Chapter 2 MY BOSS.

Nancy stormed into the apartment as soon as she got off the bus, her shoulders heaving from weariness and her face radiating extreme fatigue. She exhaled a breath of relief as she kicked off her shoes and let them scatter on the floor. There had been so much to do that day, and as each activity took on more energy, she began to feel as though she would faint.

The gentle hug of the mattress gave her a moment of respite as she fell onto her bed. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, exhausted, every muscle in her body tensing from the day's stress.

Sophia emerged from the kitchen, a bowl of steaming pasta in her hands. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Nancy already home, her exhaustion evident in every line of her face.

"Nancy, are you okay?" Sophia asked, her voice laced with concern as she approached the bed.

Nancy managed a weak nod, her eyelids heavy with fatigue. "Just... really tired," she mumbled, her words barely audible.

Setting the bowl of pasta on the bedside table, Sophia reached out and gently squeezed Nancy's shoulder. "Well, dinner's ready whenever you're up for it. Rest for now, okay?"

Nancy grinned appreciatively and nodded as she sank down onto her bed. Even though she was exhausted, there was a ray of hope in the midst of her fatigue because of Sophia's warmth.

When I tell Sophia what happened that day, she blinks at me in an unusual way. Her thick lashes quiver behind her beautiful eyes. I study her in my mirror while I line my eyes in black eyeliner, making a butterfly pattern around my eyes.

"Oh my God, Nancy!" she suddenly exclaims, getting up from my bed and covering her mouth with her hands. "You were challenged by Van Harry! How can you be so okay after that?"

She appears genuinely stunned, which is understandable given that she has been smitten with Van Harry since he appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine. He has become her hero, and she wants to launch her own digital company and follow his successful route.

I wonder if the doe-eyed creature would have made a better assistant to him than me because he even knows every detail of his public appearances from dawn to night. I'm not quite as pretty as she is. Perhaps she would have made a better decision.

She looks at me with wide eyes, her black dress hugging her curves and revealing a charming heart-shaped face with big lips and creamy skin behind her temporary glasses. Her brunette hair flows carelessly over her shoulders, creating soft waves that frame her face.

I, on the other hand, am dressed in a simple white crop top with full sleeves and a royal blue skirt which doesn't stick to my curves as hers does. My hair is in a half up-do unlike hers.

"It's nothing much, Sophia." I drop the eyeliner back in my make-up box before turning to her. "That man is not the idol you make him to be. He doesn't even know how to conduct a proper interview! I pissed him off and that's why he gave me the job."

"But you got to meet him!" Sophia contradicts, making dreamy eyes at the ceiling. "And Nancy, he is so handsome. God, I wish I was in your place."

"Your opinions would have changed," I remark, picking up my sling bag from the bed. "Besides you're lucky you get to do your dream job. I mean Digital Manager for Bright Media? Hello, that's huge!"

"But my boss isn't some handsome guy I would drop my panties for in a second. He's a half-aged dude with an eternal growl plastered twenty-four seven."

"And my boss has an eternal scowl on his thirty-one-year-old face. That's disturbing. I don't know what would cost that man to smile once in a while. I never saw him smile."

"For real, Nancy. Your hormones are too strong for my taste. If I was in your place, he would have had me in one go. The way he lifts his eyebrow towards the media is always a classic signal," Sophia comments, following me out of my room.

"Won't deny that. He does have very angry eyebrows."

"Oh, I forgot to ask you." She turns to face me with a strangely serious look on her face as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you tell me that our lease has been paid in full? I thought it would be months before that happens. Now I owe you."

I go still at her words. I completely forgot about the lease. There is no way he paid for that too. He promised me he would stop interfering.

After receiving our business degrees six months prior, Sophia and I leased our apartment and bought it. It was our good fortune to cross paths with one another on the day of the -BHK space viewing. We ultimately worked out an arrangement between ourselves because we both cherished the room and lacked the funds to purchase the entire flat.

This was how our friendship started and as of now, in this big city called LA, she is the only one I am close enough to call a friend. I love the girl like anything to lie to her.

But the lease? I can't tell her the truth.

"Oh yeah..." I shake my head awkwardly. "Yeah, I paid in full. You don't have to pay me now, don't worry. I got some money saved and decided to get the burden off our heads."

"But you could have at least discussed it with me, Nancy," Sophia complains. "This makes me feel so bad. I would have contributed from my savings too."

Unable to decide what to say, I go for the option which makes me not look like a sacrificial lamb.

"Well, you can just pay it to me." I shrug. "Anyways, let's not talk about it now. You wanted to go to the bar to celebrate and we'll be doing just that. Not speaking of apartments and leases."

She gives me a pointed look which makes me suspect that she in turn suspects something fishy. I keep a giant smile on my face as she studies me with inquisitive eyes.

"Fine," she says after a while. "But I'm paying you soon."

"Can't wait," I grin shamelessly, hiding from her the fact that I didn't pay anything at all.

He did.

**********

The bar we enter is packed with patrons, and the regular space has been transformed into a club with top-notch music playing. Individuals are pressed up against one another, licking, kissing, and grinding. I wish I could do that with someone right now. My previous scumbag of a guy was so long ago.

Matt had been all fun and nice - sunshine and rainbows - until he had ended up slapping me in a fit of rage. In return, I had kicked him in the balls so hard with my heels that the dude ended up in the hospital for a week.

I have never been that satisfied with choosing violence.