The Clerk and the CEO

Part 4: Too confident

Lisa's eyes fill with tears and she starts to sob. I hand her a napkin.

"Oh Lisa, I'm so sorry."

"S-She's just a baby and she wants to know why her father doesn't come to see her. What am I supposed to say? I can't tell her the truth, that he's left us for some skanky hoe with big tits."

"D-did I s-say she has big tits?"

"Yes, you did." I pull my chair closer to hers.

"If you're going to leave, then leave. But don't leave your child too. He doesn't even call her or send money for her care. I fuckin' hate that asshole!" Rage tears through my core. Apparently, I'm not the only one that makes bad choices when it comes to men.

Lisa wipes her eyes. "Sorry, Jungkook," she sniffles.

"No, Lisa, it's fine. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Jungkook. Hey Kim Taehyung is still looking over here."

"Let's dance and I'll give him something to look at," I say, feeling warm and toasty inside following that drink.

We stand and I'm a bit woozy.

"You sure you want to do this, Jungkook?"

"I dance my best after a bit of alcohol," I say and follow her to the dance floor.

The music is great, and my moves get attention from everyone on the dance floor and, I'm certain, Mr. CEO. Take this, Mr. CEO. I do a triple hip thrust that is guaranteed to get a hard rise out of him. I'm teasing him and enjoying it.

There's a difficult dive move that is very hard to do but the alcohol makes me feel really confident. Too confident. The fact that I've never successfully executed this move was information I failed to consider in the moment.

I start my dive with perfect positioning and my lift off is perfect, but the crowded dance floor adds a level of difficulty I had not considered.

As I rotate my hips and go into my landing, a couple dances right into my landing zone.

Slam! I end up on my back in a corner against a mirrored wall with both legs in the air. Shit.

It is an embarrassing undignified position.

"Ohhhh!" The crowd moans followed by laughter.

Fuck! Not again!! Twice in one day. Why am I trying to impress his ass anyway. It's not like I like him. Well he is hot and seems like a decent man.

Lisa rushes over to me as I readjust my body.

"Oh my God, you okay!?"

"Please tell me he's not looking."

"Ok, he's not looking."

"He's totally looking, isn't he?"

"Totally," she says and smiles

As we head back to our table, I notice that Mr. CEO and his friend are leaving. As I walk past their table, he says good night. I turn and nod as he again flashes his amazing smile. I can't hold his gaze following the tall mountain of shame that I'm climbing. He is so beautiful, and I have a powerful urge to consume him.

"Thanks for the drinks, Mr. Kim." Lisa says.

"You are welcome, Lisa." I catch a glimpse of his friend as he scurries off in a rush for some reason. I can't blame him. Look who he's going home with. Stop it, I tell myself as I proceed to our table.

"He's into you, Jungkook."

"Uh, no he's not. He's going home to his big mansion and to fuck that dude into next week."

"No, they're friends but not romantic. I couldn't really see his friend, but his body language says it all. The whole time he couldn't take his eyes off of you. Yep, he has it about as bad for you as you have it for him." I scoff and roll my eyes.

"Sounds like you want to be fucked into next week," Lisa says with a laugh.

"The last thing I need is a man, no matter how good the fucking is."

"Sounds like a sorry pathetic story to me. Jungkook, I'm here for you." She's right. We've gotten close and she's been very vulnerable with me.

I take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and slowly exhale. I take another sip of my drink which seems bottomless.

"Over a year ago, about three months before Christmas, I met this smart, fun, and very handsome guy at the bar across from my workplace. He was quite handsome."

I pause for a moment, considering whether I want to share or not. Somehow it feels safe with Lisa. I think sharing may help with some of my feelings.

I take a quick breath in and blow it out as I begin to fidget with the decorative toothpick in my drink, needing something to do with my hand while rubbing the other hand in an up and downward motion on my thigh with a lowered head.

"I was a successful trader and quite wealthy at the time. I had the best of everything. I wouldn't think twice about buying a drink like this for everyone at my table." I then look up and find compassionate eyes.

"I had a comfortable life. It was really nice." I clear my throat. "Did I tell you he was handsome?"

"Yes, you did, Jungkook."

"Well anyway the sex was good and he seemed crazy about me. Bottom line is he asked me to do something illegal and my dumb ass did it. So here I am. I can't afford to buy my own drink. I now live in a space so small I can cook and clean the place without getting out of bed and, oh yeah, my boss is a demon child."

I unexpectedly feel a tickle in my stomach. It's not sadness, it's humor. I start laughing and then in a few seconds Lisa joins in. The tickle in my belly grows and my laughter is uncontrollable.

I hit the table a few times as tears flood my eyes. Why was I laughing? My circumstances weren't funny. A few weeks ago, I was pretty sure I'd be homeless.

The image of me in a tailored suit on top of the world and now being crushed under the shoe of a brat child boss, and wearing my red holiday clerk vest with a Santa hat was just hysterically funny.

"Yep, everyone has a sorry pathetic story," Lisa says with a big beaming smile. "So, is this why you hate the Christmas Holiday Season?" Suddenly, it's no longer funny. I pause and nod slowly.

"Yes, this certainly put a stain on the holidays for me." I swallow and a slow-moving tear streams down my cheek. I breathe, feeling the warm comfort of Lisa's hand on top of mine and, somehow, I know we will both be okay.