Chapter 4: Messed up

~Anna~

I came out of the restroom looking for Rubel. I looked around but didn't find her.

"Where are you, Rubel?"

Suddenly my eyes landed on the poolside. No one was there, but somebody was drowning in it.

"Oh, Shit!"

I tried to take off my sandals to save my friend, but before I jumped somebody else jumped into the water. The man took unconscious Rubel out of the deep pool as the manager and other staff reached the place.

"Move, move," I yelled as I pushed them. "Rubel, Ru..." I slapped her frozen face.

The guy made her lie down on the ground, giving her CPR and I was beside myself with fear..

"Ru.. wake up, Shit..." I couldn't stop my sobs. I can’t lose her.

"How could you leave her like this when you know she is drunk?" The guy pressing her chest questioned me.

"She is drunk, but I didn't know she would jump in the water. Come on... Ru."

After a few cycles of CPR, Rubel started to cough the chlorine water from her lungs.

"Rubel, are you okay?"

Rubel was not in her senses, but she was alive.

"Did he..." she whispered something about Marcus.

"What is she saying?” the man asked. “Ask her why she jumped into this deep pool?"

Rubel squeezed her eyes, trying hard to gather the image of this stranger in her mind with blurry vision.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Pardon me?”

“I am so sorry for her behavior, sir. She just suffered a heartbreak, her boyfriend was supposed to propose to her, but he ditched her... and then it all went downhill from there," I explained.

He looked towards sleepy Rubel with a hint of pity.

"Thank you for saving her life. I know she is not in her senses, but once she comes to, I am sure she will thank you too. Mr....?"

"I am Darius Delucia."

"Thank you, Mr. Delucia. I am Anna Simon, and this mad girl is my friend Rubel Johnson."

"Do you need help?"

"No, thank you. I can take her."

Rubel was muttering something without her senses.

Quickly, to avoid the sea of onlookers, I brought her to the car and drove towards the home.

~Rubel~

I fluttered my eyes, looked around, and didn't know where I was.

Analyzing the blank, white wall, a dark shadow came and stood in front of me.

Lifting my head from the surface, I tried to sit up. I forgot I was drunk last night, and now it was the time to suffer the side effects.

"What were you thinking while heading towards that damn pool?"

An annoying voice dropped in my ears, but I couldn't express what I was feeling. Otherwise, I would lose my one best friend.

I pulled my hair back to my ears as the head was drumming like a DJ station.

"Ahhh.. my head," I muttered.

"Why not? You drank until you wanted to drown yourself like an idiot," she screamed again.

I looked up, and even after shouting at me, she extended lemon water to help me out with my condition.

"I am sorry. I was hurt."

It's better to drop your weapons of argument when you know you are not going to win the battle.

"Still, Rubel... Doesn’t your life have meaning? Are you going to kill yourself because some stupid guy rejected you?"

Well, once again, I didn't capture the whole sentence. I caught the word… rejection.

My eyes turned glossy with the water blurring my vision.

"I am... I will be fine." I know she wanted to hear the exact same words.

She settled her ass on the tea table, looking at me.

"Rubel, life is important. When the time is right, your Mr. Right will come to you."

I mustered a smile. "I don't think so, Anna."

I changed the gear of my mood. How long am I going to show my vulnerability to my friend? She has to go to the office too.

My eyes landed on the clock/ Shit, another emergency. It's 9 AM.

"Shit, I have to go to the office. He is going to kill me."

I jumped and ran towards the bathroom, giving fifteen seconds to observe the bags under my green eyes. These bags already traveled the world of rejection and now settled underneath my eyes as a reminder of the night before.

I jumped into the shower and did my business. Prepared with a satin-white blouse and pencil skirt, I turned my wrist, I scanned the time on my watch.

"I am dead, and the Manhattan traffic…"

Suddenly my phone started to buzz. I knew it.

I picked up the phone while locking my door, holding all the files.

"Where are you?" A noise came from the other side.

"Coming!"

Monday panic attack, I am sure everyone was aware of it. I never liked Monday. This was the day when I lost my mind every week. The only reason was my boss rained in all his anger at me. Every day I entered with the fear of losing my job. Today might be the day when he would kick me out.

I reached the office, hastily grabbed my files, and entered the boardroom where the presentation was going on.

Phew! Maybe I am not on time, but my boss will not scold me in front of others.

"You’re late," Max whispered.

"I am sorry, I was drunk last night. And it all went downhill," I replied softly. "Is he angry?"

"Yes, he wanted you to give the presentation, and at the last moment, he had to transfer it to Kyle."

Max is my good friend, and Kyle was more like an enemy who always tried to make me feel below him.

The presentation was over, and the lights went on.

"I hope you like our stats, and I am sure you will give us a chance."

My boss, Mr. Smith, smiled, but when his eyes landed on me, it turned into a predatory peer. I knew I was dead. He would eat me alive after this.

"We like the presentation, but we need a high-end photographer and a model. We can't take risks. If you can arrange these, we will sign the contract with you."

"Sure. Here is our marketing head, Miss Rubel Johnson. She is an expert in this field."

Mr. Smith extended his hand, and all the eyes landed on me with an expectation of fulfilling the requirement.I smiled, but inside I knew I was dead.

"Thank you, sir. I will try my best. Please give me some time."

My answer should be, I will try my best to run from here. Where am I going to find a world-class photographer who would be ready in such a short time? And where the hell am I going to find a new model?

My legs started to shake as I let my hand nervously take out the lint from my skirt.

"Some time? No, Miss Rubel, we want to close this deal in one week."

Fuck.

They shook their professional hands and left, leaving me alone with rude Mr. Smith.

"Sir–"

I didn't need to say another word. Here he comes.

"You have three days to find a new model and a photographer," he demanded with a loud rumbled tone.

Luckily, the boardroom door was made of thick wood; nobody could hear his insults.

"But–"

"Now, and if you fail to do so, please submit your resignation letter to Kyle. I am sure she could handle all this."

Angered, he left the room, and I settled myself on the plush chair.

Seriously? Is there anything good going to happen in my life?

After taking a few moments to compose myself, I came out where Max was waiting for me.

"Are you okay?"

"Nope."

We settled at my cubicle, pressing my temple. I told him everything that happened as he listened to me with a blank face.

"You want to take a break? Come to my apartment."

"And what will your boyfriend say?"

"He’ll be fine. Don't worry. He knew you were one of a kind."

"Ouch. What do you mean by I am one of a kind?"

He rolled his eyes. "Trouble catcher."

I frowned, pursuing my mouth. I knew he was right, but why mention it.

"Move aside. I need to find a model and a photographer."

He smiled, clapping his hands with a playful pop. "I have an idea."

He whispered something in my ear.

"No, no, no! The boss will kill me."

"He will not. She’s coming here, take your chance." He winked and left my cubicle.

Well, he informed me to talk to Mr. Smith's arrogant daughter. She was trying to get into modeling, and this campaign could be her first big break, and we will get a fresh face to start.

It was a good option, but who wants to work with an arrogant, rich, spoiled brat?

"Go, go," Max signaled me.

She was walking towards Mr. Smith's office. I stood, wanting to walk towards her, but I bumped into her instead.

"Watch out, glasses," she snorted at me.

"I am sorry. I was coming to talk with you."

"You were not. You literally bumped into me."

Suddenly, Max came in between us to stop the foreseen drama.

"You are looking so beautiful, my dear. Wow, your dress... lovely."

"Yeah, but look at her. She tried to spoil it." She made an annoyed face towards me.

Max ran his fingers through her curls, trying to fix her hair.

"No, babe. She came to offer you your first break. Come with us."

Max signaled to follow me as we walked towards the cafeteria.

"You know, babe, you have such a unique face, and to the best of my knowledge, our company is looking for a beautiful face like you."

She was smiling. "Seriously? But dad didn't tell me."

I gulped the lump in my throat. I was playing with fire, and if Mr. Smith finds out about it, he will fire me.

"Yes, because maybe he didn't want to launch you now. Maybe he thinks you are not ready yet. We know you have that spark. We can see it in you. Right, Rubel?"

I nodded like a stupid puppet.

"What's this ad camping for?"

"It's for women's attire."

"Great, I am ready for it."

Max pressed my hand. "But babe, you have to tell your father that you know about this deal, and you want to be a part of it. Don't tell him we told you about it or he won’t agree."

Her lips twirled up as he gave her a playful wink.

"Promise," she agreed as she pecked a kiss on his cheeks.

"And Rubel will let you know every detail, but it's a secret between us."

Happily, she walked towards her dad's office to drop this unexpected bomb.

I was shaking terribly when I noted, "What did you do? What if she tells him it was us?"

"She won’t, and you should thank me. I found a model for you, and now we have to find our world-class photographer." He snaked his hand over my shoulder and pulled me back to my cubicle, proud of himself.