🥊 Hate or Fate 💕 {Enemies to Lovers}

.11.

Scripts and storyboards for the first of six national commercials were due in a week, and I was having trouble getting Braxton to focus. 

For example, he insisted on playing several games of 'Nerf-hoops' with the interns, while I worked.

He was going to take all the credit. It wasn't a fair trade but having something to focus on was better than letting my mind wander. I wasn't feeling any better about my breakup with Elijah, and I was starting to get a lower back ache from the lumpy mattress on Rebecca's pullout couch.

"Hey," Rebecca's cute ballerina bun poked around our office door, back from a creative brainstorming for the presentation we would be giving to Microsoft in a week. She was a killer designer, so I knew we were in talented hands. "Want to grab some lunch at Whole Foods?"

"Yes," I nodded gratefully, snapping my laptop shut.

I love walking downtown, even when it's dismal and raining, that's how pretty I think Seattle is. Plus, I was wearing a pair of bright yellow rainboots to keep my toes safe from the puddles, which was going to make the trip easier than Rebecca's stunning heels. We were only five blocks from Whole Foods, but our trip involved a lot of sloping hills that were slippery in the rain.

Exiting through the elevators on our agency's floor, we rushed through the dark marble and travertine lobby of our building toward the street.

"Ugh, this weather!" Rebecca complained as we pulled our hoods against the mist swirling in the early Fall breeze. "You should move to Los Angeles with me. I've got a cousin in Long Beach. She could hook us up with a place to stay."

"You're moving to LA?" I asked incredulously. "But who's couch am I going to crash on?"

"I've been thinking about it a lot lately," Rebecca answered with a shrug of her navy blue peacoat. "It's warm there, like, all the time, and I want to live by a beach I can actually go to without wearing a waterproof parka."

I burst out laughing at Rebecca's lovable crabbing. It had been a while since I'd heard something that made me snort-laugh. It felt good. Really good.

"I'm telling you," Rebecca inhaled greedily. "We could start over someplace warm. I've got a list of ad agencies down there that are owned and run by women! How cool would that be? We could live and work in paradise with a bunch of badass ladies!"

"As opposed to taking orders from aging ad-men who want to relive the glorious hangovers of their twenties?" I half-joked and swallowed the unpleasant truth like I'd done my entire career. 

"C'mon," Rebecca's voice grew velvety soft as she leaned over to whisper. "At least give it some thought."

She had a point. 

All around us, the concrete buildings were streaked with dirty rainwater while a sharp wind carried the droplets right up our coats. 

Every winter, without fail, at least one bus skated down an icy city hillside, careening into homes and buildings for onlookers to upload to social media.

The sunny beaches of Los Angeles might be a nice change from blustery northwest days and cold lonely nights on my friend's couch. 

No matter where I moved, at least I knew I would like my new roommate. 

Turns out, not only was Rebecca a talented designer and wicked smart, but she was also a loyal friend who lived to make her friends feel like family too. And, she had a killer wardrobe that she freely loaned to said friends (like me) whenever they needed it.

The past week had been terrible for my posture, but really great for my mental health overall. 

As a self-declared breakup expert, Rebecca bought us enough ice cream and candy to keep me on her couch for at least another month. And, she didn't even try to ask for rent, which I fully intended on giving her (whether she wanted it or not).

Rebecca tottered behind me, holding onto my shoulders for support down the steep sidewalk while I considered leaving behind all the emotional baggage I'd collected over the years.

Seattle wasn't my hometown. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, not that I remember it. 

I grew to love Seattle because it was the closest metropolis outside of the dowdy suburb where I grew up. The city was a beacon of hope. A chance to start over. Especially after my dad died and my grandparents took me in. That's when I started making plans for my future in the Emerald City by the sea.

With most of my family dead or out of the picture and Elijah's family excised from my life, I had nothing really tying me to the Northwest. I could up and go somewhere new if I wanted. Like somewhere sunny. Somewhere I'd be expected to shave my legs year-round (the only drawback I could think of).

"Braxton is having me write every script," I told Rebecca through chattering teeth. "I mean, I I want to do the work because it was my idea and all, but still."

"You should be the one leading the creative direction of this campaign. Not the one writing down his ideas!" Rebecca sighed. "It's such a waste."

"Aw, thanks," I said, pausing to look back at my roommate's beautiful face as she flashed me a big smile. "That made me feel a little better."

We crossed at a traffic light with a herd of people to scoot inside the sliding glass doors of our destination. 

Shaking out the flaps of our damp coats, we immediately headed for the massive fresh salad and hot food bar that Whole Foods was known for.

Rebecca went for the bustling pizza station, while I strolled over to the homemade soups and hunted up a tall recyclable bowl and lid. 

We had planned on enjoying our delicious goodies at the swanky dining area near the cozy fireplace inside the store, but it was an overcrowded nightmare. 

So, we decided to hike back to the office. Eating at work was always a gamble because our coworkers inevitably tried to pull us into meetings or they would stop by our office for a chat.

With matching sighs, we paid and made our way back outside clutching our recycled paper bags full of steaming food to shiver in the frosty droplets.

While very much regretting my decision to forego a fresh-baked cookie for dessert, a familiar voice suddenly stole my appetite, altogether.

"Isla?" The low pitch spoilt my thoughts of warm, gooey chocolate chips. "Hey, it's good to see you!"

"Gray!" I pushed my cheeks into a stiff smile to greet the second-to-last man on Earth I wanted to see.