The New Guy; My neighbour

Chapter 1: The meeting

"Venita Holmes?" came the baritone voice of the figure standing before Ashley's reception desk.

Ashley lifted her buried face slowly to meet the intense blue eyes of a tall young man standing in front of the reception desk. She was mentally having the worst day of her life. All the same, she had to keep a positive attitude because, well, she was just the office receptionist, and nobody was interested in her personal problems.

"How may I be of help?" she asked, with a forced smile.
"Are you Venita Holmes?" the young man asked calmly again. 
"No, there is no Venita Holmes in this firm. Kindly reconfirm you have the right address". Ashley didn't have time to beat about the bush.
"Sure." Trevor's eyes searched through his phone with a worried look on his face.
"My bad! It was a 344, not a 444. I am new in this area, so I am still trying to get familiar with addresses around here."
"I see. Just make sure you have the right address next time. People around here are friendly, you can always ask if you miss your way," Ashley replied with a composed demeanour. She didn't want to insinuate that he was dumb for not double-checking the address before asking.
"Thank you," Trevor responded and turned to leave. But he swerved abruptly as he was leaving the office as if he had forgotten something and hurried back over to Ashley's desk.
"By the way, I am Trevor. Just in case we bump into each other some other time."
Not now. Ashley mumbled.
"Ashley, "She responded once again with another phoney smile after a little hesitation.
"Nice to meet you, Ashley."
Ashley wondered why he had such a fast pace. For some strange reason, she thought it was inappropriate for a tall, handsome man. Maybe he was trying to catch up with a schedule. But it was none of her business. She had a lot to tackle already, rather than concern herself with the briskness of an adult. While wallowing in her thoughts, the desk phone chimed and startled her.
"Hello! This is Jose's diet home, and this is Ashley speaking. How may I be of help?"
"I want to cancel my appointment and reschedule," came the voice from the other side of the call.
Why on earth was everyone canceling appointments? What a week of appointment cancellations! Ashley thought.
"All right. Kindly let me know the details of your appointment. Provide your name and email address."
"Karen Clarke, kclarke@onmicrosft.com"
Karen was one of their biggest clients. She had never cancelled appointments before, so it was absurd that she called. And she always called the manager directly, not the office. Her mind combed through recent happenings in her workplace. They have been having such a hard time since the former manager died. The new manager was not bad at all though, Ashley had always thought. She even believed she had better charisma than the former, but old Mr. Greg was such a sweet soul; bless his soul.

Mister Greg had a way of retaining clients and attracting new ones. Maybe it was something with Jane's strong accent that turned customers off or something she just could not figure out as a receptionist. In her over one year of working with the Jose's Diet home, she never encountered a client exit for no reason. But in recent times, they have had five clients exit with no explanation. It was worrisome that Miss Jane seemed not to be bothered about it. Miss Jane has been busy lately, rearranging shelves and changing the entire office décor. Ashley strongly believed Miss Jane had better ways to keep the boat afloat, she was probably just taking her time.
Ashley's mind drifted away again to Jimmy, her ex. It was the shortest relationship she had ever had. Jimmy was an arrogant toad who thought everything revolved around him. Ashley even wondered why it took her so long to break up with him. It was something about his physique and the fact that he had such an attractive composure and look, but who dates someone for looks? Only a crackhead like me could have.

As she searched her mind to justify every reason Jimmy was an awful choice, she remembered why she was any man's worst choice. She feared that her condition may never allow her to keep a man long enough for marriage; it always made things worse. What kind of relationship would a man have with a woman who avoided giving in to any pressure to spend the night with them? Ashley thought.

She was not sure if her exes noticed her weak excuses each time it nearly happened, but she had successfully built short-lasting relationships in the past without having to stay the night. The only difficulty she had was sleeping at night with partners; her condition did not interfere with her ability to make love. Lovemaking was easy for her; she didn't mind at all; she just couldn't afford to lose her respect because she wanted to keep her man by disclosing her sleeping disorder. What if they took advantage of her situation? They would screw her if they ever found out, she had concluded.

Ashley would rather not have her dirty linens outside, but her best friend Nita thinks otherwise, she had advised her several times to explain her condition to prospective partners before they ever start anything serious but Ashley remained adamant.
At the thought of Nita, she realised she needed to call her about a magazine she had forgotten at her place. She would just have to schedule some time to pick up the magazine she had left at her place the last time she stopped by, she thought to herself. Probably after the day's work.
"Hi, bestie! How is your day rolling out?" Ashley asked immediately Nita picked up the call. 
"I am having such a busy day. I've been trying to finish up the summer internship report since tomorrow is the deadline for submission. Professor Robert will have my head on a plate if I submit an unfinished work again."
"Yeah, you sound exhausted Nita."
"O Lord, I am." Nita gulped down some coffee and continued excitedly, "Have you accepted a date with Carlos?"
"Not again, Nita. He talks like a pig. I can't even get myself to have a meaningful conversation with him on a date, have been candid with him and have given him a thousand reasons why I can't go out with him."
"If you say so, girl, I just want you to be happy. I met him a few days ago, and he was a little chatty. He sounds stuffy sometimes, but it is not as bad as you portray it. You just don't like him, I know"
"And when did I say I was not happy? Why the hell are you talking about dates when your darling Robert is on your neck?" Ashley asked jokingly. "Well, when I get off work today, I'll be at your house to get the magazine I forgot. You're around?"
"Whatever. Sure, you will find me sitting like a stump with my place turned upside down. I need Jesus!"
"Girl, I am not coming to clean up after you. Better get yourself together," Ashley retorted.
"I have heard that many times, and each time you say so, you end up cleaning the entire house." Nita jokingly had to remind her of her empty threats.
"Not today. I am having a rough day already."
"Poor thing. See you then! Stay strong".
Ashley hung up and felt the silence that followed. Nita always came through for her, sent from heaven to be her female companion. They both started as classmates at Fourcade's High, while Ashley lived Downtown with her mother and younger brother. Ever since, it has been a friendship made in heaven. They fell out sometimes, but it was insignificant to Ashley. Many await the day they will be torn apart, but Ashley had the optimistic mind that day would never come.