Chapter 1
With a sigh, Danica Ocampo let herself collapse face down on her unmade bed, her nude pumps hanging from her toes. She gave her legs a little shake, letting the shoes fall to the floor with a slight thud. God her feet hurt. With another sigh, she turned her head to look at the clock on her wall. Unbelievable. It was only a little past seven in the evening and yet here she was, dead tired. She frowned. It wasn’t a particularly busy day at work – it was an unusually relaxed Friday at the office, likely due to the long weekend. Some holiday or other the coming Monday made people eager to leave the office as early as possible. She didn’t feel like staying in the office by herself.
At 29, Danica is a junior legal counsel for Pages Bookstores which has branches all over the country. She began working for Pages three years ago as assistant legal counsel. She got promoted after a year and-a-half and couldn’t be happier working with the two things she loved the most: books and law. Today, however, she was feeling the effects of numerous sleepless nights and working through several weekends finalizing contracts and mentoring (still!) the assistant legal counsel who replaced her six months ago. She finally had a weekend off – three days to herself! – whatever should she do?
She was about to doze off when she became aware of a faint, insistent ringing. With much effort, Danica peeled herself away from her bed and padded barefoot to her dresser where she had unceremoniously left her purse. Thinking it was a call from the office, she grimaced. There goes my weekend. Not that she was not entirely ungrateful. The prospect of three days with no work scared her.
But it wasn’t the office. She brightened as she saw the name on the screen. “Julie!”
“Hey, sweetie! Where are you? Are you still at the office?”
Danica smirked at herself in the mirror. They’d been close friends since grade school and Julie Arnaiz knew that Danica kept really long hours, even if she really didn’t need to. “Surprisingly, no. I’m at home. What’s up?”
“You’re what? Is it the end of the world? What are you doing home at this early hour?” Julie shrieked.
“No need to overreact, Jules. Just felt like being home early, for once.”
Danica heard Julie snort. “Once is right. I’ve never known you to slack around like this, Nikki.”
“You’re one to talk. I bet you’re still at the site right now, with your husband and he’s been looking at his watch every five minutes for the past two hours, wondering what time you’re coming home.” Julie is an architect-slash-project manager for several high-rise buildings in BGC. Her Greek husband Theo has been helping manage the projects with her ever since he arrived in the country over a year ago.
Julie giggled. “For once, you are also wrong, dear. Theo and I have just had dinner and we were wondering if you’d like to meet us for dessert in say, an hour? Somewhere in Maginahawa perhaps?”
Danica smiled at her reflection in the mirror, her expression brightening. “Sounds perfect! I read about this charming place…” she prattled on, her mind in her closet as she wondered what she would wear. She hadn’t gone out with her friends in ages and was excited at the prospect.
Chapter 2
“Oh my god, Jules! Look at you!” Danica exclaimed as she saw her friend. She waved in greeting at Theo who smiled and waved back. Julie is nearly eight months pregnant and was glowing with a glow only happiness and motherhood could give. “You look absolutely wonderful!”
“I look like I swallowed an entire watermelon! And I feel like it too!” Julie gestured for Danica to take a seat opposite hers. Despite the rainy weather, Danica decided to walk from her apartment to the small café in Maginhawa. She figured she’d better get some exercise beforehand. The café is famous for their cakes and she is determined to see if their reputation is well-deserved.
