Love That Never Lasts

Chapter 1

Claire woke up on Monday morning to the shining, Los Angeles sun. She got up and got dressed for her first day working at Wilson's, Los Angeles' trendy fashion boutique. She chose to wear a pair of high waist jeans with a beautiful light blue tanktop. She was ready to start her day.

Claire left her apartment. She took her car to the store.

When she arrived, a handsome, young man came out and asked, "Hey, you have to be Claire White, is that right?"

"Yes, I am Claire, and you are Brandon, my boss?", she answered.

"Yes, I am. You look surprised."

Claire couldn't stop staring at Brandon's gorgeous eyes.

"Claire!", he shouted, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh, I-I thought you would be older," she stammered, blushing slightly.

Brandon looked at Claire and said,

"I recently took over the store from my parents. My dad was the one that hired you. My name is Brandon Jr. Wilson, I was named after my dad."

"Oh, I understand! I'll do my best to exceed their and your expectations," she said.

Brandon started walking out of the store's entrance and said,

"Let's go and talk to your co-worker Elena and then we can get you started."

Claire followed Brandon into the store.

Elena came up to Claire and said, "Welcome to Wilson's, you must be Claire. My name is Elena."

Claire shook her hand and said, "Nice to meet you Elena."

Brandon tried to get Claire and Elena's attention and said,

"Okay, let's get to work. Elena, please continue what you were doing before. I will show Claire the warehouse."

Elena walked away and started making a new look in the shop window.

Brandon and Claire went to the warehouse.

"Elena's job is to take a look in here once a week to see if anything should be ordered," he said.

Claire nodded and said, "I think I am ready to start working. Shall we go back to the store?"

"Sure!", he answered, smiling at her enthusiasm.

Brandon and Claire left the warehouse and arrived back in the store.

Brandon looked at Claire and said, "You can unpack the packages that arrived last week. Talk to Elena if you have any questions. I have some errands to do, I should be back in the afternoon."

Brandon took his car keys and said goodbye to the girls, then left the store.

***

Later that day, Claire and Elena waited for Brandon to return from his errands.

Suddenly, Brandon opened the door and said, "Hey girls!, Sorry I'm late the errands took longer than planned."

"It's okay, we had a good day. Claire did a great job," Elena said.

Claire smiled and said, "Thank you, Elena. I really enjoyed my first day."

Brandon felt guilty for missing Claire's first day but he mentally promised himself he would be more helpful in the future.

"Great work, ladies! It's time to close the store and go home for today," he said.

Claire said goodbye to Brandon and Elena, and thanked them for today.

When she got home, she took a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. She decided to lay down in the couch and relax. A few minutes later her iPhone rang, her friend Amanda was calling her. Claire told her everything about the first day at Wilson's, including about her boss Brandon who she thought was very hot and whom she may have a small crush on.

***

The next day, Claire arrived at Wilson's, a couple of minutes earlier than planned. Brandon and Elena weren't there yet. A few minutes later, Elena arrived to the boutique. Elena yawned and said, "Good morning, I'm sorry for arriving late but I didn't sleep well last night. My neighbor's violent dog barked all night long and kept me awake."

Claire smiled and decided to play along Elena's excuse for arriving late.

"Don't worry about that. I have been through the same situation where I lived before. I had a neighbor with a violent dog that also barked all night long," she explained.

"It was so annoying, I won't be able to stand it once again. I really hope my neighbor keeps his barking dog inside tonight otherwise I'm gonna go mental!," said Elena seriously.

Elena switched the open and closed sign on the door from closed to open. Claire and Elena started working. Brandon still hadn't shown up. It was already 10.30am, Elena and Claire were starting to get worried about what could have happened to him.

***

Brandon picked up his cellphone from his backpack on the seat beside him, and was going to call the boutique but suddenly his cellphone started to ring. The boutique's phone number popped up on the screen. Brandon smiled because how the ladies (especially the beautiful Claire) were having such a caring attitude towards him. He answered the call and when Claire, who was the one speaking, asked him where he was, he said he was stuck in traffic on the highway that goes downtown.

After hearing what was happening to him, Claire said, "Alright, take your time and make sure to stay safe. Elena and I are handling everything."

He couldn't believe he had heard her say that, he blushed a little. He loved how caring she was and that maybe, he maybe something less professional could happen soon in their relationship.