Only The Beginning

Chapter One

A/N Dear awesome followers and readers of exceptional taste and good looks, I hope you enjoy these sample chapters. I wrote this just for my Wattpad peeps! <3

Brooke arrived at Melissa's apartment with mascara running down her porcelain perfect

complexion. "Please, please, please," Brooke said, her blue eyes

growing wider with each plea. "You're my only hope of getting out of this mess. I'm so afraid Dex will find out."

Melissa stood in her ripped sweatpants, holding a steaming bowl of Mr. Noodles, unable to fathom what her best friend had just confessed. "Why would you start something so...?" she asked. 

"Stupid?"

Sleazy, Melissa thought.

Brooke sniffed and produced a tissue from the pocket of her camel hair coat—the latest present from Dex. "The stress got to me. I guess I started to freak out about the wedding. And Dex's mother is obsessed with every little detail of the ceremony. It's driving me crazy." She daintily blew her nose. The massive engagement ring caught the overhead kitchen light, temporarily distracting Melissa. The familiar mix of hurt and envy worked its way into her chest.

Brooke noticed. "Don't give me your 'holier than thou' look, Mels. The website is perfectly harmless. It's not like I was really cheating. It's fun and flirty." Then she smiled and laughed, embarrassed. "Besides, Dex reaped the benefits."

Melissa put down the noodles and pulled out the inhaler from her sweatpants pocket. The image of Brook and Dex together in bed was like a claw reaching through Melissa's chest and squeezing her heart.

"Sorry," Brooke said, patting Melissa's back. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm fine." Melissa wheezed, feeling her constricted lungs ease open. It was quiet in her little kitchen for a few breaths. The only sound was the ticking of her cat wall clock, its eyes and tail moving in sync with the second hand.

Brooke spoke first. "I don't have any right to ask for your help," she said. "It's just that you're the one person I trust the most." Then she dipped her head. "I've been a rotten friend at times, but we've always made it through our fights. That's something, right? And I promise to get you to see Mr. Donaghy."

Melissa snorted at this. "You've been promising that for months."

"I'm filling in for his personal assistant! Just started this week!" She smiled, suddenly energetic. "I have access to his calendar. I can simply book you in, then you can razzle dazzle him with your advertising talent and ideas and stuff."

"And stuff?" Melissa suspected Brooke's looks and ability to charm anyone was more of an asset than any amount of college degrees. Still, a chance to do an account with Donaghy Inc. would be huge for Melissa, even life changing.

"Please. I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't dependent on my future," Brooke said. She took Melissa by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. "You're my maid of honor, my best friend...my cohort in mischievous schemes. Please, you've never let me down."

Melissa knew she would agree. It was impossible to say no to Brooke, plus the thought of walking into Mr. Donaghy's office made her giddy, unexpectedly ready for any challenge.

At once the details spilled out from Brooke; she'd joined Lovers' Oasis, an online fantasy game, and started a virtual relationship. "Perfectly discreet and perfectly harmless," she'd defended. But now the guy was flying in to meet her and even if Brooke met him to say no thanks, she was terrified Dex would find out.