Charlie's Web (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 9

Charlie actually slept surprisingly well considering how rejected she'd felt, and she woke up feeling remarkably pragmatic about the situation. Jake thought she was engaged, of course he wasn't going to continue contacting her! He was a good man, and he had actually proved that by sending that one nice message last night. And now he wasn't going to try and pursue her, despite her clearly leading question.

Of course, she still felt a bit put out. Especially since she knew that her fiance wasn't even a real person. And she would have liked to see more of Jake. But she supposed the weekend had proved, if nothing else, that she could still be attractive to the opposite sex. Of course, did that mean that every time she wanted to pull a guy she was going to have to don a fake wedding veil and sparkly tiara? Hopefully not.

She had actually found herself conscious earlier than usual so had time to make a bit of effort for work. While she might not give a damn what Aaron The Prick thought anymore, she still wanted to look good, especially after yesterday's fallen-out-of-bed-and-straight-into-the-dustbin look.

And not to mention the fact she was going to be forced to spend time with him and only a few others in close quarters for this infernal planning meeting.

She selected a dark green lacy shift dress, which was pretty simple but accentuated her natural curves, and applied her make-up with a lot more care than she usually would. She even went as far as to curl her hair with straighteners, something she rarely even attempted as she seemed to be missing the gene that allowed other girls to do this so effortlessly. For once it actually worked though and as she sprayed several layers of hairspray on to attempt to seal the deal, she congratulated herself through coughs. "Why is hairspray so fumey?" she choked, fumbling through the hair product fog for some perfume to cover up the stench. It felt like a day to smell like Um Bungo, so she opted for her Sarah Jessica Parker NYC scent and applied it liberally.

She charged out into the hallway - "Thea, can I borrow your denim jacket?" she shouted as she entered the kitchen. She knew it wouldn't actually do up over her chest but it was the perfect way to dress down what was actually quite a fancy outfit. And while she wanted to look nice, she didn't want to look like she'd tried too hard.

"Sure." Thea was at the toastie maker as usual, and today only had her shirt and pants on - the rest of her clothes were on the kitchen table and she was attempting once again to dress while making toasties. The girl was ludicrous. "I think it's just in my wardro - wow." Her eyes widened as she turned around and spotted Charlie in her done-up glory. "You going to work or for afternoon tea at The Corinthian?"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment" Charlie retorted, although it did cement her fear she was overdressed. The denim jacket was most definitely needed. And perhaps she'd just stick to her plain black ballet pumps rather than adding heels. That also lessened the chances of her falling flat on her face which was an added bonus.

"You okay?" Thea asked when Charlie returned, clutching the jacket. "It's not like you to be quite this done up for work."

Charlie reached into the fridge and pulled out a coconut yogurt - her diet trend this week was a plant-based diet so she'd renounced all dairy. Starting from now obviously given the fact she'd eaten twenty cheesestrings the previous evening.

"Jake never replied to me," she said matter-of-factly. "It made me feel like I should make a wee bit more of an effort with myself today - sometimes it just makes you feel better to get a bit gussied up, you know?"

"Understood." Thea nodded. She finished zipping up her skirt and slipped her own ballet pumps on. "You must be gutted."

"Just a tad," Charlie shrugged, sounding far more nonchalant than she actually felt in reality. She'd never been good at rejection although she'd always felt like she'd had a lot of practice. But hers was a fragile ego and unlike Thea, she wore her heart on her sleeve. Which, let's face it, is probably what had scared Aaron away too. The prick.