Chapter two

By the time 4 pm lurked around, a lot of reactions were shown. Kylie took her time to classify them into groups.

The first group was the ones who were complaining. They questioned everything like why the company should be sold, why the company can't be handed to Mr Simpson's son who, by the way, is a doctor and the company should be merged. 

The second group was those who were nonchalant. Kylie could see them everywhere. They popped the loudest gum bubbles, some were even filing their nails. Others were on their phone chatting.

She believed she fell into the third group. The group that felt like it was the end of the world. She felt like hyperventilating. She rubbed her forehead and hoped the painkillers she took would work faster.

Peter, on the other side of the office, was staring into thin air probably wondering how he was going to take care of his two-year-old son that was abandoned by his girlfriend. Kylie heard from Millie, the office gossip, that the daycare Peter had his son in was so expensive.

The fourth group was the drama group. Mary was their leader. They sat in a corner speaking in Shakespearean English. They thought they were in a movie theater. It made everyone even more angry.

The last group was the comforters group. They acted as if they had no problems with the merge at all. Janelle was in this group. She kept on reassuring Kylie that it was going to be okay. She acted like Kim didn't have needs. Like she could afford it.

Kylie sighed.

"Listen, Kylie, what you need is to relax. Don't overthink it. I think it will be best if we go home early today. We need to prepare for tomorrow. How does a night in the bar sound?" Janelle asked.

Even though Janelle was now a mother, she still went to as many bars as she could. She was the most coordinated mother Kylie has ever seen. 

"Nice. What time and where?" Kylie asked.

"By 7 after I dropped Kim off at my mom's place. Bedwells Club." Janelle smiled.

Kylie thought Janelle was trying to make them go bankrupt. Bedwells Club was the most expensive club in the area. And she wasn't about to spend much when she knew that she should be adding to the one she has.

"Calm down girl, I got us covered." Janelle said after she saw the frown on Kylie's face. 

"Alright, fine. I would meet you there." Kylie wanted to ask about how she would pay but she knew Janelle won't give her a definite answer. She would just wave it off. 

Lord, what did she do to deserve a friend like Janelle?

********

Kylie met Janelle outside the club as promised. Janelle wore a red skimpy skirt with a crop top and heels while Kylie went for the regular black leather skirt, a jacket, and boots. She was in no mood to dress up.

After exchanging greetings, they showed the bouncers their IDs and went inside. They went straight to the bar. Kylie sat down on one of the stools looking at drinks she knew they can't comfortably afford. 

"Can we have a bottle of vodka 

please?" Janelle asked, surprising Kylie. 

"Can you afford that? Shouldn't we order shots?" Kylie whispered.

It was bad enough that they couldn't afford the drinks but saying it loudly was something she couldn't do.

"I may not, but ordering shots after shots is more expensive." Janelle whispered back.    

The bartender walked over to them and set their bottle of vodka and two shot cups on the counter.     

Janelle took the bottle and went to an empty booth and Kylie followed with the cups.

"First, we drink and then dance and have fun, alright?" Janelle asked.

Kylie did not have a problem with that. She nodded. It was perfect.

Thirty minutes later and they were both drunk. Kylie wanted to be able to drive home. She didn't want a hangover but as she kept downing shots after shots while vibing to the music, she knew she was a goner.

She got up to dance and by the way she swayed, she could tell that she was more drunk than she thought. Janelle got up after her and they both wobbled their way to the dance floor. 

They danced together at first but later on a guy came and took Janelle away. Kylie didn't mind. She kept on grinding her hips into the stranger behind her. He kept pulling her into him and kissing her neck until she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled away and went to find water. 

She made her way to the bar and ordered water. She was sure the water was expensive too but she couldn't care less. She gulped down the water and dropped the glass back on the counter only to turn around and bump into a rock-hard chest. She looked up to find a beautiful pair of grey eyes. He squinted those eyes at her and she couldn't help but smile. He was so handsome even though he was equally drunk.

"Hey, pretty." He said and Kylie felt like she was in a dream.

"Hi." She replied.

"What drink can I get for you?" He asked.

Kylie didn't respond. She was too busy admiring him to say a word.

He smiled at her and turned to the bartender and ordered a drink. Her drunken mind couldn't get what the name was but she knew it was hella expensive.

He handed her one of the cups and offered her a stool while he sat on the other. 

"So, I don't think you mentioned your name." The man said.

"Kylie."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you. What's yours?" Kylie peered at him.

"Mason. So what's a pretty girl like you doing in the club?" 

Kylie wanted to reply with a question of her own. She wanted to ask if pretty girls weren't allowed in the club but instead, she laughed. More like giggled. She found it funny that someone still used that line.

Just then a slow music began playing. Kylie thought clubs don't play slow music and found it rather weird. 

But Mason either doesn't find it weird or he was making the most use of the situation.

"Can I have this dance?" Mason offered her a hand which she gladly took.