Page 4 of Yours, Truly

“Did you pick up an alcoholic trait in Barcelona?” she teased, a little more abrupt than playful. Her mood changed more than the weather.

“Something like that.” I smiled, taking the straw in my mouthand sipping the sugary concoction. “These are amazing.” I pointed to them coming across a little excited, just a little tipsy.

“Okay. So how was your trip?” she asked, taking me by surprise. Another out of character trait for her; she never asked me anything about myself or my day unless she wanted to place judgement or meddle. Maybe it was the cocktails finally loosening up that tight-ass personality to make her a little more human.

“Yeah, it was good.” I couldn’t hide the smirk on my lips as I took another sip of my cocktail trying to hide the reason for my smile, not wanting to blush to give myself away. I didn’t want to disclose the reason for my glowing self as I knew I couldn’t trust Brie; she would use this to my destruction.

“Good? Just good! Well, you had a better night than me if it wasgood!” And there she was, back in her self-absorbed bubble beginning to rant again.

I could finally ignore her after the amount of cocktails I had consumed. I closed my eyes leaning back against the stack of sea blue towels that served as a pillow, as I sipped more of my drink, playing the trip back in my mind as if I was watching a movie. I no longer counted down the moments until I could go home and avoid Brie’s whining; I was in pure bliss with my drink and my memories.

Returning to work on Monday gave me a wakeup call. I loved my job and I couldn’t imagine life without it. Afterthe brush of luxury I had encountered in Barcelona, I suddenly craved that lifestyle, that feeling of empowerment. It was an eye opener, that there was another side of life if only I worked hard enough, worked more and made myself into a girl boss.

I decided to re-evaluate my life. I wanted my own business; my own marketing company. That was going to be my 5-year goal. I would work closely with Angelina using her as a mentor to give me the most chance of success. Networking and making sure I attended more work or clients events to build a solid base. I already had the marketing skills but I could enhance them.

I decided that maybe reading an extra book a month purely on marketing concepts and attending more seminars would be the way to go. But I knew I needed to control the anxiety that could pop out at any second, spiralling my vision out of control. I wanted to feel powerful, sexy and like the kind of woman I felt on my short trip. I didn’t need a man to give me everything, I could do this myself and prove my sister wrong, that I could be successful and have any man Iwanted,not needed.

The rest of the week consisted of the same old low-key meetings with more marketing drafts, even the client I was due to meet in Barcelona contacted our firm apologising incessantly. He sent gifts to the office; luxury gifts to make up for his absence. He sent me a personal hamper with luxurious wines from his brand; red, white and rosé, accompanied by chocolates and a voucher for a weekend away for two in his private villa that he rented out beside acres of vineyards. He evenreimbursed the company for all my expenses. The client decided to go ahead and sign the contract with us anyway, video calling a meeting with Jennifer to fine tune the details, he was so impressed with our dedication.

This was a big deal for our company, making us able to expand and grow. Being thrown into an obsessive work mode wasn’t a bad thing as it kept me satisfied. However, in the quiet moments of my day I would find myself in my own world thinking about the stranger, thinking about his cockiness, his hands, his lips, his chuckle and I wondered if this was something that would eventually pass. Aside from that, life just resumed.

4

A REMINDER OF YOU

After the week at work since my return, I was glad it was finally the weekend. I couldn't wait to spend the evening with my best friend Ivy; it was our monthly reunion. Since university, we agreed that one Saturday a month we would meet up to have dinner; plan a day thing or hang out with takeaway and wine to just to catch up. No matter what life threw at us or how busy it got, we kept our promise. When she started dating Jude we stuck to our commitment, and even more so after Kyle and I broke up over a year ago. We weren’t going to be those girlfriends who didn't see each other once we settled. We were sisters by choice, our bond unbreakable. It also meant that I spent more time with Ivy than my own family.

I spent the afternoon tidying the apartment then unpacking the neglected suitcase from the trip. Angelina insisted I keep everything for my troubles, she knew I’d had plans instead of the meeting but the fact I had sacrificed them for work wouldn’t go unnoticed. I removed the scrunched up blackdress from the case.

As my hand made contact with the material, flashbacks of my night with the stranger projected in my mind. His hands, those dimples, his lips on my skin. A mild trace of his cologne imprinted on the fabric heightened my senses, a subtle musky scent that harmonised with his voice. I unravelled the dress to place it on a hanger, ready to take to the dry cleaners in the morning.

I was startled as something weighty clunked on the ground in front of me. I looked down, catching a glimmer of the silver metal; it was a Rolex. My heart leaped in my chest. I was afraid to touch it, as if it was going to burn me. I had inadvertently stolen his watch and it wasn’t a cheap watch either.

I threw the dress on the bed, bending down slowly to retrieve it. It was hidden within the material of my dress, it must have gotten lost when things heated up and I must have scooped it up as I rushed to pack. I rolled the band between my fingers as I examined it looking for some kind of clue, an engraved name or something so I could at least try and return to the owner. But there was nothing, not one scratch or dent. Just the hands flawlessly rotating on the clock face. I pictured it around his wrist that night at the bar as he lifted his whiskey glass to hide his smirking lips. My mind raced as I thought about those lustful chocolate eyes running over me, making me melt in the process, giving me flashbacks of the evening's events. This watch was a tiny token to prove he wasn't a dream; he was real, the moment was real.

The doorbell blasted through the apartment startling me from my thoughts. I had lost track of time, forgetting that Ivy was coming over. Quickly, I placed the watch on my bedside cabinet before closing the bedroom door and greeting Ivy. The petite, overexcited woman pulled me in for a constricted hug. I missed her so much and once a month seemed like a long time between meet ups.

Ivy was the positive ray of sunshine you needed in your life, she always knew how to cheer you up when you were down and she just radiated goodness wherever she went. Her heart was pure and even though she came from a rich family and worked incredibly hard for her own success, she remained humble.

She danced past me into my kitchen to pull some glasses out of the cupboard as I seized the chilled wine from the fridge. Ivy knew her way around my apartment a lot more than I did. To be fair when I moved in shedidorganise the whole place; she was obsessed with Home Organisation videos. She instructed me to pour generously before we made our way to the couch to settle and start our monthly run down of events.

It was the same routine before we decided to eat or get the evening started, kind of like a breather. Her caramel curls bounded as she leapt onto the couch to face me, her sapphire eyes meeting mine. Ivy’s energy tonight was all over the place, she was bouncing off the walls more than usual, like she was bursting to tell me something. She placed our wine glasses on the small coffee table, turning her body fully to face me so wecould focus on the conversation.

“So,” she began, “Oh, I can't wait any longer,” she squealed, her voice matched her energy and she spoke so fast I couldn’t keep up. I gave her a confused look before she held out her left hand towards me. And that’s when I saw it on her delicate slender hand, a diamond illuminating her finger. It was so sparkly that I was surprised I hadn’t noticed it sooner. My hand flew up to my mouth covering the loud gasp.It finally happened!

“Oh. My. God,” I stuttered out in shock, meeting her eyes, my grin so wide I felt like the Cheshire cat. She squealed again in excitement.

“I know! Oh Gi, I have been dying to tell you but I wanted to tell you in person. I haven’t been wearing my ring or telling anyone as I wanted to tell you first!” Her eyes welled up, she was so happy and I was so ecstatic for her that my emotions mirrored hers. I was so touched that she wanted to tell me before everyone else,that she hadn’t displayed her news like I probably would have, just out of excitement.

“Congratulations, I am so happy for you,” I smiled, tearing up even more. I grabbed her for another tight embrace to stop myself from blubbering like a baby. I wanted to hear this whole story but before that I snatched her hand back to admire the ring. The rock was enormous compared to her dainty fingers, nails freshly painted. A white gold band complete with an oval diamond, no bigger than a teardrop.Jude has chosen well, it’s exactly what Ivy said she wanted.

“Tell me everything,” I said, offering her rosé back from the table as I took mine, encouraging us to take thefirst sip of the gifted luxury beverage as she spilled the romantic story of the proposal.

After the story, Ivy presented me with an eggshell gift bag, her eyes glistened as she watched me reveal its contents. Inside was a miniature card covered in tiny pink hearts with a gold engraved proposal on the front'Will you be my maid of honour?'and inside she had handwritten a cute sentimental message.Keep it together Gi… No crying. I pulled out a Pandora box containing a silver necklace and earring set with baby blue stones embedded. I couldn’t control my emotions and the tears fell before I could stop them. I sniffed, taking a breath to compose myself and appreciating that Ivy had really thought about this gesture.

“Will you?” she asked, studying my reaction. I nodded as more tears slipped down my cheek, she wiped them away laughing before she joined in. Her tears started to flow and before we knew it, we didn’t know if we were crying at this moment or laughing at each other.

“Oh, Iv, of course I will.” I sobbed. She hugged me close, planting a kiss on my cheek.

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