Second Shot At Love

"Am I going there with you as your date or what?" Diane asks expectantly as she works on her laptop.

Pausing briefly, she turned her large brown eyes at him.

Her slightly wavy black hair in a messy ponytail and strands of hair hung freely around her face.

Although she might not be a striking beauty, Diane has a face that is hard to forget thanks to her expressive eyes.

"My date ofcourse!" Michael replied before joining her on the large bed.

Micheal in his late twenties was is currently her boss and boyfriend, his easygoing personality is a match for her quite rigid one.

" I was only asking because you didn't ask me to, you only said we would go to the event together." Diane continues to murmur feeling unsatisfied that he didn't directly ask her to be his date.

"Okay, Beautiful lady, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to an event tomorrow as my date?." Michael asked in a dramatic manner, earning a smile from her.

"Yes sir, I will be crazy not to" She replied in the same manner throwing him in a fit of laughter.

" Enough with that work tonight, wrap it up and let's sleep" Michael stifled a yawn.

"Just give me a minute" Diane chuckled at the sleepy man that was pouting at her like a baby.

Few minutes later she switched off her laptop and called it night before snuggling beside her boyfriend.

The act has become a habit rather than a ritual, they both can barely spend a night without each other.

"Goodnight baby". Michael whispered softly into her hair as sleep consumed both of them.

Diane hummed in response with her eyes closed.

Diane and Micheal has been working together for over a year before they started dating, and most of the time it's hard to separate their love life from their work life but they still try to keep their relationship going even if it won't be all glossy for long.

~

Michael had difficulties keeping his eyes on the road as he drove them to the party.

He had passively asked his girlfriend to look beautiful but he knew he didn't have to because she always looks beautiful but tonight she left him dumbfounded.

"You shouldn't have driven us tonight if you knew you would be staring at me half of the time" Diane said in an amused voice while trying to keep a straight face.

She really loves it when he reacts to her like this, she is the type of lady that is always buried in work and pantsuits but tonight she is his girlfriend despite the event being work related.

"You are to blame for that ,why are you so gorgeous?" Michael fakes being shocked to amuse her.

"Is it a crime to look beautiful?, whereas you asked me to." Diane shifted the blame on him and he gladly accepted being guilty of the offense.

The event turned out to be out of Diane's imagination, she had thought they were here for work but nothing like that was happening.

The extravagantly decorated hall that accommodates up to a hundred people boomed with laughter and people hanging around each other while enjoying themselves.

There were a few familiar faces but not people she was fond of.

She chose not to mingle or greet anyone and instead followed Michael around as he greeted friends and business associates.

And she really hated it, she loved it when she was familiar with people she was meeting.

"Hi, nice to meet you here tonight Michael" A middle aged man with a soft smile shook Michael's outstretched hand and nodded at Diane with politely before they moved on and talked lengthily about work.

Diane pays little attention to their conversation as she studies the people around with the littlest interest.

Her eyes lingered shortly on a man that was standing with a couple not far from them and looked not to be interested in what they were saying.

The moment he sensed her gaze he stared right back at her catching her off guard, his eyes sent a cold wave through her body.

"See you later, Michael" The man discussing with Micheal left them, his voice brought Diane's attention back to her boyfriend.

The whole event was short of what Diane would describe as fun but she enjoyed it except that towards the ending of the ceremony Michael was acting strange.

"Wait for me in the car" Micheal said to a disgruntled Diane before rushing back into the hall they had just left.

Nevertheless she did as he asked her to, she walked slowly to their car to wait for him.

While waiting for Micheal she saw the man that chatted with Micheal earlier in the party opened a car door for the man that caught her staring at him.

"That should be his assistant" she thought out loud.

She became a little curious about his identity, he looks young even younger than the assistant.

Their car pulled out of the parking lot, leaving her curiosity at its highest level, she will definitely find more about him later.

Micheal came back later, looking happy in a strange way and Diane couldn't help but think that something was awfully wrong with him.

Diane dialed a number on her phone again for the fifth time in the last ten minute.

She has been trying to reach Michael since morning but all to no avail, he left the office in a rush leaving her with loads of work.

They have been working side by side before they started dating.

She was his solicitor but now her work has included being his personal assistant, business advisor and a lot more.

She likes her work and she doesn't joke with it, that is why she is at her wit's end right now.

"Miss Diane, these are the documents from Mr Smith". The secretary came in with another pile of work.

Increasing her work load.

" Okay, drop it on my desk. I will check it when I get back".Diane said to the woman before hurrying out of the office.

Her anger is slowly turning into fear, what if something was wrong with him?. What if he has been in an accident?.

Series of questions roamed her mind as she was thinking of random possibilities.

She drove the car out of the company, and sped her way through the highway.

The car was at an insane speed.

She was restless and could barely recognise anything wrong with her driving.

Not more than fifteen minutes later she packed the car in front of their home, and walked inside in her frenzy manner.

Some of the maids around the house moved out of the way for her, because she was a sight to behold.

Some cower in fear as if she was coming at them but unknown to them she barely register their presence.

Her strong instinct had told Diane her boyfriend was at home.

She opened the door to their bedroom and found nothing before making her way down to the study.

Without ceremony she threw the door open ready to nag at Michael.

But no word could come out of her mouth.

Her mouth hung open as she stared with wide eyes at Micheal.

He was sitting with a woman on his lap, the upper part of her body was stark naked and they were so engulfed in the act that they could not detect her presence, until Michael glanced up and they scrambled apart.

"What the hell is going on here?" Diane asked, the feeling of total disappointment stifling her heart.

She could barely hear a thing, as she felt the world spin around her in a mocking manner.

"Micheal, I'm asking you, what the fuck is happening here?" Diane asked again, yelling this time.

Her anger overpowering her pain, the man she loved with all her heart in arms of another was unacceptable.

While Diane was battling with the turbulence of emotions, Michael ushered the person he was with out of the room.

"How dare you?" Diane voiced out above the startling pain of her shattering heart.

She looked straight in his eyes searching for a reason for the betrayal.

Whatever it might be, but she could not find any.

"I'm sorry" Micheal's low voice came a few seconds later.

He sounded remorseful but he looked far from it.

"I didn't mean to, I got carried away" He continued in the same breath.

"Are you fucking kidding me?, you left work almost five hours ago. No message or reason for it, you left me with tons of work and no explanation. Just so you could come home for this?

Diane's emotions were way out of the roof, she was oblivious on how to caution herself and just decided to let everything out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" Michael said again louder this time.

"Sorry can't change anything, you did this because this relationship means nothing to you" Diane continued ranting. He had been acting suspicious recently but she chose to ignore it, she was foolish.

Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, she has never been an emotionally vulnerable person but what just happened came as a big shock to her.

She turned around on her heels and made for the door, she was exhausted.

"Wait!" Micheal pulled her back by the arm and she struggled to get out of his hold, his touch made her feel disgusted.

She couldn't get free, with an extra force Micheal pulled her back toward him and she fell to the floor with force.

"I said I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional" Michael's loud voice sounded so strange to Diane's ear.

She stares at him like a stranger, he is a lot different. And she blamed that on herself, she had been ignoring the little changes over the past few weeks.

She picked herself painfully from the ground, she had fallen really hard. He had shoved her to the ground unexpectedly.

She quietly left the room and he made no effort to stop her again.

She felt empty, she felt disintegrated, she felt exhausted.

She absentmindedly opened the door to the car that brought her home earlier but she immediately changed her mind from using it again.

She made a call for a rental car but stopped when she heard someone walking towards her.

Upon setting her eyes on the person she felt angered again, she felt the need to slap the smugness off her disgusting face.

But she calmed herself down, she had used a lot of her emotions today it was time to act nonchalantly and whereas she doesn't worth it.

She stops short of a few steps from her, gloating.

"I wonder what Micheal saw in your ugly ass buried in that ugly pantsuit of yours, anyways as you know he is now mine so buzz off!" The woman snorted after making series of displeasing faces at her but Diane held onto her initial decision of not showing any emotions despite the strong need to tear the other woman apart.

After realizing that she wasn't going to get a reaction out of Diane, the shameless woman walked away feeling on top of the world.

There were still some hours left before the company closes but Diane had no intention of returning to work for the day. She made a quick call to the secretary about her decision while she waited at a traffic light in the car she just rented.

She drove slowly but purposefully to the apartment she bought a few months ago in another part of the city.

She had believed it would rot away because she never knew she would have a need for it and now that house seems like a savior to her shattered self.

After her fight with Michael few days ago, she has been avoiding him like a plague.

It's currently not possible for them to co-exist in the same environment.

She felt used, stupid and naive. It's also hard not to show how much he had hurt her, she has been trying her hardest to put on a strong front.

A phone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She grudgingly fished out the device from her handbag and lost focus on the road.

The moment she picked up the phone it flew out of her hand as she jerked forward suddenly almost hitting her head on steering. She sat shocked for a few seconds before calming down.

She came out of the car immediately to check what happened, apparently the traffic light had turned green and she didn't realize until the driver behind her rammed into the car she just rented.

"What sort of day is this?" Diane thought painfully to herself as she assessed the damage done to the car.

The little accident had caused a disturbance and other drivers threw looks at her while some cursed at her before moving on with their journey.

Diane knocked on the window of the car that just hit her car but got no response.

The car was definitely expensive with tinted glass.

She had expected the person driving to come out immediately when the accident occurred.

"What if something has happened to him?" She pondered before knocking again but louder this time.

The tinted window rolled down, she stared at the young man behind the wheel who was staring at her quite unfocused. He looked like he was still in shock from the collision.

"Are you alright?" Diane asked with concern as she was trying to figure out why the man's face looks familiar. She doesn't remember knowing him but he doesn't look like someone she knew.

"Maybe a business client" she thought before his croaked reply came seconds later.

"No, I don't think so." He replied.

"There are no external injuries, maybe just a little concussion. Let me get you to a hospital" Diane said out of courtesy as she doesn't know what to do.

She definitely doesn't want to take him to a hospital but she was the cause of the accident so she wants to defuse the feeling of guilt.

~

"Hey baby!" Rhea's cheerful voice drifted into Diane's ear through the Bluetooth device she wore while driving.

"Are you at work?" Diane asked immediately, not wanting to indulge in any conversation.

Rhea was one of her childhood friends, they have been together for longer years than she can recall but the woman is always as cheerful as ever despite the nature of her work.

Diane couldn't help but admire her friends' forever positive energy despite being surrounded by deaths and sick people everyday.

"Yes I am" Rhea replied as she got excited again.

"Are you coming over?, are you?" She asked expectantly.

"Yes, I have a little problem. We will talk when I get there" Diane replied and ended the call immediately.

She glanced over at the person she was driving to the hospital hoping his problem is not more than a mild concussion with his head suspended to the side and his breath evened out as he had fallen asleep.

His sleeping position was a little awkward but Diane was relieved.

"What happened? Did you hit him? Rhea asked in a whisper as they came out of the room where the man was being treated.

" Have you ever known me to be violent?" Diane asked, offended.

"No but it might not be physical maybe with your words" Rhea continued with her unreasonable assumption while laughing at Diane's expression.

"How do you even manage to be a doctor? Your way of thinking is out of this world"Diane asked, striking back at her unreasonable friend and got a scowl in response.

" Are you sure you earned your degree the right way?" Diane continued to take jabs at her.

"No, I stole the degree. You little naughty girl" Diane replied.

"He is just a stranger, I don't know anything about him. Can I go home now if you don't need me anymore doctor?" Diane said with exhaustion, stopping any further assumption from her wild friend.

"Are you sure he is just a stranger because he looks so hot?" Rhea asked again, ignoring Diane's killing gaze and deciding to indulge in her novelty imaginations.

"Rhea do you like him?" Diane asked, suddenly catching Rhea unprepared.

"No!, why would you think of something as absurd as that" Rhea replied laughing nervously.

She had feared that her friend had caught her. She felt drawn to the injured man and couldn't stop staring at him when he was being treated, which was so unusual of her but she just couldn't help it.

Rhea has always been Diane's only close friends since they have known each other while growing up.

Both had career path different and similar.