Chapter 1

• "Good day Miss Carla Reeds, I'd urge you to return tomorrow or whenever you are free. The CEO is not around presently and I don't wanna keep delaying you".
• Carla sighed, " Oh okay ".
• The receptionist felt bad for her " I'm so sorry about that. You can leave your document and CV with me. One thing I can assure you is that, you'd get the job definitely only if... " she paused.
• Carla got curious and asked, "Only if what?"
• The receptionist exhaled heavily and continued, "Only if you are single".
• Carla's eyes widened. She wondered if her marital status was necessary.
• The receptionist tried to put her at ease, "Well, I can see it in your document, that you are not married and that's great".
• Carla nodded slowly and asked, "But does it matter?"
• The receptionist stuttered "Er...yeah. And i'll guarantee that my CEO will employ you if you are not married and if you have no child".
• Carla scoffed "I don't".
• The receptionist clapped her hands happily, "Perfect! Well then, you'll get the Job. You've just passed the compulsory requirement."
• Carla smiled but didn't say anything.
• The lady continued, "I'd inform the CEO about you. One more thing, try to be here tomorrow unfailingly."
• Carla said," I will. Thank you so much."
• She stood up and made her way through the door. As soon as she got out of the office, she jumped up happily.She suddenly stop jumping and shuddered.
• " It's not like I have gotten the job." She Sighed heavily.
• Carla is a graduate And she's been searching for job for some months now. And It's been pretty difficult because she always gets turned down for some dumb reasons. Carla almost gave up but she just couldn't. She wanted to earn a means of living instead of living off friends and family, like Jennifer. Literally, she has just gotten a job easy-peasy, just because she said she was single with no child.
• She planned to return to the company tomorrow, meet the CEO for the interview. Though the receptionist had assured her that she would, she couldn't help but still felt anxious. The receptionist she met earlier should have just gone straight to the point instead of making her wait for the CEO who never came. She walked sluggishly and wearily to a nearby bar shop.
• "A chilled bottle of whiskey for one!" Carla hollered as soon as she entered into the bar. Drawing other people attention to see who it was. She rolled her eyes, not minding the stares she was receiving.
• "Whatever." She hissed.
• She walked towards the bartender, who politely served her a bottle of whiskey and a glass cup just like she has ordered. But instead of pouring into the glass cup first, she hungrily gulped directly from the bottle.
• "Gosh! This is so good!" she gave a soft belch.
• She was about to take another hungry gulp again when someone interrupted her.
• " Gently, Come on! There's a glass right in front of you." The stranger said. He grabbed the bottle from her.
• " What d' heck? I know now give it back". She grabbed the bottle back from him.
• " Then you should drink from the glass instead. It's etiquette."
• Carla ignored him and drank from the bottle again. The stranger folded his hand and stood right in front of her.
• "Please leave already." she rolled her eyes.
• The stranger smirked, "You look so decent on the outside though. You just yelled into the bar, you are rude to someone you've just met. You are lady, you shouldn't even drink Whiskey but then, you've lost your etiquette."
• Carla had finally had enough of the man's audacity so she shouted, "Excuse you! Do you know me?"
• He shook his head "Nah, not at all."
• Carla rolled her eyes, "Then why do you even care about what I do?"
• He just shrugged," Just the plain fact. You should be decent both on the outside and inside."
• Carla rolled her eyes again "You know nothing about me or what I have been through. So stop spewing nonsense and leave me alone." She drank from the bottle again and murmured " Hmm so satisfying".
• Carla took a last gulp from the bottle, dropped it and paid the bartender.She began to walk out of the bar while the man stared at her till she was out of sight.
• Liam sighed heavily and shook his head.
• ***
• " Carla honey! Come help me with all these!" Jennifer, short for Jenny shouted from the kitchen of her restaurant. Carla Reeds let out a yawn and moved in the direction of the kitchen. She was 23 year old and had reddish brown hair. She was 5'2 feet tall and a little bit chubby. She had a small, round face with dimples and mole on the left side of her upper lip which deepened whenever she smiled. She had brown eyes, the color of honey. She was endowed and had curves in all the right places. No guy would pass by her without turning back to take a second look. She was really beautiful, that she knew. She took after her mother's stunning beauty.
• Carla was fresh out of college and had started applying for jobs on the net. She majored in Arts and also loved to paint. Painting gave her joy, made her forget her the current world she's in and painting made her long for something so much..... She couldn't place a finger on the exact thing it was.
• She was the only child of Davis and Georgia Reeds. Davis, her father died in a car accident when she was 6. She had been the only comfort of her mother, Georgia. She never remained the same still, she lived on for their daughter's sake. She sighed, putting the past at the back of her mind.
• She came to visit her best friend in her small restaurant popularly known in the area as " Jenny's Kitchen ". Jennifer Wills was her best friend back in college. She still was. They both went to Harvard university and after they graduated, Jenny had immediately moved to Mexico city with her boyfriend to open up a restaurant and start a new life. Carla wanted to pursue her career so she began to search for a suitable job in the city. She was not pleased with the ones available so she decided to follow her friend's footsteps and relocate to Mexico too but it was not so easy for her. She had to come up with thousands of reasons why she wanted to leave the state she was brought up when she tabled the matter before her Mom.
• Georgia had cried her eyes out when Carla informed her about her decision to move to Mexico city and begin a new life, a new job, a new everything. She tried to persuade and make her change her mind but knowing Carla was as stubborn as her Dad and once her mind was made up, it would take a whole world to change it. Georgia did not have a choice but to accept and respect her daughter's decision. Ever since her husband's death, she had become very fragile and looked forlorn. Her daughter was the only reason she smiled. Sometimes, she would sit outside her porch and stared blankly into space. Carla would sit with her on such days, make small talks and crack jokes until she came out of her shell.