ignore the slight tremors that rattled my body and the way my stomach was flipping. There was no way I was reading it wrong. I was attracted to him, but I wasn’t too sure what I was going to do about it. Usually, I let Petra decide and take over, and usually, I don’t get anything out of it because I am always forgotten about when she is around. I was used to it, and it never bothered me. Well, that’s not quite true, it did bother me sometimes, only when there was someone around, I thought was cute and that I wanted to talk to, other than that, it didn’t.
He ordered my drink and two whiskies. They were straight whisky, and I felt like I should tell him something in case he wanted to try it. “Try a small splash of cherry juice and a small squeeze of lime in it with an ice cube; it tastes really good that way.” He raised his eyebrows and put it in for both of them. Soon, I was being pulled away to a table on the other side of the club, and sat at the table behind the rope in a private section.
