The press conference went well. As Josh spoke, I admired him even more. He was confident, he answered every question without the slightest hesitation and he looked good. Dressed in a full grey suit, polished leather shoes and well kept hair, he defined success. As he walked off the stage, he looked at me and smiled. In a split of a second, I was swarmed with photographers. Everyone wanted to take a look at Josh Burn's new assistant. I stood meekly next to him and managed a smile. With all the flashes, I would have thought that I was a rock star for a minute.

"So, Josh, why Ashley?" one of the reporters asked.

"She is bright, and have what I am looking for. But she's my assistant, I'm definitely going to be biased." Again, he looked at me and smile. My cheeks were turning red and I didn't know what to do but to look at the floor.

Josh must have realized I was getting uncomfortable. He leaned over to me and whispered, "Let's get out of this circus and go for a bite, ok?" I nodded and was glad he was going to make an escape route for me.

"Guys, I need to go now. Thanks for coming out today. And please.. be kind?" He told the photographers and journalists around him, waved goodbye and signalled for me to follow. I tailed him like a lost puppy until we reached a place where nobody else was around.

"You alright?" Josh asked.

"I'm fine. Just wasn't used to be swarmed by the media."

"Great. Now, let's go for lunch. I know this place just around the corner. I hope you like Italian. They have the best pasta in town!"

Josh was really in a good mood today, compared to yesterday. He was somber, and hardly even smiled. I wondered why.

As we ate lunch, he told me that once he was a nobody. He wrote plenty but nobody wanted to hire him because he was too fiesty. They said the public would not be able to swallow what he's giving. And it wasn't till he was hired by this relatively small publishing company that he got his chance.

"Ashley, do know why I hired you?" Josh looked at me.

I shrugged. "I'm not so sure actually, besides the fact that you've read my book and you liked it."

"I hired you because you reminded me of me. And I did not like your book."

I raised my eyebrow in disbelief while Josh continued.

"I loved your book Ashley."

I felt my cheeks getting flushed.

"You want dessert?" Josh flashed a smile to me.

I smiled and politely declined. I knew from that moment that this is going to be my dream job, and I am sticking to it. I shook off all my doubts of ever taking this job.

As Josh was paying the bill, I got a text message. It was Brad.

"Babe. I need you more than ever. I'm sorry for leaving you out in the cold. Please come back now. I love you. Brad"

Josh was already holding the door for me as I exit. Should I tell him I needed a few days off? Josh needed me there too. Who was I to choose?

As I exited the restaurant, I put my phone into my bag. I was angry at Brad but I knew I still loved him dearly. But, personal matters will have to wait.

It's been some time since I really blogged. Much has been happening in my life. Busy working. Busy having fun. Lots of weddings are coming up and did I mention that Christmas is coming too?? *yay*! :) I love Christmas. Everything about Christmas is just so fun. Jesus and His birth, gathering with family and friends, shopping, eating, ... isn't that fun? :)

Well, I've been watching a few movies lately. All's good. Here's a sneak peek of my recent movie frenzy.

And my upcoming movies to look forward to are:












Toodle-loos! Happy weekends!

As I stepped out of my shower, I checked my phone and saw a few missed calls from my best friend, Latisha. It was already late, why would she call me so many times? I called her back and she sounded frantic.

"Oh my gosh, Ash! Where have you been?"

"Tish, I was bathing. What's wrong? Calm down."

"It's Brad. He's in the hospital. He got into this accident because he was drinking too much. He got all upset the day you left and he hasn't stopped drinking."

My heart dropped. No wonder he didn't pick up my call.

"Tish, just calm down now. Is he ok?"

"Doctors had stabilized him but he broke a rib and arm. He should be here for the next few days. Ash, are you coming back?"

I didn't know how to answer that question. I just got here. How could I possibly tell Josh I needed to go back now?

"I don't think so Tish. I will come back on the weekends. I have lots to do here. I can't leave now. You understand rite, Tish?"

"Ash, but Brad needs you."

"I know. Just let him know, I will come back soon. And Tish.."

"Yes Ash?"

"Please take care of him. I will see you soon babe."

I hung up the phone without waiting for her reply. I slumped down to my bedroom floor and cried. Why did he do something so stupid? I thought he didn't care. Was the job really more important than him? I knew, by choosing this job, I had to give up a few things. But does this mean, I have to give up Brad?

**

Next morning, I woke at the sound of my alarm. I had slept on the floor, with tissue papers all around me. I saw a few messages from Tish again. She mentioned that Brad was even more distraught when he found out that I had delayed my return, and that he is refusing to eat. I dressed up and was going to the office to tell Josh I have something urgent to attend to. Brad needed me. I had no choice.

As I reached the office, I saw Josh already sitting in his. As I was walking towards him, he got up and met me at the hallway instead.

"Ashley, you're early today. Good."

"Morning Josh. I wanted to..."

"You know what Ashley? I need you today to attend this press conference with me. They want me to talk about the recent article I wrote and I thought it would be a great time to introduce my assistant. You will be there right?"

I was dumbfounded. It was only my second day and he wants to tell the whole world about me? But what about Brad?

"You have something urgent to attend to? More important than this?" Josh looked at me, as though he had read my mind.

"No. I don't." I lied. "I will definitely be there."

"Great! I knew I could count on you. Go grab yourself a cup of coffee and meet me at the meeting room at 9. I will brief you on what you need to do. And can you get me a cup while you are at it?"

I walked to my desk, sat down and whipped my phone out. I messaged Latisha to keep an eye on Brad and let him know 'I love him'. After hitting the send button, I wasn't too sure that if Brad would even believe me. I just chose my career over him. I just hope he would be alright until the weekends. I loved him, but I want this job too.

For now, I have two cups of coffee to make and my boss to please. Everything else can come later, even Brad.

It was a quarter to 5. Miraculously, I was done with whatever Josh gave me. I was nervous and wondered if I did everything right. I triple checked and made sure no mistakes were made. I knocked on his door and heard him asking me to come in.

"Yes?" Josh did not even look up. He was busy typing something on his laptop.

"Josh, I've completed the tasks you gave me this morning." He immediately stopped typing and looked up with a frown.

"You finished everything?" Josh asked with a hint of doubt as he took the files from me.

I kept silent and waited while he checked my work. As he flipped through the pages, I got more nervous. I already made a bad impression, I didn't want to further damage my tainted image. Josh continued flipping and finally looked up, still with a straight face.

"Ok. It's 5 already. You can leave now." Then he put down the files and continued typing. I wasn't sure of what to make of that but I quietly left his office and went back to my desk. Did I do something wrong? Was it ok or not? Nothing. No comments. Just an 'ok' from him. I couldn't read him at all. I packed my things and on my way out, I called Brad. I needed to talk to someone.

Brad did not pick up. He must be busy, but he usually should be free by now. I dialled again, and it went into the voicemail this time. I wanted to tell him how I've regretted leaving, but I just hung up. I will call him again later.

New York is actually a nice city. In St.Andrews, there is only one coffee shop. Here, I can see ten in just one block. I've never gotten off work so early before, so I decided to try out one of the coffee places. Besides, I have a book to finish. I chose the nearest one, which looked pretty cozy, ordered a mocha latte and sat at the corner of the shop. Half way reading, I felt my stomach growl. I looked at my watch and took myself by surprise. It was almost 9. I quickly packed my things, not knowing how safe was New York at this late of an hour. I checked my phone and realized Brad hasn't returned my call. Maybe he really wanted to end it. The day I left for New York, he didn't even send me off. In fact, he hasn't spoken to me ever since that day we fought in my apartment. I was upset, clearly. I love him but I'm not too sure if he does. Walking out of the coffee house, I was looking for some coins in my bag when I bumped into someone real hard.

"Ouch! Just look where you're... Oh, Josh. Sorry. I was just, erm.." I stuttered as soon as I realized who I had bumped into.

"Why are you still around? Didn't you leave early today?"

Before I could answer, Josh rolled his eyes and held my arm.

"Ashley, it's late. Where did you park your car? Let me walk you there."

"I don't have a car yet. I took the bus today."

"We will need to do something about that then. It's not too safe for a single female like you to travel so late alone. Where do you live?"

"Just about ten blocks away from here. I will be fine, don't worry." I smiled, grabbed my stuff and shaked loose my arm from his grip.

He must have realized that I wasn't comfortable. He let out a sigh and looked me in the eyes.

"I apologize for being rude, but I am concern for the safety of my staff. Let me send you home. My car is just around the corner. I don't say this often but please? Don't make me beg."

Josh did not move from his spot and he never took his eyes off me. I couldn't possibly say no to my boss, right? So, I nodded. He gave a slight smile and pointed me to the direction of his car. We reached his bright red Porsche and he opened the door for me. "Wow. A Porsche!" I thought to myself. The only Porsche I had ever seen was on the magazine that Brad had bought once. But why would it surprise me? He is a big shot editor after all.

As I got in, he was silent throughout except when he asked for directions to my place. When we reached, he got out of his car, opened the door for me. I thanked him, we said good night and he then sped off.

I stood there looking at him leave and thought to myself. Josh, my boss - has two sides to him. At work, he is hard and stern. After work, he is kind and gentleman in every way. Maybe moving here isn't a mistake after all. I stepped into my apartment, threw my things on the floor and undressed. I needed a warm bath. As I was soaking in my tub, I heard my phone ring.

That could wait.

It was my first day at work. Taking a bus was definitely a mistake. Working in a big city was definitely different from my last job. My one and only job before this.

I grew up in this little town called St Andrews. The only paper there was The Herald, where I worked my way up to be the chief editor. I love writing and I never knew people would ever notice my work, until one day, I got this letter offering me a job at one of the biggest publishing companies in New York.

Dear Miss Ashley

We have read your book 'The coat of many colors' and we are impressed with your work. There is a vacancy for Junior Editor and we would like to offer you this position. Please reply this letter by end of this week if you are interested. It would be our pleasure to have you on board.

Thanks

Josh Burns
Chief Editor

I didn't even remember I had written a book because I had only published just 500 copies. It was one summer, where I was walking at the park and I saw an old man, sitting at the bench next to the lake. He was alone. He captured my attention because he was wearing this bright yellow jacket. He would get a cup of coffee from the snack stand, drink it and leave. The next day, I saw him again, this time with a bright green jacket. It was so intriguing, that I went to the park every single day for the whole summer. Everyday, the old man would wear a different color jacket. But towards the end of summer, I went to the park this one morning and I did not see the old man. I waited and by mid day, I had a feeling he wasn't going to show up. I was curious of what has happened and asked the boy at the snack stand what had happened to the old man.

"He died yesterday, didn't you know?"

Then, it occurred to me why the picture of the old man in the obituary section this morning looked familiar. It was the old man with the coat of many colors. His name was Peter Mannings. That was all I knew about him. I had almost a month to get to know him, but instead, I sat there just looking at what he was wearing! So, I had the inspiration to write a book, dedicating it to the old man. I never knew my book would reach the hands of the infamous Josh Burns, the infamous New York editor who was well known for his very outspoken articles.

When I got the letter, I was excited. I couldn't wait to move but my boyfriend wasn't at all.

"Ash, you can't go. New York is 5 hours away! I won't get to see you much anymore."

"Brad, you know I want this job. Besides, it's only 5 hours. You can always take the train to come see me."

"This is not fair." Brad sulked and sat at the corner of the room.

I loved Brad. We were high school sweethearts, but how could he say that it is not fair when he was the one being so completely selfish? I did not want to strain our relationship but yet, at the same time, I wanted a change. I had to take the job. I just have a good feeling about this.

"I really don't understand. You are the chief editor. You are at the top. Why demote yourself and move all the way there to be someone's assistant? Ash, don't you love me?"

Brad was holding my hands and gave me the puppy eyes. I hated it when he blackmailed me emotionally.

"Brad, of course I love you. But you know this is a huge opportunity for me. I promise I will come visit once every two weeks."

Brad did not say anything. I knew he wasn't happy with my decision. He let my hands go and grabbed his coat which was by the sofa. He walked towards the door and was still silent. He opened the door, turned back and gave me the look and simply walked out. When the door closed, every inch of me wanted to run to him. I wanted to tell him I loved him and that I am going to stay, but... my feet just wouldn't move. Hot tears wet my cheeks and I fell to the ground.

Why do I have to choose between my passion and love? This is unfair. Very unfair.

**

I looked at my watch. I was already ten minutes late. "Great, late on my first day" I thought to myself. I hurried to the elevator and I saw someone rushing towards me. I didn't have time to wait but my hands automatically pressed the open button. I heard the man said thanks, but I was more focused on reporting for duty.

As I reached the reception, I mumbled to the receptionist why I was there and she ushered me to this meeting room. She gave me a stack of forms to fill and told me that she would be back in a while. I took a deep breath, brushed my hair into place and tried to steady myself. I am finally here. Working for J&K Publications. Well, technically, I will only be officially a staff after 3 months, but who cares.

Half way filling up the forms, I heard a knock on the door. A guy in a grey suit appeared.

"Thanks for holding the lift for me today, but you were still ten minutes late. So, bring your forms and follow me to my office now."

I cursed silently at the bad traffic. This was definitely not the first impression I wanted to give. I followed the man into his office. He pointed to a chair and signaled for me to sit. I sat, trying to balance the stack of forms and my bag without looking stupid.

"So, Ashley Wellington, it says here this is your second job. You are going to report to me. In case you don't know who I am, I'm Josh. We met briefly this morning. I bet you didn't even noticed me, because you were too focused on getting here. As an editor, we need to know our surroundings and be observant. Everything is never as it seems. Now, take your stuff and I'll show you to your desk. I have a few tasks for you to do already. I need it by today. And not a minute late."

This was really not the way I wanted to start my day, but I can't blame anyone but myself. If I had not taken forever to choose the perfect jacket to wear, I wouldn't be late. And if I wasn't late, I wouldn't have bumped into my boss in the elevator. And, he wouldn't be grumpy and complaining about me on my first day of duty.

I took my stuff and walked to a desk near his office.

"Here are the things I'd like you to do today. If you don't understand, ask me. I want everything on my desk by 5. Get it?"

"Yes boss. Sorry for .."

"Ashley, first, don't call me boss. Josh will do. Second, don't apologize. Just get the things done. I will be in my office"

I felt like crying, but I wasn't going to let my guards down. I need to be strong. Besides, I only have till 5 to proof that I wasn't a mistake.

Gals have hen nites. What do guys have?

Stag lunch! :)

We went to Tram car to get some shots (after makan). The theme was white top + jeans.

Then we headed to Starbucks for drinks. :)








The gals, looking good.






Us, with our drinks. Starbucks should seriously pay us for this. *lol*













Then, it ended up as couple shots :)










Of coz, I couldn't possibly miss out on the fun rite? :)




Can't wait for our next seesion. hehe. :)

I met up with my babes (and their hubby+bf) over the weekend. They had a post-birthday celebration for me, since I was away. We had dinner at My Elephant and as usual, the food is yummy there :) We managed to take some shots too. hehe.

Take #1



Take #2




Then we headed to Tropicana City Mall for coffee. This is where I got my Starbucks planner. Thanks for helping me with the grandes. hehe.

They surprised me with a birthday cake!! Seriously, I did not see it coming. haha.











Thanks all! *muaksssss* Love you!!