[Nicole]

I looked from the image bent on one knee in front of me to the diamond ring which he held, and then back to the image again. Under different circumstances I would be jumping right now in excitement but that was not the case.

It is funny how my long time wish came to pass, and I wasn't in the least excited. Who would be? Under the same circumstances.

I continued to arrange my stuff, not paying the slightest attention to Clark who looked on, high in expectations.

The beautiful piece of diamond reflected under the bright light in the room, forcing me to give it an admiring look, but only for a brief moment. My admiration gave way for irritation, and I shot Clark a hard stare.

What is wrong with you? I wanted to ask him but instead I asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm asking you to marry me, and you are ignoring me over a minor issue." Clark replied and my stare only became harder. I was too bittered to say anything to him.

Clara would be here any minute, I thought in a bid to cheer myself up, and increased my speed. From the corner of my eyes I saw Clark wipe off beads of perspiration from his face, and I knew he was becoming impatient.

There was no way I'd agree to marry Clark, not after his betrayal. The sooner he realizes it, the better for him.

His knee must be hurting now, I noted with a bit of satisfaction without sparing a glance at his direction. To think that he did not tender a proper apology to me only made me think less and less of him.

"Are you going to accept my proposal or not? He asked, and I shook my head in self-pity. He must have taken that as a no because he stood up the next instant.

Blinded by love and the fear of being alone, I had put up with Clark's arrogance for five years, and now I don't have to anymore which was both relieving and saddening at the same time.

"I can't accept your proposal." I said in a calm voice when in fact I was suppressing the urge to smack him across his stupid face.

"Are you going somewhere?" His eyebrows furrowed in surprise. He seemed to notice just then that I was packing.

"Why are you packing?" He asked after a couple of minutes during which I said nothing.

"You betrayed me, Clark and you betrayed my trust." I can't believe I had to explain this to him.

"Is this about the lady you saw earlier?" He asked, and I stared at him with disbelief.

Clara was right, I can't stay here for one more night. Clark is unbelievable, and a total jerk.

"My affairs with other ladies have never been an issue, why are you making an issue out of it now?" Clark asked, and I immediately wished Clara was here already. All I wanted was to leave his house and his life without a fight but it seemed more difficult with every passing second.

"Today isn't a first time thing or a mistake, is that what you're saying?" I asked, not because I care but to make leaving him even easier.

"Well, the other ladies weren't secrets, so I assumed you were aware." He explained. I nodded my head in false understanding while I wondered what was taking Clara so long.

As if in answer to my innermost prayer, I heard the sound of a car honking outside, and I sprang up on my feet, grateful to leave Clark's presence at last.

* * * * * * * *

The stillness of the room was interrupted by the sound of Clara's alarm, disrupting both of our sleep and announcing the fifth hour of the day. I rolled out of bed, and headed straight to the bathroom, leaving Clara who had only managed to turn off the alarm and go back to sleep on the bed.

For months now since I left Clark, I have been both a housemate and a roommate to Clara. Even though there are empty rooms in the house, she had insisted we shared a room.

Getting settled had been less difficult than I feared as we both fitted perfectly into each other's lives. In fact, our bond has only managed to wax stronger within the past months.

"Are you done yet?" Clara asked from the bedroom. From the way she sounded I could bet she was still on the bed.

"I'll be out shortly." I replied, even though I was just getting started.

I stepped out of the bathroom a little while later, and I was not surprised in the slightest to see Clara on the bed, with the blanket pulled over her face.

With a mischievous grin, I pulled the blanket off her, and touched her exposed skin with my cold hands.

"Your turn" I said when she groaned in protest.

"Go get ready or we'll be late." I said in a firm voice, ignoring her protests.

She rose up slowly from the bed, giving me a hard stare, one I reacted to by sticking out my tongue at her.

"Why can't everyday be a holiday?" She asked, heading for the bathroom, and we both laughed.

I left for the kitchen to make breakfast while Clara washed up, and when I got back to the bedroom, Clara was already out of the bathroom.

"I thought you left without me." Clara joked once she noticed my presence.

"I didn't think it through, I had access to your car keys." I joked back.

"You really should have taken the car. It's the least you could have gotten from putting up with him all these years." Clara added, and I felt my heart begin to race.

"I don't want him, and I don't want anything that belongs to him." I said. My voice came out on a sad note however I tried to sound indifferent.

"Are we having breakfast today?" Clara asked, giving me a knowing look. She must have noticed the sadness in my tone, and quickly changed the subject.

"Very well, I was coming from the kitchen where I went to make breakfast." I replied, and we were both thrown into a laughing feat.

"I thought breakfast was off the menu." Clara asked amidst laughter.

"It was, but after our unpleasant experience yesterday, it is back on the menu." I added, and our laughter increased somewhat.

"Did you notice that it took over six hours before it was finally time for lunch break?" Clara asked.

"Six hours? I thought it was eight." I added, heading for the closet while Clara followed from behind.

We picked the last dresses we had arranged for the week, since it was Friday and proceeded to put them on.

"Thank goodness it's Friday." Clara declared, and I couldn't agree more. Aside from the excitement of being a staff of Litt's int'l, it can also be very demanding.

"How much time do we have left before we are late?" I asked as I put away the pair of shoes I had selected earlier and settled for another.

"Over an hour," Clara replied after a brief look at her wristwatch.

"Let's go have breakfast," I suggested, grabbing a wrist watch from my collection. "It's better to be too early than to be too late." I added, heading out.

Clara, who had stopped to rearrange her collection of jewelry, followed suit, and together we went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

[Author]

The entire staff of Litt's int'l corporation trooped into the large conference room in small groups, following the CEO's call for a brief meeting which was related to them by mail. It was a few minutes before lunch time, and they were all relieved to have a break from their work right before lunch. The only worry was that it was the CEO, Louis Johnson Litt who had summoned them.

While they waited patiently for the CEO to arrive, they engaged in chitchats with each other, wondering what the summon was about, and fearing greatly for their jobs.

Clara stood in a corner of the room, amidst a few other colleagues. They too were not left out on the chitchats which seemed to be the only way to pass time while waiting for the CEO's arrival. Her eyes darted at intervals towards the door for any sign of her best friend, Nicole who is the CEO's personal assistant.

Nicole stepped into the hall a little while later, carrying with her an air of authority, so that the whisperings reduced somewhat, following her arrival.

"Mr Louis Johnson will be joining us shortly." She announced. Her eyes searched frantically for Clara, and when she found her, she rested her gaze on her. Clara, who enjoys being picked out from the crowd, gave her a thumbs up and a wink.

She then watched with satisfaction, the smile forming at the corner of Nicole's mouth.

"Please, let's quit the whisperings as..." She stopped as the hall became totally quiet, following the CEO's arrival.

As usual, his was an aura of pride and arrogance which was deeply rooted in his family's name and riches. While working at Litt's int'l corporation was a dream come true for anyone, working directly for Louis Johnson was a nightmare.

It was rumoured that he is the only surviving child of the Litt's, and another rumour had it that he is only an adopted child but no one had been able to confirm which of the stories is true. Everyone carried out their duties to the best of their ability, and avoided coming into direct contact with him.

"Thank you, Nicole." Mr Louis acknowledged, studying the room with the usual haughtiness in his eyes. His voice was surprisingly warm as he addressed Nicole, and when he turned towards Nicole's direction for the shortest of moments, the haughtiness in his eyes was gone.

He smiled at her, and she stiffened in response while the others looked on in silence. If they noticed his gentleness towards Nicole, or her uneasiness under his watchful eyes, they did not show it. None of them was ready to lose their jobs over something that has nothing to do with them.

"We will be having a three-agenda party tomorrow," He started, addressing the crowd. The haughtiness was back on his eyes. "The company's forty-fifth anniversary, the new CEO's arrival, and of course, my send forth." Louis Johnson announced, and watched with a face devoid of emotion as the staff expressed their surprises by way of hushed gasps, and whisperings.

Nicole was no exception, her surprised look towards Louis' direction was enough proof. Even though she worked directly for Louis, She did not know of this development, and like the others, she was not sure what to make of it.

Although Louis Johnson Litt has not been the best of bosses, he was much more preferable to a different CEO whose name they didn't even know.

A few hands clapped, but a displeased look towards the persons who clapped restored decorum to the hall immediately.

Louis continued to speak in his usual authoritative tone, and the noise immediately died down.

"The time and venue for the party will be sent via email only to those whose presence is needed." He finished, and headed towards the exit while Nicole trailed behind him.

* * * * * * * * *

"I can't believe I didn't get invited to the damn party." Clara said, in a tone which clearly was a failed attempt to sound indifferent and more of disappointment. "Did you not send the mails? How did you not invite me?" She asked, swiping through her phone. She was going through her mails for the umpteenth time since they returned from the office.

"Louis specifically asked me not to, and I had no access to the list as well." Nicole replied. She wished Clara would get get invited as well, attending the party alone didn't sound like fun.

"Well, who cares about some damn party." She added with a shrug, a little while later, putting her phone away.

"Relax," Nicole cooed. "It's still Friday night, I'm sure invitations are still going round. Besides, it's just one of those boring parties where..."

"I got an invite to the party!" Clara screamed, cutting Nicole off. She was waving her phone in Nicole's direction to show her the mail.

"Thank goodness! Now I don't have to go alone, and be by myself all night," Nicole said. "And I won't have to listen to your complaints all night." She added and they both laughed.

Nicole had received her invitation a few minutes after the meeting. As the CEO's secretary it was not surprising at all. In fact what was surprising was that she hadn't sent out the mails herself. Some of her colleagues had jokingly told her that while the others will party into the night she would work into the night.

"Since all three agendas concern every staff of the company, why not leave the invitation open?" Nicole asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care. What matters is that I have been invited." Clara replied. It was useless to hide her excitement from Nicole who knew her as though she was an open book or a transparent glass.

"Can we eat now?" Nicole asked, rolling her eyes.

"Of course, but not before you fill me in on what is going on between you two." Clara said, winking at her friend who stared back at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about, I mean, who?" Nicole asked. For all she knew, Clara was up to one of her groundless rumours.

"The CEO of course," Clara replied. "Don't think his gentleness towards you went unnoticed by me." She added, winking even more.

"Oh, that." Nicole said, looking away.

"Yes, that." Clara replied, not caring about her friend's embarrassment. In fact, she relished it.

" I was just as surprised as everyone else, considering how impolitely he treats me." Nicole explained, in a bid to defend herself but Clara was not buying it.

"You can't possibly mean that. I know what I saw in the conference room today, the CEO is very much into you." Clara squealed. "I would appreciate a salary increase and less working days, could you put in a word for me?" Clara joked while they both laughed.

"First, you're only making things up, and second, you're crazy." Nicole replied, and they both wound up in more laughter.

"This conversation is not over yet." Clara declared, heading out of the room to the kitchen. Now that she was no longer worried about not getting an invite to the party, she realized just how hungry she was.

"Not me, I'm done talking about this." Nicole countered, following Clara from behind.