One.

Maddy woke up to the sound of the alarm clock, still feeling sleepy as she looked at it and screamed,

 “oh my gosh, how could I have slept in!"

It was 8:23 am and she had to be at work by 8:45 am. She ran towards the bathroom and had a quick shower, not bothering to wash her hair. By the time she was done, it was 8:40. There was no way she could make it to work on time as she would still be late if she took a taxi. By the time Maddy got to work, she was 20 minutes late.

          Mrs. Brown looked up from her office as Maddy walked inside. She met Maddy with a very angry expression. 

"Where the hell have you been Maddy? You're late! I don't think you are fit for this job, and just a little warning, the next time you come in late there will be consequences.”

          Maddy had gotten the job 2 months ago as an assistant publisher for one of the biggest publishing companies in the world "Keaton Publisher." This was her dream job. After leaving her hometown in Pennsylvania at 24 years, she went all the way to New York for a better opportunity. At first, it was difficult but then she met her roommate Ella who became her best friend. She worked as a store attendant for 2 years before she got her big break. When the opportunity came to work in Keaton she went straight for it and with her qualifications, she was going to cut.

          Maddy was busy with work when she got a text from Ella ‘party tonight!!! And you are going.’ Maddy uttered to herself "what will I do without you." She texted back ‘Hell yeah I'm in... After all this work I need a break.’ Fridays are one of Maddy's favorite days because she gets to have fun and forget about the stress of work.

          She got off work by 7 and went straight home to prepare for the party. She had no idea where they were going to but she trusted Ella to make the right decision.  Ella entered the house with a loud noise as she does this every time, 

"Ready to have fun mate?" she said, giggling. 

"Where are we going? I have to know so I can dress appropriately" When no response came from Ella, Maddy turned and repeated the question. 

Ella then answered slowly, "Well it is a fancy party, like those with slow music, champagne, fancy clothes and the other stuff rich people do."

Maddy was dumbfounded for a moment because she hated parties like this.  Could they even be called parties? No fast songs, just being formal and polite. No way she was gonna step her foot out the door. "Have fun without me Ella since you know I hate stuff like this I don't fit in there so I don't bother trying and besides, even if I wanted to go, I have nothing to wear so have fun without me” 

 Maddy was a little disappointed because she wanted to go out tonight. Ella started to shake her head profusely "You are going with me Maddy, it will be nice to try out new things for a change and besides all they do is sip champagne, talk politics,  show off their fancy clothes and mingle…and that is what we are going to do my dear... MINGLE! There will be lots of rich young men and as you know we are both single and need men in our lives" 

Maddy frowned and replied, “we don't need men in our lives! Remember what happened the last time I was in love with Ella? I was broken into pieces and it took a while before I could get over it. Not going down that road again" 

          Ella stood up and wrapped her hands around Maddy "Just because things didn't go well the last time doesn't mean you should close your heart. You never know where Mr Right may be and guess what? I got you the perfect dress" 

Ella brought out a dress from the big paper bag she had with her. 

Immediately Maddy saw the dress, she let out a gasp. The dress was black but it glittered under the light. The back was opened down to the waist and Maddy could tell it would hug her body tightly, emphasizing her curves. The gown definitely caught her attention and made her start reconsidering her decision. 

"So tell me, are you going with me?" Ella teased.

Maddy turned to look at her wearing a smirk of achievement on her face. Ella just always had to have her way, didn’t she?

“With this gown staring at me begging for attention, there’s no way I’m missing this party” 

*******

By 9 pm they were ready and had called a cab. Maddy became nervous immediately after they got to the venue. The place was decorated beautifully with lights and flowers and addy felt impressed with the decoration team. As they walked in, she pleaded with Ella not to leave her side under any circumstances. The party was boring just as Maddy had predicted but she was glad to have Ella by her side. They just stood in a corner of the room, making side comments about some of the guests and giggling at one another. At least they were having fun that way.

Cutting their fun short, a young handsome man dressed in a black tuxedo walked towards them and asked Ella to spare him some minutes. He just had to steal her away from Maddy, earning him an angry glare. Ella looking all excited didn’t hesitate to leave her. 

          Maddy stood there for a few minutes hoping Ella would be back soon but then she grew tired of waiting and decided to leave. Turning around, she suddenly bumped into a very strong figure spilling her champagne on her dress. She looked up with an angry face only to be met by a blue-eyed man. She gazed further into his eyes as there was something calming about it. His eyes were like the blue ocean soothing away whatever she was feeling at that moment. His face was well-shaped and defined,  his hair was blonde, matching those perfect eyes. His skin was a little pale as if he was tired or maybe he wasn't enjoying this party like her. 

          The young man cleared his throat and that brought Maddy back to reality. She felt her chest cold when remembered she had spilled her wine on her dress. She looked down to see the damage she had done and by the time she looked up, he was gone.

          She hurried to the restroom to clean up then decided to beep Ella. She brought out her phone and texted her location. Not long after, Ella came running inside the restroom. She helped clean up the mess and decided they left the party. On their way home, all Maddy could think of was those blue eyes she had encountered earlier, though it was rude of him to walk out on her without saying a word. 

"Maddy are you okay? You don't look fine and you haven’t said a word to me since we left the party" Ella sounded worried.

Maddy replied with a smile, "I'm fine. I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment. Who was the guy who took you away?" She said juggling her eyebrows. 

Ella blushed before speaking up, “okay, his name is George and before you ask, I don't know his last name. He wanted my number and wants us to hang out whenever we are free" 

Maddy gave her a questioning look as she asked, "Do you like him enough to go out with him?" She shrugged but didn't reply. Maddy didn't want to push it further so she let her be.

***

 Running towards a black gate, Maddy yells, "I just want to see your face. What's your name? Talk to me!" The blue-eyed guy just walked past the black gate without looking back to see who was calling him. Maddy ran as fast as her legs could carry her but for some reason, she still couldn't get to him. After a while, She woke up sweating as if she had run in reality, her bed soaked with sweat and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of dream she just had. 

          The rest of the morning wasn't pleasant because she was moody and had kept thinking of the blue-eyed man. She did her house chores, as usual, every weekend and decided to take a walk to the park later. Ella was still fast asleep when she was leaving the house for her walk. She wanted to clear her head and forget about those blue eyes. When she got back Ella was up and had even ordered lunch. 

"I'm bored Maddy and there is nothing to do" 

Maddy rolled her eyes and said, "You could start with doing your laundry as you haven't done them in a while and your room could also use some cleaning." 

Ella just laid back on the chair, "I'm too lazy to do them. Maybe I should give George a call and fix our date for today, that way I won't be bored staring at your face all day!" She said happily. 

Maddy just stared at her confused, "I thought you were going to give it some time before jumping into anything new?" 

Ella sighed, "It's just a date and not a relationship Maddy, we might not even see each other after the first date. Remember what we said about giving our hearts a chance at love again..." 

Maddy rolled her eyes "Those were your words not mine and besides, I didn't reply" 

Ella giggled and said "Well, you should forget the past and move on Maddy. I know how much Drake hurt you and how long it took you to recover from that, but that shouldn't be a reason to give up on love. You know love is a beautiful thing" 

Maddy burst out laughing “Like you would know anything about love." They both laughed and ate lunch together.

Maddy got to work early on Monday.  She didn't want any problem from Mrs Brown and besides, she had a lot of work to do. She looked at her phone and realized it was past 9 am. 

Mrs Brown was running late which was quite unusual. Just a few seconds later, she rushed in. 

"We have a very important client coming in this morning as he wants to sign a contract with our company for promotions." Mrs Brown says while trying to put her desk in order. Maddy was curious as to who got Mrs Brown all worked up.

"Who is coming, Mrs Brown?"

 Without looking at her Mrs Brown said, "CEO OF KY ELECTRONICS INC." 

Maddy froze for a moment, "Are you saying the CEO is coming himself? Like in person?" Before she could say another thing she heard a voice behind her say yes.

Immediately, she turned around and those blue eyes were the least of her worries.