AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aim higher, Lei, you need both,” Blair yells.
I laugh as I fall down onto my white goose down comforter. This queen sized bed is so comfortable, yet hardly used. I’m usually up most of the night trying to find ways to persuade potential clients. Which usually happens on the couch in the living room. Blair, Haven, and I rent this three bedroom condo in Lincoln Park, Chicago. It’s relatively close to where we all work, budget friendly, and close to all the bars and restaurants we frequent. It’s not huge, but it’s perfect for us. It’s an open floor plan with an all white kitchen, a small dining room that we hardly use to eat, instead it’s a table full of papers, and a living room with a gas fireplace. It had just been updated with gray hardwood flooring, cream walls in every room, and simple white bathrooms. We’ve put our touch on it with splashes of color in artwork and our bright red couch.
I smile as I think of all the fun we’ve had here in the last three years, just as I’m pulled under.
“Fuck,” I jump up in a panic. I reach for my phone, turning off the blaring alarm. I get tangled in the comforter and nearly fall out of bed when I see that I’m late. I rush to the closet and grab my black pant suit. I have no time to shower, so I quickly get dressed and pull my hair up into a high ponytail. There’s no time to apply makeup, so after I brush my teeth, I toss on a bit of lip gloss.
As I rush out of my room, shoving paperwork into my briefcase, I nearly trip over my heels from last night.
“Shit!” I yell.
“Oh well look who finally got up,” Haven says.
I snap my head toward her as my eyebrows dip. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
She tightens the lid on her travel mug and smiles. “Because I overslept, too, and so did Blair.”
“I guess getting that drunk on a work night isn’t a great idea,” I say, shaking my head.
“Hell, I didn’t even get drunk. I’m just exhausted from a life of no sex,” she says, grabbing her purse.
I slip on my heels and we walk out the door together. “I know what you mean. If I don’t have sex soon, I think I’ll officially be a virgin again.”
We both laugh as we walk outside, assaulted by the cold. Winters suck here. It’s freezing and the snow seems to never leave. I regret my heels two steps out as I almost slip on my ass. I’d love to be somewhere warm where I don’t need four layer
s just to leave the house.
“Maybe we’re just looking too hard,” Haven says, as we get on the train.
“Speak for yourself.”
She sips her coffee, and I instantly can’t wait to be at work to get a cup. They are going to be pissed that I’m late, but a part of me doesn’t care. I bend over backwards trying to prove myself and I’m overlooked every single time. If I walk in late, that might just draw my grandfather’s attention.
My focus is brought back to Haven when I hear her laugh. “You’re right. I’m the one looking too hard and you’re the one hardly looking,” she says.
I sigh realizing she’s right. “Yeah, well one thing at a time. Work is my priority.”
“I know it is, Lei, but dating someone isn’t going to interfere with it. It could be just what you need. Focus your energy on something other than proving your worth,” she says.
“Says the woman who works even longer hours than I do,” I say, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugs her shoulders as she looks out the window. “I still make time for romance. Well, I make time to try and find it,” she says, laughing. She turns her attention back to me and smiles. “Maybe you’ve put romance on the back burner, because all the relationships you’ve had are with the most boring men ever. No offence.”
I laugh, jolting forward a bit when the train stops. “Now that I will agree with you on.” I start to walk toward the door, but turn my head and grin at Haven. “Which is why I’m the one who walks away,” I say, with a wink.
I am blasted by the cold on the train platform, and I pull my jacket tighter around me. I need summer to come sooner rather than later. As I walk the three blocks to the office, I think of what Haven said. I do tend to end up in relationships with boring men. I think it’s because they are just as focused on their careers as I am. It’s something you’d think would make the relationship more compatible, but that’s not how’s it been for me. I’m left craving romance, spontaneity, and earth-shattering sex. She might be right. Maybe I should look for something different.
That thought quickly gets pushed to the back of my mind when I see my grandfather talking animatedly to a woman and two men. I know immediately they are prospective clients. I take off my jacket, folding it over my arm, as I walk over.
“Good morning,” I cheerfully say.
“You’re late, Lorelei,” my grandfather bites out.
I keep my smile in place as I look at each of them. “If only I controlled the punctuality of the train.” The potential clients laugh, but my grandfather finds no humor in my remark. I could care less because it’s not him I’m trying to impress.
“I had to wait a half hour for a train this morning. I completely understand,” the woman says. Her lips are painted bright red, her hair is pulled back in a bun, and surprisingly her makeup is dark and sexy. She's wearing a pant suit like me, but instead of a blouse under it, she’s wearing a tee shirt with something written on it. It’s edgy and very cool. The two men are in suits and both older. One has a warm smile, while the other is frowning at my grandfather.
“Shall we continue to my office?” my grandfather asks, holding his arm out.
