3. Meet the Hawthorne Family - How They Met...

 Both Kira and Bianca have now been introduced, but their stories are yet to intertwine. Until now...

*

Two weeks into her new job, Bianca had already exceeded the expectations of Viola's parents, Nancy and Michael. She was out-performing the other employees in her rank and put in more hours than they'd seen anyone do before for them. In almost no time, Bianca could officially call herself a professional and official editor.

Meanwhile, Kira was still adjusting to being an assistant in the new office environment. She never had a job like this before, being self-employed as a writer. She didn't give up on her dream, and continued writing as and when she could, but balancing a full-time job whilst being a single mum to a young toddler was hard enough.

In mid-August, Nancy and Michael threw an office party to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of their publishing firm, Benton's Publishing Agency. Everyone was invited, and both Bianca and Kira were dreading it. As the bosses' favourite, Bianca felt excluded and as though no one wanted her around. She got the feeling they resented her for being better than them. Whereas Kira wasn't looking forward to it as she hardly knew anyone in the office. She could never go out with them after shifts because of getting home to Trey; she never went to any work dos or meet-ups. This was the first time she was able to persuade the babysitter to take Trey for the evening, meaning she could finally spend some time getting to know her colleagues. But with this excitement of finally getting close with the others came the fear and nerves. They all knew each other already, so what if she was ignored? Or worse, what if she embarrassed herself, and they all laughed at her? What if they didn't like her? Both girls had their reasons for not wanting to go, but they both sucked it up and went anyway.

About an hour or so in, when the rest of the office had started to get a little tipsy from the champagne, neither Kira nor Bianca had touched a single drop. Kira decided to get some fresh air and go upstairs to sit on the roof. When she got there, she noticed that she wasn't the only one who also had this thought. Bianca was sat alone, staring out over the city. Kira attempted to sneak away without Bianca noticing, but the door slammed shut behind her, giving Bianca a fright and causing her to turn and notice Kira. 

"Sorry... I didn't realise anyone else was here..." apologised Kira.

"Not a problem," responded Bianca, "are you hating this party just as much as I am?"

Kira gave a polite laugh. "Oh yes."

"Come sit with me. We can hideaway from the rest of the party together." Kira went over and sat beside Bianca. For a while, neither said a word to each other. It was silent, but not an uncomfortable, awkward silence.

"So... how long have you been working here for?" asked Bianca.

"About two months now. Though no one would know that. It's like I'm invisible."

"Why do you feel like that?"

"Well I missed the first work meet-up when I started working, because I couldn't get a babysitter for my son. And since then, no one really seems to invite me to anything else. No one speaks to me unless they need something."

"I know what you mean. No one really likes me either. Michael and Nancy are my best friend's parents, so everyone thinks I have an unfair advantage, and that's why I got that big promotion the other week. But that's not true. I'm just good at what I do, and I don't think that's bad to say."

"Not at all. If you're good at something, you should be proud of it. Not ashamed."

"Exactly! But they don't see it like that... I guess we have something in common then, you and me."

"What- that no one likes us?" This response caused both girls to laugh. Neither had enjoyed someone else's company like this in a long time. They chatted on the roof until they could hear a commotion downstairs.

"Hey, what time is it?" asked Kira. Bianca checked her phone. 11:02pm. "I hadn't realised how late it had gotten! I need to get back home, I told the baby sitter I'd be back no later than 10:30!"

"Not a problem. Will I see you at work on Monday? Maybe we can get some lunch together on our break? Saves us both sitting alone."

"I'd love that. Do you want my number, in case we don't see each other before then?" The pair exchanged numbers before Kira rushed off to call a taxi home, leaving Bianca on the roof. 

Bianca looked at her phone where it had Kira's name and number. She'd had such a nice time, she wanted to call her already. 'No... don't be foolish... you'll see her at work on Monday...' Bianca told herself. Bianca couldn't stop smiling to herself. Kira was the first person in a long time she'd really connected with, besides Viola.

Bianca suddenly realised just how tired she was, so decided to head back down to the party and find Michael and Nancy. They asked her if she enjoyed the party, to which Bianca responded positively, though leaving out the detail that she had spent hardly anytime actually at the party...