Authors: Ava May
“You know, sometimes it is just hard to believe that you are actually not a virgin,” Kristie said.
“Just shut up,” Kylie said as she sat down.
Chapter 2
It was on a Thursday morning and Kylie had just walked into her office. As soon as she sat down she heard the email alert tone from her phone and she sighed.
“I literally just got here,”
she thought.
“The universe can be really cruel.”
She reached for her phone from her purse and looked at it. She had expected to see a work related email but it was far from it.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Hi, Kylie. This is Dr. Simms. I just wanted to know if you filled that prescription I gave you.
She frowned and drummed her fingers on her desk. How weird was it that her doctor took it upon himself to follow up on her? Her other doctor Simms didn’t do that, ever. Heck, none of her other doctors ever did that. Not her GP, not her dentist and definitely not her eye doctor. She took a long minute before she finally came around to replying.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
I don’t know if any of your other patients have ever pointed this out to you but…is this standard procedure for you? Following up on your patients via email?
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Actually, yes it is. I found it was important after taking over my father’s practice. Patients needed to know that they are in capable hands and what better way to do that than to keep in touch? Now I answered your question. Time for you to answer mine.
Kylie could actually picture him typing those exact words. His blue green eyes would most probably have the slightest glimmer and a few strands of his dark brown hair might have even fallen out of place a little and he might have raked his fingers through to smooth his thick mane back in place. She knew what he had in mind but for some reason, she wanted to string this along. It was fun at the very least.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
What question?
She was smiling as she sent the email. She leaned back in her chair as she waited for the reply.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
The prescription, Kylie. Did you fill it?
She felt herself blush when she read his latest message. She could remember the discomfort she’d had a few days ago plus the fact that he had actually seen the ‘damage’.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
As a matter of fact I did. Thank you.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Good girl. So, now that I know everything is fine on your end, maybe this would be a perfect opportunity for me to ask if we can have coffee one of these days. Maybe even lunch?
Kylie must have read that last email all of ten times before she sighed loudly. She leaned back in her chair and shook her head in confusion. It was not that she did not want to join him for coffee or lunch or whatever…it was the simple fact that he was Kylie Moran and he was Sean Simms, a doctor. And not only that. A good-looking doctor with everything going for him. Why the hell would she ever want anything to do with someone like her? It was not like she had much to offer anyway.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
So, what do you say? I’m twiddling my thumbs in anticipation here…
She exhaled loudly just as she heard a knock on the door that made her look up to see her boss, Carl Stonebridge leaning against the doorframe.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” he said and she forced out a smile.
“I might as well have,”
she thought.
“I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all,” she said.
“Busy morning?” he asked and she shrugged.
“You could say that,” she said nodding.
“So you already heard?” he asked and she shrugged.
“Heard what?” she asked and Carl walked in.
“We are officially handling Mila Villefort’s campaign,” he started as he handed her his tablet.
“Wait. The designer?” she asked almost too excitedly and Carl nodded.
“We are talking advertising, branding…basically everything to create an international buzz before she launches her new line in four months.”
“Four…four months?” she asked shaking her head. “But that’s barely enough time to go through all fifty states.”
“I know. But she doesn’t care, you know celebrities. She has offered the company a generous bonus to make the project happen plus fifty grand to the project manager.” He looked at Kylie. “And as the head public relations officer of this company that would be you.”
“Fifty thousand dollars?” Kylie echoed in a soft voice.
“Fifty thousand dollars,” Carl said again. “That’s a good chunk of change.”
“It really, really is,” she said in a dreamy voice.
“So, are you going to take it? Or what is going to happen?” he asked and she shook her head. “Because the Christmas bonus checks are hugely dependent on your answer. But no pressure.”
“Seriously? That’s your idea of no pressure?” Kylie asked and he shrugged.
“I like to think of that as incentive,” Carl said matter-of-factly. “You know me and big unnecessary words.”
“Yeah I do,” she said as she exhaled loudly. “So in other words I have exactly three months to figure out a campaign in the Americas, Europe and Africa? Is that right?”
“Technically four months but yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Carl said nodding.
“The one month is not a factor. Everything will be moving too fast by that time for me to notice anything,” she said. “This is going to be really hard you know. I mean, Fashion Week is just around the corner and…” her voice trailed off and she smiled. “Fashion Week is just around the corner..: she said again.
“I don’t get it.,” Carl said looking confused.
“Fashion Week as the name suggest is the height of all things fashion and the New York and Milan Fashion Week are scheduled to happen in a couple of months. The right buzz can guarantee Mila launches her new Villefort line then. It will be bigger than Kanye’s weird homeless look line.”
“House of Villefort,” Carl said and Kylie raised an eyebrow over the other.
“What?” she asked and he shrugged.
“That’s the name of her label. House of Villefort,” he explained and she nodded. He looked at her and shrugged. “I’ll leave you alone to work your Fashion Month magic,” he said as he stood up.
“Fashion
Week
,” she corrected him and he smiled.
“See why I thought you were the perfect person for this job?” he said as he walked out.
A smile played on Kylie’s lips as she looked at her screen again. There was a new email from Sean.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Just so you know, I don’t give up easily. I’m still waiting unless of course you want me to show up at your office.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
And how would you know where I work?
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
I got this little thing called Google. Heard of it? All I had to do was input your name and I found out that you are the head of public relations at Focus Entertainment. And to think I never really pegged you as an entertainment person.
Kylie stifled a laugh. She took a long deep breath and sighed. Maybe all this was a sign. Maybe she had been holding back a little too much. Maybe this was what she needed to get herself back out there. She was smiling as she began typing.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Fine, I’ll have coffee with you if you promise to stop stalking me.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
No way, you kept me waiting too long. Now I demand dinner.
Kylie laughed and shook her head. It was clear that her new doctor was not someone who gave up easily.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Demand?
She waited a few minutes before another email popped up.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Yes, demand. I am a man who usually gets what he wants once he sets his mind on it and I have my mind set on you. So, dinner?
She drummed her fingers on her desk again and took a long deep breath.
TO: Sean Simms
FROM: Kylie Moran
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Let’s just start slow. Let’s do lunch first and see how it goes from there.
She waited a few minutes before she saw the reply displayed on the screen.
TO: Kylie Moran
FROM: Sean Simms
RE: FILLED YOUR PRESCRITION YET?
Lunch it is.
Chapter 3
When she got back home that evening, Kylie’s heart was pounding hard and fast. Her day had not only been eventful but also surprising. She had just landed a huge project and what’s more, she had agreed to a date with Sean. But at the back of her mind, she was still not sure she had done the right thing. She was second-guessing herself like she had so many times before. And it was all because of Frankie… the asshole who ruined her for every other man out there…
Four years ago…
Life with Frankie had been everything Kylie had ever imagined. It was perfection in every sense of the word. Frankie, the stud who turned heads everywhere he went was actually dating
her,
the woman everyone thought was unattractive. She had never pictured herself with a tall, dark and handsome man like Frankie, not even for a moment and now it had happened. The last few weeks had been simply heavenly. Kylie had learnt what it meant to be loved, to feel loved, to feel desired…all emotions she had never thought she would feel.
On this particular day, she was feeling a little more excited than usual. It was her one-month anniversary with Frankie and she had planned the perfect evening. She would go to his place early and make him a romantic dinner before she spread some rose petals on the bed. He had always told her that he loved how she looked in lingerie so earlier that day, she had gone shopping in a plus size lingerie store. She had found the perfect satin and lace lingerie, something she knew that he was most definitely going to love. When she got to his place, she made his favorite – grilled steak and a side of baked potatoes. She even went as far as making a southern style gravy just as he liked it. When everything was set, she took a quick shower before changing into the lingerie. As she did her make-up, she decided to let her hair down. It looked so much more glamorous that way with all the wavy curls hanging loose. She was still looking at her reflection when she heard the front door open and close. A smile played on her lips and she felt an excited chill going down her spine.
“This must be the best welcome home party he has ever had,”
she thought as she walked out of the bedroom. She was walking slow and seductively but her mood changed when she got to the hallway. She could not only hear Frankie’s voice but there was a woman’s voice out there too. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the female throaty laugh echoing through the apartment.
“It could be anyone,”
she tried to reassure herself.
“It could be the house keeper…or his sister…or cousin…”
She was now walking towards the living room where she could hear Frankie’s low voice every so often before the female throaty laugh echoed through the house again. But when she got to the end of the hallway, she froze in her tracks. The woman whose voice she had been hearing was not a housekeeper’s and judging from the way Frankie was holding her, she was no relative either. He was holding her so close and she was kissing on his neck a little too friendly to be any kind of relation.
“Frankie?” Kylie said in a soft voice and they turned around.
“Frankie, honey. You didn’t tell me you had such a fancy dress code for your help,” the woman said looking at Kylie from head to toe.
“I am not the help,” Kylie said as she slowly walked towards them.
“Oh really? Then who are you?” the blond woman asked.
“Frankie?” Kylie called out to him again.
“Melissa, this Kylie. Kylie, this is my girlfriend…fiancé actually, Melissa Barnes,” Frankie announced.
At that moment, Kylie felt as if her heart had been carved right out of her chest. The words Frankie had just said were echoing in her mind over and over again and she was trying to understand what was going on at that particular moment.
“Fiancé?” she asked as she looked at him.
“Listen just…” Frankie said as she turned to look at Melissa. “Give me a moment, will you?”
“Wait, this is her, isn’t she? The one who got us that very lucrative deal?” Melissa said and she began walking towards Kylie. “Why would you want me to leave you alone with her? I deserve a chance to know the person responsible for the hefty payout I got…sorry, what we got.”
“Payout?” Kylie shook her head. “Frankie what is going on? What is all this talk about fiancés and payouts and….what is going on?” she asked.
Melissa looked at her and then looked at Frankie.
“I can smell something delicious, I think your help made some dinner for us to celebrate,” she said, still looking at Kylie. “Why don’t you handle this and I’ll be in there waiting. Who knows, maybe her chef skills are as good as her corporate ones.” She turned around and walked back to where Frankie was before she slipped a hand around his neck. She looked at Kylie over her shoulder for a long second before she kissed him deeply making a tear roll down Kylie’s cheek.
“Kylie…” Frankie was slowly walking towards her.
“Don’t,” Kylie said as she took a step back. “Just…don’t.”
She held her face in her hands and took a long deep breath. Everything was suddenly making sense to her. Frankie had played her like a fucking song and she had let him worm his way into her life just like that. It was not about her. It had never been about her.
“All this time, Frankie? All you ever wanted was to get your foot into Lyon Fisk and Churchill?” she asked and he walked up to where she was. Even though she had tried moving back, she had not been fast enough for him. He held her close and kissed her cheek.
“Listen to me, Kylie,” he started in a soft voice. “You need to go. Right now. You need to leave,” he whispered into her ear.
“Let me go,” she said in a soft voice. She was shaking almost too violently.
“You need to understand that I never had any ill intention, baby,” he said. “I just wanted what was mine. That’s all,” he added and she shook her head.
“Just get away from me,” she said in a whisper.
Present day…
When Kylie thought of her history with Frankie, all she could do was just run the other way. Ignore the fact that she had accepted Sean’s offer to take her out to dinner. When she thought about it, she knew that it was probably a good idea for her to just move on from everything. After all, it had been four years. But it was not as if she had not been trying. She had. But it was not as easy as she thought.
She took her phone out of her purse and looked at the email log for the millionth time that day. She could not believe that she was the one who had actually gone ahead to accept his offer. She had half a mind to call her sisters but she was almost too sure of what they would say.
“Go for it!” This would be Kenzie.
“It’s about time!” Kristie.
“Yeah, time for Kylie to get her groove back,” Kenzie would say.
And eventually, their mother would find out and she would be the one whose excitement would blow the other two right out of the water. She walked up to her fridge and opened it before she stared at the contents. She pulled out a dish containing the leftover lasagna they’d had at Kristie’s the other day and a bottle of water. She stuck the container in the microwave and then sighed.
“Maybe I should just have some wine rather than water,”
she thought as she waited for the food to get warm.
“It is definitely one of those days where I should have wine instead of water.”
She walked to her wine rack and pulled out a bottle of pinot before she poured herself a glass. After getting a fork from one of the drawers, she sat down at the kitchen counter and opened the container. Normally, the dead silence in the house would have bothered her but for some reason, she was okay with the silence on that night. She was all Zen, as far as she was concerned.