Chapter 3: Sean

Dell arrived in front of her apartment door with sore arms. She hadn't expected the folders to be this heavy. And she had to maneuver the folders and her bag a bit just to get the key to her apartment.

"Got it!" She exclaimed.

The next challenge was to fit the key in the keyhole despite the mountain she had in her arms. Nope, the folders fell from her arms.

"Wow there, neighbor." Someone caught the folders before they fell to the ground. "Looks like someone's bringing work home again." It was her next door neighbor.

"Sean!" Dell exclaimed. "Thanks." She flashed him a smile. Sean Koda was tall and quite handsome. But the part-time commercial model wasn't exactly someone she and her friends considered "a catch." For one, he didn't seem to have much ambition. He did some projects every now and then but he didn't seem to have the drive to really push for more. He would much rather be out hiking or climbing mountains than wait in line for a VTR. Still, even if she had no intention of marrying him, she wasn't against visually take in her fill of the good-looking man.

"You really need to learn to take it easy, Dell."

"Taking it easy is for wimps."

"Ouch!" He knew people thought he didn't take a lot of responsibility.

"Oh I didn't mean... To make you feel bad or anything." It would be a lie to say she didn't think he took it too easily. "But anyway, hard work will take you places. You should really try it sometime."

Dell managed to open her door.

"Not my thing. This wimp is quite happy frolicking outdoors and posing for the camera occasionally."

"Hey, I didn't mean to, you know..." Despite his lack of ambition, Sean was a kind man and the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel that she was putting him down. "I wasn't thinking about my words much."

"This seems heavier than usual," he said, looking at the folders in his arms.

"Ah, I had to leave the bank early today. So that means I'll need to do my afternoon work after the event tonight." Dell took the folders from Sean's arms. "Thanks."

"Oh, Ms Workaholic's going to a party tonight."

He always called her a workaholic. She didn't think she was. She was merely going after what she wanted. "Hey, this workaholic just bagged a multi-million-peso deal today."

"Yeah, baby!" Sean gave her a high-five. "In that case, you deserve to party tonight."

"Oh, it's actually still work."

"What? Dell."

"I got it! I got it! Work-life balance thing. I'll work on it one of these days." She started to step in her apartment while balancing the the folders in her arms.

Sean shook his head as he opened the apartment next door. "Anyway, do try to enjoy yourself at the party a little bit. And wear red lipstick. It makes you look more attractive."

"I look harsh with red lipstick."

"Red lipstick!"

And he shut the door. Dell smiled. She would never admit it out loud but sometimes, she would imagine what life would be like if she did end up marrying someone like Sean. She was about to close her apartment door when her phone let out a sound. She looked at it. It was a message from a man named Tim. It read, "Hey, Dell! Looking forward to see you and the rest of the gang for drinks tonight! See you at our usual spot."

Dell groaned as she rested her head on her doorway. "Drinks with the gang, I forgot!" Then straightening up, she said, "I think I'll just rain check tonight. I'm sure they'll understand."

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