"Why are you calling so early?" I look at the wall clock in the kitchen, it's still seven in the morning. "You always wake up late."

"I can't wait to tell you this. I saw Pipa's Instagram story last night, she's dating Archer." Julia's voice is so alive and alert. "See what I mean when I tell you that people have a lack of options in this pandemic, they just pick anyone to date."

Pipa Marquez, the famous slutty bitch during high school.

"I don't give a damn about them dating, Jul, I'm not interested to know anything that involves Archer." I stir my coffee, then take a small sip.

Archer West, my ex-boyfriend. We broke up two years ago, after our one and a half year relationship. After him, I dated no one seriously.

He also is the mayor's son. Love by Baltimore for being a former basketball star in Beverly High School and the hottest guy in school. Well, he's still hot right now, the way he flips his blond hair makes girls go crazy.

"Come on, Rox. Baltimore is a small city, you're going to run into him again. You can't keep avoiding him."

"I'm not avoiding him. I just hate the sight of him. He's a coward, a disappointment, and someone I regret wasting my time with for one and a half years."

"Get over it and move on."

"Excuse me, Jul. I already moved on. He's irrelevant to me now." I slightly raise my voice.

"Chill, don't get mad, it's early in the morning. By the way, he's helping his dad run the city during this pandemic."

"Good for him." I laugh sarcastically.

"I have a feeling that he's going to run as a mayor someday."

"If that happens, I'm going to leave Baltimore and settle somewhere else." I carry my mug of coffee, then move to the living room.

"You still really hate him, huh?"

"Very much, so stop talking about him, it will just ruin my day."

I was 19, and he was 21, when we were so madly in love with each other. We were so happy together until something bad happened that broke us up. It made me feel so devastated, and he never fought for our love.

And now, we never see eye to eye. He finished business school at the University of Maryland, and is helping his family manage their many businesses here in Baltimore.

"Sorry about that, Rox. I'm going to film for Grayson's video this afternoon. If you're not busy, you can come."

"Not today. I'm going to do the laundry, then hunt for a job."

"How's your progress?"

"Not good. No one answered my application." I lean back in the armchair, crossing my legs, "the limited options are so frustrating. Many of the establishments are closed."

"Just take any kind of job, don't be so choosy."

"I swear, I'm not. I'll do any job, waitressing, janitorial, dishwashing, as long as there's good money."

"Right. Anyway, I watched that Korean Drama you told me about, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, I really love it. Chief Hong is so cute! I wish there's someone here in Baltimore like him."

"Exactly. Did you search for the actor? His name is..."

After fifteen minutes of talking, we hang up. I finish my coffee and start checking the classified ads in the morning paper.

"Hi, Rox."

It's mom, who came out from her room, yawning, wearing a pair of Chanel peach pajamas. It's another hand-me-down from her boss, the celebrity singer, Clarissa Garcia.

"Hi mom. Did you pay the rent yesterday?"

"I did," she yawns again, "I don't have money left, so I borrowed money from Mikael. Clarissa did not pay me because she did not have any gig last month."

"You owe Mikael too much money already. Every time you're out of cash, you run to him."

Mikael West, millionaire, entrepreneur, and boyfriend of Clarissa Garcia. He is the uncle of my ex-boyfriend, Archer as well.

"He offered to help. He's so rich, money is not an issue to him. Besides, he's really a nice guy."

"I agree, he's very nice compared to the other members of the West family."

"Clarissa is so lucky." Mom sighs.

"She's a very inconsiderate and selfish bitch. She should have given you your salary with or without gigs. You should have demanded."

"It's useless to argue with her, she won't listen. Besides, I don't want to lose my job."

"You already lost it now that she's not paying you. You should start looking for a job too, mom."

"I don't know... I'm not so worried that Mikael is there to help. Clarissa also makes up by giving me extra." She takes my mug of coffee and has a sip.

"Do whatever you want, but I think you're depending on them too much." I scan the classified ads, encircling with a red marker the wanted jobs I want to apply for.

"By the way, I mentioned to Mikael that you're looking for a job. He told me last night that his fresh coffee and pastry shop, Steaming Hottie, is hiring for an assistant manager. Call him right away if you're interested."

"No way. I don't want to work in any of the West family establishments. I'm done with them." My arms are together.

"You can't be choosy now that it's pandemic. We will starve if you let your pride overpower you. Put it to the side and forget about the past. It really sucks, but that's life. Deal with it and move on."

"It's easy to say that, but it's hard to do. I hate Archer too much, and I don't want to bump into him. Working in his uncle's shop only means that I can't avoid him anymore."

"Then stop avoiding him. Get used to the idea of facing Archer West. He should be the one avoiding you, not the other way around. You have done nothing to him or to his family."

"I swear mom, Archer and I are doing the same thing."

"You broke up two years ago, right? Both of you need to move on." Mom pushes her hair out of her face, then sighs.

"Archer? Is Archer here? Where is he?"

Both mom and I turned to granny Mary who came out of her room. Her eyes lit up and her smile was so wide.

Poor granny. She really likes Archer and misses him. She was used to Archer bringing her gifts, like crab cakes, homemade ham, sausages, and fruits like cherries, blueberries, and cranberries from their farm.

"He's not here, granny. We were just talking about him."

"What about him? Is he coming here? Are you getting back together?"

Oh, my God. Now, I had to think of what to say to granny, to give her a good explanation.

"No. No... it's just that...um, I heard from Julia, that he's helping his father run the city now that it's pandemic."

"Oh really? I'm so happy for him. He'll be a good mayor someday, just like his father." Granny keeps on talking about Archer, how handsome and wonderful he is and how she misses the cranberries and so much more. "When you see him, can you tell him to visit me?"

I feel a squeeze in my heart, then I nod. "Of course granny. I'll tell him."

Granny smiles brightly then gives me a paper.

"What is this?"

"My grocery list. I'm running out of vitamins, snacks, skin care and personal stuff. Can you buy those for me?"

My shoulders sank, as well as my heart. There are too many in the list. But, how can I afford them now that I don't have a job?

"Please, Roxy?"

Slowly, I nod. "Of course, granny. Anything for you."

____

At eight thirty, I went to the gym for my daily morning workout. Julia said she can't come, she has her period. I wanted to talk to Eric also about the permanent job he offered.

But sadly, Eric got sick of Covid.

I got frustrated thinking where to find a job and earn money. But I decided not to be stressed about it and remain calm. I temporarily forget my worries and concentrate on my workout.

"Hi Roxanne."

My body turns stiff at the sound of Grayson's voice. I turn around and see him.

"I went to see you at your house. Your mom said that you're here."

My mouth drops open, shocked at seeing him again. He looks strikingly handsome, despite having a face mask on. His muscles ripples under his white shirt that quicken my pulse.

"Is Julia okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I'm here not because of her. I want to talk to you."

I'm too surprised to do more than nod. My heart hammers wildly, thinking of things that we might discuss. My first thought is the nude photo I sent him a few years back.

He looks at the other people in the gym, then says, "Can we talk somewhere else? How about a drink after your workout?"

"Sure. I'm done in 15 minutes. Can you wait?"

"Of course. I'll wait for you in my car."

I'm so nervous to continue my workout and have to go to the locker room and take my time changing my gym clothes to my usual oversized sweater. I wonder what he's going to talk about, and I can't think of anything other than that nude photo.

"That was fast." He says when I join him in his car, a black Mazda CX5, "buckle up."

My hands trembled being alone with him. My breathing becomes uneven, and it gets shorter every minute.

After he parked his car, we went inside Starbuck.

"Order whatever you want, okay? My treat."

After we ordered our drinks, we settled at an empty table. I could not wait for him to talk, the anticipation was killing me.

"What are we going to talk about?"

"YouTube." He removes his face mask, making me gasp softly, as I appreciate his ruggedly handsome face. The shadow of his beard gave him an even more manly look.

"What about it?"

"I want to hire you."

"Seriously?"

He nods and gives me a beautiful infectious smile.

I remove my face mask and return his smile. I notice his eyes roam on my face briefly, before he looks down and sips his Iced Americano. A lock of straight brown hair fell casually on his forehead, covering his left eye.

I sip my Iced Green Tea Latte, enjoying the cold refreshing liquid as I wait for him to continue.

"It's not a regular job, okay? I'll pay 5 dollars per hour, same with Julia. We don't have a fixed schedule, but mostly, we shoot during the evenings and weekends."

"Cool, I'm in."

"Really?" He brushes his hair with his fingers, then leans his back against the wicker chair.

"Yeah. I need a job so badly, and your offer seems very convenient for me. I can still take a permanent job during weekdays."

"That's right. There's no pressure working with me, I can adjust to your time."

"Thank you, Grayson. Your help means a lot to me."

"Don't worry, I'll give you more once our viewers pick up." He bends his head slightly forward, and I get mesmerized staring at his silvery gray eyes.

Before I can reply, a teenage girl comes up in front of us.

"Hey, I know you, you're Grayson King, the YouTuber?" Her eyes fill with excitement, then shift at me, "And you're Roxanne! I can't believe I see you here. Do you live in the area?"

I'm surprised that she knows me. How come when I just appeared once in Grayson's video?

He talks to the girl, and responds to some of her questions, then she asks for a selfie picture with us.

Later, we're in his car, driving me home when he asks,

"Are you aware that the viewers are shipping us?"

I take a while to answer him.

"Really? I don't know that."

"You should read the comments in that video you're in. They have our ship names already." He glanced at me over his shoulder.

I became suspicious suddenly, and I'm not feeling good about it.

"Is that the reason you hired me? Because viewers are shipping us, and that can get more views in your videos?"

"Yes." He answers directly, "Is that alright with you?"

"I don't want to fool the viewers."

"You won't. You're just going to be yourself. If that bothers you..."

"No, I already gave you my word. I'm in."

------

I arrived home and opened YouTube. I read the comments and surprised at the viewers' reactions. They were really shipping us like we are going to end up together.

I have a bad feeling about it. What did I get myself into?

During the afternoon, I received a letter regarding my student loan. I am due to pay my remaining balance again. I'm so bothered again. Where am I going to get the money?

I decided, and there's no turning back anymore.

I'm on my phone calling Mikael West.

"I need a job so badly. Is the assistant manager position still available?"

"Not anymore. You should have called earlier. If you like, there's another position available."

"As long as it's a good job, I'm in. I can't be choosy anymore."

"Okay, consider yourself hired. Be there at the shop tomorrow before it opens at seven."

"I will. Thank you, Mikael. I'm grateful."

"No worries, my dear." He replied.