Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Bianca stepped towards Andria, grabbing at the sleeves of her dress, before muttering under her breath. "Hey, Andria, that was harsh, can you stop already".

Andria jerked her dress away from Bianca. "Don't tell me to stop, because you all know I'm saying the truth, Sophia doesn't have to stress the way we do, isn't that why you have time to go eating and laughing with Jonathan, when did you two start being friends, huh?".

Sophia was taken aback, realizing why Andria looked so mad at her. "He was my senior in college, we haven't even talked in a while, so when he said to have lunch, I didn't see anything wrong with it... Wait is that the reason you're attacking me in this manner, I know you two are together Andria, did you think I was trying to steal your boyfriend" she asked, feeling bitter that Andria would even assume that she was capable of stooping that low as to attempt to take her boyfriend. Andria stared at her with her chin up, her lips pressed tightly together as she crossed her arms. Sophia glanced at Sana, then at Bianca who avoided her gaze. "I don't believe this" she murmured to herself resignedly. "Fine whatever, I'll stop bothering you all then, what's the point of being friends if you all think the worst of me" she shouted, then walked away.

Bianca rubbed at her face, turning to face Andria. "Damn it, Andria, how can you even think about Sophia doing that, you know she'd never betray you".

Andria swerved to face her, jerking a finger in her direction. "Stop being a hypocrite Bianca, I know you also have some grievances against her and that's why you chose not to defend her just now, so stop trying to act like some saint, when you are not. She should leave us alone, We're the one under pressure, not her".

Sana shook her head. "That still doesn't give you the right to accuse her like that Andria, I mean Sophia might not compete, but she also has issues with her boss, we all know how Mr. Lennox is".

Andria glared, her fist clenching. "I'm so fucking tired of this, I can't keep stressing about my work and the friendship with you all, so let's just stop right here ok... In case you're not aware, we're in a competition right now, and I don't plan to be the one getting fired from my job, I don't know about you two but you better start setting your priorities straight, or else you'll both find yourself on the sidewalk, and I won't be there to help you pick up the pieces" she said, her hair flipping as she turned sharply to walk away.

Bianca sighed shaking her head. "Andria has lost her mind, can you believe her saying all that to us," she said turning to face Sana who was massaging her temple, a resigned look on her face.

"I hate to say this but Andria is right, Sophia has nothing to lose but we do, and being friends isn't going to help us to stay focused on our job. Plus I don't even know what you're planning to do to win the competition, I won't just sit back and get stabbed in the back".

Bianca stared at her unable to move. "Sana, I don't understand how you can say that to my face, can't you see what this stupid competition is doing to our friendship... "

"Yes I see what it's doing to it, so let's fix it after the competition, right now, I have to do all it takes to win and as far as I am concerned, you're my rival, if you're serious about saving our friendship then maybe you should start by quitting your job" she got out, then walked away, muttering under her breath.

Bianca gaped at Sana's retreating figure, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed what had just transpired between them. "What's wrong with Andria and Sana, how can they just change into different people all in a space of some minutes," she asked herself, feeling as if she was in some other dimension and witnessing what would happen in the future because their friendship ending in just the space of an hour was surreal.

******

"I saw you with Sophia, you looked so happy together, what was that about?" Andria asked, crossing her arms as she stared up at Jonathan. They were both standing in the parking lot of the company. Jonathan's brows furrowed before comprehension dawned. He scratched at his neck.

"Oh that, you saw us together?".

"I already said I did, so just quit stalling ok" she snapped, her face flushing.

Jonathan grabbed her shoulder, looking her over, his gaze serious. "Are you mad at me? I only had lunch with Sophia to see if I could get her help with Mr. Lennox on the issue of the competition, and also on how to win you back... Sophia noticed us being distant so she wanted to help out, and she was right about that... I love you Andria, and if you want the world to know that we're together then that's what I'll do, I'll tell everyone about us, how about we start from here" he said a smile tugging at his lip as he made to shout. Andria slammed her hands over his mouth, stopping and surprising him. She pulled her hand away, her heart constricting as tears trailed down her cheeks. Jonathan leaned towards her, wiping the tears from her face.

"Hey, what's wrong, did I do anything wrong, I just want us to get back together again, I want to make you happy".

Andria shook her head, pushing him away. "No Jonathan, I am sorry, but I'm not ready for this, my head's messed up and I can't think straight. I need a break, a break from you" she said, adjusting her bag on her shoulders. Jonathan frowned stepping closer.

"Why, what did I do wrong, I already apologized for what happened last time, can't you just forgive me for that. I'm doing all this because I don't want to lose you, I love you, Andria".

"Enough already, do you have any idea what I'm going through, I just want to be alone, away from you and everyone... Just stop ok, leave me alone" she shouted, walking away from him, feeling shitty about herself for ruining everything for everyone, but she didn't want to take it back, this was for the best, friendship and love never helped anyone anyways.

*****

Sophia stood in the restroom, dabbing her eyes with water as she tried to take in deep calming breaths.

"How dare she, how could she say that to my face without holding back, I can't believe this, I can't believe her" she gritted out, then cleaned her face with a towel. "It doesn't matter, I don't need her, I don't need any of them" she fumed, parking her hair up so she'd at least look decent, it didn't help that Lennox had come into the office when she hadn't been around.

She rushed out of the restroom, the other workers staring at her silently as she passed by them to her desk. Sophia picked up the schedule pad, took a deep breath, and stepped into his office. Lennox looked up at her from what he was doing.

"Mr. Lennox, I'm sorry that I wasn't around when you came in but you got a reply from the..." She paused, her eyes going wide as he raised a hand to stop her.

"I already know about everything I'd be doing today, no thanks to you... If you cannot do a simple task Miss Sophia then I suggest you quit, you can't even sit at your desk without running off to do your own business" he scoffed. "And you call yourself an assistant".

Sophia swallowed, as her eyes reddened. "I've been at my desk all day, I only went on my lunch break, but I ran into some... "

"Stupid excuses, get out of my office," he said, dismissing her.

Sophia felt her face burning as she slammed the schedule pad onto his desk. "You're such a jerk, I'm a human being you know, and one thing about us is that we are prone to make mistakes, no one is as perfect as you, you jerk" she yelled, tears streaming down her face as she ran out of the office, knowing she had fucked everything up, that much had been obvious from the stunned look on Lennox's face. The other workers watched her as she rushed past them into the elevator. The door shut, and she exhaled.

"Let's go get shit-faced drunk since we finally succeeded at losing our job," she said to herself, hating the fact that that could well be the case.