After two months of lounging around, doing absolutely nothing, Tina felt a restless itch in her bones.
She had her heart set on Tanzania this time, eager to capture the majestic lions of the Serengeti on camera. When she shared her wild idea with her best friend, the response was less than enthusiastic: "Sweetie, do you remember the last time you jetted off to Syria? Your dad was furious, and my dad convinced I knew about your plans and said nothing. Can you maybe, I don't know, chill for a bit? Once you're married, your dad won't have a say over what you do, and the old man promised he'd back off from your business then. After that, you can shoot for the stars if you want!"
Tina sprawled on her bed, sighing deeply. "Bored. Lonely. This sucks."
Her friend sounded determined, "Hang tight, I'm coming over!"
Driven by Tina's lonely heart, she meant what she said. That very night, she was dragging her suitcase through Stonebridge.
Tina was in the throes of her monthly period, the half-gallon of ice cream she'd devoured the night before now punishing her with severe cramps, teaching her a harsh lesson in womanhood. She was in too much pain to even think about stepping out, so she texted Phillip and had the driver pick her friend up, bringing her to the apartment. After all, there was a spare guest room.
As soon as her friend walked in, she tossed her suitcase by the entrance and rushed to Tina lying on the couch, waving profusely, "Hey, darling!"
She looked around, "Your old man not here?"
Tina, attempting to sit up, fell silent for a moment before lying back down and pulling the blanket up over her as-good-as-dead body.
"What's with the cold shoulder?" her friend was about to yank the blanket away to give Tina a piece of her mind when she heard the calm footsteps coming from the kitchen. Phillip emerged, carrying a steaming cup of hot chocolate, his gaze serene as he glanced over.
Her friend's face went through a rapid succession of emotions, finally settling on a broad, forced smile. "Hello, Mr... Mr..."
She struggled, not wanting to sound too formal with Mr. Richardson, yet unsure of how casual to be.
"Phillip is fine," he said, his voice gentle.
She hardly dared to address the CEO so casually.
Phillip set the cup beside Tina on the coffee table, sensing her friend's discomfort. "Or, you can keep calling me 'the old man' if you like."
Her friend was ready to bolt. She wished the ground would swallow her up as she poked Tina under the blanket, urging her to come to the rescue.
Tina, ever the globe-trotter and no
stranger to awkward situations, sat up gracefully and flicked her hair. "You and your inability to pronounce the hard g" she chided.
Then, turning to Phillip, she improvised, "She meant 'gold man,' not 'old man.' This kid has been having trouble with her hard g since we were little. When everyone else goes Oh my gosh' she goes Oh my osh."
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QUMS
Her friend stood there with an expression of "What the hell?"
She wasn't an idiot.
Tina shot her a look.
She went, "Osh, sorry about that."
Phillip watched them both, his expression unchanging, clearly not buying it.
After a moment, he simply nodded towards the cup on the coffee table. "Drink your hot chocolate."
Tina grabbed the cup, pulling her friend towards the bedroom. "We haven't caught up in ages. Let's go chat."
Once the bedroom door was shut, the blame game began.
"Why didn't you tell me he was
home? Seriously? It's 8:30 PM. Isn't it normal for him to be home?
What's the time got to do with it t
Guys like him are usually out and about, living it up. Some are already on their second round of fun by now."
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Tina, sipping her hot chocolate, replied without missing a beat, "He's not into that kind of stuff."
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