"Hello?"
"Hi! This is Keller Ellis from Callista Talent Agency, may I speak to Astra Briana Cyrene please?"
"Yes. Of course! This is Astra, how are you?"
"I'm doing well, and yourself?"
"I'm good."
"Great, and thank you for asking. I'm calling to inform you that after some consideration we have decided to hire you as Will's assistant. When can you start?"
"I-I can start immediately," I say, barely containing my excitement.
"Why don't you come in tomorrow morning? That way we can knock out the paperwork and then you can start on Monday."
"Yes! Thank you so much. I will do my best Mr. Ellis."
"Please, call me Keller. We're going to be working together now."
"Of course, Keller. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I really appreciate it."
"Have a wonderful day Astra."
"Thank you, you too!"
After hanging up, I look over to Dillon.
"Well?"
I pause for a second and look down. Then I smile as I tell him.
"I got the job."
"YES!" He shouts while pumping his fist in the air.
All eyes in the cafe are now on us.
"Ssshhhh," I say, trying to quiet him. "Quiet down. We don't want to draw any attention."
He gives me a sheepish smile. Grabbing his coffee, he makes a toast.
"Here's to you, for getting the job!"
"And to making new friends," I say with a smile of my own.
Across the street, my new bosses are having a conversation.
"You sure you want to hire her? Though Astra seems like a nice girl, there are plenty of candidates that are way way more qualified than she is?"
Will takes a sip of his drink then, stares into it as he speaks.
"You know, there were a lot of people who said I wouldn't make it in Hollywood. That I didn't have the right look, or that I wasn't qualified enough. All it took was one person giving me a chance, and look at where I am now."
"You don't happen to like the girl, do you?" Keller says with a smirk.
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course, I don't like her. I just think that this is a rare opportunity for both of us. One that I'm going to take advantage of," he says a wicked grin developing on his face.
"You're still hung up on what happened between the two of you earlier?"
"Never in my life has anyone disrespected me in such a way! I was completely humiliated this morning, and it's her fault!"
"So it's not your fault that you bumped into her?"
"It. Was. An. Accident," Gritting his teeth as he says it.
"But Will, doesn't that mean that you weren't paying attention to your surroundings?" Keller says while snickering.
"I said it was an accident and that is that!"
"And because of this accident, you want revenge?"
"Not revenge. I just want to make her feel how she made me feel this morning. That's all."
"Sounds like revenge to me."
"Anything else on my schedule today?" He says quickly changing the subject.
"No, we cleared out the whole day for the interviews."
Finishing his drink in one swig, Will grabs his jacket and starts walking towards the door.
"I'm going home for the day. Unless someone's dead or dying, don't call me."
"Just don't give her too much of a hard time!"
After Will walks out the door, Keller pours himself a drink and looks out the window. Seeing a beautiful view of a Los Angeles Summer, he takes a sip and thinks to himself.
"He usually has such a cold personality. Hopefully, she can bring some light to his world."
Back at the coffee shop, Dillon and I are still talking when I look at my watch and see what time it is.
"Good gravy Dillon, it's 3 pm already! Have we really been talking for four hours? I've got to get going, and you should probably go and face the music."
"Ugh! Do I have to?" he asks petulantly.
Giggling, I tell him.
"If you don't go and deal with it now it's only going to get worse."
"Fine, but let's exchange numbers in case she finally does kill me."
Looking at my phone, he sees that I saved him as Little Brother.
"Hey, you're 23, and I'm 28. That means that I'm the older brother, and you're my little sister!"
Grinning as he says this, I tell him.
"That may be so, but women are known to mature faster than men. This means that emotionally, I'm your big sister."
"But being five years older than you, I have more life experience so that clearly makes up for the maturity thing."
"Yes but, it takes 11 more years for a man to fully mature than it does a woman. So even with your life experience, you're still six years behind me, kid."
"Mark my words, one of these days I'll show you I'm the wiser one!"
"I look forward to it," I say as I pat his head.
"Well, little brother, this is where we part ways".
"Hey, I just thought of something. Do you have any plans tomorrow night?"
"No. Why?"
"The company's holding an event tomorrow night and I could use a plus one. Only as friends, of course! And it'll be a great opportunity to meet people within the company before you officially start working".
"Why not. It'll be fun, but I'll only do it if you buy me a dress".
"Deal."
We shake on it while giggling. Then, we go our separate ways - him back to the agency, and me, to the garage where I parked my car. Ever since what happened all those years ago, I get nervous when I go to garages, especially when I'm by myself. I put my keys between my fingers in one hand and hold my pepper spray in the other as I start walking in the garage. It's creepy, even during the day. There's no one in here except the security guard. Feeling like someone is watching me, I walk briskly to my car just wanting to get out of here. Once I get to it, I quickly check under the car and in the backseat to make sure no one is there. Seeing that the car is clear, I fumble with my keys to unlock the car. Once it's open, I immediately get in and lock the doors. Feeling like I can't breathe, I think of the exercise my therapist wants me to try this week.
I rate my anxiety. It's eight. Placing my feet flat on the floor, I then take a few deep breaths in and out. I look and see four windows and four air vents. Feeling the seat that I'm on it's soft and smooth with ridges where the seams meet. Looking at my pants and shoes, I see they're grey and black respectively. I try to think of the next step, but I can't remember it. I feel like there's a jawbreaker lodged down my throat and an elephant on my chest. I see flashbacks of what he did to me as if I was there all over again. Crying out, I realize today's not going to be a good day after all.
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After calming down, I look at my phone and see it's been 45 minutes since I've left the coffee shop. I'm still shaking as I look in the mirror and see my makeup has run. Since it's already ruined anyway, I grab some makeup removing wipes from the glovebox and start wiping it off. Breathing deeply, I wipe the tears from my eyes and start the car. I decided to go to Laguna Beach on the way to watch the sunset. Being able to enjoy nature has always brought me a sense of peace. On the way, I stop and get a burger with just ketchup, fries, and a chocolate milkshake with a fudge swirl from a fast food place that is popular with the locals. I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving.
After walking down the white sandy beach for a few minutes, I find the perfect place to plop myself. As I eat my food, I watch the sun setting over the blue water and the seals resting on the rocks. Listening to the sound of the waves crashing brings me a sense of calm. I'm finished with my food, and I'm sipping on my milkshake when I feel my phone buzzing. I look at it and see my best friend is video calling me. I put in my headphones before answering. She has a flowy yellow sundress draped across her statuesque body, making her green eyes pop. Her blonde curls are flowing, and her face is bare of makeup as always. She doesn't need it anyway. Surrounded by an array of plants, she looks like a flower fairy.
"Hey, Ella."
"Hey chicky, how are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"Great! I got a new plant today! Wanna see?"
"Sure".
"It's an echeveria blue prince ..."
I listen as she goes on about her other plants with a smile on my face. She's just a ray of sunshine.
"Enough about me and my plants. How are you doing, chicky?"
"I'm ok."
"Are you really?"
With a heavy sigh, I tell her.
"Honestly, today has been an emotional roller coaster."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Of course! You know I tell you everything."
I proceed to tell her everything. About taking my now boss' shirt, meeting Dillon, and the panic attack I had earlier.
"You don't need a milkshake. You need a drink! And a strong one at that!"
"I wish," I say with a chuckle.
"How did the exercise that your therapist give you work out? Did it help at all?"
"Not really. I couldn't remember all the steps, and it just took over."
"Damn, chicky! I was really hoping this one would work out."
"You and me both. It is what it is. I'll let her know what happened and see if we can work on it."
"If you want, next time you go to the garage we can talk on the phone while you walk to your car."
"That would be amazing. Thank you so much."
"I'm really proud of you, Astra. I know this must be really hard for you to do, but you're trying. You amaze me."
"I miss you, Ella."
"I miss you too, Astra."
"You know what I also miss? Sweet tea, kolaches, breakfast tacos, and decent queso. Oh my gosh, I miss queso!"
Giggling, she tells me.
"All the more reason you should hurry up and get your butt down here."
"I know. Once I get my first paycheck, I'll start planning my next trip back home. I promise."
After chatting a little bit more, she decides to rearrange some of her plants, so we end the call. Looking at the sun, I realize I need to get home. The last thing I want to do is have to be out at dark. I used to love staying out at night and gazing at the stars. They look like diamonds on black velvet. Ever since him though, that changed. The dark just feels like something is lurking in it, waiting for me.
Shaking my head at the thought, I get up, and I'm about to start walking when I see someone who looks familiar. He's wearing a navy blue sleeveless t-shirt with white basketball shorts and a matching baseball cap. As he gets closer, I see his tanned athletic body gleaming with sweat. He has a cool look set on his face as if he's untouchable. Suddenly it clicks. I do know him. It's William! I frantically look for a place to hide, but there's nothing in sight but sand and water. I look away hoping he won't see me.
"Fancy seeing you here."
Not expecting anyone to be there, I let out a shout as I turn around. I see William standing behind me, giving me an arrogant look.
"Mr. Wang, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I just wanted to tell you to be careful with that shirt. It's my favourite, and I'd hate to see you ruin it."
"If you're that concerned about me ruining your shirt, why don't we switch?"
"I'm sorry what?"
"I'm just saying, since you seem to value the shirt I'm wearing so much why don't we switch?"
"Ok."
"Ok, what?"
"Ok, I really like that shirt so let's switch. Right now."
He takes his shirt off without a care and tosses it to me. Not willing to back down, I take it. I start taking the shirt off, and a look of panic crosses his face.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm giving you your shirt back. This is what you wanted, is it not?"
"I asked you to give me my shirt back. Not give a show to all of Laguna Beach".
As I take the shirt off, he covers his eyes. What he doesn't see is the tank top I'm wearing underneath the shirt.
"Ms. Cyrene, what you're doing is completely inappropriate and borderline harassment."
I giggle as I put his shirt on.
"You can open your eyes now".
Moving his hand, he sees that true to my word, I'm wearing his t-shirt, and I'm holding out his button-down. With a flush on his face, he can barely look me in the eye. While handing him the shirt, I look at him and realize what a powerful body he has.
"Enjoying the view?"
Turning up my southern charm, I tell him.
"Why, yes. The sunset today is so beautiful it's as if God himself took a paintbrush to the sky. Unfortunately, there's an annoying bug that keeps ruining my ambience. I'm thinking about squishing it. What do you think, Mr. Wang?"
"You-!"
"Well, as much as I've enjoyed your company, I'm afraid I'm out of time. You have a blessed day, Mr. Wang."
Skipping happily down the beach, I realize I almost forgot my milkshake. As I turn around to get it, I see that William has it in his hand. Don't you dare? Looking me dead in the eye, he takes a sip of my precious chocolate fudge milkshake and then gives me a grin.
"Taste's great! Make sure to bring me one Monday morning!"
"Yes, Mr. Wang," I say while sulking.
Mark my words, I will avenge you, my precious milkshake.
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