On a bright and sunny late morning, someone was still sleeping off the pang in her chest from inside her room.
Curled under the sheets, Joan tried her best to think not of the sight of one Shantal Lin being kissed by Christopher.
From her bedside table, her phone had been ringing nonstop, buzzing while left on vibrate mode. She had clients today. She knew, but she was not in the mood.
Last night, she told her assistant to cancel all her appointments. She gave no valid excuse.
"Urrgghhh!" She got up in anger. Joan grabbed her phone and answered, "What is it, Gina? I told you to cancel my appointments today!"
"Miss Joan, I'm very sorry, but a rising singer came in the shot today asking if you can her official stylist! It would be a good chance for you to shine!" Suggested her assistant, Gina. "Not that... you are not shinning. You are already... somewhat famous."
After finishing college, Joan had pursued her greatest interest in fashion design. She worked hard and achieved her first line of clothes at the age of twenty-four. Now, at twenty-six years old, Joan had two boutiques in the city, selling her own brand of clothing.
In between, she modeled now and then. Her beauty was not to be missed as Joan's face was godly. However, she never accepted to contracts that would show off her body and skin.
Aside from modeling on her own clothing line, she accepted shoots for magazines, a make-up brand, her favorite shoe brand, and posed for free for charity organizations that she herself contributed to.
She wasn't as famous as Cole Adams for sure, but people knew her name, especially because her own clothing line was on the rise. Her number one customer was, after all, Meredith Hale and her girl best friend, Lina Clark.
"Miss Joan? Did you hear me? Shantal Lin is here and wants you to design clothes for her," repeated her assistant over the phone.
Joan was in a daze, shocked by Shantal's visit to her shop that she failed to acknowledge for seconds. She checked the time and realized it was already ten in the morning.
"Miss Joan? Are you there?" Gina asked again.
"Umm... Gina, sorry." Getting up from her bed, she said, "Please tell her, if she is willing to wait, I'll be there in an hour."
A big part of her hesitated, but it did not take long for Gina to come back to her with an answer. She said, "Miss Joan! Miss Shantal Lin said she only wants you to design her clothes! She is willing to wait for an hour."
Joan gulped at that. She pouted her lips before answering, "Very well. Why don't you have her settle at my office and give her some drinks and some snacks, Gina."
An hour later, Joan arrived at her first boutique.
In the middle of Los Angeles, California's fashion district, JB's Vogue, rested on the second floor of one of the most famous and exclusive malls in the city. Many of the city's starlets had an outlet at the same establishment.
After Joan's driver dropped her off at the front of the mall, she hurriedly made her way to JB's Vogue.
"Miss Joan, she is waiting at your office," said Gina right after she opened the glass doors of the boutique.
"Good Morning, Miss Joan," greeted her employees.
Some regular customers were also there, wishing her well.
The second she entered her office, she found Shantal Lin, sitting in front of her white desk, busy with her phone.
Upon the sight of her, Shantal smiled and said, "Ah, Joan. It's nice to see you. Sorry for coming on such short notice."
Shantal got up while clinging her shoulder bag in her arm. She extended her hand to Joan, offering a handshake.
"It's nice to see you again, too, Miss Lin," said Joan before forcing a smile. "I - I have to admit. I was - I was taken aback by your visit. Please take your seat."
"It was Christopher's suggestion for me to check out your shop. Of course, I have seen some of your collections in the magazines and I must say, they are impressive. Conservative, but the details to your dresses are interesting and well thought of," said Shantal.
Getting comfortable on her seat, Shantal said, "Chris, he." She paused and fluttered her eyes a few times, getting sentimental. "He cares for me that much that he only wants his... friends to look after my fashion style."
'Did she just highlight the word friends?' Joan asked herself without looking at Shantal. She was taking a seat when the singer spoke.
As soon as she got settled, Joan urged a smile and said, "I see. I have Christopher to thank then for referring you to my services."
"Yes. He also cares for you, Joan. I can tell. He repeatedly told me that he values... your friendship," added Shantal.
Joan's brows furrowed. It's not like Christopher at all to be expressive of his appreciation. He was always hard to read.
"Really?" She tilted her head and twitched her mouth before answering, "That's not like him at all. I've known the man for ten years, you know... Anyway, Miss Lin. That's not really important. Tell me about your style preference."
She wanted to shift away from talking about Christopher, but to her dismay; it did not seem like Shantal wanted to move away from the topic.
"Oh, it is important, Miss Joan Belle. You need to understand how Chris appreciates your friendship and that he looks after you like a younger sister," Shantal said. With a cunning smile, she added, "He will always look at you the same way, a friend... Just a friend."
Joan realized that this woman was not here to avail of her services. She thought, 'Why threaten me if she really was not a threat?'
Leaning back, Joan smiled. She said, "Are we done here, Miss Lin? Or do you want me to call Christopher and asked if he really referred you to me?"
She placed both her arms on the table and looked at the singer in the eye. She took a deep breath and said, "It's like what you said, he really values our friendship. I wonder what he would feel if he finds out you came looking for me, rubbing it in my face; my status in his life?"
Shantal became awkward for a second. She then smirked and said, "I just want to draw the line."
The singer got up from her seat before saying, "Excuse me. Chris and I have a lunch date together."
She failed not to show off the kiss marks on her chest, running her fingers through it. She beamed and said, "He is so good in bed, but I guess you'll never find out."