CHANCE

Jamie POV In this life, people say that dreaming is for those who have everything. For those who are provided for anything, they like or want. What exactly is for the people who live a simple life like me, I’m Jamie Lyn Langford from the small town of Beacon, NY. Yeah! They say that our place is a haven for artists, artisans, chefs, and environmentalists but who cares, I live my life for what I need to be I’m a carefree person, a loner, and a simple one. I believe that living on my own is better than living with my relatives, that’s right I'm an orphan, no parents since their deceased, my father died of a stroke when I was in grade 6 and my mother died when I was in third-year high school. Well, I can say that even if there not here physically they still hear engraved in my heart. Living alone is hard but what should I do that’s what God gave me and I should live with it! Well, that’s what it molds me to be me. I'm 33 years old still a virgin because I don’t have time for heart matters anymore, I spend my days on my work, I'm a call center agent at night and a waiter in a pizza parlor at day. I'm alone but I need to strive harder for my future, I want to be secured that is why my friend Diane Smith whom I trust the most always remind me to take things lightly that apart from working to hard I need also time for her, she’s just my only friend for God sake and my only family at the moment. And as Diane got on my doorstep… "Hey, babe! Are you coming with me for a 3 days vacation at Califonia?" "Let me think about it, babe! I don’t have time and it's too far from our place, you know I just can't leave my work just like that.." "Damn it! Jamie, I'm not asking your consent here I'm saying you need a vacation, you already killing yourself babe. That’s not healthy anymore…" "Oh! C’mon babe are we arguing because of this? Give me a break please." She knows I'm not going to say yes just like that. "Jamie, I love you girl and you're my only family here, why don’t you give me a two day to be with you? As she gives me a pleading face that she knows I can't resist…" "Don’t give me that silly reason Diane, still my answer is NO… if I agree with you this time William will kick me out from work and you know how I badly needed work right now!" "Oh yeah! And what reason is that? tell me babe Are you running out of money? Since when I know you’ve worked hard for these last 15yrs of your life and that’s enough… do I need to calculate everything? Is that Mr. William can't get enough of you and he cant give you a 3 days vacation?" "Are you kidding me, Diane! His almost old to be my grandfather and I'm not into a relationship, oh please spare me with that…" "Ok! Jamie please come with me to California…. I want you to be there, and John wants you to be with us too… That boyfriend of mine is truly amazing, " "Yeah and he loves you so much and for that I’m glad. Diane next time." And because she’s stubborn as me and she can't leave me just like that. Not until I say yes and unfortunately I have to agree with her in one condition that she may not blind date me to anyone anymore… Yea,h to get rid of my virginity she tried to arrange me a couple of dates but it is all in vain, I can't find the so-called love in it, or fatal attractions either, I’m not in the rush anyway. If the time comes that heart matters will come I’ll make sure that I’ll be ready not just physically but also emotionally. Since my parents died I’m always on guard of myself maybe because I'm alone now and I know that no one that I can rely on and share except for myself, I can say that I have relatives but we are not close even when my parents are still here I'm an only child. Sometimes I thought that life is unfair because some people are given a big and happy family, and some are small families and unfortunately, I was in the latter. Despite that, I'm still hoping that when the time comes that I will have my own family it will be harmonious and loving. Maybe it will be soon. Until Diane snap her finger on my face and that’s the reason for me returning to the present. "World for Jamie! Jeez! What is happening to you..." I hear her yell at me, "Ok! Agreed I'm coming…" "Is that true? I just want to be sure. Because the last time I invited you to change your mind, and you kept me hanging because of that..: "Just promise me, No Damien on that trip.. " Damien is John’s childhood friend. His suitor for a year now and it makes me uncomfortable to be with him, it bothers me because I can’t give him hope. Damien is a man that every girl dream but his younger than me for 2 years. From the beginning, I told him my decision that he has no hope of us being together, but he insists he said he is willing to wait. I know from my inside that I can’t love him. There’s a strong force that telling me, what if one day my Mr. Right has come of course it will be too complicated then, and I don’t want complications. I want to love that man freely, Yes I still believe in destiny who knows maybe one day I will meet him sooner than I expect. Damien is an established man also. He manages their family business at the age of 16. And I can say that he's doing well in it. I already met his family and I can say they are very humble. Damiens cheerfulness and easy-going nature is the reason why we became close. I treat him as my younger brother, but Damien is not. That is why I told Diane to not invite him on a tour. I saw her disappointed look at what I said. And honestly, I feel so relieved that no one will destroy my moment of sanity. "Alright, as you wish…" "Then it’s a deal.. So, can you leave me alone now. I still have to go to work so that I can settle my leave of absence." "Ok bye, for now, give me a beep so that I can book a flight now. We're leaving tomorrow." " Ok.." And Diane prepared to go out of my house until she remembers something and asks me… "Are you sure Damien is not coming?" "Diane!" I yell at her. And with her hand up she said "Ok! Fine if that’s what you want! Bye!..." As Diane disappeared at my sight I ask myself. Why am I so lucky to have her as my friend I don’t deserve her. She is the most caring friend I have, it's true… She takes good care of me as if she was my old sister but the fact that we are the same age, she is like an old lady when she talks, even in giving advise and of course on scolding me as if I did the very wrong thing but all in all I love her. Her family treats me as their own because of my tragic experiences. Mr. and Mrs. Smith accept me as I am. I may not be very vocal about what I feel but I know that they understand me that much. Their unconditional love teaches me to love others without restrictions. I regain consciousness and remember that I need to go to the bathroom to prepare to go to work. After an hour of taking a bath, I tidied up and went out to my car. As I was rushing to work, I was cut off while driving because of the traffic jam which is normal for the rush hour. To avoid being bored I open my stereo and put the channel on the FM station where the music is the popular song of Lewis Capaldi is entitled FOREVER. " Caught me off guard, I wish that I'd been sober Still, here we are, back in Hanover 99 Just like old times all over Under the exit lights as beautiful as ever I wish that I dress up a little better No regrets are what we said We can't go back again Darling, nobody said that it would last forever That doesn't mean we didn't try to get there I never said that we would die together That doesn't mean it was a lie, remember Nobody said that it would last forever..." I can't help myself sing with music because It's my favorite song. Well, all of his songs. I don’t know what goes right through me to lower my passenger windshield until I happen to see a man driving a sports car a Porsche model which color is space gray a very manly indeed, I was mesmerized by his feature. This is the first time I admired a male species. His looks are very captivating, a tall and not too fair complexion but a handsome one, that every woman’s dream as I look at his eyes I saw him frowned at me maybe he looked at me and see that I was looking at him for a long time. I cursed myself for doing that, Damn! Jamie, what are you doing? Imagining to have that man for you? Are you that desperate! OMG! If I could only dig a hole to bury myself in it… I’ll do it. Until the traffic turn to normal I started my car and prepare to drive. Am I that desperate to find the one for me? I'm ashamed of what I just did. I don’t know what’s got onto me and I admired that man so much, as I looked at him in the eye, I saw a very lonely man even in his captivating business attire, just by looking at him my heart beat faster at my palm is sweating. It'sts so strange it was my first time to experience being bothered by a male species. How come? I questioned myself. I just shrug my shoulder to cover the embarrassment that I felt a while ago. And finally, I arrive at my work safe and sound. I'm into the building where my work is, I park my car where I usually used. I went to the elevator to go to the 18th flr. Where my work is? As I go to my cubicle as I prepare myself to work, as I say a while ago I am a call center age a customer service representative. We used to receive calls either inbound or outbound. This work is stressful sometimes but I start loving it because it is paywalled. And time goes so fast my 8hours of work almost done I remember my task for that day to submit my LOA. After logging out t my work station I went to my Team Manager to submit my LOA and then to God he approved without further questioning, it is because this is my first time to leave for how many years of working in the said company. I used to be a person engaged in work, a workaholic oneIt' sts good too, because I don’t have a good explanation as to whI'mim going on vacation. It's not my cup of tea. As I settle to go home and pack my things I passed by Mr. William's office and saw that it's not close so I decided to greet him before going home. I treat Mr. William as a father so there’s nothing wrong with greeting him right?! As I open the door I saw a man seating in front of Mr. William, they talking about business, as I walk closer I excuse myself for intervening. "Hi boss I'm about to go home, Just drop by to say hi because I saw your office door not close, I didn’t expect you have visitors. "Yes Jamie, what can I do for you?" "Nothing sir, You can continue with your meeting. I'm going off.." As I went out, I saw that the man whose inside was the man I saw driving the Porsche car, The man that was so arrogant and the man that I fantasized and admired in the morning. His feature a while ago is bothered some. It was as if he hated me that much! What did I do? That man is hateful! And that person is the CEO of the Ribbs Company that base in California, a place where Jamie will take a vacation. Francis went there for some business meetings and it happens that Mr. William invited him and knew that he is in N.Y. Mr. William is his father's best friend, so he accepted his invitation. As a woman interrupted our discussion and say hi to him I already concluded that they are close so I ask him what’s the relationship between him and that woman whom it already caught my attention since I saw him on the road. I find her beautiful, simple, and has a nice figure. He says. "Oh! That’s Jamie, she is a sweet girl. He used to greet me before going off to go home." " She does that often? How come? It's confusing…" He said as if Mr. WILLIAM did something terrible... And Mr. William saw my annoying look. "Mr. Ribbs, that girl! I treat her like my own daughter. She stayed in this company for all of her life. So I can say I know her very well." Drop whatever unnecessary your thinking. I'm just a father figure to her no more, no less. That statement gives me relief... As I took the old man I saw compassion in his eyes full of respect for the girl so I never questioned him anymore. I just feel like there's something about the girl that makes me remember her. Her pouting lips as if it's inviting to kiss her, her fair complexion that it's very tempting... Her body that similar to a greek goddess, her eyes and eyelashes... I chuckle as I remember where am I, and I can't help myself but smile. What is wrong with me... Why I was so distracted with that girl? What's with her that I can't take my eyes off her. I'm Francis Ribbs, the CEO, I can have a woman if I want to. Just a phone call on them and they will be begging me to give them a little attention. There's Laura back home if I'm longing for s*x, she is my FUBU ( f*****g buddy), since my failed relationship, I settle for no label kind of fling. From the very start of attraction, I settle the real score so that the woman knows what she is supposed to expect with me. I'm never into a long-time relationship, maybe because I've had enough of girls facade. The separation makes me a stone to any woman, but this girl... I really can't tell what I want from her, in the look of her she is so delicate that you want to protect her and Yes... For the first time in my life I want to have her, I want to love her... Seriously Franz? I ask myself until a ring on my phone takes me back to reality. "Hello? Who is it?" "It's Cherie, can we see each other?" "I'm sorry, kinda busy. I'm just here for business, can we see each other some other time? " I missed you! When will you be here again." "I don't know, I'll call you." The girl is pissed off. And she said... "You can't leave me just like that, Francis! You are mine... No woman can have you just like that... Not until I'm around!" She said with determination and a sinister look on the face. She is up to something, and she only knows it. This woman is freaking CRAZY! As I end the phone I prepare to leave, I said my last goodbye to Williams and got out of his office. Everyone is looking at me especially girls but I don't give attention to it. All I want now is to go back to my headquarters because I have a lot of appointments that Nita rescheduled, I trust her so much... As I got to the elevator, I bump into her and she just looks at me as if she had seen a ghost. As fast as a blink of an eye she stumbles as her face bump my chest, instinctively I wrap my hand around her waist to avoid her from falling and our heart beats fast. I look her in the eyes and it feels like there's some magical force that binding us... I can't get enough of her scent a lavender mist that it's mild to the nose... Her angelic face is unforgettable, I close my eyes and sniff her scent. At that moment even Jamie can't believe that this arrogant man in the morning is hugging her right now it's so embarrassing. "I'm sorry sir, I was rushing..." Jamie said but Francis change his amusing expression into arrogant and cold, Jamie gave him a tsk look. This man challenges her patience. It was an accident that she bumps into him if only she could only turn back the time it's better to not meet this arrogant man... His ruining her day! "Ok, then Mr..." She said and went to the corner of the elevator so that the others can pass but Francis didn't answer and gave her a cold shoulder. What a despicable man he is... She said until Jamie's phone ring it was Diane. Asking for the result of her LOA. " Hello!" she said..."Yeah! It's been approved" murmuring her answer for the others on the elevator couldn't hear what they are talking. I'm about to go home can we talk about this at home? I'm at the elevator now. Ok, I'm at your condo now, I have my spare keys with me. Alright, I'll be right there in a minute... "Ok bye!" Diane said. "Bye!" Jamie answered as she ends the ring. As she was talking to whoever she was on the phone, I can't help to look at her. I want to know her details but I was doubting myself not now it's not proper... Next time... After the elevator open she got out first but she glances at him one last time before she hops on her car and goes home fast so that she can't encounter heavy traffic again. Jamie didn't know that before she got out of the parking area, Francis memorizes her plate no. And called his friend Nate to investigate her. We will see each other again he said smiling... That smile is genuine. He hops into his car and drove to the airport to go home. In the car Francis still smiling because her scent is still on his nose, that woman catches his attention and he will let Nate investigate her for him.