We entered his office .
Owner- " And besides, a woman of your age..."
(Ugh, not this again ..)
I've gotten used to these terrible comments by now.
I know that his mini-tirade will end soon so I continue to nod along, brushing off insult after insult when suddenly ...
Staff A- " Sir! There's someone on the phone saying they want to do an interview tomorrow .. . They're from a publisher! "
Owner- " Tomorrow? But there's that order for the birthday cake ... I'd be able to do the interview if I didn't have that stupid cake. "
Owner- "Call that customer and tell them we can't make that cake anymore ."
Rose- " ! "
( Again with this ... ! He treats the customers like total garbage! )
Rose- "But , sir. That customer's order came in before we even knew about the interview ... "
The owner smiled.
Owner- " Who cares about some cheap cake , when we could get an interview and make this shop a world class destination! "
Rose- " Even still , we'd be canceling on them a day before they're expecting it ... ! "
Owner- " Shut up! Whose store do you think this is ! If you don't like the way I do things around here , you can just quit ! ... "
( I've held my tongue long enough ... But I have reached my limit! I can't work with a boss like him! )
Rose- " ...Fine then ."
Rose- "I can't make cakes only on profit like this . I'm quitting ."
Rose- " Thank you for everything ."
I started walking home until ...
Rose- " Oh my God, that was so stupid ..."
Rose- "33 and unemployed ..."
( Oh , I feel terrible ... But that's to be expected , I guess . Tomorrow's another day though! I'll start looking for work first thing in the morning. )
I feel a surge of positivity well up inside of me . And then ...
*SPLASH*
Rose- "... ! "
A car goes screaming by , splashing through a massive puddle and spraying water all over my shoes.
( Hey... ! Slow down there! What kind of crazy idiot is driving that thing? )
I give the car my best death stare , but as I do the car pulls over to the side of the road and comes to a stop.
A man steps out of the car and heads straight for me .
Man- " I'm so sorry . Are you alright? Just now I ...
Rose- " Oh , no . It's fine ..."
( That's odd ... Why do I feel like I've seen his face before )
I start remembering and say ...
Rose- " Kazuki... Is that you?!"
As I stare into the man's face , the image of my ex-boyfriend comes flashing back to me.
I almost can't believe it as I continue staring blankly at him.
Kazuki- " Huh...? Wait, Rose is it really you !?"
( No way ... Why is he here ... ?)
( This is too much of a coincidence ... !)
Kazuki- " You haven't changed a bit, I see ."
Kazuki- " Say , What are you up to ? We haven't seen each other in ages . Join me a bit ."
Rose- " Huh...?"
Kazuki moves a step closer to me.
( What the...? I broke up with him nearly 10 years ago ... And to suddenly run into him like this ... )
Looking into his eyes I can't hide the nostalgia I'm feeling ... But the pain of how we ended things pulls at my heart .
Kazuki- " C'mon , Rose , let's go ."
( I'm single but I'm not desperate I don't wanna go with him or hurt him either )
I started to panic .
Rose- " No way I have nothing to say to you."
( Was I to rude )
Kazuki laughed .
Kazuki- " I thought you might say that. Still stubborn as ever, I see."
Kazuki- " But if you ever feel like chatting give me a call. "
He hasn't changed . His tone is still powerful and authoritative . He hands me his business card and strides back to his car .
Rose- " Kazuki ... You still do whatever you please , I see ... "
I look down at the card he's just handed me . CEO is written in big capital letters .
( Hm ... ? He must have changed jobs since ... But a CEO ...? )
Rose- " Wow... I wonder if he started his own business or something ..."
I begin to stuff the card in my bag when I catch sight of the ticket to that singles event .
( Singles event , huh? Hm... It might be nice to try and give dating another chance. )
I know that just showing up to a singles event won't earn me a boyfriend .. Love isn't that easy .
But I just want some sort of distraction , a change of scenery to get my mind off of this terrible day .
( I'll do it. I'll go to the singles event ..)
