by Wynn, Ann
Juliana opened her eyes and found herself in a room which was not her own. She frowned as she sat up on the bed and realized she was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of garter shorts. She did not know how she got there and how she got changed. She frowned as she tried to recall what had happened earlier, but she could only remember a few bits and pieces. She was having fun eating dinner with Gabriel because Michael canceled their date. She panicked as she remembered Michael. She looked for her bag, which she found inside one of the bedside drawers. She pulled out her phone and looked at the display to see if he had contacted her.
He sent her a text message saying he was sorry and that he would make it up to her next time. She knew he was sorry but reading the words he would make it up to her next time just didn't cut it anymore. She knew if this kept up, she'd end up breaking up with him because she needed someone to be there for her. If only she could.
She threw the phone on the bed and stood to check the room she was in. It was spacious, clean and unused. It had a bathroom next to it and an empty closet near the bed. Her head still hurt, but at least she was no longer sleepy. This was bad. She did not know where she was. She decided more investigation was needed to find out where she really was. She carefully opened her bedroom door and when she saw no one around, she stepped out to explore in the darkness. She took careful steps, not knowing what she would find outside her bedroom door.
Chapter 6
Michael wanted to call her all night, but he knew he messed up. Tonight was their anniversary and he knew that Juliana had been busy planning everything for tonight. He did not mean to ruin everything. He just did not expect something like this would happen. He sat there in front of his computer, still wondering what could have happened this night if he had not canceled his date with her.
Thoughts of their romantic dinner two years ago made him smile. If only things could go back to that time. He suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder, interrupting him of his random musing. When he turned around, he saw Joana Stewart, his girlfriend's long time friend, who also worked in the same office that he did for several years now.
“Hey!” She greeted him as she sat on the edge of his worktable.
“Hi Joana! I didn't know you were still here. I thought my team are the only ones still working on this project because of the deadline.” He said.
“I thought I would be able to enjoy my Friday night but just like you, I'm stuck here working.”
She pouted and sulked like a spoiled little brat. He looked at her and thought that she looked so cute whenever she did that. He berated himself upon realizing that he found another woman cute despite the fact that she was his girlfriend's friend. Joana was pretty. She was petite, with a cute face and a sexy body, but she was not as curvy as Juliana. He knew how different they were physically, yet he did not know how different they were when it came to their personalities, for he had never been close to Joana before.
He knew her based on what Juliana told him about her, and based on her stories, she was a good person. Michael also found out that many of his co-workers actually liked her, which made her popular at work. Just another reason for him to avoid her. He did not want everyone to think he was cheating on his long time girlfriend for her best friend. That would be humiliating.
“I'm tired, but I can't leave this behind, especially since all this needs to be submitted tomorrow afternoon. With all this, dinner has been forgotten.” He complained as his stomach growled. His face turned sour. He really wanted to eat something now.
“How about we ditch work for an hour and grab something to eat first?” She offered. He accepted. There was no point denying the obvious now.
Joana smiled. Her plan of getting closer to Michael was working. Although Juliana had been his girlfriend for a long time, she could not help but still love him from afar. Sometimes she even wished that their relationship would not work out so that she could seduce him and steal him away from her. She smirked as she realized that if Michael would continue working late nights with her in the office then she might just get what she wanted. The thought would have disgusted another, but she did not care. Her friendship with Juliana had been okay through the years; she just felt like she needed him more than Juliana ever did.
As they got out of the building to go to the convenience store across from their office, she looked at Michael, who was looking at the screen of his phone as if deep in thought. She wondered what was wrong, but she knew he would just talk about Juliana, and that was the last thing she needed to hear from him right then. They bought some snacks and paid for them before eating them there. Like them, there were also plenty of other people working late in other offices who were eating quick meals there. The place was not relaxing. It was crowded and noisy. Joana leaned closer to Michael as both of them stood there looking for empty seats.
“What do you say we just take our food to the office instead? I don't think we will be able to eat here with everyone here.” Joana suggested. Michael was so preoccupied thinking about Juliana that he just followed Joana around.
They ate their meal in silence in the pantry. He looked around to see that everyone in the office was taking a break from work. He did not know how he would be able to finish his work, but he had to. His promotion depended on it. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing sound of a phone, Joana's phone to be exact. She excused herself and stood up to take the call in the corner of the pantry.
“Can't you understand that it is over between us? How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me? You've been harassing me for weeks now, Carl. You should stop this, or else I'm telling the cops.”
She looked stressed out and ready to cry. Michael looked on as she ended the call and turned her phone off. This was awkward. He did not want to get involved, but as Juliana's friend, he knew he had to, and she would be happy if he did.
“Boyfriend?” He asked.
“More like ex-boyfriend! We've been seeing each other for almost a year when I found out that he was married. I decided to end everything before things got more intense between us, but he did not want to let me go. He kept on promising me that he would get a divorce soon and that I should stay with him. I did not want to be the reason for a family to be broken. That's just not right.”
Joana acted like she was really hurting when deep inside she was lying to him. Her ex-boyfriend, Carl, was married but he did not go into a relationship with her because he wanted to. She seduced him, and when he was already too caught up with her, she broke up with him, making him nearly lose everything. But she would never admit her devious ways; not when she was already setting her traps for a new victim whom she felt would fall for her fast. She only hoped that once she had him trapped, he would love her, because she did not want to let him go even if getting him would cost her the friendship she had with Juliana.
“That's horrible! I'm sorry to hear that.” He moved closer to her to pat her back as she continued to share her story to him.
“Now, he keeps on calling me, sending me messages and even waiting for me to go home every night. It is exhausting! I can't avoid him even if I want to. Sometimes I am afraid to go home alone at night because he knows where I live and what if he's waiting there for me and then he does something to me? I'm scared, Michael.”
Joana reached out for his arms to snuggle to him. Michael let her, and even stretched his arm around her shoulder as he patted her as if to comfort her. She sounded paranoid, but she knew Carl well. She knew how obsessed he truly was with her, and if he was still as lovesick with her as he was before then there was a high possibility of him doing so. She shuddered at the thought. Carl was handsome, but since he was already married there was no point in being with him. She did not want to be his mistress or anybody's mistress forever. She kept on telling herself that Michael would be different, however deep inside she knew that she was stealing him from someone. She was going to do something bad again. Will this be another mistake? She wondered.
“Why don't you just r
eport him to the police? Can't they give him a restriction order or something?” He asked.
“I want to but if I do, I might just end up scandalizing myself. I don't want anyone to know I had an affair with a married man. They might think of me as easy. It was a mistake. A mistake I intend to forget.” She said.
“I understand, but if you don't do something, how can you keep on evading him and his advances?”
Suddenly, Joana thought of the perfect plan. A plan that would only work if Michael cooperated. It was a plan that would launch her first steps to making him hers. She wanted to grin, but she had to continue to pretend she was hurting.
“Can you help me, Michael?” She looked at him with sad eyes.
“How can I help you?” He asked sincerely.
“Can you pretend to be my boyfriend for the time being? Only until he stops stalking me. Please.”
Michael wanted to refuse, but he was too kind to do so. He knew if he explained this to Juliana she wouldn't mind. She would probably even tell him he was doing a good job, but what was this guilty feeling he had deep inside? He ignored it and continued to speak to Joana instead.
“I don't understand how that's going to be possible, but I can try.” He said, finally making her smile.
“Thank you, Michael. You won't regret this, I promise. Just follow my lead and everything will be okay.” Plan to steal Michael from Juliana had begun and there was nothing her friend could do about it, especially if she didn't know her real motive behind it.
Chapter 7
Gabriel was looking at his computer screen. He decided to continue working in the living room instead of his office. He wore earphones as he listened to some music while working. This was the least he could do to keep himself busy. He had to stop thinking about Juliana, who was still sleeping in one of his guest bedrooms. He was lucky he lived away from his family. Otherwise, he would be in deep trouble bringing her home.
He knew he would not hear the end of it from his parents, especially his mother. She had always nagged him, telling him he should find a serious girlfriend soon. But after being ditched at the altar by his first love, he knew it would be hard to love again. The incident had left him more distrusting of people.
Juliana walked to the living room and saw a man sitting on the couch. His back was turned to her. The room was dimly lit, making it hard for her to see him clearly. She walked closer to him, careful not to distract him. When she was close enough, she saw that he was wearing earphones and that he was oblivious to what was happening around him.
It was then she realized that she was standing in the living room with her boss, Gabriel Mitchell. It dawned on her that she was in his home and that she was wearing something of his. Oh no! What happened? She wondered, and hoped that nothing happened between them.
He felt a presence near him. When he turned to the right, he saw Juliana standing there, looking at him with eyes as big as saucers. She looked confused. He took off his earphones and stood up, leaving his laptop where he sat.
“I'm sorry, did I wake you?” He asked.
“No, you didn't. Did I disturb you? You seemed to be busy when I walked in. Sorry for that.” She said as she looked at her feet on the carpeted floor.
“No, I was just keeping myself preoccupied. I couldn't sleep.” He stopped himself from saying it was because of her, because he knew that would be out of line.
“Are you feeling much better now?” He inquired as he continued to look at her.
“Yes, I'm better now. Sorry if I fell asleep and bailed on you earlier. That usually happens to me whenever I drink wine or anything alcoholic.” She admitted.
“Sorry I brought you here. I tried asking you where you lived but you couldn't tell me. I couldn't just leave you anywhere. I wanted you to be safe.” His admission sounded sincere which made her stop doubting him at some point.
“Would you like to go home now?” Gabriel might not like her to go just yet, but he knew he had to at some point.
“Can I just stay here for the night and leave early tomorrow morning instead?” Juliana did not know what came over her. She would never do something like this in a million years, yet here she was asking her boss to let her sleep in his home.
“I don't mind. If you're looking for your dress, I had it washed for you. Mrs. Donovan, my housekeeper, was the one who helped you out when I brought you here. I'm sure you were wondering about that earlier. You are safe here. Just tell me when you want to go home and I'll take you.” He confessed.
“Thank you.” She walked closer to him and took a peek at his computer screen.
“What were you reading when I barged in on you earlier?” She continued to stand behind the couch, not knowing what to do next.
“Nothing much. At first, I wanted to go over some articles which were submitted earlier for Crave, but I ended up reading newspaper articles instead.” He said as he looked at her standing before him. She still looked beautiful, despite the fact that she was no longer wearing the dress that made her look like a seductress earlier.
“How about we watch a movie instead? Come, sit, please.” He offered her. Although she did not follow him right away, she eventually did.
“Your choice. No, I don't mind chick flicks.” He figured she would want to watch one, especially since she was still feeling upset from what Michael did to her.
“How about we watch one of my all time favorite films, a historical romantic film called Shakespeare In Love? I hope you have a copy of that in your collection.”
“Good choice! I liked that movie too. I just never had the time to watch it again.” He stood up and looked for a copy in his collection. When he found it, he played it and sat beside her.
“We could order pizza if you want. We can drink beer or soda with it as well. On second thought, I get the beer, you only get soda, young lady.” He was joking and this made her laugh.
“No, I'm good. The food at your aunt's place were really good. I think I should go there again next time with Michael.” His smile faded as soon as she mentioned his name. Why does he have to be so affected anyway?
The movie started and before long, both of them were too concentrated on the movie to realize that it was almost 3 A.M. Gabriel saw Juliana shed tears in the movie. He wondered if she ever felt like Viola De Lesseps? Did she feel trapped in her current relationship without her knowing it? Did she want to have a passionate love like William Shakespeare, or have someone like Lord Wessex?
He would rather be William Shakespeare, but he never got Viola to stay with him. It was a forbidden love, a fatal attraction, something he knew all too well. As the movie ended, he felt the need to carry her in his arms and take her to his bed to make love to her, but he stopped himself, knowing she was not his.
“That movie never fails to make me teary-eyed.” She declared.
“If you were Viola, would you have chosen Will or Lord Wessex?” He asked because of his earlier musing.
“That's hard. Most women want to experience passion, to be with a one great love which can last forever. Will could probably give her that but knowing his womanizing ways, he might not stick around forever, leaving her in tears. Apart from that, he was living a poor life, which was stark against her rich living. In terms of social standard, they were very different, which would lead to them having a hard relationship. On the other hand, Lord Wessex could afford to give her everything. Unfortunately, she does not love him. But he does. Although it would be hard to learn to love someone, sometimes you have to. Maybe Will and Viola are just not meant to be. I say that it is better to be loved and lost than to never have loved at all.
So, I would choose Will if I would let passion sweep me off my feet while if I wanted convenience, I would choose Lord Wessex.” She said matter-of-factly. He figured if he could be passionate like Will then he could sweep her off her feet, as the latter was no longer an issue. He could provide for her. He was already wealthy to begin with. If it was passion that he lacked, he knew he had to make up for it
just to win her one day.
“So, what do you want to watch next?” He changed the topic because he knew it would be too much to ask her more questions right now. He waited for her response as he stood in front of his movie collection.
“I think I'll pass, boss. I'll get some shut eye for a couple of hours and be out of your bouncy hair soon enough.” She said in a playful tone as she stood up and walked away from him. If only she knew that he did not want her to leave him soon. He wanted to follow her to her room but stopped himself. It was then he saw her phone, which she left on sofa. He grabbed the phone and walked toward her room. She walked slowly which made it easy for him to keep up with her.
“Wait, Ms. Austin. You forgot this.” He said behind her.
She turned around as she heard his voice. He handed her the phone, their fingers touching. He felt the surge of electricity that flowed between them. Gabriel closed his eyes to ignore it, but when he opened them, he saw her looking at him, wondering what was wrong. Her eyes looked so innocent. But his eyes wandered to other parts of face, lingering on her soft lips which he died to kiss this night. It was then he realized that he had already moved closer to her, and her back was already touching the wall that lead to her temporary bedroom.