Chapter One
Everything about the night was perfect. Andrea’s entire look fitted that description, too. She wore a pair of red bottoms she’d saved for six months to buy, and a deep burgundy split-thigh maxi dress that Mia had helped her pick from a boutique in Oyster Bay.
Her outfit, combined with flawless make-up, and a gorgeous chignon, transformed her into the equivalent of a Hollywood red carpet sensation. The only thing missing was a hot date on her arm… A topic for another day.
“I almost didn’t recognize you,” said Jennifer, recovering just in time from her wide-eyed shock and rearranging her face into a sneer.
“Thank you,” said Andrea, feigning cheer as she widened her grin enough for her cheeks to lose all elasticity in her attempts to be civil. Besides, she’d soon be promoted, and this cow would no longer have any excuse to taunt her.
Jennifer, her supervisor, had taken an instant dislike to Andrea since the latter’s first day on the job. A year later, nothing had changed. Try though she might, there was nothing the marketing junior did that had worked to win her supervisor over.
She insisted on either rendering her invisible or being especially nasty to her. It was as if she was going out of her way to make Andrea’s life as unpleasant as possible.
Luckily for Andrea, her friend Lindsay quickly jumped in the way of the fire, making small talk with her friend’s self-imposed arch-nemesis.
“Oh my God, that’s my favorite jam! Andy, let’s go!” she squealed, dragging her towards the dance floor, leaving behind a stunned Jennifer.
The two twisted and turned in time to the song, Andrea grateful to have escaped the tense situation.
“What was that about?” asked Lindsay.
“She can be such a cow,” she said, shrugging.
“Jealousy will do that to a girl. She can’t stand that you’re so much hotter than she is.‘’ She jiggled her breasts in a stiff attempt at a shimmy, grabbed her friend’s hand, and simultaneously made her laugh.
They had been this close since they had first met in their freshman year cohorts orientation week. Always the life of the party, Lindsay had been solely responsible for helping Andrea build her self-esteem, cushioning her from the impact of the bullying she was subjected to by Jennifer during training.
The party was a success, thanks to the effort Andrea had put in. Event coordination wasn’t one of Jennifer’s strongest points, yet she happily gloated and took all the credit when others complimented her on the event’s success. In her defense, she did vaguely commend Andrea. In a way.
Perhaps that’s what kept her hopeful that she’d get the promotion she’d been working tirelessly to secure. She’d exceeded all expectations and met all her KPIs, so it stood to reason that she was the number one candidate for the Junior Marketing Manager position she so coveted.
The reality of the situation would send her hopes crashing.
“I have good news for you,” Jennifer had said, walking towards her backstage, her face plastered in a fake grin.
“Really? I love good news. Is it about the social media campaign we were working on?” Andrea asked.
“You’ve been promoted—” started Jennifer, cut short by Andrea’s gleeful shrieking.
“Thanks so much! I can’t believe my ears, really!”
“You didn’t let me finish. You’ve been promoted from Marketing Intern to an entry level marketing position at Stanley Studios.”
Andrea’s jaw needed a crane to lift it up. How could this be? After all the hard work she’d put into making sure the position was hers, this was how her supervisor thanked her? Being assigned to the deadbeat parent company that was going nowhere slowly would surely be the death of her career aspirations.
She’d set her sights on being at the cusp of cutting-edge innovation in the marketing space. Vanitha spoke to her self definition and her career goals. She imagined herself becoming Managing Director at age thirty.
“I don’t understand. The position advertised was for a Junior Marketing Manager here at Vanitha.”
“Yes, and that position will be filled by a suitable candidate. When they said they needed someone I trust to work hard and always deliver at Stanley Studios, I told them you’d be perfect for the job.”
This was easily the worst day of her life, Andrea stood there thinking. Part of her was convinced that her supervisor had done this on purpose. Jennifer knew how much she wanted the job she’d asked to be endorsed for. This was too much of a curveball for it not to have been intentional.
It was as if she was being forced to admit defeat in their long-standing game of upmanship. Jennifer had won, it seemed. Pulled the rug from right under her feet and left her on that slippery career slope, suspended in disbelief.
Jennifer’s heels were soon clicking away as she sashayed in the opposite direction as soon as she’d delivered the blow. The smirk on her face was something between amusement and satisfaction.
“Unbelievable. Wow,” Andrea said loudly as soon as she was certain that her superior had disappeared around the corner. There was no one but herself backstage. Or so she thought.
As she made to leave the area, her heel got hooked on one of the light cables left lying around during the still incomplete rigging process.
“Grace? Is that you?” a rich baritone asked. She was about to fall backward when she felt firm hands grab her by the waist. Whoever it was had sculpted arms and smelled like a dream. The scent reminded her of oak wood and lemongrass, rushing up to her nostrils when he - still from behind - pulled her towards his chest. Blood rushed to her heart, accelerating its beat.
This startled her so much that she let out a scream.
“What’s going on here?” said one security officer, three of them instantly restraining the man.
“Let go of me at once!” the handsome man with the striking jaw and piercing blue eyes roared.
“Not until she confirms you haven’t hurt her or taken anything from her.”
“Look, you better watch your tongue with me. And no, you idiot, I haven’t done anything to this woman. I just mistook her for someone else, that’s all.”
‘Mistook me for who? He must be crazy,’ she thought.
“Sir, you’re gonna have to calm down,” said the bulkier of the security men. Soon, there was a crowd gathered around them. She couldn’t make out the exact words, but Jennifer and some of the other supervisors were admonishing the security team.
Flustered by all the drama, Andrea made off and rushed towards the bathroom.
When she got back, she crept cautiously towards the crowd, this time standing at the fringe of the gathering.
She could hardly wait to escape that office.
As soon as Miss Bossypants was done yapping, Andrea fled to the bathroom. There she cried until her chest was sore from all the heaving and convulsing. Her throat hurt, and her eyes were red and heavy.
When she came out, it was to find Mia waiting for her outside the bathroom door.
“I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted that…” she said, enveloping her friend in her arms while taking care not to disturb her elaborate hairdo.
“Jennifer did that on purpose. She just doesn’t wanna see me do well.” Andrea broke down again, comforted by her friend’s embrace.
Lindsay patted her back, her sweet voice calmly whispering words of consolation. Andrea was grateful she had someone in her corner.
***
Monday was her first day at Stanley Studios. She walked up to reception in a black blazer, a white shirt, and blue jeans, teamed with a gorgeous pair of tan boots. Smart casual, yet professional.
“Hi, I’m Andrea Knight, here for the Marketing position,” she said to the blonde girl at reception.
“Just a minute, please. Someone will be here soon to meet you,” said the receptionist, pointing her towards the white leather couch with a smile.
“She’s here,” she said on the phone, grinning before placing down the receiver.
Andrea, being highly observant, saw and heard this. Nervousness taking over, she couldn’t stop fidgeting with the strap of her laptop bag as she waited.
“Good morning, Miss Knight. I’m Ingrid. Let’s get your paperwork out of the way. Follow me, please,” said a woman with wavy gray hair.
Around the corner stood a man in a dark suit. Andrea blinked twice in disbelief. Gosh, no.
“Yep, in the flesh,” the man said. He must’ve seen the look of horror on her face.
“Well, if you’re thinking of running, now would be a good time to do it,” he said.
Hi everyone. This book has been completed. The rest of the chapters can be found on the platform/app Readamo. If you’ve enjoyed this book, please consider supporting my work on Readamo :)
