CHAPTER 5

Monday came faster than Andrea wanted. Although she had gotten more than ten hours of sleep, her body still protested when she heard the alarm. She was going to miss the days when she was jobless. 

As awful as it sounded it was still refreshing. She could wake up any time she wanted and did have to show up anywhere but all that was gone now and she had a boss to answer to. She sighed and got off the bed, now that Tracy wasn't here she was back to her old routine.

She checked the ground to make sure she wasn't about to step on Mikey; she doubted the fat blob would be merciful. She finished in the bathroom as fast she could. It was her first day, she was going to be as early as possible. The first impression was important, she wasn't about to ruin it.

She brushed her hair and applied a little bit of make-up, some lipstick, and mascara. She would not dare bother with eyeliner, the chances of her lining forehead was very high.

She finished up with a bit of blush. Satisfied with her facial work she stood up and took a step back to admire her work and she was impressed. The pantsuit did look good on her. She smirked and adjusted her collar.

She rushed to the kitchen and poured out food for Mikey. "Be a good boy, okay?" She called out loudly as she left.

She walked to the garage and unlocked it, her car was back from where she had taken it to fix it which meant no more taxis. She smiled and got in, drove out, and locked the garage without leaving the car.

The drive was slow, she was edgy all through the way. She wasn't worried about being late but the anxiety of it being her first day at work was overwhelming her. She drove as fast as she could without breaking any rules.

She was just about to make the turn that would pull her onto the road that led directly to the Lucian Lyc Company building but the traffic light turned red. "Argghh!" She exclaimed resting her head on the steering wheel.

She had to get herself together, there was nothing to be worried about but even words like that did nothing to her nerves. She was almost half happy her boss wasn't in today. She doubted she would be at her best. 

"Move it, lady!" Followed by a loud honk jolted Andrea out of her deep thoughts and she hurriedly drove away while muttering apologies.

She drove straight to the coffee shop, she needed something for her nerves. She couldn't comprehend why she was so edgy. She wanted to say the usual but she had only been at the coffee shop once and she doubted the nice middle-aged woman would recognize her.

"One coffee please, milk and sugar too." She ordered and took her seat.

A younger lady dropped her order on the table. "Thank you," Andrea whispered and made to lift the coffee cup. Midway in the air, her hand wobbled and the coffee slipped pouring the contents all over her pants leg.

"Oh no!" She screamed, attracting attention followed by jumping to her feet as she screamed, "Ow! Ow! It burns!" The coffee had been really hot.

"Are you okay?" The staff asked running to her as they tried to wipe down her pants but Andrea didn't let them, there was no saving her pants now. She took the wipes offered and murmured, "Thank you." There were tears in her eyes as spoke.

She quickly sat back and mopped her soaking pants. Her pants were stained from the knees down with her right leg suffering more. Thankfully her leather bag was on her lap so it had got whatever coffee that would have stained her laps. 

"What in heavens' name am I going to do?" She asked nobody in particular as she wiped hard.

"I am sorry about your pants." Andrea heard a voice say and looked up, it was the older woman she assumed owned the shop.

"Thanks," Andrea replied, sniffing. There was no way she could appear to work like this and she doubted she had much time left to mess around.

The woman placed another coffee on the table and Andrea would have hugged her but she was in no mood to take another coffee, not with the present incident. "I figured you deserve another one."

"No, no, this wasn't your fault. I blame my clumsiness." She muttered wiping a little too hard on her poor bag. 

"Don't worry about it. There is a boutique not so far off, just on the next street. I am sure you should be able to find something to substitute for your stained pants. As for the stain, just soaking the pants in warm water and vinegar should do the trick. Don't forget detergent." The woman said with a soft smile emphasizing the wrinkles on her face but it didn't make her less pretty.

"Thank you so much," Andrea replied, getting to her feet. "My name is Andrea." She grabbed the coffee, this time around she did so with a steady grip.

"Janice, do come by again." She said to Andrea as she fled out of the coffee shop.

She made sure to handle the coffee carefully as she got into the car, she couldn't afford another incident and she wanted to be on time. She started the car and off a little too fast. She wondered if the boutique would be easy to spot or she would have to ask for directions.

"How could you be so sloppy?" She asked herself as she drove. She had carefully placed the coffee in between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. She wasn't ready for another accident. "Get yourself together!" She added.

She made the turning into the next street and the boutique stared right at her. She had not been expecting that and ended up having to stop abruptly which erupted a series of curses from the car behind.

"I am sorry," she called out but the car had already driven away. She carefully parked and got out of the car.