I arrived at work at 7am. It was my first day and I was excited. I pulled my phone out of my bag when I remmbered that it was still off. I turned it on and had a mini heart attack.
You have 32 messages and 51 missed calls.
Oh my God. I scrolled through my inbox and saw that more than half of them were from Malcolm.
Hey welcome back! Do you wanna hang out later? -Malcolm 1:27 pm
How was the flight? - Malcolm 1:59 pm
You must be tired. Get some rest. -Malcolm 2:30 pm
Did you get home alright? - Malcolm 3:00 pm
Hazel, I'm starting to get worried, are you okay? - Malcolm 4:00 pm
Hazel Armada please answer me. - Macolm 4:30 pm
The rest of Malcolm's messages were practically saying the same thing. 'Where are you?' 'Are you okay?' Oh my gosh he completely flooded my inbox.
The rest of my messages were from Mom. I typed a quick text saying that my phone was off and that I was fine.
I was about to delete all the messages when one of them caught my eye.
Sleeping beauty did you forget to set the alarm clock again? I'm already outside your door. If you don't let me in within the next ten minutes I will use the spare key under the welcome mat. By the way , why would you put your spare key there? The minute someone steps on your mat they'll hear the little crunch under their boots. You should be more careful. -Danny 6:10 pm
His text made me smile. It showed more concern then all of Malcolm's texts put together. After all, quality beats quantity.
I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket so I'd know if someone texted me. Then I took a deep breath and opened the doors to my new office.
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"I'm so proud of you." Celeste said sincerely. We were having lunch at a small restaurant not far from my office.
Its hard to believe my boss praised me after just five hours of work on my first day.
"I know." I replied.
"So are you ready?" Sophia asked me.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I said while getting my phone out.
This is it. No turning back know.
The phone rang thrice before he picked up. I swear I could've heard pin drop.
"Hello? " his husky voice said.
That voice used to make shivers run down my spine, now it just disgusted me.
"Robin?" I said. I made my voice sound like it was coming from a hopeless, lovesick girly girl.
"Hazel..." His voice sounded sad, but I knew it was just an act. Well now two were playing this game.
"I miss you." Not. I sobbed through the phone.
"I do too, oh Hazel I'm so so sorry. Please please give me another chance"
I was going to barf. How deaf was I before? How could I not detect the plastic emotions in his voice? They say love makes you blind, well then I guess it makes you deaf too.
"But... You hurt me.. You played with my feelings." I said , pain radiating through my voice.
"I know I did. I swear I didn't mean it. Please Hazel, when can I see you?"
"But ... You're in Paris."
"The ocean cannot keep me away from you. My love for you has no boundaries!"
That, was corny, cheesy, and pathetic.
"Oh, Robin...."
"Hazel, please, when can I see you? I won't take no for an answer."
"Next week." I gave him the address of a hotel.
"Until then my love, thank you, oh thank you so much."
"I can't wait to see you. Goodbye."
I shut off the phone then shivered in disgust. Ew.
I looked up and saw my friends staring at my with a blank expression.
I snapped my fingers "hey"
"Hazel, tell me again why you're a business woman and not an actress?"
Harley said in a demanding tone.
"What?" I asked completely bewildered.
"Oh great, now you're deaf."
"No I heard you, I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly."
"That, was an award winning performance , right there" Sophia stated matter of factly.
Well that was something you didn't hear everyday.
"It was?" Disbelief coated my words.
"Yep." Celeste said popping the 'p'.
"Oh dear, its almost one." Sophia stated. "I've got to get back to the library." Sophia now lived in New York, she was staying with me temporarily. Yesterday she got a job at the public library as the , what do you call it? The information center person or whatever.
Apparently she was a bookworm. And she had a very high IQ.
My eyes widened.
"I've gotta get back to the office."
"Crap , I almost forgot, I have a meeting at 1:30" Celeste muttered.
"Where to this time?" I asked her while standing up.
"Downtown New York." She stated nonchalantly. Celeste was a world-famous fashion designer. Her schedule was jam-packed and she had vacation houses all over the world. I have no idea why but for some reason she absolutely hated hotels.
"Good luck" I told her.
"You too." She replied.
I waved at my friends before walking away.
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Later that evening, when I arrived home after my first tiring day of work my phone starting ringing uncontrollably.
I took it out of my pocket and the screen showed that Malcolm was calling me.
Oh crap I forgot to call him back.
"Hey Malcolm."
"Hazel are you alright? You weren't answering your phone."
"I'm fine" I said with a smile. "My phone was off."
"Oh, you had me worried there for a while. So how was the first day?"
"It was amazing, it was super busy and I am so tired but well , that's life." I said with I shrug. I set my bag down and started making my way to the kitchen.
I flipped in the light switch and glanced at the clock , 8pm. Sophia's shift ended at 8:30.
"I'm so proud of you." He said.
I smiled. "Thanks." I picked up an apple from the fruit tray and studied the surface, just to keep my hands busy. My nails made little crescents as I did so.
"Are you free next week? I have a surprise for you."
Next week? Bad timing.
"Actually I have a meeting to attend" with my ex boyfriend.
Malcolm didn't know about my plan and I wanted to keep it that way. He would surely ask too many questions and he'd probably be uncomfortable with me hanging out with my ex, after all, Malcolm was practically my boyfriend.
"Oh" I could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"Well then I guess I'll have to reschedule." He said.
"I'm really sorry Malcolm" I said. And I was, any other day and I would've said yes.
"Don't worry about it. I'll call you tomorrow. Bye."
He hung up before I could reply.
"Sorry Malcolm" I whispered softly, my plans meant a lot more to me.
It was in that moment I decided something , if I chose a boy over my plans, it meant I had fallen in love.
Because right now, at this point in my life, my plans were the most important thing to me. And if a boy wanted to change that, God help him. Because I wasn't letting go that easily.
Author's note: We have now reached chapter 15! *Applause* I for one, am really excited to write down what Hazel and Sophia have in store for Robin. *insert evil laugh* But before that , I would like to mention that Harley is a lawyer. I've tried to work that in the story but I haven't found the right moment yet so I decided I'll just be straightforward. :)
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Xoxo,
Avery