A Burning Impulse

Chapter1

(Two years later, current timeline).

“Hello, bestie,” my best friend, Lilith, peeked her head into my office with her cheeky smile. I was discussing an upcoming event with my secretary, Sam, when she popped in. Seeing that I was in the middle of a discussion, she stopped and asked, “Should I come back later?”

Her eyes shifted from me to Sam, and when their eyes met, she froze, making me raise an eyebrow. Even Sam was shocked, though he composed himself instantly and gave her a ‘caught you’ look, which sent my eyebrow up to my hairline.

I smell something in the air, I thought, gauging their reactions.

“You can stay; our meeting is over,” I said to Lilith, then turned to Sam. “Prepare everything as I instructed. I will check on the progress later.”

“I will do as you instructed,” Sam saluted me and left. As he walked past Lilith, he gave her a ‘you can’t escape me’ look. Once he was out of my office, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked her what was going on between her and Sam, and how they met.

“Do you remember I told you about the guy I liked when I was an intern? The one I rejected because I was bullied by the girl who liked him? That’s Samuel,” she said, plopping down into the chair, dazed.

“No way!” I exclaimed, to which she gave me an ‘I wish I were kidding’ look. In short, Lilith had a crush on a guy, but she was scared to confess because of his best friend (a girl) who was possessive of him. Unfortunately for her, the best friend sensed her crush and started bullying Lilith.

Lilith, being the soft-hearted person she is, couldn’t take it and decided to let the crush go (since she was leaving town to pursue her dream, her decision aligned with her departure). However, the night before she left, she somehow ended up in bed with her crush.

She was both mortified and scared when she woke up next to him, so she left without giving him a reason, which she now greatly regrets.

All in all, my girl is smitten with him and can’t seem to get over him.

“This is fate, Lilith,” I teased her, but she was still in shock from reuniting with her long-lost crush, so everything I said went over her head.

Seeing her reaction, I smiled and thought, I’m glad they met again. In the past, Sam opened up to me about his past and told me about a girl he was in love with and was trying to find. Their backstories match, and considering the relief in Sam’s eyes, I’m confident the girl he loves is none other than Lilith.

“But why haven’t I met him before? In the year we’ve become friends, I haven’t seen him here once,” Lilith asked. Before we continue, let me tell you how we became friends.

Lilith and I bumped into each other two years ago at an event I planned. I was the event planner, and she was the photographer. It was right before my divorce from Mason. After that, we exchanged numbers, as it’s inevitable in this industry to run into each other. We both wanted to have a cordial relationship and expand our connections.

A few weeks after our first meeting, she messaged me with a photo of Mason walking into a hotel with his secretary. Following the photo was her message, “Hey, I don’t want to offend you, but I think your husband is sleeping with someone else.” As funny as it sounded at the time, it was heartbreaking to know the husband I trusted blindly was betraying me.

That was our first chat that wasn’t about events, and it was the beginning of our friendship. After my divorce, she invited me to dinner and profusely apologized, feeling she had ruined my marriage.

After that dinner, we kept meeting, and before I knew it, we shared everything with each other. We became each other’s ‘ride or die’ in the last few months, and now I can’t imagine my life without her.

“He often works on-site for a smooth workflow and is rarely in the office. It just so happened he was always out for business whenever you visited,” I said. “Also, you’ve only been to my office five times (excluding today), and we usually meet at the coffee shop down the street.”

“How did we manage to miss each other for so long? One year! This has to be a joke,” Lilith held her head in her hands. “Is fate making a joke of us? If so, fate has a cruel sense of humor.”

“It wasn’t fate, it was you. You always declined my offers to visit my office because you felt you’d disturb my employees,” I pointed out.

“It’s not my fault your employees are so diligent that I feel guilty for visiting without a business purpose,” she whined. “I shouldn’t have worried and just visited you daily. I wasted a year looking for him elsewhere when he was within reach.”

“Well, at least you visited me unannounced today and met him. It’s never too late to meet your fate,” I said. “So, what brought you here today?”

“I came to give you an invitation to Jane’s bachelorette party,” Lilith presented the invitation with a “Ta-da.”

“You know I don’t like clubs, right?” I said.

“This club is different. She’s booked the whole place, and the only other people there will be strippers. Male strippers!” she exclaimed, her cheeks flushing with excitement.

“Why are you so excited?” I asked, chuckling.

“I want to capture the beauty of the sexy male strippers. That would be the highlight thirst trap for my blog viewers,” she smirked.

“I pity your viewers. All you do is tease them with thirst traps. That’s illegal, madam,” I commented. Lilith shrugged and said, “I like teasing my viewers.”

“One of these days, they might get fed up with your nonsense and leave,” I said, feeling bad for her viewers. Poor guys always get teased but never get the real deal. She keeps them hanging without any shame.

“Please, they love being teased,” she rolled her eyes.

“I highly doubt that,” I said.

“Don’t believe me, then,” she grumbled, giving me an offended look. I chuckled and got up.

“Let’s grab lunch now that you’re here,” I suggested, but she shook her head, saying, “I wish I had time. I came to give you the invitation during my short break. I’m booked for the rest of the day.”

“You shouldn’t skip lunch,” I said, concerned. Lilith often skips lunch when she’s busy.

“Look who’s talking,” she chuckled.

“If anyone else said this, I’d understand, but this is coming from a workaholic who often skips meals preparing for events.”

“I don’t skip meals, ever,” I said, slightly offended because she was right.

“Would Sam agree?” she raised an eyebrow, effectively shutting me up.

“I don’t know. I’m not letting you walk away hungry. Take this,” I handed her the lunch I made for myself this morning. I got up early and made a wholesome lunch.

“What will you eat, then?” she asked, refusing to take it.

“I’ll grab lunch from the restaurant down the street. I have plenty of time. You need it more than me,” I forced the lunchbox into her hand, making her pout.

“You’re a godsend, girl,” she hugged me.

“At least you know. Now, go before you’re late,” I reminded her.

“I won’t be late. I’ll race like a professional to get there on time,” she said, determined. “Let’s plan dinner this weekend. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Sure,” I agreed. She hurriedly left, but our planned dinner was postponed due to our busy schedules.

The next time we met was at Jane’s bachelorette party."

~°~