One

Stephanie walked into the office. Today was the day for the announcement of who had been promoted to assistant manager. She was super excited because she had always wanted the position since she started working with the company 2 years ago.

She had put in absolutely everything and she worked harder than most of her colleagues.

She had worked as a personal shopper, Assistant, in the two years she had been there and this was finally her time to show her parents that she could be in the fashion business and still make it.

She didn't have to be a lawyer or doctor to be successful and she was determined to prove it to them.

She was always the odd one out of the family of geniuses. Her younger sister always topped her class and got a scholarship to study Medicine at one of the biggest universities in the country.

Stephanie had lived through her parents comparing her with her younger sister every day and now, she was used to it.

It was her time to finally make them proud and she had been looking forward to the day, forever. She spent the night in the office making sure everything was perfect.

She had always loved fashion since she was young. While her sister, Anna read all the books her parents bought for the holidays while she stayed up all night sewing dresses for her dolls and organizing for their fashion shows.

Her parents never missed an opportunity to make them love books and fall in love with their profession. Her dad was a renowned doctor and her mum was a top Lawyer. They got their books as gifts, from an early age while other kids got the latest iPhone and the latest games. They got medical books for kids.

     Steph was one of the youngest in the office.  She was 23 years old and a lot of people didn't believe in her and thought she wouldn't even last the first two months. But she kept pushing and was always determined to prove them all wrong and put her best in all she did.

    She walked into the office, in one of her favourite outfits. She called it her lucky outfit. A black knee-length gown and silver heels. Her hair was in a tight bun and she had her glasses on. She was ready for a win today, so she was eager to get to the office.

    "Hey Stephanie, you look amazing today," Ella complemented, as she walked into the office.

     "Yeah, thank you," she said, with a smile.

"I see you are all dressed up for the announcement," she said and then Mike laughed "You know that position isn't yours right," he said and then walked away.

    "No one deserves it more than you do, trust me," Ella said. And then she regained her confidence once again. Mike had always had a thing against Steph since the first day She stepped into the office.

she had tried being friends with him on several occasions till she figured out and understood the phrase "Not everyone will like you or be friends with you."

     They were all called into the conference room a few minutes later and then they all sat as our boss Helene, stood in front of us.

     "So you all know the reason we are here. We want to pick the new assistant manager" she said and then stopped for a bit, as she looked around and then Steph just smiled. She had hope and she knew no one worked better than she did, in the last year.

  She brought in new brand deals and partnerships and she was even employer of the year.

    "So, I have decided on someone competent, amazing and a hard worker" Steph smiled, as she said all those things.

    "So the New Assistant Manager will be Stephanie!!" She announced and Steph stood eagerly, from where she was sitting. "Yes!!" She screamed.

"Thank you, Thank you. I won't disappoint you." She said, facing Helene, who smiled. She could see Mark's anger and extremely red face from the side.

Anna moved towards Steph and pulled her in a hug. "You can all go now," Helene said, walking out of the room.

  Steph picked up her bag and then went to the parking lot. Helene had decided to give her the rest of the day off, she was the best boss that Steph could have ever asked for and she loved her for her flexibility.

As she was in the parking lot. Her phone beeped and it was a FaceTime from Mia, her best friend. She answered the call and then added her other best friend, Oliver.

"Guess what guys!!!" Steph said as they both answered, staring at her intensely through the screen.

"What?" Mia asked.

"You know I hate guesses," Oliver said.

"I got the job!!!" Steph said loudly, with a big smile.

"Oh, my God!!! That's amazing," Mia said.

"I knew you would, congrats girl!!" Oliver said.

"We need to celebrate!!!" Mia said as Steph inserted the car key in, to start the car.

"I need to go home and tell them the good news," Steph said.

"We need to celebrate too. Just some drinks, nothing much, I promise," Mia insisted.

"But...."

"No Buts, Steph. We are going."

"I am sorry I won't be able to come with you two, I have work tonight," Oliver said.

"It's fine," Mia said.

"Hopefully one day, your night shifts end. I am tired of you always missing out." Oliver was a Nurse and hardly came out with them since he got his job. They never had time to catch up, except if it was on the phone.

"I am tired of always missing out too. You two, have fun for three alright?"

"We will," they said in unison.

"I need to go now, my patient needs me."

"Bye, love you!"

Steph wore a short red dress with black heels and did a little makeup with red lipstick that made her face and dress pop. And then she let her hair down. She hadn't been out in a while and she missed going out. 

She was always either at work or just generally sad about how her life was. But now, it was great, life was great. What could go wrong? she thought.

    They ordered an Uber and then went to the closest club to them. It was their favourite bar and they loved being there. They didn't want to drive in, the case they were planning to get drunk at the bar.

   They got there in a few minutes. It was a Friday night so everywhere was going crazy and a lot of people were around. It was the perfect night to have fun.

    "Hey, been a while since I have seen you girls around here," Mike, who worked at the bar there said, as they sat in front of him, to take some shorts.

    "We have just been busy with work," Mia said.

  "You girls are looking as beautiful as always," he said, with a smile and then he and Mia exchanged glances. Steph always knew he liked Mia but she always just never talked about it and acted casual every time.

    

     "shorts for two, please," Steph said.

"Coming right up," he said and then went to get what they had asked for.

     "Why don't you just ask for his number? I see that chemistry between you two" Steph said to Mia, with a smile.

     "I don't know what you're talking about. I know you like him too, you don't have to be a hard girl every time, you know."

    "He just got divorced. He probably doesn't want anything to do with dating now."

"You won't know unless you talk to him," Steph said, smiling. "Just give him a chance."

    "You should go out together" Steph added. "You would make such a cute couple.

"Three shots for two beautiful ladies," Mike said, as he brought the shots to us.

    "Thank you and how much will that be please?" Steph asked.

    "It's on the house," he said with a smile and then left us alone.

    "Thank you, Mike," they both said simultaneously.

He was such a sweet guy.

     They took their shots and then went on to dance. Stephanie loved to dance, it was her favourite thing to do every time she wanted to have fun. She never got tired of doing it.

She danced and also kept on drinking. She was starting to get drunk and didn't know what she was doing anymore.

    She figured Mia had finally gone to talk to Mike and Steph was just on the dance floor, her eyes were starting to spin then she went towards the bar to go and get a few more drinks.  She wasn't stopping anytime soon, so long as no one stopped her.

     Steph sat waiting for her drink when she noticed the guy next to her. She didn't see him well but she knew that he looked handsome sort of.

"Hello," he said, turning in her direction and she smiled.