Office Romance

Thank God It's Friday

"Are you sure your boyfriend was invited?" Casey, one of Julia's friends two friends asked the other, Blue.

"Yes, he was. He works here." Blue assured Casey as they walked towards the entrance of the party. "He mentioned that I can bring you guys along so don't worry. Just be classy."

"I don't know, Blue, the party looks...expensive," Julia said her thoughts out loud.

"Right? That's what I'm saying," Casey chimed in.

"Do you guys wanna go in or not?" Blue got tired of assuring them that they could be at the party.

"Okay, let's do this. We go in there and we have the best of the weekend." Julia got rid of her nervousness and welcomed excitement.

Together, the three girls made their way into the party hall. Blue found her boyfriend and left Casey and Julia to go meet him.

"I found Matt, I'm going to meet him. You guys have fun." She told them before she left.

"Have fun? Look at this place, they're basically just drinking wine and standing and talking to each other." Casey groaned.

"We should have just stayed back at the apartment and watched the last two episodes of that show." Julia bit her lips.

When Blue invited her and Julia to ‘a party,’ they expected it would be their casual kind of party, but now they were realizing it wasn't. It was a business party with classic music and officiality written on everyone's faces.

"You know what? I'm gonna find myself someone rich at the party. Can't let my make-up and pretty dress go to waste today." Casey told her and was about to walk into the little crowd but stopped to ask her friend."Aren't you coming?"

"Nah, I'm good. I'll just find myself a drink." Julia shrugged.

"Okay. Don't get drunk, you are bad at that shit."

"Yes, mum." Julia joked and watched Casey disappear into the group of people dressed in suits and elegant dinner gowns.

She caught a server passing by and reached out for one of the glasses on the tray he held. Taking a sip from the glass of cocktail, she looked around the place. There was no one to talk to so she started to think to herself, about her life and how not-so-good it was at the moment.

She didn't have a job and was broke, so she was crashing with Blue and Casey who shared an apartment. Sighing, she gulped down her glass and decided not to think about s**t anymore. Hopefully, she will pass the interview she applied for next week on Monday.

"Sorry, excuse me," she stopped one of the ushers walking around."Do you know where I can find a restroom?"

"You can't. It's a hotel, you can take an elevator up and get a room." The person replied quickly and left her standing alone again.

Julia didn't understand all the person just said so she took out her phone and texted Blue.

JULIA:[I just asked one of the helpers here and was told I need to get a room if I wanted to use a restroom????]

BLUE:[Wait, I'll ask Matt]

Julia read Blue's message and stood waiting for her to ask her boyfriend like she said she would. She looked up and saw them both. Blue was whispering to her boyfriend where they stood with a group of other people.

BLUE:[Matt says he has a room booked. The party's an all-night event so...]

JULIA:[So what am I supposed to do? I've got to pee, right now]

BLUE: [Where are you? I'll come give his room keys to you so you can use the restroom]

JULIA:[Let me come to you, I see you already]

***

"Take the elevator and stop on the 6th floor. Room 19." Julia recited the exact words her friend, Blue had told her after giving her the key card to her boyfriend's room.

The elevator door opened and she stepped out, looking at the doors for room 19."14...15...19?" She stopped when she saw a room 19 after room 15 but then she was pressed.

She wanted to put the key card over the door scanner but saw that the door was already open so she went in. Without paying attention to anything else, Julia hurried to the restroom to help herself out.

Some minutes later she came back out and stood to look around. Matt, Blue's boyfriend had hurried after her to tell her not to mess up the surprise he had planned for Blue in the room when she got there but she wasn't seeing any surprise.

"Was he messing with me?" She hissed when she didn't see anything looking like a surprise in the room.

She went to open the door but it wouldn't open. She tried the card but it kept buzzing with a red sign saying ‘denied’. She was still trying the card when she heard someone behind her.

"Did you get it?" A man asked behind her so she turned to him.

"Get what?" She asked when she saw a shirtless man."Are you Matt's friend? Or coworker? Why are you in his room." Julia wanted to know."Are you the surprise he said he had for Blue? Tell me you're not one of those handsome male strippers cos it'll be crazy to know that Matt really hired a stripper to dance for Blue. Those two are crazy." Julia laughed at the end of her assumptions.

"Do I look like a stripper?" The man was offended.

"Well, you're handsome, shirtless..." Julia shrugged with a chuckle. She prayed deep in her heart that she wouldn't get any more turned on by the tall, handsome man in front of her.

‘He is just a stripper, Julia, don't get turned on by a stripper.’ She spoke to herself.

"Did Jay send you?" The man asked her. Not a single smile from him since Julia met him. She thought he was being professional by not smiling at her.

"Who the f**k is Jay? You know what, I don't care. I should leave you to get ready to surprise my friend." Julia said and went back to the door with the key card. It declined again so she turned to ask him."Do you know how this key card thing works? It won't open the f*****g door." She cursed, a little bit frustrated.

"It isn't opening the door because it's not supposed to. That's not the right card for that door...how did you even manage to get in?" The man asked and it suddenly occurred to Julia.

The door was open when she came in. She hadn't come in with the card. She was still putting pieces together when someone opened the door from outside.

"Hey, Drew, I got the tie you wanted me to..." It was Jay. He stopped talking when he saw Julia in the room with Drew."Am I disturbing something?" He asked his friend, Drew.

"No, you're not. Did you ask another w***e here?" Drew asked him, a little annoyed.

"Nope. But I can leave if.."

"Excuse me, who are you calling a w***e?" Julia got angry and cut Jay off his words.

"He didn't mean that. You don't mean that, right Drew?" Jay smiled at her. Julia looked at Drew, his face was still as unwelcoming as they were before, his lips not smiling.

Julia rolled her eyes and took her opportunity to leave the two men before it got out of hand. She slammed the door after her to show her anger but that got Blue's attention from two doors away.

"Julia?"