Happy Birthday

Regina's POV

"There's a problem, it's still not balanced!" Dawn's scream was deafening. I shifted back a bit from her loud wails. I needed to concentrate... 

This was fucking not my day. My whole body was shaking as fear crept through me, more like anxiety. Today was Dan's birthday and he was throwing a party that evening...basically in about two hour's time. 

I needed to get him the perfect present, then pick up the cake for his party and also manage to get dressed in less than two hours! And here I was, still at work sorting out the variance issue at hand. Everyone stared at me waiting for me to work some magic, even though clearly, I was just a simple finance assistant just like them.

"Oh my goodness, we're dead! We're gonna die!--" 

Slap! 

It was meant to be a small pat on her cheeks to keep her quiet but it ended up becoming a loud slap. I couldn't concentrate with her screaming and crying! 

"I'm so sorry, Dawn, but please stay with me here!. Are you with me?" I said to her calmly and she nodded, slowly recovering from the slap. "Good. Now you and Mr. Isaac go fetch out the PRAC from January 12th to 21st, our answers should be in there."

She nodded and dragged Mr. Isaac along. Peter and Lizzy were glaring at me with disgust. 

"Like we haven't checked the files already," Lizzy said. 

"Yea, just confess we're toast already and stop acting like you know it all!" Peter sided. 

We were colleagues but they hated my guts for some reason, and I didn't even give a fuck. I ignored and went on with my work on the system. My mind went back to Dan's party and it made my heart skipped a bit. Dan and I had been dating for over 3 years now. Tonight would be the night he would propose to me, and in public at that! Our relationship wasn't as open as I would like it to be, but tonight, all that was changing. 

I read through my friend's messages and notice they ignored my message in the group. They kept sending their congrats to Kimberly for some reason, what did she do? We were four and had been inseparable since our second year in college; Kimberly, Mary, Rita and I. It still gave me a bit of concern seeing they ignored my message on the group announcing that I might be getting married first in our group sooner than they thought, then Dawn and Mr. Isaac came back in. 

"We found it! Ha!" Dawn cried out. 

The look of relieve on my face was out of this world. "Good. Now let's sort out this mess and find out where the mistake is coming from." I saw Peter and Lizzy flash murderous glares at me and it made me smile. 

After another thirty minutes, the problem had been resolved and I could head home now. Plus, I had all the time to relax with Dan after the party because I had tendered in my resignation letter. Dan's promise had warmed my heart and we both agreed me stepping down from work was the best solution. Finally, I could open up my fashion house and start sharing my designs to the world. With my savings and Dan's millions of dollar promise of investment, I was all set to go. 

I rushed home and thankfully—it was just like a 10 minutes walk—and freshened up, then changed into my lovely dress. My long brown hair was wrapped up in a bun that sat just at the nape of my neck. With little touches of makeup to brighten up my baby looking face and a couple of sprays of my favorite perfume, I was all set to go. But first, I headed to the store to get the latest edition of wristwatch that Dan had been talking about, which was at my standard level, very expensive!, but to Dan's financial standard, it was just normal. I got the cake from the pastry store and arrived at the party twenty minutes late. 

The venue was at Dan's parent mansion instead of his apartment. The hall was already full with important guests left and right. I scanned through the crowd for Dan but found Mary and Rita instead. 

Rita was a petite short lady, even shorter than me, and I was barely 5'3, but pretty and maybe bustier than I was. "Hey, you made it," she said to me. 

"Wait, let's help you with something,"Mary said, taking the cake from me. Unlike the rest of us, Mary was the tallest and most slim one of us. We always advised her to join a modeling agency because she had the perfect physique. 

"Oh my God, thanks a lot." I said, half panting already. Why was I so nervous like this?? "Where's Kimberly? And Dan as well, I've been calling but they're not answering." 

Both Mary and Rita instantly turned their attention to the ground ignoring my question. 

Out of annoyance, I flared up. "There, you guys are ignoring me again! Did I do something wrong?" 

Rita looked pitiful, "no, it's not that. We just... Um..."

"We dunno where Kimberly is!" Mary replied sharply. 

"Okay... I'll just keep looking." I said to them. My excitement got the best of me because I was already grinning and smiling again. "By the way, Dan's proposing tonight! Well, maybe not really proposing. But he's making us public today, in front of everyone. I'm so happy!" 

There again with their tired expression. I was forced to frown and ask what the hell was wrong. "Are you girls not happy for me?" 

"Believe me, honey, that's not it. It's just that--" Rita was saying but was immediately cut off by Mary. 

"It's nothing. Just make sure you find Dan first."

I nodded, "okay... Well, you can drop the cake--" 

"--we know where to drop the cake. Just go." Mary insisted. 

I turned and walked away, still pondering over what Rita had wanted to say. 

From behind, a figure gripped on my hand and I flinched, only to find out it was Dan from his soothing deep voice. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to make it here."