The Write Choice

Chapter 4

Melanie hit the snooze on her iPhone and pulled the covers back over her head. Memories of the evening washed over her. Tiffany's comments about her weight and lack of fashion sense still stung.

What a beatch. Thank God Brandon didn't hear her.

She wanted to stay in bed. Maybe if she faked a pulled hammie from last night's backflip she wouldn't have to go into the office?

Crap.

She couldn't call in sick. She never was one to be late or lie to get out of writing a paper in college or miss a class to head to the beach.  She pulled back the covers and planted her feet on the ground determined to tackle the day.

She ordered her usual waffles with berries and pot of coffee with cream. When she opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see her new bellman buddy, Chin, waiting with a huge grin. He had probably switched shifts to wait on her this morning. Thank god the trip was only a few days long, or Melanie would use up her entire 401k tipping him.

He lingered a moment after setting the silver tray on the table. "Anything else you need Ms Melanie?"

"No, thank you."

He shifted his feet. "Um...you married or have boyfriend?" he blurted out unexpectedly.

"Uh...no," she stuttered.

"That's very good," Chin shot her a seductive look. "My Mother...she would like you. She would like you very, very much."

Trying to recover, Melanie stumbled over her words. "Oh yes, yes...I didn't understand what you were saying. I have a boyfriend. His name is...Jake. Yes, Jake is my boyfriend. So sorry about that!"

For a moment, Chin looked like he had lost his best friend but recovered quickly. "It's ok Ms. Melanie, you're maybe too old for me anyway."

She didn't know if she should be relieved or irritated.

He pulled off the top of the silver serving dish and unfolded a crisp, white napkin. "You have to go to work today?"

"Uh yes. I have another meeting today."

"You need to have more fun," he frowned.

"Right...," she replied.

"I know the perfect place," he said with a fast grin. "You can take the cable car."

"The what?"

"The cable car to Sentosa Island. It's very beautiful. You would like a lot!" He held out his hand for the tip.

She dug into her purse. "It sounds nice. Thank you for the tip."

I bet he's thanking me for the big tip right now.

"Have a good day," she said as she pushed him out the door once again. And knowing it was inevitable added, "See you tomorrow."

She had no idea what to wear and pulled a light gray linen skirt from her suitcase. She put it on and surveyed herself in the mirror. It fell mid-calf. Tiffany's head popped into her mind like one of those bobbleheads you get at a Giants game. The giant Tiffany head bobbed up-and-down. "It's refreshing how you don't conform to the latest style trends," she taunted.

Surveying herself in the mirror again, she pulled the skirt up until it was a few inches above her knee. She tucked the extra fabric up under her bra.

Not bad.

Next, she put on a white blouse (another White House Black Market clearance item). Normally, Melanie would only leave the top two buttons open, but this time, she left an additional button opened. She mused one of the perks of not being a size zero was you actually had boobs and didn't look like a flat washboard ready for next week's laundry. Melanie considered them to be one of her best features. She just didn't give them very much air time. She glanced again in the mirror.