Chapter Forty-Two

"I thought I was going to die. It was painful."

Groaning four afternoons later with her head against the table, Rita looked like a dried fish, as if she had slept for the past days.

Sipping on her chocolate smoothie, something she had gotten addicted to days prior, Sharlene was as calm as a cucumber, but inside, she was boiling to the seams. 

Madam Sinclair had kept her promise. It had gotten to the point where she dreamed her paperwork had taken revenge on her by eating her alive. 

She felt shivers go up her spine just thinking of that.

"How? But it has only been a week?"

It was Janice who had asked this innocent question after she had swallowed her soothing ice cream.

"A week in hell."

Crying, Rita lifted her head from the table to take another sip of her apple and grape smoothie. 

"How is that even possible?"

She murmured while contemplating the thought. Such a precious and kind girl did not know how much Sharlene and Rita had to endure between two polar opposite 'perfectionists' for the week.

"What a pain."

Sharlene sighed after removing the straw from her mouth.

"A pain indeed."

Rita audibly agreed with a nod. 

"Care to explain?"

Janice inquisitively asked while placing another spoon of ice cream into her mouth. The calm breeze blowing between them made her relaxed and carefree while her eyes looked between the girls with raised eyebrows. It was a sunny Saturday, and as the girls had promised each other, they had met to enjoy the entire day with each other. 

After coming from watching a movie and then having breakfast in an affordable but cute and trendy café, the girls had enjoyed the rest of the morning window shopping and buying a few small trinkets that had caught their eyes. 

Now they were in another trendy but peaceful café that had a private open lounge area, where friends could hang out while feeling the wind on their skin and hearing the wind chimes tinkling sounds resonating around them. 

They had just arrived but did not hesitate to speak about funny moments when they were young their fears, likes, and dislikes. It had been a fun conversation before their orders came, and then Janice had asked about their week, which they spent working and working and working. 

Still waiting for either of them to respond, she took another spoon from her melting ice cream. 

"Mr. Thomas made me work like a horse when working is already hard as it is."

Rita finally spoke up as she reflected on her interactions with Mr. Thomas.

Humming, Janice hurriedly asked.

"I am guessing he is rejecting your prepositions?"

"More than that, Jan. He does not want to hear any of it. Even Madam Sinclair is getting irritated by his attitude. And to top that off, his arrogance mixed with his handsomeness makes us get the stingy eyes of our colleagues. Why? I have no idea. They have formed a fan group that speaks only about his good qualities if he has any. Sharlene and I found ourselves added to the group without prior notice, and my phone storage is in the red zone with the number of gifs, love hearts, and messages I receive daily. They think he is some angel sent from heaven."

"Wow. Then the number of supports Mr. Thomas had has quadrupled? Does that mean there is a war in the department? You know against him and Madam Sinclair?"

"I hope not. He did stress we were no longer competitors but partners."

Sighing, Rita placed her empty cup on the table. She waved her hands as if to brush the conversation aside. 

"Enough about work. We came here to relax. Besides,"

With a teasing smile, she winked in Jan's direction. 

"Let us get to know each other or learn more about you, Jan."

Blushing as she took another spoon of ice cream into her mouth, Janice shrugged. 

"What more should I talk about?"

"Oh, come on. There must be something former troublemaker Jan can tell us about herself."

Her blush intensified as she placed the emptied cup of ice cream on the table. Clearing her throat to decrease her embarrassment, Jan resembled a ripe tomato.

"Well, I like to write."

"Oh, my, I never saw that coming. What do you write? Fiction, Fantasy, Romance? No. Don't tell me, mm, ah, mystery and thriller? You have that secretive part of you that would make a lovely mystery and thriller writer."

Rita exclaimed, her eyes twinkling as if she had just found her new muse. 

"Actually," Jan shyly spoke while placing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. 

"It is none of the above. Well, maybe you can say Romance. I write the corniest, colorful, and sweetest rom-com stories. You can almost say I am a romance guru."

When she finished, Jan wanted to turn to mush. She was very timid, shy, and sweet. Making friends was never her strongest suit, even if she recently turned 22. She was a complete troublemaker in her young teens, a great contrast to now. 

"That. Is. Excellent! I can't believe I have met someone who also loves writing these stories."

Rita squealed, her hands shooting out to grasp onto her hands.

"As someone who loves to read these stories, I will become your number one fan."

Grinning, Jan was thankful that it brought her to tears, though she rapidly blinked so that they would not see them. 

"I will also read your books, Jan. Just like Rita, reading light romance is a passion I developed."

Sharlene expressed with a lovely smile. Averting her eyes from Jan, Rita's smile broadened. 

"Of course, you will have a passion for them, Shar, because you're living one of them."

A rosy blush adorned Sharlene's face, and she hurriedly denied the fact while turning her attention to her drink.

"I am not, Riri."

"What do you mean, Riri? How is she living in it exactly?"

Jan curiously asked, making the blush on Sharlene's face intensify.

"Oh, innocent and curious Jan, be prepared to be amazed."

Rolling her eyes, Sharlene pouted after moving the straw from within her mouth.

"There is nothing to be amazed about, Jan."

With a smug smile, Rita leaned back into her seat.

"Of course there is. Sharlene is going to get married, Jan."

Brightening up when she heard such, Jan became excited. Just as she was a sucker for Romance, marriage was her second admiration since it was a beautiful affair done by those who loved and cherished each other, though not all the time. But she was not discouraged.

"Wow. Congratulations, Shar."

"Thank you, Jan."

Appreciative of her interest, Sharlene's blush intensified if it could. She looked like if her blush grew deeper, she would explode like a volcano.

"But that is not all, Jan. Remember the name Nick?"

Humming, with a hand underneath her chin, as she thought of where she heard the name, her eyes sparkled when she exclaimed. 

"Yes. You mentioned it when we entered the elevator a few days ago."

With a cheeky grin, Rita continued. 

"That I did. Well, he is going to be Sharlene's husband."

"Oh. He sounds like a decent guy."

As if she was high on endorphins, Rita enjoyed a bit too much, expressing her love for sappy Romance. 

"He is not just a decent guy, but the decent guy. Handsome too. The epitome of male perfection."

Jan was slightly intimidated by that, but in a good way, if that made sense. 

"Ah, he sounds like someone important."

"He is. Don't mention filthy rich."

"Someone with taste?"

Jan questioned with a nervous chuckle, for Rita looked as if she was possessed while explaining those things.

"Indeed. Very, very handsome."

"Oh, come on, Riri. You are scaring her with that creepy gaze you are giving her," glancing every which way, for she was getting nervous, Sharlene cleared her throat. 

"And tell her already. It's not like it's a secret."

She returned to sipping her drink, though she was shier than when she heard Nick's name.

"Look at how she is blushing after I mentioned his name. Isn't she cute?"

Rita teasingly gushed, but Sharlene brushed her comment aside with a huff, though she was affected inside.

"I tell you, Jan. That is the third time I have seen my best friend blush like a firecracker. Not even in high school when the hottest guys had asked her out. She was not very good with these confessions and yet single-handedly broke their hearts by saying no."

"Please don't mention those embarrassing times, Riri. I already told you my face might have been neutral, but my knees were shaking."

Sharlene murmured, but Rita ignored her.

"If she could turn to a poodle of water in front of Nick, she would."

Groaning, for she could take no more of the blushing and interestingly inspired Jan, Sharlene stood.

"I am going to the washroom."

"Of course. By the time you are back, Jan should have all the information about everything that went down between you and Nick."

Rita confidentially murmured, her eyes twinkling with glee. 

Sharlene hurriedly left with a huff towards the bathroom, but she was not angry, more like shy. Watching her until she was out of sight, Rita quickly turned her attention to Jan.

"Anyway, as I was saying..."

Mumble, grumble, unnecessary, but durable hand gestures and suspense later, Jan was astonished at the information given. A moment given to let it sink in, she hurriedly grabbed her purse and dug the contents for her prized notepad. Placing it on the table, she flicked the ball off the bed and glanced up at Rita. 

She smiled.

"Now, I want you to repeat everything you said, but a bit slower because Sharlene and Mr. Ross should be the characters in my new story."

Crackling, Rita rubbed her hands together.

"Gladly. I cannot wait to read it when it's complete. By the way, what will you name it? Will it have a corny name like every other sappy Romance?"

"Of course. I have the perfect name in mind. Now proceed."