Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 2

Carly wiped the sweat on her sleeve. She breathed in and out. Once she saw what she had done, her eyes began to fill slowly with tears. Her breathing slowly transformed into sniffs.

The man who had been watching her earlier decided to go and comfort her. He could understand how she felt after her rage had left her. But, before he could reach out to her, he saw another lady come to hug her.

"Hey, you just did something badass and you are crying? What would people think?" Jasmine whispered. "That this badass woman is also a crybaby?"

Carly just sniffed in response. Her sobs were getting louder. Jasmine knew how soft and emotional she was. She could be so angry and do anything, but once the anger left her, she would break into fits of cries. Jasmine rubbed her back.

"Hey, let me go and get your stuff, and we can go." Jasmine said softly.

Carly wiped her tears on her sleeve yet again. She shook her head softly.

"No." She whispered. "I don't get off work for another five minutes."

"Yeah, well it doesn't make any difference. Cause you won't be returning here. Not after what I've seen tonight, nope." Jasmine said firmly.

"Jas..." Carly pleaded. But Jasmine would have none of it, and it showed in the way she closed her eyes. She did that whenever she made a decision and her mind wasn't going to be changed. Carly sighed in defeat. She sat down on a chair by the side and allowed Jasmine to get all her stuff.

"What exactly did those men want?" Jasmine asked as they made their way home. She drove them home most of the time. Sometimes, Carly worked till morning so Jasmine would leave her and go home alone. But, if Carly wasn't working till morning, Jasmine would wait to pick her up. Since Carly's working place was on the way from Jasmine's work to their house.

"They.. they wanted me to strip on their table for them." She said slowly. "I refused, and they said all the other girls did the same thing. So, when I tried to go, the man grabbed me and pulled me into his body, a...and he let out this disgustingly irritating sound. Yuck! I literally gagged." Although her voice was still soft and shaky from the crying, one could still tell that she was referring to something she detested intensely.

Jasmine shook her head in disgust. "Is this the first time it's happened to you?"

Carly looked away. She wouldn't want Jasmine to know that she always put her safety on the line, almost every night she worked. Those jerks were frequent at the bar, and avoiding them was close to impossible.

"I asked you a question, Carly," Jasmine repeated. Carly still kept mute. She glanced at her to see her lost in her thoughts. "For God's sake, Carly!" She screamed, causing the other girl to jump in fright.

Carly began to sob again.

"Ah, Car." Jasmine sighed. "I'm sorry. You should've told me all the while. This ... putting your life on the line, is it really worth all the money?"

"What do you want me to do, Jas? Where else could I be accepted, and paid such an amount, with my little to zero working experience?"

"Look. My boss told me about this huge tech company... He's the legal practitioner for them. He said there is a vacancy for the job of a secretary there."

"I don't have-"

"Shh, listen." Jasmine interrupted. "Now, I know you don't have working experience. But girl, you are very -and I mean exceptionally- good at computers."

"Your point?"

"Apply for this job. Girl, if you don't impress them with working experience for the secretary, I'm certain you can fit in elsewhere because you're that damn good!" Jasmine advised. Slowly, she parked the car in their compound. Before unlocking the doors, she stared at Carly's tear stained face.

"Jas… What about the pay? I earn so much here… I mean it might not be that much, but it's enough to sort out major bills for me! C'mon girl, think about this." Carly pleaded. "You know what my family is like. Debts here and there to settle. It's all in my head, I can't risk this."

"No, Car. Think about your life. Your safety. Your health. This place would definitely be better. Even if you don't start with high pay, which I definitely doubt, because it's a very huge and mighty tech company, but, let's assume you don't start with high pay. I hear they increase workers' salaries on a six month basis.."

"Six months is a lot of time," Carly replied.

"Carly. You cannot refute this." Jasmine said firmly.

"It's my life, Jas." Carly reminded. "I get to choose, remember?"

Jasmine sighed. "Okay, how about this? I told your colleagues you might not resume for a week since you aren't feeling well. Then, you would use this week to apply for the job, and if after the week runs out, you don't get it.. or you do, and it's not up to your standards, you can return to the club."

"Really? You'd let me return to the club?" Carly asked in disbelief.

Jasmine raised her hands. "What can I say, Car? It's your life. You get to choose, remember?"

Carly laughed at Jasmine's attempt to mimic her. It was so poor.

"I don't sound like that. And, thanks. Tomorrow, I will apply for the job, and uh.. let's see how it goes."

Jasmine smiled, accomplished. "Now, let's go in and have a little rest. I don't think anyone would accept the CV of a zombie looking woman."

"Haha, Jas. We look exactly the same. So if I'm a zombie, you're a zombie too." Carly said with a smirk.

"Whatever floats your boat." Jasmine laughed. The two girls kept on teasing each other as they made the long walk into their apartment, trying not to wake the neighbors as well.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter