CATCHING FEELINGS

Prologue

Working for an entertainment magazine had always been the dream for Kelly Blake . She had just finished her diploma in journalism when she started writing for the entertainment section of the local paper she worked for. It was only after she applied for a job as an entertainment reporter at a popular magazine that she started living her dream and that's when she met Cody it seemed as if everything was going well in her life until she hit a speed bump in the form of the place she was working at .

When the magazine she was working for was acquired by new owners and they were making structural changes she decided to stay while some of her colleagues decided to leave and work for other smaller publications so that they could make a name for themselves because they thought that the new owners didn't understand the ethos of the entertainment magazine and what it stood for. What worked in her favor was that she had a beat and over the years she had worked for the company that she had grown to love the company that was now owned by new owners. She still had her column and she still had her section in the magazine where she wrote entertainment stories. She got to travel and have fun and she got paid for that .

It wasn't until one Monday morning when she arrived at the office and everyone was packing up their belongings. She thought nothing of it . She thought that they were moving offices and the meeting with Harriet Harrison, her boss, was just a weekly meeting to bring her up to speed about the must go to festivals for summer . She greeted everyone and headed straight to her bosses office took a deep breath before knocking and waited for a second

" Come in Kelly .

" Good morning Harriet . "

When Kelly entered the office , Harriet was also packing up her stuff .

She found it odd because she was always a woman who didn't like change , not only that she loved being in charge and running things like a boss .

" I know you've had a really hectic week with everything that's going on. "

" I'm back home so I will be in the office for the week . Are we moving offices? "

" No . "

Kelly's heart sank at her answer; it surely couldn't be that bad . They had more than doubled their subscription numbers and Kelly's socials were growing.

" Do you need me to rally all of my friends, is there anything I can do? "

" We tried everything and we fell short. "

She took a deep breath, then she started drumming her fingers on the desk ;

" I have a sports background. Hell, I even studied sports as a backup course , there has to be a way to save the magazine. "

" There is nothing you can do . I'm afraid it's the end of the day sweetheart. It's been a pleasure working with you and if you need any recommendations my line is always open . "

" Thank you so much . "

" It's been a pleasure working with you ."

Kelly wasn't the type of person that gave up easily but she looked at the brighter side of life no matter what life threw at her .

" Before I forget it's Cody's birthday dinner tonight."

Harriet was dating Cody's father and they had broken up because they were too " different" according to Harriet.

" He is still mad at me for breaking up with his father so it's a no again . He is lucky to have you . To forgive him for what he has done cannot be easy . "

Kelly was confused but kept her cool as far as she knew , her man was faithful to her ;she was the lucky one not Cody.

" I'm not sure what you are talking about but as far as I know he hasn't done anything wrong . "

She pivoted her head

" Oh so you're comfortable having an open relationship ."

" Wait, we are exclusive ."

She looked at her dumbfounded .

" For someone so clued up you sure as hell don't know what's going on."

Kelly's mind started racing; she didn't know what to think; she didn't know what to make out of what her boss was telling her ,well her now ex boss since she had just lost her job .

" Harriet, I have to go . Thanks for everything."

" Goodbye Kelly take care. "

" You too…"

Kelly leaned over to shake her hand and she went to her desk to clear everything she had . She said her goodbyes and took a cab home . She had been traveling so much that she hadn't seen the house she and Cody owned in over three months , but she knew that she had his loyalty and commitment .

He would never swear he loves someone when he has said it to Kelly. They talked to each other almost every day, and every morning Cody would call Kelly to say good morning and she would call him to say goodnight to him. In her heart she knew that they were a solid pair. Nothing and no one could come between them even if they tried.

Cody didn't know that Kelly was coming back home earlier than expected . After picking up the cupcakes and cake she ordered , She proceeded to Make her way home . She knew everyone around the area she lived in was a friendly neighborhood, and everybody started giving her weird looks when she started greeting the people that she normally would greet , so just as soon as she made it to her gate she opened it with her key and went into the house ."

As soon as she placed her bag down and placed the sweet treats on the kitchen counter, she took off her shoes and went upstairs to the main bedroom . She had thought she had heard someone giggling and thought nothing of it, because Cody was always if not talking to a fan or surprise video calling someone who had voted on which song he should play for the people that followed him but when she opened the door , she walked in on what she thought was a nightmare , betrayal, and heartbreak rolled into one

" Melissa? "

Cody looked guilty and so did Melissa. She started scrambling for her clothes and she couldn't find what she was looking for .

" Babe it's not her fault , blame me I was the one who was lonely. "

" Get out Cody , I don't ever want you near me again ! "

" It's my birthday ."

" It's my life that you just turned upside down."

Cody looked at Kelly and smirked.

" Your life was upside down anyway , I got you that job at the magazine and I think they got rid of you finally. "

" This is my house too, and I worked hard to get hired by the magazine."

"News flash I made you think that it was our house you don't own anything … I had your stuff packed this morning. You were dumb enough to believe that I should be with you and you fell for everything ."

" I came back early , so that I could be with you and I made reservations at your favorite restaurant for your birthday because you told me that you were going to propose to me or is that also a lie ?"

Cody got out of bed and slid on his blue Boxers. Melissa was still looking for her clothes, when Cody looked at her in a way he never looked at Kelly she realized she was being played so hard by the person who swore to love her.

" I'm a star and what you now bring to the table is less so here is what's going to happen ; Melissa stays you go we are done Kelly . "

Kelly looked at him and shook her head and held back her tears . She moved to the cupboards and looked for what she thought was going to be her clothes but when she looked inside the cupboards everything was changed it wasn't her clothes that were in the cupboards she walked into the bathroom and look inside the cabinets and every item that she had that she used for her beauty routine was not there. Feeling tired and having come from a very beautiful trip that she enjoyed and finding out that the person she loved sold her out was the last thing she expected, so she accepted the situation as it was and left the room.

When she walked out she saw her bags at the foot of the stairs and she had missed them at first but now she saw her whole life packed in one huge silver four wheeled suitcase... it took everything in her not to kick the living daylights out of the man who just broke her heart. As soon as she made it downstairs she requested a cab. She checked if everything she owned was in her bags and remembered to take the cake she brought with her . She looked at Cody and spoke ;

" Why ? "

" There is only so much waiting I can do. I've been sleeping with your best friend for the past three years and you didn't recognise or realize anything that was weird and I've actually fallen in love with her so you can see yourself out and thank you for the wonderful time we spent together. I just don't want to waste your time anymore."

" Have a nice life . "

Kelly walked out and the cab driver arrived just as she had closed the door . She was now without a job, and she was homeless but her bank account didn't reflect that, she could afford to stay at a hotel until she figured her way out of the situation that she was in . She called her friend Braden and explained her situation .

Braden owned the hotel she had booked a room in and he was hosting a dinner party for his friends that were visiting from the states . He invited her to come and join him and his girlfriend and she accepted . She needed to get over what had just happened.

Her life was up in the air and she was going to land sometime soon and it was going to hurt . Just two weeks ago she thiought she had it all only to find out that here now ex boyfriend pulled some strings and she was the loose end. She thought she had worked hard for the job she was given , but now she was unemployed, had nowhere to go and she was feeling rejected by someone she thought she knew . She had her heart broken before but this cut deep . She was supposed to be planning her wedding but now she was planning her life without the person she loved but he didn't love her back.

As soon as she arrived she checked in . She couldn't hide the fact that she was overwhelmed and hurt because she hadn't stopped crying about everything that was going wrong in her life . As soon as the front desk handed her the key to her room she walked into the elevator and pressed the floor her room was on . When the doors opened she was busy wiping her tears when she accidentally bumped into someone.

" I'm sorry . "

" Watch where you are going . "

She stepped back and swatted the tears and blinked twice. The guy did not sound South Africa, he was too perfect and he exuded a vibe of entitlement.

" I said I'm sorry. It was an accident . "

She looked at him and it looked like the impact caused by Kelly caused the guy to spill coffee all over his white sweater. He looked visibly annoyed until he saw Kelly who still looked upset. He took off his sweater and luckily he had a long sleeve white vest on , because even though Kelly was upset she could appreciate the eye candy she just rammed into accidentally

" Are you okay ? "

Kelly looked at the guy and shook her head , she started crying again.

" No . "

" I didn't mean to make you cry . "

" I was upset before I ran into you . You didn't do anything. I am literally a mess and I need to just pull myself towards myself so I'm sorry for the accident and if you need me to get you a new sweater I will get you a new one and if it's imported ,well I'll order it online and try to get it to you somehow please go easy on me I'm not having a really great day."

" It's okay I have three more . "

" As if you couldn't be even more perfect. "

" You're beautiful when you cry . I'm sorry

I'm Aiden . I don't know what it is that you are going through ,but I'm sorry ."

He instinctively felt the need to make her feel better and gave her a hug . In a moment of confusion and appreciation of the kind gesture she hugged him back and he smelled intoxicatingly good . As for Aiden he felt a strange attraction towards this mystery woman who was yet to tell him her name .

" Thanks Aiden … I'm sorry too. I hope everything will be alright for you . Thanks for the hug. "

She hugged him back and gently pulled back to look at him again. He had deep ocean blue eyes that were warm and caring and comforting to look at. When Aiden looked at Kelly he felt calm and at home . Her eyes were chocolate brown and almond shaped. He gave her. Peck on the cheek and smiled at Kelly.

" If it makes you feel any better I needed a hug too from a stranger who doesn't know who I am . I'm going through hell . "

" Please fight back with everything you have, I'd really love to meet you again when I'm not such a mess. "

" A beautiful mess , without a name. "

She cracked a smile and looked at him.

" My name is…

Aiden's phone rang and he answered it immediately, looking away from Kelly for a moment who took the opportunity to disappear into her hotel room. She closed the door and locked it . Aiden was expecting a call from his father and it came through when Kelly was about to introduce herself.

There was a problem back home with his family ,and he had to keep his phone on him at all times , he didn't want to talk about it but When he looked up she was gone… and he was left asking himself if he had just imagined what happened. Fact was that; he didn't imagine it and he decided to go back into his Hotel room change again and head downstairs to Braden's party.

©#KCMmuoe