A few hours before she kissed that stranger...
Elana stared at her laptop screen, a massive smile spreading across her face. She was re-reading the email she had opened the night before, just to double-check that she hadn't dreamed the whole thing up. It was an official acceptance letter. They were taking her in for her internship at Reyes Law Firm.
Going to one of the biggest, most famous law schools in the world definitely paid off. She was practically buzzing with excitement. Reyes Law Firm wasn't just any office; it was one of the absolute best in the country. It was the exact place she had spent years dreaming about, the place where she actually wanted to learn the ropes and prove herself.
She let out a happy little shout, snapping her laptop shut with a deep sense of pride. Her heart felt light. She stretched her arms over her head and glanced at the clock on her desk. It was almost five in the morning.
Pushing her chair back, she walked over to her closet and grabbed her running clothes. She quickly changed and stood in front of the mirror, pulling her shoulder-length hair back into a neat ponytail. She had always been a natural beauty, with clear skin and sharp features, and she was genuinely glad she didn't have to spend an hour caking on makeup just to look decent.
"God, this is exactly what I needed," she muttered to herself a few minutes later, stepping outside as the crisp morning air hit her face. It was still pitch black out, and the sun was nowhere near rising yet, but the quiet of the early morning felt incredibly refreshing.
Elana had moved into this neighborhood just a week ago and this was her usual routine ever since… Jog at this early morning hour and then afterwards have a cup of hot piping coffee in her favorite cafe in the neighborhood.
She was sweating profusely after some running, so she sat down on the bench and watched the sun rising in the sky. "Such a beautiful scene, right?" Elana heard a man's voice comment. He also sat down on the same bench and even offered bottled water to her.
"No thanks. I have mine…" Elana simply commented. "Do you jog here often?" The man asked and Elana just nodded, not even bothering herself to look at the man talking beside her.
"Hmm, this area is really beautiful. I guess I would jog in this area more often now…" She heard the man mumble. Elana rolled her eyes, hearing another lame dialogue used for flirting.
"Do you mind if I ask for your number?" She heard the man speak once more.
Elana turned her head to look at him. The man was not bad at all. He was quite good looking and seemed to be just a few years older than her.
With a blank stare she asked, "Why do you need my number sir?"
The man grinned, flashing his beautiful set of white teeth and answered, "I'm interested in you… and sir? Hmm… I'm only thirty years old, so please don't call me sir."
"Sorry but I'm not interested in you S-I-R?" Elana asked next, putting a heavy stress on the word 'sir'.
The man smiled and said, "Hmm, maybe I can work it out and make you interested..."
Elana moved her neck left and right then stood up to do some quick stretching. With raised eyebrows, she turned to him and said, "Sorry again but I really am not interested."."
Elana, leaving the man in stupor, ran to the neighborhood cafe for breakfast. She grabbed the latest newspaper and sat on her favorite chair that she had been using in the past few days.
She was drinking her coffee when she received a call from her mother asking her to have lunch with her since she missed her badly.
"Mom, I moved out just a week ago… Alright… I will come and I'll treat you to lunch. Message me where you want to eat…" she said smiling, hearing the pleading of her mother so early in the morning. The call ended and she grabbed the newspaper to continue reading.
Her eyebrows arched when she felt a shadow approaching her.
She put down the newspaper and saw the same man from before sitting in front of her.?Elana heaved a long sigh and looked at him with a stern expression.
"Hmm, we meet again. Do you mind if I take this seat and join you?" The man said with a smile.
Elana's eyebrows arched as she scorned, "Why bother to ask when you're already sitting? By the way, I do mind your sitting here. I prefer to sit alone, Sir." It was true. She hated it when her privacy was being invaded by anyone. Only her trusted friends had the right to barge into her anytime and invade her privacy and of course her mother was also always welcome.
The man chuckled and introduced himself then offered his hand for a handshake. Elana stared at his hand and snapped, "I'm actually married Sir. So please go to another table if you don't want my husband to see you lingering around me…"
"Hmm, but I don't see a ring in your finger." Elana's eyebrows flinched while a smirk formed on her face. She looked at the man who was now grinning, sitting opposite her. She hated arrogant men like him who thought they could have their way with everything and anyone they wanted to. Well, not just arrogant men like him, but she practically hated every man on the earth!
"How about you keep this so you can contact me whenever you are free...." The man put his calling card on the table and insisted.
Elana grabbed the card and looked at it. She then put the card on her coffee table and said, "As I've said, I'm not interested. If I see you follow me again, I will have no choice but to report you to the police."
She stood up and was about to walk off the cafe when Elana felt the man grab her hand. "Republic Act 9262 section 3. Stalking is a criminal offence. Let. go.…" Elana hissed with narrowed eyes, putting emphasis on each of her last two words.
"You're crazy. Do you think you're that pretty, huh? Acting smart, huh?" the man exclaimed.
Elana abruptly pulled her arm and calmly muttered, "Yeah, I'm crazy so if I were in your place, I would prefer to just leave me alone."
The guy just stood there on the sidewalk, glaring at the back of her head and cursing her out as she walked away.
Inside the cafe, Clyde watched the whole thing through the glass and shook his head. He knew Elana all too well. "Man, he's lucky he stopped talking," Clyde muttered under his breath. "One more word and she would've kicked him straight in the balls."
One of the new waiters, who had never seen Elana before today, leaned over the counter. "You know her, boss?"
"Yeah, unfortunately," Clyde said. "We went to high school together. Trust me, that girl thinks every single guy on the planet is pure evil. Her name is Elana Jin. She's twenty-three, graduating soon, and basically a lawyer the second she passes the bar. Back in school, she was famous for being a cold-hearted man-hater who wouldn't give anyone the time of day."
The waiter nodded, looking out the window with a smirk. "Sounds like the type who's going to die a virgin. A heartless lawyer."
Smack.
"Ouch!" the waiter yelped, rubbing the back of his head where Clyde had just swatted him.
"Get back to work, you gossiping creep," Clyde muttered, rolling his eyes.
But as the waiter scurried off, Clyde couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He already knew exactly how he was going to tease Elana the next time he saw her. A heartless lawyer who's going to die a virgin. He couldn't wait to hold that over her head.