How to find a new job

"Rachel, do you take Isaac to be your husband?"

It was a bright sunny day. The birds seems to be singing on top of the trees. The park was filled with people, some were jogging, some were having a picnic with their love ones, there were even some people who kept on feeding the ducks on the pond even with the "Do not feed the ducks" sign. One might describe it as a beautiful day. Everyone would agree except for one Rachel Silva. For Rachel it was the worst day of her life.

With one small box in her hand, Rachel was walking through the park. The box was full of her stuff from the office. The beauty and cheeriness of her surroundings was not enough to counter her gloomy state. Who wouldn't be sad if they were in her place? She just got fired from her previous job. It wouldn't have been much of a big deal if she didn't have bills to pay. She didn't even like that job in the first place. The one good thing about it was that it has a salary that was enough to pay her bills. She didn't get fired because she was terrible at her job though. She wasn't the best in her job but if asked, Rachel might admit that she was at least decent at it. Unfortunately there were some budget cuts and the company had to let some employees go. They only kept their best employees which unfortunately Rachel was not.

After a few moments of walking, Rachel decided to sit down on a bench near the fountain. She put down the box beside her and looked up at the sky. The sky was still bright blue even though it’s in the afternoon already. She closed her eyes to think.

“What am I gonna do now?” She exhaled exasperatedly to herself. She takes the reality of losing her job, her only source of income to pay for her needs. Sure she didn’t like working there but at least the pay was decent. How is she going to pay for her bills now?

In all honesty, Rachel isn’t really that much in trouble from losing her job. She has some money in her savings that she could use as a safety net to last her a month at most. However, even though that was the case, Rachel still can’t help but get worried about it. What if her savings runs out before she even got a new job? Rachel couldn’t help but get worried of the future.

A sudden ring from her phone snaps Rachel’s eyes open and out of her overthinking. She takes the phone from her pocket and she sees the caller ID. It was her mom. She answers it immediately.

”Hey mom.” She greeted, trying her best to hide her frustration. She failed.

”Hey honey, you okay? You seem stressed. Is this a bad time?” Her mom asked, obviously recognizing her mood even through the phone.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Don’t worry.”

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah mom."

”Alright if you say so,” her mom responded.

”What’s up? Why’d you call?” Rachel asked. It wasn’t like this was a surprise call. Rachel’s mom would call her from time to time to check on her. However her mom usually calls on the evening.

”Your cousin asked me to remind you about the RSVP for his wedding. He said you haven’t responded yet.” Rachel’s mom explained.

Rachel facepalmed in frustration. She totally forgot about the invitation. Her cousin Trevor was getting married the next month and he sent her the invitation a few weeks ago. She hasn’t responded yet.

”Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that, sorry. I’ll do it later when I get home.”

”It’s alright honey. I’ll tell him.”

”Yeah, thanks mom,” Rachel sighed as she closed her eyes.

”So are we gonna meet your mysterious boyfriend at the wedding?” Rachel’s mom asked in a gossipy tone.

Rachel’s flew open. She completely forgot about that too. To give some background on the subject, every time her parents would call her they would usually asked her about her love life. She would usually answer them vaguely in order to hide the fact that she doesn’t really have one. It didn’t stop them though, her parents continued grilling her about it. It went on for a few months until Rachel told them she finally got a boyfriend. She didn’t really give them much details about her “boyfriend” and she thought that her parents would eventually just forget about it. She was clearly wrong.

“Oh I don’t know. I haven’t really told him about it,” Rachel laughed nervously.

”Tell him then. You’ve been dating a few months, we want to meet him.”

”Yeah, I’ll try, but I’m not even sure if he’ll be free then.” Rachel tried to reason.

”Alright alright, but tell him. Your dad and I are dying to meet this guy.”

”I know mom, I will. I gotta go now, sorry.”

”Alright honey, take care.”

”Yeah, you too.” After that Rachel hanged up the phone. She put her phone in her pocket and buried her face in her hands. She didn’t tell her mom about getting fired from her job and on top of that she has to find a “boyfriend” to bring to the wedding. She was in such a mess.

”I need a drink.”

Rachel gathered her things and stood up from the bench. With the box in her hands, she walked a little more through the park towards her car. She likes to park there because it was close to her work. She usually walks through the park first before going to work.

Once she got in her car, she drove off into the city. A few minutes of driving and she arrived at her destination. She got off the car and headed inside the establishment. The bar was the same one she and her friends used to go to when they were in college. The place wasn’t as lively as she remembers when she arrived, obviously due to the fact that she was there on an afternoon. There were only a few people inside.

Rachel took a seat just across the bartender who was mixing a drink. After he finished, he slides the drink towards a man seating a few seats from Rachel. When he comes back, he gives Rachel a smile, “Hey Rachel, little early for drink are we?”

She didn’t return his smile but instead just gave him an annoyed look. "Just give me my usual Todd." The bartender raised his hands in defeat and proceeded to make a drink for her. Rachel has been a regular at this bar since college. She and her friends would usually go out to this bar whenever they can. Todd wasn't a bartender then. It was only a couple of years ago that Todd started working in the bar. However, Todd and Rachel go way back. They first met when they were in high school. Rachel slipped during lunch and accidentally spilled all of her food on Todd. He didn't really get mad at her. They became friends after that. They kind of lost contact after high school but reconnected when Todd started working at the bar.

After he finished making her drink, Todd slid a colorful liquid in front of Rachel. "One tequila sunrise for the lady."

"Thanks." Rachel replied, taking a sip from her drink.

"So, wanna tell me what's wrong?" Todd asked as he wiped the counter.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"You're drinking alcohol at a bar in the afternoon. Something's clearly wrong." He gave emphasis on the afternoon.

"So? What's wrong with that? A lot of people drink in the afternoon." Rachel defended, taking another sip from her drink.

"Maybe, but not you."

Rachel sighed in defeat, "Ugh fine. I just got fired."

Todd gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah. And then I lied to my parents about having a boyfriend so now they wanna meet him. I’m in such a mess.”

Todd didn’t exactly know how to respond to that. Luckily a customer on the other side of the counter called for. He excused himself before serving the customer.

Rachel finished her drink and kept sulking in her chair. Right behind her, there was a man who was talking on his phone. His voice was a little bit loud towards the end of the phone call right before he hanged up, which was how Rachel overheard what he said.

”Where would I find someone in such short notice who’s actually willing to do it?”

Rachel’s eyes immediately lit up. She figured the man could be talking about a certain job and she was definitely willing to apply for it. She spun around in her chair towards the man, “Are you looking for someone to do a job?”

The man was started with Rachel’s question. He turned to her and pointed to himself, silently asking if she was actually talking to him. Both their eyes grew wide when they looked at each other. They immediately recognized one another.

”I know you.” Rachel pointed at him. Even though she recognized the face, Rachel can’t seem to remember the man’s name. She kept snapping her fingers trying to remember. “You, you’re... Wait I know it, it’s got an s or z or something.”

”It’s Isaac.” The man finally said.

”Yes Zack, see I remembered.”

“Hello Rachel.” Isaac greeted her flatly.

”Hey.” Rachel greeted back with a small wave.

Rachel and Isaac knew each other from college. They went to the same university and actually have the same degree. They met on one of the mixer parties. One of Rachel’s friends also dated a friend of Isaac’s for a few months. When the two of their friends were dating, they would usually bring their respective group of friends whey they go out, including Rachel and Isaac.

Isaac was about to turn his attention back to his phone again when Rachel stood up from her chair and went to sit across him. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you looking for someone to take a job?”

”Why? You looking for something?” Isaac raised his eyebrows at him.

”Yeah I’m looking for something. So what is it? The job.”

Isaac didn’t reply immediately. Rachel noticed him avoiding eye contact with her. He seemed uneasy. “What’s wrong?” Rachel asked. He still didn’t respond. A sudden realization came to her. She gasped. “Wait is it a job like in 50 shades?”

”What? No!” Isaac glared at her. Rachel raised her hands in apology. She didn’t leave though, she stayed seated across Isaac still waiting for him to say anything.

They both stared at each other, waiting for someone to say something. Eventually Isaac gave up. He sighed, “If you must know, I’m looking for someone to marry me.”

Rachel almost chocked on air when she heard him. “Wha- Why?”

“I just am okay?” Isaac snapped. “Why are you looking for a job anyway?”

”Just got fired.” Rachel shrugged and looked down. “You happen to know where I can find a job?”

This time it was Isaac who shrugged. They both stayed there for a while, sitting silently across each other. Suddenly an idea came in Isaac’s mind. “Wait a minute, what if you marry me?”

Rachel looked at him like he grew a second head, “I’m sorry?”

“Think about it. You’re looking for a job. I’m looking for someone to hire to to be my wife. It’s perfect.”

"Okay wait a minute, let me get this straight, you want me to marry you? And you're willing to pay me for it?"

"Yes. It's a not gonna be a real marriage obviously, and we're only gonna be married for a year, after that we can get divorced."

Rachel frowned at him, clearly trying to process the offer. She shook her head, “Wha- No- Why do you even need a wife anyway?”

Isaac sighed, “My parents are setting me up for an arrange marriage a week from now, and I don’t want to.” Rachel frowned at him, prompting him to continue. ”I figured that if they find out I’m already married they won’t go through with it.”

“Wait hold up, why are they arranging a marriage for you in the first place?” Rachel asked.

”They’re planning a merger with another company through it.”

”Wait, you own a company?” Rachel blinked at his words. Because of the sudden revelation, Rachel looked at Isaac from head to toe, finally acknowledging his appearance. He was wearing a sharp suit and expensive shoes. Rachel gasped, “Are you rich?”

”It’s my parents’ company, and we’re not exactly rich, we’re just comfortable.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him, “That’s exactly what a rich person would say.”

Isaac just shrugged at her. He didn’t seem to have anything more to say so Rachel asked, ”Don’t you have a girlfriend or something? Why hire someone?”

“I don’t know, it’ll be easier I think. Besides, for your information, I don’t have a girlfriend.” Isaac replied and looked away. Rachel didn’t say anything. After not hearing anything from her, Isaac looked at Rachel, who has her arms crossed in her chest. “So are you in?”

Rachel looked back at Isaac as soon as she heard him. She put her hands on the table, leaned in towards him and asked, “What exactly is your plan?”

It took a few moments before Isaac replied, “What do you mean?”

”I mean..." Rachel takes a breath before continuing. "That's it? You're just gonna find a wife, convince your parents and then get divorced after a year?"

"That's the plan, yeah." Isaac answered like it was so obvious. "Are you in?"

"No!" Rachel exclaimed with her hands sprayed out in the open.

"Oh come on. We'll have the perfect cover. We can pretend we met at college and started dating. It’s not gonna look fake since we already knew each other."

"First of all, that is exactly where we met and secondly, how do you know I’m not dating anyone?" Rachel put emphasis on the past part of her statement.

”Are you?” Isaac questioned.

”No.” Rachel answers. “But that’s besides the point.”

Rachel was about to stand up and leave when Isaac stopped her. "Rachel wait, listen for a moment." She stopped and sat back down to listen to him. He continued to convince her, "Do me a favor? As a friend?"

"We're not friends. This is literally the longest time we've ever talked."

"Okay, so we're not friends. But I am willing to pay." Isaac wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"You know I can think of a hundred different ways other ways to do this if I were you." Rachel exclaimed. Isaac just gave her an expressionless look in response. Despite the look, Rachel was curious so she decided to asked. She sighed trying to hide her curiosity, "How much are you willing to pay anyway?"

Isaac smirked at him, "How much do you want?"

An idea formed in Rachel's head. She returned the smirk as she crossed her arms, "Two million."

The smile from Isaac's face disappeared, "Half a million."

"Three."

"One."

"Five."

"Fine! I can go for two." Isaac tried to negotiate.

"Oh no, I want five million now." Rachel's smile grew bigger. She was actually having fun with this.

"No."

"Alright then. I mean I can look for a job, but you, good luck finding a wife in seven days." Rachel leaned back in her chair with a smug look in her face.

Isaac looked away for a moment to decide. He was hesitating. He took a deep breath before saying, "Fine, five million."

Rachel had a surprised expression in her face. She was just playing with him, she wasn't really expecting him to agree. "Wait are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'll pay you five million if you marry me." Isaac offered.

It was now Rachel's turn to hesitate. "I- Wow, I didn't really think you'd agree. You really are desperate huh?"

Isaac just nodded his head at her, "So? Do we have a deal?"

Rachel didn't really expect this. She thought for a moment, trying to weigh out the pros and cons. It was hard for her considering the influence of alcohol in her system. Five million in one year, that was something she could never earn easily with any job she would be able to find any time soon. She's leaning in to accept, it was a great opportunity after all.

"Rachel?" Isaac called to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Rachel looked like she was woken up from a daydream.

Isaac just raised his eyebrow at her. He offered his hand at her to shake. Rachel stared at his hand then at Isaac for a moment before accepting.

"Deal."