Chapter 3

A Chapter by SarahHino

My phone rang at 8 AM. I swore under my breath. It was my assistant, Tamara, all panicked because she couldn’t find a file.

“Tamy, calm down. It’s in the second drawer of my desk”

After few seconds, she breathed a sigh of relief “I got it, thank you Poppy”

“It’s ok”

Going back to sleep was impossible. I punched my pillow out of frustration. I got on my feet and hurried to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and dressed very casually.

I dialed Mia’s number; I went straight on voice mail “Hey, it’s me, I’ll be at your place in 20 minutes. I’ll bring doughnuts”

I greeted Bordan and left the building on my bike. I bought the doughnuts on my way and headed at Mia’s.

Her father opened the door “Oh, Good morning Poppy”

I smiled “Good morning, Mr Cipriani, is Mia here?”

“Yes, she’s still asleep though” he directed me to her room, then left

As soon as he was out of sight, I jumped on the bed. Mia screamed and I burst out laughing.

“Pops, that’s not funny” she scolded

I tried my best puppy eyes, showing her my doughnuts box “I’ve got sweets”

Mia took it from me and sniffed the box “You are forgiven. Mmm, they smell divine”

Mia’s parents divorced 3 years ago and when her mother remarried, she decided to move back home. She didn’t want to leave her father on his own.

I prepared some coffee, while Mia was showering. Her father left shortly after I came.

She poured herself a mug of coffee and we both sat on each side of the kitchen table. I couldn’t wait for last night’s details.

“So?” I finally asked

“So?” she raised her eyebrows

“Mia” I scolded

“Alright, alright” she laughed “We went to his place and I was surprised to see how tidy and nice it was. The black Pearl bartenders must earn good money” when she saw my impatient expression, she carried on “Anyway, it was good. No, great. I can’t stop thinking about it. He is very skilled, if you see what I mean”

“Really? Are you planning on seeing him again?”

“Nope, we agreed it would be just for the night. I left while he was in the shower. It would have been awkward to face him after last night” she finished with a dreamy smile

I could imagine that

At that moment my phone rang. It was Vee skyping me. I pressed the green button “Hey, Vee” we said in union

“Hey girls. I knew you’d be together. I called Mia, but she wouldn’t pick up the phone”

“Sorry, didn’t hear it”

We put the camera on and Mia gave us all last night’s juicy details. We laughed at Mia’s face when she was relating. Then we realized Vee was in her office.

“Vee, I can’t believe you haven’t taken a day off” Mia sighed

I wasn’t really surprised. She took her career very seriously. She was a junior manager in one of the most important Gas companies in Atlanta and she was to be promoted very soon.

Vee was holding a mug which I’m sure was filled with coffee to give her some energy

“Don’t drink too much coffee; you know how it makes hyperactive afterwards”

Drinking coffee made her babble nonstop and move like an energizer bunny

My phone rang. I checked the caller ID but it was an unknown number. Mia prompted me to answer. Which I did

“Hello?”

“Hey, Poppy, It’s me” he paused

“Um…Hi <Me>” I teased

I heard an irritating laughter from the other end of the line “I see you haven’t lost an ounce of your humor. Anyway, it’s Conor Robinson” I muttered his name to Mia who was now skyping Vee on her tablet. “I got your number from your Mother..” he cleared his throat and took a condescending tone “She said you’d be happy to hear from me”

My Mother was resolved to ruin my existence on earth. Maybe I’ll have a better luck in my next life

Mia put the tablet in front of me so that Vee could see me. Both of them noticed my horrified face at the last comment and seemed eager to know what he said.

Connor was still talking, not even noticing my silence. I was furious and couldn’t listen to him anymore.

“Sorry Conor, I have to hang up. There’s a customer who just entered. Bye” I muttered without giving him time to say a word.

I remained quiet for few seconds and the girls knew better than to talk. Mia was the first one to break the silence, asking what was going on and that was enough to make me blow. I started mumbling things that didn’t make sense to my friends then took my messenger bag and ran from Mia’s place.

I heard M calling after me but I was already on my bicycle, displaying images of murders in my head.

******

I went straight to the office. I didn’t even bother to dress in a more appropriate way. Liz would be shocked to see me in jeans and T-shirt. She never wore jeans, not even on Sundays. “Women must be sophisticated all the time, Dear” she’d say with her adorable British accent.

I respected her and cared for her. She was definitely the best marketer I knew and had a very important background. She was my manager in the marketing department of the enterprise I worked at. I was a recent graduate and she took me under her wing. It was her who taught me everything I had to know. Even though she was twice my age, she took my point of view very seriously and believed in me. So when she decided to start her own company and asked me to be her associate, I didn’t hesitate to accept the position. I was ecstatic to be her choice.

As soon as Liz saw me, she arched an eyebrow and lowered her glasses “Are you sick, my Dear?”

“Errr…No” I said hesitantly

She stared at me for few more seconds and I stood by the door, waiting for her verdict like a kid waiting for the teacher to let him enter the classroom.

“Alright, stay behind your desk, I don’t want any client to see you”

I nodded

The rest of the day was very calm. I skipped lunch and didn’t even feel the time passing by until Tamy left. Shortly after her, Liz came to say goodbye and asked me to close the office when I leave.

I was in no hurry to go home only to rethink over and over about my Mom’s matchmaking attempts. Yes, I felt terribly lonely and hollow but I didn’t need anyone to remind me of it or try to set me up, I could do it by myself.

I sighed and collected my bag. Time to go

Luckily I had some leftovers from the day before. I ate quickly in front of the TV. There was an old romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. By the end of the movie, I started to yawn from exhaustion. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Conor

How about diner next weekend?

I didn’t bother answering and jumped under my bed

On the next morning, I woke up very early. Liz and I had to work the last details of one of our projects before our meeting at 10 AM. Everything was ready; all we needed was to go through few things about the presentation.

“Ladies, I’ve brought drinks and doughnuts” I handed Liz a cup of coffee and a mokaccino to Tamy who flashed me a bright smile.

I glanced at Liz who was savoring her coffee «So, shall we start?”

“Definitely, I’ve been thinking about adding few lines to the presentation and…”

By the time we finished, it was already 9h34. Liz and I had to hurry to the company where the meeting was to be held, few blocks away.

“Congratulations, Ladies. Well done” A member of the board shook our hands at the end of the presentation. It was a big success. I was looking forward to telling the girls about it. We were going to sign our biggest contract so far. My inner Poppy was dancing and shaking her booty.

My phone buzzed in my bag. When I checked I found a dozen missed calls and an SOS message from Mia. I dialed her number quickly. She answered right away.

“You won’t believe what happened this morning?” she cried

“Now that Pops replied, can you tell us what it’s all about, Mia? I’m starting to worry”

“Vee?” I asked

“Yeah, we’re on conference call. Apparently, something big happened, but she won’t talk until you’re on the phone.”

Mia started sobbing

“It’s…It’s him”

I hoped it wasn’t about her ex again

Vee tried to console her “Mia, calm down. Who is him?”

“It’s him…It’s Alec”

“Alec is what?” I had no idea what was going on. She didn’t seem to care that much about him yesterday. Did she see him again? She said she wouldn’t. Maybe she changed her mind. But the crying didn’t make sense.

“Alec is my new boss” she managed finally and broke out in tears

Holly s**t. That was unexpected.

How was that possible? Wasn’t he a bartender? How could he be her boss? Bosses should be old, ugly and married, but Alec didn’t have any of these criteria.

None of us dared to say something. I guess both Vee and I were having a hard time getting this whole situation.

Mia broke the silence “What should I do? I mean I can’t resign, I need this job but from the other hand I can’t keep working in this department. Crap. That’s just my luck”

“Did…did he say why he was bartending at the black pearl?” I asked after what seemed like an eternity of internal battle

“Well, we were too busy exchanging horrified stares with our mouths hanging open; the size of a garage”

“For all we know, he’s a gambler and needs extra money to pay his debts?” Vee blurted out finally. I thought she had had a syncopal episode.

I got in the elevator. After few seconds, I got to the lobby, and then left the building. I had completely forgotten about Liz. Well, she could manage herself perfectly without me. Mia was still sobbing with Vee comforting her.

“Let’s meet after work, I really need you around”

“Alright” I said

Vee sighed “Let me cancel my appointment with Tom”

“Thank you”

A nanosecond after I hung up, my phoned rang “Hey, Vee”

“I’m in shock. How is that possible?” she didn’t bother with an opening to the conversation

“I know” I grinned “Put Mia in a normal situation and she turns it into an awkward one”

“The Mia phenomenon. She’s cursed” both of us burst into laughter

“See you later”

“See ya” I hung up.

I walked to the office, typing a quick message to Liz on my way

Sorry I left you there. I’m heading to the office.

After work, I went to the Sundays. Vee was already there, seating by the counter. She seemed to laugh at something Kevin was saying.

“Hi, what’s so funny?” I asked

Both of them smiled at me “Kevin was telling me how he decided to start his own business and believe it or not, it’s a funny story”

I took a seat and rested my chin on both hands “I’m happy you did it anyway. Your hot chocolate is the best”

“I’ll get you one, right away” He stormed to the kitchen delighted with my praise

I turned to Vee who was smiling to nothing in particular “What’s with the dreamy eyes?”

I startled her “I was just wondering what I’d do… if I decided to quit my job and start everything anew”

“You’re a brilliant legal expert, Vee, you don’t have to think about that” I snorted

She smiled sheepishly, but it didn’t reach her eyes “Yeah, you’re right”

Mia threw heavily her bag and put her head on the counter as she sat next to me “Second worst day of my life, after my mother’s marriage”

I patted her on the back

Kevin put my hot chocolate on the table and stared skeptically at Mia “What can I get you, zombie girl?”

“Hash brownies, space cake, any cannabis food that would make me forget my day for a moment” she muffled

Vee sent an apologetic smile to Kevin

Still stroking her back, I asked her “How about a detailed description of your day?”

Mia lifted her head “Where should I start?”

I thought a moment “Let’s say form 8 AM”

She sighed “When I got to the office this morning, I was very excited; I even found a note on my desk that said looking forward to working with. A. Slinski. Of course, I had no idea the A was for Alec. Not even in my craziest dreams. Chris, from the HR department, came to me and said he’d introduce me officially to my new boss. He even suggested we go grab some drinks after work with my new team to celebrate my contract. I was really happy. We knocked at the door and a familiar voice invited us in. He gave his back to us and was talking on the phone. I was trying to remember where I heard that voice before, then decided I probably heard it in the office. Seemed pretty logical to me. Finally, he hung up and turned to face us with a smile. Our eyes locked and I gasped. We kept looking at each other with our mouths hanging open. We both lost our voices. Chris stared back and forth, not understanding what was going on. Alec finally cleared his throat “Glad to see you again, Miss Mia Cipriani” with an emphasis on my name. I shook his hand but no sound would come out of my mouth”

“Oh, sweety” Vee managed “Then what happened?”

“Well, I ran to the rest room and called you. We spent the rest of the day avoiding each other. We didn’t make eye contact once and he was sulking the whole time”

Kevin arrived with what seemed to be a delicious smoothie and set it in front of Mia “There, this should do. It’s on the house”

“Kevin, you’re my hero. You’ve just made my day” Mia tried to smile and he winked at her

“You know what they say, tomorrow’s gonna be another day”

“Yeah, you’re right, Pops. I’ll wait and see” then she added cheerfully “let’s go someplace nice tonight”

“I can’t. Have a family dinner tonight. Kate and Rob are back from London” My sister needed some proper rest after she gave birth to my adorable nephew 6 weeks ago, so her husband and her took few days off and went to their house in London.

Vee shrugged “I promised Tomy, we’d go to the movies”

“Which movie? Can I tag along?” Mia asked hopeful

“It’s kind of a date, Mia” Vee flushed

Mia buried her face in her hands “Alright, guess I’ll mope on my own”

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