Chapter 2 I Wish That He Would Dump Me

• The time stamp on the video indicated that it came in around three in the morning, which was around when Sebastian left her place for Peloria Gardens. In the basement parking lot, a young woman alighted from a car before entering the elevator alongside a man.
• It looked as though the two were together.
• Natalie chuckled ironically to herself at how the notion of Sebastian being bored with her became more than a figment of her own imagination.
• She thought the woman from the clip looked very much like Nova Snydell, a starlet who had been exceedingly popular of late. Nova had been a guest on one of her shows previously. From that experience, she had personally found the young woman to be somewhat pretentious and lacking in social graces. She wondered what had gotten into Sebastian to account for this change in taste.
• On a personal level, she did not much care about what kinds of women he fancied now so long as he was prepared to chuck her aside.
• She was rather looking forward to his assistant coming to her.
• Just thinking about the good days ahead after her release from her contractual obligations put her in a fine mood. Upon arrival, she was spotted by a keen-eyed Zoey who ran up to her.
• “What’s going on? Isn’t Sebastian with you yesterday night?” Zoey whispered. “What’s he doing over at Nova’s, Ms. Timekeeper?”
• Zoey and Natalie were childhood friends who had grown up together. It was Zoey who pulled her back from the edge and introduced her to Sebastian a year ago. She had decided to stick around the television station afterwards to become an editor at the news department.
• Natalie shrugged with indifference. “I couldn’t be bothered. I’d rather he dumps me, really.”
• “Have you given up on taking revenge? Where are you going to find another man like him?” Zoey rolled her eyes at Natalie. “Did you manage to find any leads?”
• Natalie was visibly disappointed as she shook her head. “None. But you know what kind of guy Sebastian is. If I were to be too obvious in trying to use him, I’d...”
• She then drew a finger across her own throat.
• Zoey frowned and spent a moment to think before she said, “Perhaps I should ask my dad...”
• “You’ve already done enough for me, Zoey.” Natalie smiled as she held her friend by the hand. “I’m no longer fearful as I’ve already made it through the toughest period. I just don’t want to put you in a tough spot on my account.”
• Worried about what Zoey might say next, Natalie spoke first. “Is the guest-list out? Who should I be expecting? And let me know when you have the script ready.”
• The two of them walked toward the office as she spoke.
• When Natalie noticed how unusually quiet Zoey was, she glanced over her shoulder at the latter. Her friend appeared conflicted. “Has someone on that list decided to skip out?”
• “It’s not that.” Zoey exhaled as she did not how best to put what was on her mind across to Natalie. “Why don’t you take a day off? Those invitees aren’t really high profile, so the audience wouldn’t mind even if you are not hosting.”
• That got Natalie amused. “Why would I want to take a day off for no reason? I still need to keep up appearances for this job in case Sebastian decides that he has had enough of me.”
• She placed her glass on the table before she said, “Alright. Out with it.”
• “Seriously, you should take a break just for today!” Zoey said as she started nudging her friend toward the exit. “We can go shopping together if you are bored.”
• Natalie’s sense of bewilderment grew by the minute.
• The more insistent Zoey was, the more suspicious she became.
• They were just out of the door when they bumped into another program anchor.
• “Good morning, Natalie!” that colleague hailed. “I heard that Claude Nealey will be making an appearance in your program. I’m a big fan but I’ve got a news segment to cover later. Do you think you could like, help me ask him for his autograph?”
• Claude...
• The name dropped like a sledgehammer upon her head. It made her face bloodless and her palms sweaty.
• Her colleague noticed her discomfort and asked cautiously, “Are you alright?”
• “Yeah. I think I might be low on sugar from skipping breakfast.” Natalie counted her breaths and that helped her recover. “Sure thing, I can do that.”
• “Awesome! Thanks Natalie.”