Dear Mr Blind Date, Are You Mr Right? (Completed)

Destined Meeting

I'm rattled.

I cannot deny the fact but Chloe Manson, the most street-smart and savvy woman the world has ever seen, has allowed herself to be disturbed by a random strange man.

After the blind date yesterday, I cooped myself up in bed, ignoring the gazillion phone calls on my answering machine- all of which was by Mum who was probably desperate to hear about my disaster date. I mean, with a free day, I might as well make the most out of it before I return to my ratty job today.

Don't get me wrong. I love designing people's homes and making their lifestyle dreams come true but there aren't many opportunities at the firm. Raymond, who's my boss, is a pervert. He only gives the big jobs to those girls who either sleep with him or show him their cleavage on a regular basis. Moreover, he's a chauvinistic pig and those big designing projects are normally awarded to the male designers. So therefore,  I refuse to succumb to his lecherous and sexist desires so I'm stuck being one of the lowest-paid interior designers in the firm.

As I step into Dazzle Designing Firm, I am immediately ambushed by three people a.k.a my crazy colleagues.

"Chloe, darling!" Zoe, the desk receptionist, screams with delight and abandons the pile of papers she had been holding a moment ago. She's wearing a red dress (Who wears a dress to work?) and sparkly purple high heels today. I'm sorry to say this but Zoe claims that her outfits are all designed to bring out the firm's fashion spirit and unfortunately, Raymond the Pig actually encourages this. Me, I stick to my black T-shirt and faded Levis jeans. I'm a normal person after all.

"What happened to you yesterday?" Cathy, my fellow interior designer colleague who's a staunch feminist and extreme worrier, asked uneasily. "Were you sick or something?"

"Nope." I duck out of the way before she can put her hand to my forehead and proclaim that I have some random fever of sorts. Cathy's a nice person but she worries too much for her own good.

"Dude, you totally missed everything yesterday. Joe, the cleaner? He turned up naked for work yesterday after drinking too much booze," Marilyn snorted. Marilyn's a tanned ex-model who claims that she has dated Brad Pitt but I'm highly skeptical of her story. She works in the human resources department and can be counted on for hosting a good party.

"I'm sorry I missed that," I say regretfully as I trudge to my small cubicle and plump myself down onto the comfy chair.

"Have you heard the news?" Zoe asks.

"What news? Beatrice the Barbie got sacked?" I joke. Beatrice is one of the people who flashes her cleavage at Raymond occasionally and is known for being one of the snottiest women in the firm. Still, if she's gone, at least we will all be spared with our innocence intact without looking at her boobs for 12 hours straight 365 days a week.

"No! Not Beatrice though I wish that bitch's gone. It's Raymond!" Marilyn added excitedly. "Raymond got sacked!"

"Raymond?" I widen my eyes. "He's the boss! Who sacks him?"

"He doesn't own the company. He's just a managing executive. Some Italian businessman owns it and apparently, due to numerous complaints, Raymond's fired," Zoe adds.

"So who's the new dude boss now?"

It's really none of my business away. We usually see Raymond only once a month when he bothers to come down to "check". In actual fact, it's a pretense to look as if he isn't lounging around.

"He's a hottie!" Zoe's eyes shine.

"Huh," I grunt.

"Aren't you turned on by this potential hottie boss?" Marilyn looks aghast at my bemused expression. I'm clearly the first person who hasn't gone shrieking in delight at her news.

"He's probably married or divorced. Not my type," I laugh.

"Really?" Everyone deflates for a bit when Zoe pipes up, "I'm sure he's loaded though. I don't really care about anything else."

I roll my eyes at her proclamation. What's with this world's obsession with money?

"Anyway, he's coming in today so we all need to go down to the hall now to welcome him," Marilyn continued. She doesn't seem fazed by the "hottie boss" potential wealth. Then again, she doesn't need to. Marilyn's a daughter of some rich millionaire but since she has four brothers, she doesn't bother herself with the family empire. What she wants is not a guy that's rich but a guy who's good at sex.

We all trudge down to the hall together. The entire swarm of Dazzle Designing Firm's employees are all clustered around the basement. We all look like ants waiting to be trampled upon. Well, we literally are.

I'm secretly glad that Raymond got fired. He deserved it. With this new boss, I hope that I can earn a promotion soon so that I can move to a better neighbourhood in New York. Mum's driving me crazy with her apartment talks.

"Let us all welcome Mr Ed Hardy," a loud voice boomed. This is supposed to be our cue to clap but I freeze.

I cannot believe it. Impossible. No...this is a nightmare right? I try pinching myself but the pain doesn't subside.

Shit. Okay, chill. Maybe this Ed Hardy's just a...different Ed Hardy. There must be many Ed Hardys in America. Right? RIGHT?

At this moment, a tall, lean man walks down the aisle and I subside in relief. It's not him. Ed Hardy doesn't have blonde hair. I nudge Zoe who's next to me.

"Ed Hardy's not as good-looking as your proclaim," I laugh.

"That's not Ed Hardy," she replies puzzledly.

"What? It's not?" I spin around to face her. How can it not be Ed Hardy? He's walkin down the aisle. We're clapping. Conclusion: He's Ed Hardy. Right?

"That's only his assistant, babe," Marilyn whispers from my left. "Now, the one coming down now is him. He's a total eye candy right? I wonder if he's good at fulfilling my body needs."

My head swivels around in shock and I widen my eyes. Shit. It's him.

That unmistakable figure walks confidently down the aisle. I recognise his magnetic brown eyes and floppy brown hair and those lines etched around his forehead. He's nodding his head curtly at all the employees who are holding out their hands in hope of touching him. It's as if he's a superstar.

But shit. What do I do now? Maybe if I edge backwards a little bit, he won't see me.

"What are you doing Chloe? You need to get a good look at him!" Marilyn pushes me back to the front and I stumble onto the aisle.

Everyone quietens down. I've interrupted the great procession of Ed Hardy walking down the aisle.

I've no choice but to look up and smile nervously at his face.

"Hello, Mr Hardy," I say politely, hoping that he had forgotten my face.

At first, his face was a portrait of confusion. His eyes suddenly light up and he smiles. "It's Chloe, right?" he asks, holding out his hand.

This is like dejavu. It's practically a repetition of our blind date. Worst still, he's my boss now.

"Yes, it is," I say hastily and shakes his hand before withdrawing back quickly.

"I'm sorry Mr Hardy." One of our managers, Derek, who's also a pompous guy comes up from behind quickly. "Chloe Manson's just a junior designer. Please come with me right now and I can introduce all the stakeholders to you right now." Derek turns around and gives me a warning stare that says: Get out of here, you fool or I'll wring your neck.

"Sorry," I gulp and hastily back away into the crowd. Before Marilyn or Zoe can restrain me, I dart into the crowd and rush into the bathroom.

The ladies. It's like a safe haven for the desperate women like me.