Chapter 8 All men suck

(All men suck!!)

‘All men suck!', Kathleen could feel the tears brewing in her eyes as she plopped down on Gloria's couch, sipping a cup of coffee as she was ready to tell her best friend how embarrassing her interview went.

Gloria sighed deeply, ‘I can't believe he lied to you like that'.

’Ohh he didn't just lie', Kathleen hissed, ‘He acted like he didn't even know me. Like I was charmed by this man Lorie, for the first time since a few hours ago I had a glimmer of hope....only for me to be abandoned at an hotel with two hundred bucks like I'm some cheap hooker'.

She was bitter, she was bitter and angry to the point where she felt like she would start crying. For the first time in her life someone made her feel so cheap that it hurt her ego, he stared right into her eyes and denied ever knowing her even after making her feel like she was special the night before—but who was she kidding anyway? a man like Grayson Hunter didn't go for the likes of her....poor and in debt.

Gloria could sense the pain in her best friend's demeanor and placed a arm over her shoulder, ‘Well you got the job didn't you?? that's great news at least'.

‘You're right', Kathleen grimaced, ‘For a hundred bucks an hour I am willing to do anything. Even if it means being the personal assistant to Mathew Knowles's alter ego....God I hate him so much already'.

‘Cheers to hellish bosses I guess'. Gloria raised a toast with her coffee mug and the two friends clinked, celebrating their misery.

Kathleen sighed again after they went mute for a minute, ‘Why did it have to be him though? I could've lived knowing he was just a one night stand and now he's my boss'.

‘All men suck Kathy', Gloria murmured, ‘It's the unspoken universal fact of life'.

‘Yeah you're right', Kathleen nodded, ‘All men do suck'

***********

Two days later and Kathleen is awoken by the blaring sound of her alarm which leaves her in a frenzy. Promising herself to never go drinking and playing UNO with the new Mexican family who just moved in, she dragged herself off bed and reluctantly went into her cubicle of a bathroom which wasn't big enough to fit two people.

A depressing fart left her as she looked down at the bathroom sink, sighing as Mr Garrison cut out her water again, she only paid half of the rent all thanks to Gloria who was willing to give her a loan and that didn't include water privileges according to him.

Thankfully she had a bottle of water which was enough to brush her teeth but not enough to take a shower, Nana willow and Emily were both out of town and she couldn't bother her new neighbors with borrowing their shower. So she did what every working low income New Yorker would do.....clean her body with loads and loads of sanitary baby wipes until she was able to take a shower at Gloria's.

‘Shit!'. She cried out seeing she had only thirty minutes left before it was 7am and knowing her new boss...he didn't tolerate tardiness.

The subway to the office was only a ten minute ride which meant she only had five minutes to pick out an outfit, five minutes to walk to the station and get on the train and an extra ten minutes to spare. You can do this Katherine, patting her shoulder with reassurance and in two minutes she was able to pick out a black pencil skirt and a green blouse with ballerina flats to go with it.

Her makeup was subtle, carefully leaving out her red lipstick as she didn't want to come off as too flirty towards her new boss, she let her hair loose but also keeping a scrunchie in her back just in case it got in the way. She put on her favorite gold-studded earrings, it wasn't real gold of course but it was a very good knockoff that could be perceived as the real deal.

One look at the mirror and she was satisfied with her look, she put on a plastered smile which was the motto of every personal assistant, ‘Always put on a happy face even when being yelled at'. She looked beautiful, she knew she was as she could feel some heads turning as she walked quickly to the station.....she might be poor but she knew how to put on a look.

The train was packed on a Monday morning as usual and she had to withstand standing next to a marijuana addict who smelled like patchouli oil and sewer rats, making passes at her and the unbelievable story of how he was once Stevie wonder's manager. She rolled her eyes and forced a laugh when he cracked a joke, one wrong move and she could be assaulted—one of the perks of being a single woman in one of the biggest cities in the world.

She got to her stop and walked out immediately, glancing backwards carefully to see if she was being followed, luckily she was not and the office was just a minute walk away. She got to the building and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and hoping she was early.

‘Don't worry he doesn't get to work until 7:30'. She heard a familiar voice from behind her and turned around. It was the same man who gave her tips but for some reason she couldn't remember his name.

‘Oh hi uhhhh—'

‘Jacob Hempstead'.

‘Oh yeah that's your name', she scratched the back of her hair feeling embarrassed, ‘Sorry I was just in a rush the last time we met'.

He shrugged, ‘It's totally fine. Seeing how you're here early....my tips worked didn't they?'.

She chuckled, ‘I owe you one Jac.....you're okay if I call you Jac right???'.

‘A nickname from a pretty lady? I'll be too stupid to pass on that'. He responded and they both laughed before an awkward sense of silence fell between the both of them.

Kathleen paused her lips as she had somewhere to be but also didn't want to sound rude so she cleared her throat, ‘Uhhhh I guess I'll see you later then Jac??'.

‘Yeah'. He nodded, pursing his lips as she walked up the stairs to the main door while he remained right on the spot still captivated as to why a beautiful woman like her was so polite to him. Women like Kathleen Turner who knew they were beautiful never looked in his direction but she....she was special.