Chapter One

Dayne

What is your favorite pasttime?

Me? Daydreaming. Nothing beats some good old fashioned wide-eyed adrenaline-stimulating fantasy. In fact, it is so good that even movies have them daydream sequences. Yep, they do. And admit it or not, they often make you believe that they actually happened, only to be transported back to the "now" scene. Ha!

Daydreaming. Dreaming wide awake of things I like, of a life and a future I would want for myself, for my family and for the people that matter to me. This kind of pasttime has a lot of benefits, and well, like anything else in the universe, some downside, because whether we like it or not, we just can't have it all. There are just some things we cannot have, some place we can't afford to go to, some things we cannot change and some people who won't like or love us the way we would've wanted them to.

But that's just it, these bitter realities make daydreaming even more appealing to me. Because when I'm in that special realm, I am the star of the show, I am in control of my life, I am where I want to be, doing the things I love to do, with the people I want to be doing them with.

And right now, I am indulgently enjoying my cappuccino in my favorite cafe with Norah Jones crooning in the background. And seeing as it is around mid afternoon, not a lot of people are inside the cafe, to my great delight. The ambiance is, [sigh] just perfect. The aroma of the best brewed coffee in the whole wide world filling my nostrils and calming my soul.

But just then, my phone vibrated and The Jonas Brothers' "Only Human" started to play. And I got immediately transported back to my "now" which is an already cold half finished 3-n-1 instant coffee in my chipped yellow minion mug (classy, huh?) while I sit in our office pantry and now stare at my phone with my boss' name flashing angrily and persistently on the screen.

Yep, this is my reality, my "now" scene. "Yes, Ma'am Shelly?" I answered my phone, no longer able to sip even a drop more of my cold coffee as I hurriedly stoop up and scurried in the direction of my boss' office.

I immediately heard my boss' thick and commanding voice, "Where are you?"

Oh shit! Oh shit! "I'm on my way to your office, Ma'am Shelly! Just got some coffee." I was almost running by this time and I'm almost afraid my pencil cut skirt would develop a slit with the strides I was making. Mental noting that I probably should not wear this skirt ever again in the office.

"Okay, hurry. We need to get certain things done ASAP." She hung up before I could even muster an answer. Classic Double "S" phone call ender.

"Just great!" I muttered as I ran as fast as I could to her office.

Well, on second thought, maybe I should lay low on my daydreaming a bit, I would've finished my coffee earlier while it was still hot. "Ugh!"

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Shelly Santos, a.k.a. double "S" around the office, my boss and one of the junior partners of the law firm I work for approached me just as I reached my desk. Wearing her usual confidence and serious face, she spoke.

"Dayne! I need these documents in five sets, arranged per date, and tabbed. I also need the Gonzalez case file. It's set on the 23rd. Contact Mr. Gonzalez and set an appointment on Monday at 9:00 AM. Also make a table on all the properties covered in the Velez case, just the more important data like title numbers, lot sizes, dates of registration, tax declaration numbers and assessed values, and another table for the personalties to make my work faster and easier. So many properties for me to take note of for this estate case. I can't afford to make mistakes." She fired away.

I wrote everything down, nodding as I did so. "Would that be all, Ma'am Shelly?, I asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. Thanks!" Then she walked away. But before she reached the door leading out she stopped and turned saying, "By the way, I need those files before 5:00 PM today. Our clients want the case filed by Monday." Pointing to the stack of documents she first mentioned earlier. "And please send in some coffee. I need my caffeine fix."

"Yes, Ma'am Shelly. One coffee comin' right up."

She nodded and then went out, her stilleto heels clicked clocked on the granite floor. I watched as her slender hips hugged by her skirt, swayed away effortlessly. Double "S" looks way much younger and sexy for her age of 47. She was widowed at 36 without any children. That's why her work is her life now. I kinda feel sad for her. But I also admire her brilliant mind, unwavering dedication to her profession and her drive to succeed and become a senior partner. These same traits however are also why I dread working for her because they make any semblance of a life for me, go up in smoke. Reducing my social life to zero, and any hope for having a love life to zilch.

I inhaled a deep breath, put down my notepad and made my way to the pantry to make her coffee, black with a touch of brown sugar. That's how she likes it.

My mind then became preoccupied at figuring out how to get my work done on time that I did not notice the presence of someone else in the room.