My Bucket List

Chapter 1 - Harlow

I laid in bed waiting for my alarm clock to go off. Something that I have become accustomed to for the past 3 years. I always seemed to wake up before my alarm and lay there wishing my life was different to what it was now. Working 3 jobs meant that I had no social life whatsoever. No friends, no family and boatload of debt, thanks to my dads gambling and drinking problem. Whatever money I had left was just enough to get me through the week. The sound of 'Sweet child of mine' playing loudly from my phone snapped me out of what was sure to be another pity party. I groaned and got out of bed before making my way over to the bathroom to shower and dressed for what I know is going to be another boring and uneventful day.

I threw on a black figureless skirt and white button down shirt and paired it with a black cardigan and ballet flats. I proceeded to run a brush through my brown hair and rolled it into a tight bun before adding some lipgloss. I stared at myself in the mirror and nearly winced at my own reflection. If you were to look in the dictionary for the words plain and boring, there'd be at least a photo or two of me illustrating the very meaning of those two words. I made my bed, grabbed my small handbag and keys and made my way into my tiny kitchen. I opened the cupboard and my shoulders deflated with how bare it was. The only items were the protein bars that kept me going through the day, a few canned food that I called dinner and microwaveable rice. I quickly snagged two protein bars, a can of teriyaki chicken and a small container of rice. I looked into my refrigerator and and grabbed the last water bottle and placed all the items in my bag before making my way out the door. I definitely needed to do some grocery shopping but I can't find any time at all.

Thirty minutes later I walked out of Starbucks holding coffee and walked a short distance to my first job at Woods Finance Inc. I'd been working here for the past 2 years and I couldn't have been more grateful to have such a decent paying job. I worked as a personal assistant to the handsome, hardworking and super serious Ashton Woods. Everyday I'd pick up a coffee for him and leave it on his desk with a list of things that he needed to do for the day and then wait in my conjoining office, if you could call it that, for him to give me my next order of business. He was a great boss and I'm thankful everyday that he hired me straight out of high school with no experience and no credentials. He paid good money, which I used to pay off the credit card loans that my father had left me with after his death and basically just let me do my own thing. We barely spoke unless it was work related and even though I had 3 jobs, the man still worked harder than me. I often wondered if he ever left the office. Everyday I'd arrive at the office at 6:30 for my 7:00am start and hand him his coffee. He'd give me a new list of things that I'd need to do throughout the day, I'll update him on his calendar and when I leave at 7:00pm in the evening he'd still be working late. Sometimes I'll find him slumped over his desk in the same outfit as the night before. Lucky for him he has a bathroom in his office and a rack of suits in case he forgot to go home. I felt sorry for him because almost every night he's worried about one acquisition or the next.

He's been running the company for as long as I have been working here after his parents decided to travel around the world and the man hasn't stopped to take a break since. He never takes any sick days, he only leaves the office when he needs to go to a meeting out of office or fly out of the country to check on the other offices around the world and as far as I'm concerned, doesn't seem to have a social life like me. If it wasn't for his friends, siblings or cousins that often stop in to see him, you'd think he was a recluse.

It looked like one of those days was today, as I walked into Ashton's office, I found him slumped over his desk with his head in his hand and light snores coming from his mouth. I made my way over to him and placed his coffee just under his nose and he started to twitch. It took a few seconds before he started to awake and when he looked up at me me with his piercing blue eyes I felt like he could see right into the depths of my soul. He blinked a couple of times before he sat up and took the coffee I held out to him.