—COINCIDENCE?—

—J

..

With each of my locks lightly curled and my body wrapped tightly in a dress that, dare I say, did wonders for my figure, I looked just about ready to smash today's interview. Though on the inside, felt only capable of shitting bricks.

"God I can't stop shaking," I told Lisa, who had been nothing short of amazing in my preparation.

Practice interviews, extensive research. You name it; she made me do it all.

"Don't be nervous. You know everything about the company and you look great," she insisted, dragging her gaze along the length of my legs.

Rosé had taken me shopping, stating I couldn't turn up to an interview at a fashion firm looking like a sack of shit (her words, not mine) and made sure I was kitted out in all the relevant gear. She assured me the red heels with the orange platforms looked amazing paired with my black and white skater dress, which fell nicely to my knees. Its zigzag pattern offered the overall design a jazzy vibe and the thick, red belt that held tightly in place at my waist gave the rather straight cut number added shape.

"You sure it's not too much? The shoes don't look stupid, do they?"

"No baby, you look just the right amount of sexy and cute," she ensured, moving from her position to land a kiss on my nose, not wanting to smudge my lipstick.

I twisted to face the full-length mirror and decided that I did indeed look good and needed to stop fussing over my appearance and focus more on what I was going to say.

"What are my weaknesses again?" I questioned, popping the essentials in my bag; keys, phone, polos.

"That whilst working under pressure is a vital skill to have, you don't often get stressed and therefore others working alongside you may not apply the correct amount of urgency to the task at hand."

"Right. Yeah, got it," I replied, turning to face my gorgeous girl. "I think I'm ready."

"Your carriage awaits."

Lisa had offered to drive me, meaning I didn't have to attempt the London underground with monstrosities on my feet. Battling the tubes was a nightmare at best. Adding five-inch heels to the mix was a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, traffic was light and although likely paying an arm and a leg for congestion charge, I must admit, doing so by car was a much easier way to travel.

"I'll meet you back here in about an hour, okay?" she smiled, planting a sweet kiss on my cheek. "You've got this, sweetheart. Knock 'em dead," she winked, pulling away shortly after I stepped out.

I watched her carefully manoeuvre her Ford around Berkley Square and once I was assured I had my breathing patterns back to normal, twisted in my stance in order to make my grand entrance. Unfortunately, I didn't watch where I was going and as I was slammed into a nearby body, I immediately began my apologies, fearful I'd hurt someone in the collision.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I'm such a—"

My sentence faltered in the back of my throat as I found myself face-to-face with Mr grey eyes; his sickening smirk and greedy gaze telling me his abrupt presence was anything but coincidental.

"Watch where you're going, pretty girl. You never know who's right behind you," he sniggered, gaining joy from my horrified expression.

His ugly neck tattoos moved as he threw his head back and laughed, the very sound making me recoil in fear. I simply bypassed his looming stance and rushed my way to the double glass doors, on the verge of actual tears.

Don't cry. Do not cry!

"Hi, Jennie Kim. I have an interview at eleven," I gushed to the receptionist, checking behind me to make sure he hadn't followed.

He hadn't.

"Brilliant. Take a seat Jennie, and Francesca will be out shortly. Can I get you a coffee?" she replied; pearly white teeth on show.

"Water would be great, thanks," I smiled, desperate for a drop to moisten my dry mouth.

I made my way towards the velvet couch and contemplated how best to sit. Did I go stiff and risk looking nervous, or did I attempt casual, where I might have come across as uninterested? In the end, my legs gave way and I sat as though I had just been confronted by my stalker outside. It couldn't be by chance that he'd shown up three times in my everyday life and his sick ability to enjoy scaring the shit out of me only added to my fear. Fuck! If I got this job, he'd know where I worked and show up more often. Maybe I should've told Lisa or the police? Perhaps Kai could've helped? Rosé told me he volunteered as a special through the week, so his knowledge about how best to address the issue beat mine, hands down.

"Jennie Kim?"

My head snapped up at the mention of my name and as I was forced to engage in a handshake with who I assumed was Francesca, I decided to forget all about that moron and focus on what was important - The job.

"Hi, lovely to meet you. You must be Francesca?"

A little over an hour later, I found myself leaving the building with the biggest smile on my face; feeling like the interview couldn't have gone any better. Francesca had been lovely in her interrogation and never once made me feel inferior. We discussed important matters like fashion marketing before moving on to what-would-be my daily tasks if I were to be successful. It all sounded amazing and although biased in my opinion, I could honestly see myself fitting in perfectly.

"Hey you, how'd it go?"

Lisa's voice pulled me from my thoughts, and as I was pleasantly brought to the attention of the purple tulips resting in her arms, I ran towards her with open arms.

"Amazing! It was perfect, Lisa. I told her all about my degree and we chatted about London fashion week for ages," I gushed, struggling to get it all out. "Oh, and if I get the job, I go to New York at least once a year to meet the team over there!"

"New York? Really? That's great," she grinned, removing herself from my rather public display to hand me the flowers. "These are for you, by the way. To say well done and I'm taking you out for lunch," she added, pulling me into her side as she began walking us down the busy street.

"We don't have to do lunch. You're currently out of work and I'm still a waitress, remember?" I insisted, wary of my surroundings.

I checked over my shoulder to see if Mr grey-eyes was still hanging around and was relieved when I didn't meet his sinister stare.

"Nonsense, my girl deserves a treat. Besides, I won't be out of work for long. I'm already looking."

Having eventually received a phone call from her HR department, Lisa was officially 'let go' and asked not to return to the premises, thus beginning her intense search for a new job. Jihyo had also called to explain what went down after we left. According to her, another intern with a ruthless attitude was given the job, meaning she too, was left in the lurch. People attending the event seemed to sweep the encounter with Lisa under the rug and as far as we were concerned, Garret was taking no further legal action with regards to being clocked in the face. Not that this had surprised me. He could hardly go running to the police, given he was the bastard in the wrong. One look at the CCTV footage from that night would suffice to my unwillingness and I just hoped that Lisa's punch was enough to shake some sense into him. He shouldn't go around pressuring women like that.

"Anything promising come up?" I asked, interested in her findings.

"A few but let's not talk about work right now. Let's talk about how sexy you look in today's dress," she smirked, pulling me towards Oxford Street.

"I bet I'll look sexier out of it," I smiled, unknowing as to what prompted me to say such a thing.

I wasn't usually so forward.

"I bet you do, sweetheart," she agreed, lightly kissing my cheek and lingering there for a moment. "In fact, I say we put it to the test."

..

Saturday came hurdling by and whilst helping Rosé prepare the mother of all banquets, the pair of us got well acquainted with Jamie Oliver's spare ribs, though 'spare' was perhaps being too presumptuous.

"Bloody hell, Rosé! They've shrunk!" I cried, peaking my head through the oven door.

"Yeah, it said they would. That's why I've done salad and potatoes to go with it," she ensured, chopping up a spring onion.

"And I suppose we have the chocolate fudge cake to fill us up afterwards," I reminded her, certainly not missing her disgust.

Earlier, in Asda, I'd demanded a pudding of sorts and whilst vetoing the idea of fruit salad, I'd picked up the richest, most chocolate-iest cake there was and proceeded to pop it in our trolley with so much pride, I felt like bursting.

"I can't believe I let you get that thing. You could've at least got an apple pie or something," she moaned, interrupted by our flat's buzzer.

It was Lisa on the other end and already anticipating her need for one, I cracked open a beer and slid it along the counter for her.

"Smells good in here," she announced, accepting her beer with a light kiss. "I brought wine."

I smiled my appreciation and gently placed the bottle of white in the fridge, priding my girlfriend on her good taste. She always brought over the good stuff and certainly didn't allow being unemployed to negatively impact her spending habits. Although, Lisa had always been careful with regards to her finances and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she had a secret savings account hidden away somewhere.

"Babe," interrupted Rosé, forcing my attention on her. "Kai has just text. Can you buzz him up? He's about to leave his car and says he'll have his hands full."

"Yeah, sure." I smiled, already bouncing my way over.

I did the honours and soon joined them back in the kitchen; Lisa's appreciation for 'real food' being the main choice in topic.

"What does Kai drink, Rosé?" I asked, taking this opportunity to be the perfect host.

"He'll have a beer too."

"Hello?"

"In here, babe!" Rosé shouted, alerting her boyfriend of our whereabouts.

The front door closed behind him and in strode the sexy beast; flowers in one hand, wine in the other. His combination of dark jeans and a navy blue shirt was certainly a gift in its own right and although not as yummy as my Lisa, he was certainly a sight to behold.

"This is Lisa and Jennie; the besties. Guys, this is Kai," introduced Rosé, stealing a quick kiss from his lips.

"Hey man, how's it going?" offered Lisa, smile in tow.

Kai quickly dumped the items in his hands and turned to Lisa, happy to engage in a manly shake.

"Good, yourself?" he replied, revealing a strong cockney accent in doing so.

I hadn't noticed it back at Hoes n Bros, though I supposed the deafening music was responsible for that.

"Not bad. Rosé's told us a lot about you."

"Only good, I hope," he laughed; mischievous eyes flicking over to hers.

The term 'A girls gotta eat' came springing to mind but I just about managed to choke down the urge to share my thoughts, understanding that it may have been too soon for that. I barely knew the bloke.

"Of course."

I watched as Lisa turned her attention to me; her wide eyes and cheeky smile certainly resembling that of a girl up to no good.

"This is Jennie," she introduced, offering my body a gentle touch in the form of her hand on my lower back. "My girlfriend."

"The one and only," winked Rosé, throwing me a cheeky smile.

I went to embrace Kai and found I was met with a brick wall in doing so. His muscles were what could only be described as rock solid and his hands were huge as they came to a rest at the base of my back.

"It's lovely to finally meet you," I greeted, discovering a genuine smile upon my return.

"Likewise and thanks for finally slipping me this one's number. Even if I did text her boss first," he stated, prompting the beginnings of yet another laughing fit regarding that matter. I still couldn't believe he did that.

"Right then!" began Rosé, back to business. "We're almost done in here. Why don't you two get comfortable in the living room and we'll be right out with canapes."

"Fucking hell, canapes? You two are pushing the boat out, aren't you?" laughed Lisa, gaining the approval of Kai.

"Hey, don't knock it, mate. Free food."

The pair got nothing but rolled eyes from Rosé and me and whilst doing as they were told, proceeded to leave the vicinity of our small kitchen before receiving canapes to the face.

"He seems really nice, Rosé!" I whispered, once I was happy in the knowledge they couldn't hear us.

"He is. I can't believe how lucky I am." she grinned, quite frankly from ear to ear.

Her reaction was met with a glowing smile and just like that, I knew my friend had it bad. She was in love and I wasn't far behind her.

The conversation continued to flow whilst we all feasted on the food and upon learning of Kai' desires to train with the metropolitan police; Lisa practically worshipped the guy and couldn't have been any more in his element. It went without saying that the pair shared a common interest in law and although working at Hoes n Bros to simply make ends meet, it was obvious where Kai's true passions were.

"I think Lisa fancies your boyfriend, Rosé," I teased, whispering to her sat opposite.

"Please, I think my boyfriend fancies Lisa. Have you ever seen a pair look so smitten?" she replied, shooting what I took to be an amused smirk.

We continued to watch on as both spilled their guts over codes of conduct and the right to remain silent, though remain silent, they did not. They proceeded to chat for what felt like hours before it was time to dish out dessert and once I revealed the grand cake, we were finally consumed by a respectful silence.

"What's that?" asked Lisa, looking nothing short of transfixed.

"Triple chocolate fudge cake," I proudly announced, popping the cream down in the centre of the table.

"Because double wasn't enough, right?" added Kai, making me smile.

"Double wasn't enough," I confirmed, gifting him his spoon.

The cake was heavenly and by the time all the plates were cleared away (and I felt just about ready to sleep for eight years), Rosé and Kai excused themselves for the evening, vacating to the bedroom where I heard, and I quote, "Oh god, don't stop!"

"Are those two—"

"Yep."

"And they're—"

"Oh, yeah."

Lisa looked at me as though I'd grown another head before rather insistently pulling on my arm to drag me towards the bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

I was harshly backed up against the door and in doing so, giggled against her insistence to use me as her own personal plaything.

"Giving the neighbours something to complain about," she stated, mischievously so.

I was picked up and thrown over her shoulder; the angle in which I found myself proving really rather thrilling. Biting through those jeans of hers and nibbling on her bum saw Lisa let slip a gleeful yelp; her insistence to smack my arse whenever I did so every inch the turn on.

"You'll pay for that," she warned, laying me down on the bed.

"I'm counting on it."

My clothes were off within seconds and disposed of quicker than I could say triple chocolate fudge cake. Her skill set was really rather impressive and if I wasn't so worryingly aroused, I'd have congratulated her on her ability.

"Don't forget."

"I know. Eyes open," I replied, grabbing at each bum cheek as she slowly slid her latex covered self into me.

I managed to suppress my moans at first but with Lisa's ever impressive rhythm, I soon lost control. I hoped that in doing so, my walls had the capability to become suddenly soundproof. If not, there wasn't much I could do but apologise to Rosé and Kai, alongside any other neighbours that may have been prone to hearing. Nothing and no one could stop me once I got going and even if I had the means to, I still wouldn't.

Sorry, not sorry!

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