A Stroll

CHAPTER 4... A Stroll

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

It was almost seven in the evening when Jazmine woke up. She stepped into her spa-like bathroom and enjoyed a hot water bath. After that, she changed into a pair of sweatpants and stepped out of the house.

She had promised herself an evening tour of Chicago when she landed, and she was going to do just that. After all, Rhea wanted a documentary of Chicago, and she was the one to do the job.

Hands in her sweatshirt pocket, a pair of earphones for some cool music, she strolled along the pedestrian slowly, making sure to keep in mind her way home. It was her first time in Chicago, and getting lost was definitely not in her to-do list.

Jazmine came to a stop in front of a restaurant. It looked simple and classy, so she decided to go in. There was an empty seat by the glass window, and she sat there. From there, she could see the roads clearly as she relaxed. A waiter came afterward, and she placed an order for a cup of chocolate coffee and some blueberry muffin cake.

While she was waiting, a young lady approached her table with a smile on her face.

"Hi, can I sit here?" The lady asked, and Jazmine nodded with a faint smile, watching as the woman made herself comfortable.

"I'm Lara. Lara Vermont," the lady introduced herself. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you, I just had a bit of a problem."

Jazmine shook her head. "It's okay. I'm Jazmine, nice to meet you, Lara."

"Can I help you? Your problem?" Jazmine asked, offering to help.

Lara smiled faintly and shook her head.

"I just needed a place to lay low for a few minutes. At least until he leaves."

"He?"

"My boyfriend," Lara answered with a small shrug. "I came out with someone else, his brother. So, I can't let him see us."

"Oh, I understand."

Jazmine's eyes grew wide, looking at the woman in silence. She had been cheating on her boyfriend with his brother, yet she said it so casually.

A while later, the waiter delivered Jazmine's order. She politely requested for it to be packaged, saying that she had something urgent to do.

It was a lie; she just did not want to be around the lady. Everything about her screamed trouble, and that was the one thing Jazmine desperately wanted to avoid.

The waiter got back to the kitchen and packaged the cake and coffee. A few moments later, he returned and handed the paper bag to her, paid her bills, and stood up to leave.

She turned to Lara with a smile.

"I'd take my leave now, Miss Vermont."

Lara nodded and pulled out a black card from her purse. She handed it to Jazmine.

"Do reach out to me, thank you, Jazmine."

Jazmine took a look at the card.

Lara Vermont, Legal Affairs, it read in block letters. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Hope we meet again," Lara called behind her.

'Hopefully not,' Jazmine thought to herself.

When she arrived at her apartment, she changed into her pajamas, took her cake, and crashed on the couch in front of the TV.

As she watched, she munched on her cake and took her hot coffee. Not much was on her mind, just how empty the house was, and how lonely she was feeling.

...if only Rhea and her mom were here...

After binge-watching for hours, Jazmine turned off the TV. She took another shower and crashed into the bed. She did not want to be late to work on her 'first day'. After all, she had a feeling the morning was going to be long and very interesting.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Jazmine woke up at the breaking of dawn. The sun was just waking up, and so was she. The only source of light in the dim room came from the little spaces among the window curtains.

Standing up, she yawned and stretched before turning on the bedside lamp and walking off to the bathroom.

A quick shower, little —more like invisible— makeup, and coffee for breakfast, she was out of her 'very comfortable' apartment fifty-five minutes later. She didn't want to paint a bad picture of herself on the very first day of her work.

Today, she was going to begin a new job at the Sylvian Co. Not just any random company, but the Sylvian Co. The Sylvian companies, for the last thirty years, according to her research a few nights ago, had held the coveted title of Chicago's biggest and largest company. Recent records even showed that the company's income had massively tripled in the last four years.

The media went on to depict the CEO, Austin Sylvian, as a business god who held every other person in the business world at his fingertips. According to them, he made the rules in the business world, and others followed at the unbelievable age of twenty-nine.

Jazmine grabbed her white bag, picked to match the dazzling white color of her crisp white shirt and the grey-colored, pencil, knee-length skirt she would be wearing. She grabbed her framed glasses and slid them on her face before walking out and locking the house securely.

The company building was just around the corner across the street. Jazmine covered the distance in a short while and came to a standstill before the tall building.

She threw her head back, shielding her eyes from the sun with the back of her palm as she read the words that were boldly written at the far top of the skyscraper:

SYLVIAN CO.

A nervous sigh escaped her lips. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Jazmine summoned up her remaining courage and walked into the enormous and nerve-wracking glass door.

Her heels kissed the marbled floor noiselessly until she came to stop before the receptionist's table. Behind the solid wooden table, a perfectly dressed blonde sat with a pleasant smile on her face. She stood up when Jazmine reached the table.

"Hello," Jazmine greeted, returning one of her own signature smiles. "I'm here to see Mr. Sylvian."