SCARLETT. As soon as the waiter left, I turned back to face Finn. He seemed more interested in his phone now that the room was empty. I closed my eyes and stared down at the menu card, just to distract myself. I didn't have a phone to distract myself with. I had totally forgotten that my phone had crashed since yesterday. It was easy to forget because most of my work was done on the system in my room or the living room or my study. Yes, I had three desktops to work on different parts of the house. And I had been solely avoiding getting a new phone just because I didn't want to pick up calls from either my parents or Kelvin. Just as I had that train of thought, it hit me that my parents would be extremely worried that I wasn't taking their calls and coming over to my apartment. I hated them visiting. I couldn't bear their judgment of my choice of interior decoration. It wasn't something to hassle over but my parents, most especially my mother, made it a point of du

SCARLETT. I watched the waiter get a cleaner to clean up the mess while exchanging knowing smiles with Finn. He leaned back against his seat and kept tapping the table till they were done and they all left. Finn peered down at the plate before him, looking utterly confused. He picked up his fork and began to touch it slowly. "Careful. You'll ruin it," I said to him. He looked up at me. "What's this?" I laughed. "That's fresh burrata with prosciutto di Parma," "Fuck does that mean?" I burst in laughter, nearly losing control of myself, but I fanned myself with my hands and stopped. "Eat it with your hands, okay? It's more enjoyable that way." Finn shook his head and let his fork down gently. He looked at his side into the tiny basket that had been set beside him. It had toasted bread smeared with olive oil contained in it. "At least, this is what I can eat." He said, and picked up a perfectly cut slice, before taking a bite. My hand paused in the air as I wat

FINN. Just as I was about to take off my shirt, my phone buzzed in my pocket. This brought me back to the reality of the fact that I haven't received a call for the past few days. I don't get so many calls so I'm guessing it's either from my mother, Raya, whom I haven't called since I came here, or maybe a client I worked for needing my services. One of my guesses is correct. It is Raya. Before I pick up her call, I close my eyes and say a silent prayer as I wait to be berated. I picked up the call and brought my phone to my ears, immediately speaking before she could say a thing. "Hello, lovely sister! I was just about to call you. I guess we think alike, don't we?" "Fuck that, Finn." She snapped. "You weren't going to call. I know how high-pitched your voice gets when you're lying," Man, she knows me through and through. I sighed and leaned against the wall of the small changing room. "I'm sorry, Raya. I've just been really busy." "Really busy that you for

SCARLETT. Monday came so fast that I could barely believe it. One morning, it's Saturday and fun with Finn, and the next, it's Monday, and time to wake up by six. I really wanted to be in bed now but knowing how much of a workaholic person I am, I climbed out of bed. Today was going to be slow and boring for me and I did not even have the excitement to dress sexy for Finn. Monday had to be my worst day of all days in the week. I decided to dress normal today, putting on a pencil skirt and a navy blue silk top with thin straps for my hands. It looks quite casual but still sophisticated. I do not bother wearing a jacket as it is hot today. It's seven when I am done and I go into the kitchen to find Tiffany cooking. "Oh, you're back," I said as I grabbed a cup of coffee from the table. I realized there was another sitting beside mine and I frowned. "Are you going to have coffee, too?" She turned to me. I knew that look. She was about to get sarcastic. "Oh, dear,

SCARLETT. For the whole of today, I didn't set my eyes on Finn. I was busy with Marsai, Abigail, and Omar, and a few heads in the conference hall. We took a lot of time, talking and pointing out different mistakes and making corrections. We went to lunch and I had to ask someone to get us food and we ate while still working. By the time we were done, it was almost evening. Marsai and Omar fell into their seats, breathing tiredly. "Can we at least rest?" Marsai cried, her voice trembling with tiredness and she fell back into her chair. Abigail looked at me and so did Omar. I could see the tiredness on their faces. But I turned a deaf ear to them. "How dare you? Tired when I am not?" "But you've done nothing but sit there all day while snacking. We've been on our feet!" "Abigail?" I said and gave her a stern look. "Ten minutes." Even with the groans, they were aware that nothing would change my mind. After the ten-minute break, we went back to work and the clock