A Second Chance with My Boss

Drunk, Regretful, and Embarrassed to Death

The night sky was darker than usual. Victoria walked aimlessly along the deserted sidewalk, the cold air piercing her skin even though she wore a thick blazer. Her steps were unsteady. Not because she was drunk but because the weight of her thoughts clouded her mind. The image of Evan and the woman on the sofa kept haunting her, playing like a movie on an endless loop.

"s**t! Why does everything have to happen tonight?" Victoria grumbled, trying to ignore the pain in her chest. It was a Saturday night that felt so terrible.

She stopped in front of a nightclub with a flashing blue and red neon sign. The place's name, Eclipse, shone brightly as if beckoning her to enter. Victoria had never been one to spend the night in a place like this, but tonight was different. She needed an escape. She needed something to silence her inner voice.

Without thinking, Victoria stepped inside. The thumping sounds of EDM music immediately greeted her, along with the pungent smell of alcohol. Colorful strobe lights flickered, creating an atmosphere that made everything feel like a dream.

"f**k Evan," Victoria muttered, her voice almost drowned out by the loud music.

She approached the bar and ordered the first drink, the second, and so on. The bitter taste of the alcohol slowly clouded her mind, replacing the pain with a warmth that was actually... fake.

In the crowd, Victoria danced with the strangers. Her body moved to the rhythm of the music, trying to release all the weight pressing down on her chest. She laughed and joked with some people as if she really enjoyed the evening.

After two cocktails and who knows how many tequilas, Victoria began to feel like she was above the clouds. She went up to the stage, got close to the DJ who was playing music, and spent her money there.

With her feet not quite on the ground, she took the microphone the DJ handed her. The sound of the music slowly faded, according to her instructions.

Victoria looked at the people silently watching her, waiting for the speech she wanted to give as someone who had donated a lot of money tonight.

Amid the waiting, Victoria grinned. "Men. All men are assholes!"

The loudness of her voice managed to shock the people present, especially the men whose species Victoria had insulted. Then, she suddenly pointed at a random man in the crowd.

"Hey, you! You're not betraying your girlfriend, are you? Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed? It hurts!" she shouted.

Confused, the man raised his hands like a man under police arrest and quickly walked away.

"You saw that, didn't you? At first, they followed us girls around like little puppies, but if another girl was nice to them, they kissed her. f**k. Oh, sorry. Did I say too much? But... what do they call us when they feel unappreciated? They call us bitches! Even a dog trainer can't fix this asshole. THEY'RE EVEN MORE DOGS THAN THEIR OWN DOGS!" said Victoria with burning passion before returning to laughing and cackling.

After causing trouble with such nonsense, Victoria was immediately removed from the stage. She laughed bitterly and retreated to a corner of the room, trying to compose herself.

There, Victoria sat in silence, her head leaning against the wall. The tears she had been holding back finally spilled out. Sobbing like a child who had lost a balloon, she hugged her knees, not caring about the strange looks of the people around her. Her usual hair was now a mess, her makeup was smeared, and her eyeliner successfully made her look like a horror character in a cheap movie.

Just then, a strange man approached. He carried a glass of water and looked at her with concern and amusement as he handed her the water.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a low voice.

Victoria raised her tear-stained face. Her vision was blurred by the alcohol, but she could see that the man was quite handsome, with a strong jaw and a warm smile. He wore a black leather jacket and looked relaxed but thoughtful.

"Why... why does it have to be like this? I want to be understood and loved... Evan, that i***t cheated on me! With who? With that nephew who doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit! What am I missing that he would do that?" Victoria babbled.

The man smiled a little at her tirade.

"I know I shouldn't confide in strangers. But... strangers don't judge," Victoria said again.

"Oh, I do judge. But only in my heart," he said casually.

Victoria paused momentarily, looked at him, then laughed out loud. Either because it was funny or because her hangover was getting worse. A second later, she looked back at the man for a while. Perhaps because of the alcohol, or perhaps because she really needed someone to listen to her, she began to speak. In a voice full of emotion, she told him everything about Evan, the betrayal, and how broken she was.

The man listened patiently, occasionally nodding or speaking words of comfort. When Victoria finished, she felt slightly lighter inside, though her eyes were still puffy.

Hours later, what followed were vague fragments of memories. Laughter, indistinct conversations, and the hand of the man who helped her out of the club.

***

When Victoria opened her eyes the next morning, the sunlight streaming through the thin curtains blinded her. She grimaced as she tried to adjust to the light. Her head felt heavy. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

Then she realized that something was wrong. This wasn't her bedroom. The crisp white sheets and neutral decor clearly belonged to the hotel.

"Oh my God, what am I doing?" she whispered frantically.

Victoria looked at herself. Her body was naked, without a single thread. The clothes she had worn last night were already on the floor. She panicked more and more. But before she could digest the situation, her eyes fell on someone sleeping beside her.

A man.

Victoria held her breath; her heart wanted to jump out of her chest. The man's face was partially covered by the blanket, but there was something familiar about it...

She slowly pulled back the blanket covering the man's face. When she saw it clearly, she felt as if lightning struck her.

"Felix?!" she called out in a half-whisper, afraid the man would wake up.

Felix, the college senior she had once rejected for some silly reason. The memory hit her again.

Back then, at the campus gate, Felix had suddenly walked up to Victoria and asked her out in front of dozens of students. What was Victoria's answer? "Sorry, I can't go out with a guy wearing a highlighter green plaid shirt and brown pants. Besides, you smell like sweat. I'm a clean freak. I don't like smelly people."

She could hardly breathe as she remembered how she had once publicly humiliated this man.

And now? Now she woke up next to him in a hotel room with no clothes on!

Victoria held her throbbing head. How could this have happened? How had she ended up here with Felix? Her memory of that night was so hazy. She only remembered the conversation at the club, then everything went dark.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She hit her head.

She looked at Felix again. He was still fast asleep, his breathing regular. Victoria touched her own hair, trying to think of a way out of this situation. She didn't know what to say if Felix woke up and they had to face this reality.

"Okay, calm down, Victoria," she whispered. "You just need to... get out of here before he wakes up."

With quick movements, she moved off the bed, picked up her clothes scattered on the floor, and put them on with hasty movements. But in the process, she tripped over her feet and nearly fell over.

Felix muttered under his breath as he shifted his position on the bed. Victoria froze, holding her breath, hoping Felix wouldn't actually wake up.

When she managed to get dressed and looked up at Felix, he was still asleep. Carefully, she grabbed her bag and crept to the door like a secret agent in an action movie.

Before she left, Victoria looked back at Felix. A pang of guilt crept into her heart. She didn't know what had happened that night, but she clearly didn't want to face the consequences now.

Once out of the room, she quietly closed the door and stood in the hallway, trying to catch her breath.

"I really can't believe this happened," she muttered, her face flushed.

She hailed a cab and left the hotel, leaving her embarrassment behind.

On the way home, Victoria tried to remember the details of last night, but they were all vague. She only remembered Felix listening to all her stories about Evan, even laughing at her when she cursed her boyfriend. Her mind was a mess, mixed between the pain of Evan's betrayal and the confusion of the night she had spent with Felix. She wanted to cry again, but her tears seemed to have run out.

Victoria took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She knew that she couldn't avoid this reality forever. But for now, she just wanted to rest. The day had just passed, and it had been hard enough, and she needed time to gather her strength. Amidst the dizziness and queasy stomach, one thing was clear. This had been one of the worst mornings of her life.