CHAPTER 1

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Cashay smiled upon staring down at the dramatic presentation of the dinner table, and extended her sight to the whole living room up to the balcony of her small pad in Garden View Tower in Quezon City.

"Perfect! If this doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will!" She thought smiling while looking at the extra romantic setting of a candle-light dinner set-up that she herself  prepared for the celebration of her seventh anniversary with Cinco.

That's it. If this dinner doesn't ignite their feelings for each other, then it's hopeless.

She tried to get that thought out of her mind but it wouldn't. She then just called the delivery service of her favorite fine-dining restaurant, Liv's. It was a special favor from its owner and her best friend, Olivia. Liv insisted that she cooked for her and Cinco a four-course dinner, including dessert.

Liv's food will arrive 30 minutes before Cinco does. She'll just put the food in the oven so that it won't cool down.

She smiled upon looking at her wrist watch. She still has two hours, ample time to prepare herself and be attractive before her boyfriend arrives.

She turned her smart TV on and played her favorite soft music via Spotify. She walked straight to the only bedroom in her flat, got naked and walked in to the bath. She soaked herself in the bathtub which to her was the main reason why she got attracted to that small condo unit, aside from the fact that she couldn't afford getting a bigger unit with her then job as an assistant designer in a rather big and well known clothing line. Her grandparents are very wealthy but she wanna make it on her own. She wanted to prove her own worth and discover the limits of her abilities. After graduating from the university, she immediately got her job in the same company and never left. It seemed ages ago.

At thirty-one, that unit was her witness and partner through all the milestones and happenings in her life. Her room had also gone through various make overs from shabby chic, punk rock, purist, until a lot of things happened that led to its current design which is modernist. And despite the crammed space, she refuses to give that unit up even if she can now afford to buy a condo triple the size of her current unit without a sweat. After a number of promotions, she's now the creative director of the design department  of the clothing line that she's working for.

She's singing along with the music that goes through her open door while soaked in a perfumed water where she put oils and petals and other fragrant liquids so that even her sweat would smell good. She dried herself with a towel after bathing and wore her red sexy dress. She also wore a pair of flimsy, high-heeled sandals, and made herself the prettiest she's ever been.

Her regular delivery boy, Jim, was dazed upon looking at her when she opened the door for him.

"You might catch a fly with your mouth open, Jim." She said chuckling.

"You're really very pretty, Miss Cash. Like no other."

"Tell your boss about it so she would envy me for once." She said referring to her best friend, Olivia.

"Will do."

They both laughed at that exchange.

Feeling good about herself, she waited for Cinco. However, thirty minutes had passed and he still hasn't arrived. She stood up, served herself a glass of red wine and chose a different play list. After another half an hour, she took her cell phone out and called her boyfriend.

As usual, his line was no longer available. She took a deep sigh and just shook her head. She opened her laptop and read the internal memos that she set aside when she was in the office. She decided to spend her time reading those memos while waiting for her boyfriend.

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