Kelvin's words still lingered in Sophia's mind, even after days.
It kept replaying in her head over and over again as she rode the subway to work. When she arrived at Chase Enterprises, Kelvin was already waiting near her desk.
"Good morning" he said as he handed her a cup of coffee and a slice of red velvet cake which was her favorite.
"You got this for me?"
"Of course. I remember you telling me that you loved red velvet cake so I figure you could use some before the meeting"
Her heart skipped a beat. "Thank you. That's so thoughtful of you."
"Don't mention."
The next few weeks went smoothly. It was exhausting but Sophia was getting the hang of things. Her days were filled with emails, paperwork, and reports but Kelvin was always there guiding her and assisting her in any way he could. He would occasionally stop by her desk to check up on her and crack small jokes with her to lighten her mood.
Most times when everyone would have left for lunch, they would stay back, order takeout and talk about everything that didn't work. They started getting to know each other. Sophia learned that Kelvin has been with Sterling Enterprises for three years, working his way up from junior executive to department manager. He loves wrestling and boxing, loves sweet things and has a soft spot for rock and roll music.
And Kelvin learnt that Sophia and her sister were raised by her grandmother after they lost their parents at a very young age. She loves cooking and baking. She likes slow songs and it's her dream to make her grandma and sister comfortable.
"You are going to do great things. You have that determination in you" Kelvin said to her.
But not everyone was happy with how things were going between Kelvin and Sophia. Laura soon started to drop by Sterling Enterprises more often, under the excuse of "wanting to have lunch with her best friend." At first Sophia was happy to see her friend, it was so nice to have a familiar face but something about her visits soon started to not make sense. She laughed too hard at Kelvin's jokes, she would occasionally touch his arms, and even lean on his body. But Sophia was too trusting and believed that Laura would not hurt her.
One Saturday evening, Kelvin invited Sophia to dinner, just the two of them this time. She wore a nice dress and today she let her down. When Kelvin saw her waiting outside he was stunned by how nice she looked.
"You look beautiful" he said
Sophia smiled shyly. "Thank you."
They went to a quiet rooftop restaurant. The night air was warm. As they ate they talked about everything - work, childhood memories, music. At one point Kelvin reached for her hand across the table.
"I like spending time with you and I like you, Sophia". He said to her,
Sophia's heart fluttered. "I like spending time with you too".
"So how about we see where this leads to?". He asked
She blushed. "I would like that".
It felt like the beginning of something real, something she has been wanting.
The next day Sophia could not wait to tell Laura about the dinner. They met at their favorite cafe in Brooklyn.
"So?" Laura said while playing with her coffee. "How was your date"
"It was nice, really sweet and romantic". Sophia blushed.
"You're shining". Laura said
Sophia smiled. As she continued to go on and on about Kelvin, something twisted in Laura's heart but she still forced a smile. She was already thinking of different ways to snatch everything from Sophia.
The following week was very sweet and happy for Sophia. Kelvin would bring her her favorite drink everyday, order lunch for her, wait for her everyday after work so he could drive her home and also take her out on nice
dates. Sophia felt very fulfilled. She has a good job, she was able to take care of her family and now she has a sweet and caring man by herself. Nothing could go wrong or so she thought.
Laura visits continued. Sometimes Sophia would catch her staring longingly at Kelvin when she thought no one was looking. and slowly Kelvin began to change. He stopped ordering lunch for her, he stopped waiting for her after work claiming she has "other meetings" to attend outside and the late night calls stopped. Sophia didn't like the way she was feeling about everything. She simply told herself that she was just over thinking things, that maybe Kelvin was just stressed because of work but deep down worry clouded her mind.
Laura, meanwhile, was satisfied with herself , she smiled to herself. Everything was falling into place.