Tainted

Chapter 4

For once Alyssa was actually happy to go to work fter such an eventful weekend. Normally Adian would have been out the door and gone all day on a Saturday, but he surprised her by staying in bed all day watching the entire season one of Heros as she laid there next to him. It had been a while since she lay in bed all day with a man and she fought the urge to fully enjoy it because he wasn't hers and she knew it wouldn't last. But she decided to just live in the moment and later that night after they'd finished their take out Chinese she didn't resist when he wanted to go for round two. At that point things were already going to be a little weird; one more night wouldn't make it weirder. On Sunday he'd only left to go to the gym and then work. By then she was so exhausted that she dozed in and out of sleep on the couch watching TV.

Monday morning came as a relief because needed time to obsess over every detail, blow by blow, figure out why she did it and if she wanted it to continue. She couldn't believe she'd gone back on her word so fast. She had to find a way to reestablish boundaries and compartmentalize things if their living arrangement was going to work. She unlocked Sharon's door with a caramel frapachino in her hand prepared for a slow day alone mulling over details. Instead she was shocked to find Sharon not only still home but in a seemingly pleasant mood. She greeted her still wearing her silk bath robe and hair in a scarf. Why does she think it's ok to not have clothes on? Even if this is her house, it's an office too!

She was alarmingly cheerful when she pulled her chair up to Alyssa's desk, "Over the weekend I heard back from Borghini and our proposal was accepted!" Even though the excitement in her voice sounded 100% genuine, her face told a different story, "So that means you have a lot of work to do. First off you need to put together the contract, schedule a meeting with the client for this week to get it signed and collect the deposit. The sooner the better and then start working on your timeline.

"But this is a big day so we're going to celebrate and go to this fabulous restaurant in Little Italy for lunch. I have some work to wrap up so we'll leave around one. Try to get the contract finished and meeting set before then so you won't have to come back to the office. And before you ask, you'll still get paid for the full day and lunch is on me."

"Thank you, Sharon," was all she managed to get out before Sharon headed to the back of the house. At this point she was used to her over talking every conversation, not having an opportunity to interject, comment, complain or express any type of opinion so she just went with it. Once she was alone she took a moment to feel a little excitement, pushing down the feelings of confusion and suspicion so she could get started. It wasn't the mental break she was looking for but she was happy to at least have a distraction. She texted London the good news who insisted they have drinks after work. Since Alyssa would be off first she agreed to come to midtown at her job and they would find a nearby bar.

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London came trotting out the door at 5:03 p.m. towering over everyone she passed including Alyssa who looked like a missing LolliPop Kid in comparison when she hugged her in excitement. She immediately started asking questions to get all of the details of her new project which Alyssa happily answered. "I admit, I am a bit nervous because I know so little about fashion, but I guess this is my chance to learn more since this is one of the fashion capitals. I still can't believe Sharon is letting me take the lead on this. I swear most days I think the woman hates me and thinks I'm incompetent."

"Maybe she sees how good you are and that you are an asset to her company."

"Maybe. But I keep waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and tell me I'm being punked."

The girls laughed entering a small bar on the corner. "Just enjoy this win and focus on knocking this project out of the park so you can put it on your resume and get a better job after it's over." In the short amount of time that Alyssa had known London she noticed she was always overly optimistic which was in direct opposition of her own offbesnarky, realist personality. Normally her "look on the brighter side" personally would have aggravated Alyssa, but given the crossroads she was at in her life she needed as much positive energy as possible.