Spilled Coffee

Chapter 1: The Meeting

Jane POV

Jane's morning was going extremely well. She had woken up well rested and content, which was rare for her these days. For once, her shower wasn't freezing cold, and she'd even had enough time to go down to her local corner shop and buy herself some coffee and breakfast.

As she was getting the lid for her coffee cup, something bumped into her, spilling the hot beverage all over the floor and the white blouse she was wearing. She looked up to see the most  beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was golden-haired and had eyes the color of sky at dawn, a glittering, ocean blue.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, let me pay for that coffee" the woman said.

"What the fuck man, you ruined my white shirt. The fuck am I supposed to do now."

"Alright, I said I'm sorry, no need to be an asshole."

"I have a job interview in FIFTEEN MINUTES." Jane yelled.

"No way, me too! Maybe I'll see you there." the woman said smugly.

"UGHHH" Jane yelled, then promptly stomped towards the bathroom, muttering a litany of curses under her breath as she went.

Luckily she was a very put together person and always carried a spare shirt in her purse. She swiftly changed in one of the stalls. Once she was done, she walked towards the sink and examined herself in the mirror, making sure she looked presentable. She rearranged her wavy brown hair, making sure it looked professional and neat from all angles. Then she took a deep breath, turned, and walked out the door, having completely forgotten about her coffee.

Jane then glanced at her watch and.... shit. Shit shit shit. She was going to be so late. She ran as fast as she could to the coffee shop that her interview was going to be held at, and got there just in the nick of time, panting and gasping for air.

As she entered the coffee shop, she walked to the back and knocked on what she guessed was the manager's office. She heard a woman's voice with a thick accent she couldn't place say "Come in!" enthusiastically, as if she were excited for the interview. Jane could not relate.

She walked into the room, her eyes immediately focusing on the woman with jet-black hair sitting behind a desk. She looked to be about 60, perhaps a little older, and she had dark bags under her eyes. Jane's eyes scanned the room, and that was when she noticed.... oh fuck. It was that blonde wanker from the corner store. Fuck fuck fuck. Fuck me. Fuck you. Fuck everyone in this fucking place. Jane was so, so fucked. That bitch was sitting on the other side of the desk, smiling at Jane like all was right in the world and Jane wasn't completely panicking on the inside, because holy shit, was this awkward.

"Jane, if you could sit down, we should really start the interview." the older woman said.

Jane suddenly realized she had been staring and quickly looked away. "Oh yeah, of course." Jane swiftly pulled out a chair from under the desk and sat down.

"Okay girls, my name is Esmeralda, but you two will be calling me Mrs Radler, and I'll hopefully be your manager. Jane, this is Samantha Smith. Sam, this is Jane Watson. I hope you too will get along." the woman said.

Get along. Fat chance. I've spoken to his woman once and I already hate her, and it seems that she feels the same way.

As the interview progressed, things became more and more awkward, until Jane could practically taste the tension in the air.

"Alright girls, this has been a very pleasant interview indeed. You'll get a call tonight if you've gotten the job. Have a nice day!" Mrs Radler said.

As the two girls leave the office, Sam turns too Jane and whispers quietly, but menacingly "I hope I don't get this job, because I don't know how I would be able to stand looking at your face every day, Watson."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual, Smith." Jane replies.

****
Time skip: Later that evening

Jane was sitting on her sofa, watching some crappy sitcom, waiting for her best friend Niamh to respond to her message, when she suddenly got a call. She picked it up, and said "Hello, this is Jane Watson speaking, how can I help you?".

"Hi Jane, this is Mrs Radler, you remember me, I was just calling to tell you that YOU GOT THE JOB!!! AHHH I'M SO EXCITED TO BEGIN WORKING WITH YOU" Mrs Radler practically screamed into the phone. She sounded like she was about to burst from excitement.

Jane thought she might have burst an eardrum. "Hi Mrs Radler, that's fantastic. I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow at 9?"

"That's right, doll! See ya tomorrow! Oh, and by the way, dear Samantha got the job too. I'm sure you'll get along just perfect!"

Jane grimaced at the thought of seeing Sam again, of seeing her straight nose and fluffy hair and annoyingly pretty face, but she swallowed down her distaste and said in an overly enthusiastic voice "I can't wait to start tomorrow! I really have to go, but have a good night!"

"Good night doll!"

Jane hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief the moment she did. It was harder than she thought to pretend to like that girl, and even harder to pretend to be excited for a job. A job.

Jane hated jobs, down to her very bones. She'd rather just stay in and read or paint, maybe listen to some music. She would even prefer to play softball with Niamh, you see they both played on the same team, than go work, but it turns out that painting and playing softball doesn't pay bills, so she had to get a job. At least it wasn't an awful corporate job like last time, making spreadsheets and sitting at a desk all day. Ugh.

Jane fell asleep on the sofa that night, still thinking about jobs and softball and that frustratingly beautiful Sam that Jane had decided she hated. But if you really think about it, hate and love aren't that different, are they?