My Summer Love Story | ✔️

ch. 43 ✰ dinner with the boss

I toss my phone to the other side of the couch as hot tears invade my face. My knees crouch up to my chest as I cry into my arms, feeling my entire body shivering. My breath heaves in and out as I feel all my emotions that I have been bubbling up inside of me for almost a month spew out of my eyes. For my entire life, I have felt so restricted, especially from my parents, and now that I am finally doing something that I love, they are getting on my nerves and saying shit about me, shit that makes my heart break into pieces. When will they ever accept me for who I am?

Once my crying had subsided, my nose had started to get a bit stuffed, so I get up from the couch, phone in hand, and trudge over to the kitchen to grab a tissue. I blow my nose into the tissue and throw it into the trashcan. Silence takes over my apartment, and I sigh to myself, sitting up on my kitchen counter. The time on my phone reads 6:06pm, and I immediately conclude to myself that I should probably eat dinner, stat. My stomach even starts to growl, and I grumble to myself.

As I start to rummage through the cabinets, trying to decide whether I should have ramen for dinner or takeout, I hear my phone ring on the other side. Ugh, who is it now? I pick my phone up and see that the caller ID reads, Sasha Maren. Why is my boss calling me? Oh God, am I going to get fired? Already?!

I start to panic to myself and pick up the phone, taking a deep breath as I press the speaker button. "Hello?" I squeak out.

"Reeya, is that you?" I hear Sasha's voice.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Maren!" I immediately straighten up on the counter. Please don't fire me, please don't fire me, PLEASE don't fire me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking," she chuckles. "I had called you to ask if you wanted to hang out for the rest of the night."

My eyes widen in shock. "Hang out?"

"Yes, of course," she replies. "I always make sure to build a relationship with my employees, and since you're new, I had thought that I should probably treat you to dinner and get to know you better."

My boss wants to take me out for dinner? Huh, interesting. "Oh, wow, uh- that's so kind of you!" I gleam. "And yes, I would definitely love to eat dinner with you. When and where?"

"Well, we can meet by Times Square, and then we can stroll around, have a little chat, and we can have dinner at a nice fancy place. You are fond of Italian food, correct?"

"Ma'am, fond is a bit of an understatement," I chuckle. Sasha lets out a laugh. "Gotcha! Well, make sure to be ready in an hour, alright?"

"Alright," I nod my head. "Thank you, again! Can't wait to see you!" And then, she hangs up the phone.

I place my phone down on the counter and look down at it in shock. Am I really about to have dinner with my boss? And I thought bosses and employees never built relationships or bonds in the first place! What especially shocks me the most is the fact that the Sasha Maren had asked me to hang out with her... just her mere assistant!

My feet land on the ground as I leave the kitchen. You know what? This is not only a great thing because of me building a relationship with my boss, but it is also good so I can distract myself from my problems. I can forget about my argument with my parents, and I can also forget about Akash and that he ever existed. I need to move on from my issues and expand my growth, because if I spend my entire time being upset over people, then I'm literally going to get nowhere in life. So, I need to grow, expand, and become a better person as well.

But one step at a time.

~ ~ ~

I close and lock my apartment door behind me, and I sigh to myself, walking down the hall towards the elevator. My black wedges pound against the metal flooring, and I have slung a long tan colored purse on my shoulder that reaches down to my hips. I wanted to impress Sasha with my clothing choices, so I wore my best business casual outfit: a loose black top that had spaghetti straps, and around my cleavage it curved around with lace brimming. On the bottom I wore tan colored pants that reached down to my ankle, and I kept my hair out while wrapping two different sides of my hair back into a clipping. I look pretty decent today, and hopefully Sasha can acknowledge that my outfit is very spectacular.