XY XX

COFFEE MACHINE

Xenia woke up to the click-lock sound of Gregory's door.

She stretched her hand to look at the time on her phone.

Shit.

Why didn't she wake up?

Xenia's throbbing head reminded her how she kissed her job goodbye with a bottle of Bordeaux the night before when she discovered who her new neighbor was.

Now Gregory was sure to arrive on time, and he would add her tardiness to the plate with the fact she was squatting Anya Fernster's apartment.

Since the doors had no peephole, Xenia had unlocked and closed hers in the middle of the night to make it sound as though Anya had returned just in case.

Perhaps Gregory was fast asleep and didn't notice. There was no time to ponder; Xenia had to get ready for work.

The head sprung woman dashed under the shower; it was against her laws to go out with a simple face wash.

Some people would say she didn't possess the notion of priorities, and she would reply she had a sense of hygiene and respecting her body was a priority.

After a bit of face bake, where Xenia put on MAC BB cream and a Matte lipstick from the same brand she left.

 Xenia walked to the metro, and she made a mental note to stop by Sephora to try Rihanna's FENTY make-up collection that her younger sister Louise kept raving about all the time after work.

Even though Xenia had no man in her life, she was a mom, and none the less a woman taking care of her appearance was beneficial for her self-esteem.

Xenia fixed her wig, and she was off.

The day's wig was a curly piece, and Xenia already smiled in anticipation of the comments.

There was always someone to say, "I like the hair, or damn, your hair grows fast."

Xenia would usually reply, "I'm like my sister's Dolly Surprise, you pull on the arm, and whoop, you have long hair like cousin Thing."

"Come on, Xenia, you shouldn't be thinking about your hair. You are running late," she said to herself as she stepped out of the building with her Flyknits. She ran to the station; luckily, transportation was on her side.

Why did Gregory leave so early?

The office wouldn't even be open at his arrival. At the same time, he didn't know Paris, but he was too precautious.

XY XX

The security guards blinked twice when they saw Xenia come in.

"Holy Jesus, we weren't notified there was a meeting.'"

"There isn't," Xenia replied.

"Then why are you here? You don't start like before fifteen minutes," Mr. Keita said, looking at the wall clock above the receptionist's desk.

At that moment, Xenia realized how Gregory had stressed her so much that she didn't follow her watch. He left early, and so did she, Gregory played the pacemaker, and she walked the line on his beat.

"Anyway, congratulations, you are right on time for the 3rd time this year," Mr. Keita said.

"Seriously, you kept count?"

"Your tardiness and the little bubble you carry around behind you are famous," Micheal replied.

Bubble, what bubble? Xenia thought as her mind slowly emerged into work mode. All she registered was the sentence held a sleazy meaning.