CHARLOTTE sat on the bed, naked, staring at the text on her phone with a trembling hand and a confused mind.
Her body was covered in red spots, which was as a result of the lovebites given to her by the man she slept with.
She still couldn't believe it, though.
She couldn't believe how she would make such a mistake and end up in such a situation.
The text on her phone was from her boss.
"Charlotte, I'm so sorry my nephew bailed out on you. Are you okay? Did you get home alright? Please respond when you see this. You don't need to come to work today, so just rest up."
And then, on her other hand was a note that read,
"I had a great time, Miss. Hope to see you again. You were quite the catch."
Her hands trembled.
On the lamp table in front of her were two checks both containing 50,000 and 150,000. Both amount to 200,000.
So, was this some sort of compensation? Did this mean she sold her body?
Just... What in the world...?
She had spent the night with a stranger. A total stranger and all she knew was his name, Wesley.
He took her virginity. How? Just how did she let him go so far with her?
She typed on her phone a simple text, 'I quit,' planning to send it to Mr. Maquire.
But she was very reluctant to send it as it had actually been her fault and no one else. She erased it, tossed the phone aside, and covered her face, lost for all words.
"What do I do now? What do I do?" She asked as tears trickled down her cheeks.
It had dawned on her that the man she thought was Mr Maguire's nephew wasn't actually Mr Maguire's nephew, and he had spent the night with a stranger under the influence of alcohol.
Why? Just why did she fall for such a cheap trick?
She quickly got out of the bed, swung her dress over her body, grabbed her tote and dashed out. Charlotte left the hotel premises crying.
A few hours earlier.
"Where is he?"
That was the question of the young lady standing at the side of the road, under a shade to avoid the heavy rain pouring down.
She twisted her lips impatiently as she waited and gazed in anticipation, peering into the road, for what was to be her ride but there was no car forthcoming.
"Ugh!" She grunted.
Her boss, Mr Maguire, had left in the early hours of the day in his car before the downpour had begun, and she was to close the shop.
She wasn't supposed to stay so late but he asked her to, saying there was a customer who would arrive to pick up a package.
At first, she debated it, fearing the rain would obstruct her journey in the dark hours. But then, he promised to send his nephew to come pick her up as soon as she closed the shop.
Only then did she agree, but it looked like she made a mistake in trusting her boss' words because she had closed the shop for nearly an hour, and there was no sign of the car forthcoming.
She was cold and shivering. She didn't even have a jacket on.
'At this rate, I'll catch a cold.' She thought and looked up at the dark sky.
The downpour was so bad that there was not a single car in sight. So, how was she sure her boss' nephew would come get her?
She checked her phone. It was past 12, midnight.
'Ugh. This is the worst. I don't even know who this nephew is, what he looks like, or what car he drives.' She thought and twisted her lips once more. 'Maybe I should just resign.'
Charlotte has been working at Mr Maguire's Cybercafe as an apprentice and Systems Engineer for the past months, but... It wasn't exactly the kind of job she was dreaming of. One could say it was a job for survival.
It was either that or going to work several part-time jobs a week.
Charlotte rubbed her palms together to keep herself warm. The cold was already getting to her.
Then, she saw flashes of light approaching. In the thick darkness, there were two lights of a car.
Seeing this, she heaved a sigh of relief, with the mind that the approaching car was her ride.
"Ah, finally," She said.
The car pulled up in front of her. She wasn't able to see what brand it was and she honestly didn't care.
Just as long as she got her ride to take her home.
"Hello, lady." The man behind the wheel greeted her as he wound down the window.
"Hop in."