Who Flipped the Script

By Martha Rivers

WHO FLIPPED THE SCRIPT mimics life's merry go round of challenges from dating to commitment, tears to laughter, and heartbreak to total blist. Life's uncertainties are capable of creating mind blowing situations that one’s spiritual progress is effected. However, Martha Rivers's evolving story reveals that forgiveness and repentance can restore many lives like a domino effect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664182462

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Chad rushes out of Trish’s bedroom, tucking in his shirt and reaching into his pant pocket for his car keys rushing for the front door as Trish follows him.

Chad kissed Trish quickly and said, ok I got to go. I didn’t realize it was this late. I’ll get with you later babe."

Trish responded, but Chad since you stayed this long you may as well spend the night.

Chad looked back at her, "Naugh baby, I really got to get going. He then gives her another peck on the cheek and goes out the door, down the stairs and walks to his car leaving Trish standing there looking shocked and disappointed.

Trish turns out the light and walks towards the bedroom.

Chad drives to Natalie’s place. Chad gets out the car and rings the doorbell. Natalie opens the door with a look of disgust on her face. Well it’s about time you got here. Is this your idea of ten o’clock, she asked? Chad walks into the bedroom and begins to undress. Natalie stood there and looked at him. You think you can just walk up in here and jump into my bed at any time of the night? Chad looks at Natalie with no explanation of why he was late. You think everything is alright, but hell no it doesn’t work like that!

Chad begins to explain. Natalie you know how we lose track of time when we get into a good game of bid wiz.

Yeah, but you could have called. Hell, you must think this is your own private retreat, but this is going stop."

Chad did not fuss with Natalie because he knew she was right. Come on baby let’s go to bed you know you have to get up early tomorrow for work. Natalie gets into bed and moves as far away from Chad as she possibly could with her back turned. As she turns the light off, Chad reaches out to her and she angrily shouts, DON’T TOUCH ME!

The next morning

Natalie suddenly woke up on Monday morning, with Chad, her boyfriend, sleeping beside her. Natalie reached for the clock and saw that she was late for work. Last night had been like so many other nights Chad calling and saying he was on his way and then showing up many hours later with the same excuse. Natalie knew there was a lot that had to be dealt with but she just didn’t have the time this morning.

Natalie realized that this was getting old, along with some of Chad’s old bad habits and lack of thoughtfulness. Deep inside she could feel her patience wearing thin. Natalie put the clock down quietly, reached for the phone and quickly jumped out of bed to call her office.

While brushing her teeth, she paused to call her friend Camille, who worked at the desk beside her. Please, Camille, please answer the phone, she said to herself as the phone rang.

Ring, ring. Luckily, Camille answered the telephone.

Good morning. May I help you? Camille said.

You sure can. How are you this morning, Camille?

Girl, I am fine. What about you?

I am running late again. Can you cover for me until I get there?

Camille cleared her voice. You know Ms. Chancellor has gotten real strict with that tardy policy, and you’ve been cutting it pretty close here lately, girlie,.

Just cover for me. I’ll be there shortly.

Okay. Try to get here in the next twenty minutes. Ms. Chancellor is still in her meeting so you have about twenty minutes to be at your desk.

Thanks, Camille.

Just remember, you owe me one. Now be careful, but hurry.

Okay. I will, Natalie replied.

Natalie felt happy knowing she had a friend like Camille who had her back. This gave her a different feeling as to what her day would be like, considering the way it had started. All that starts bad doesn’t have to end bad, she thought. Now let me get to work. I’ll deal with Chad later.

As Natalie finished brushing her teeth, she combed through her hair and put on her lipstick, knowing she didn’t have time to do the whole makeup thing. I am glad I wear makeup because I want to and not because I have to, she thought to herself. She made her way into her bathroom quietly, not to wake Chad, who was sleeping like a baby with a pillow over his head.

Natalie went over to her closet and pulled out the dress she wore on days like today—a dress that went anywhere with anything—and she could always depend on it to fit perfectly, with no ironing and no fuss. Now where are those shoes? she thought. Yes! There they are. Natalie stepped into her shoes, grabbed her bag and keys, and said to herself, I got to get out of here.

Natalie attempted to walk out the bedroom, as soon as she reached for the door, Chad rolled over and grabbed her hand. He began to pull her back into bed. Natalie pushed Chad away, totally fed up with his shenanigans.

Stop, Chad. I’m already late, I’m about to cancel your ass anyway.

In spite of what others saw and thought of Chad, she did love him, and she felt that he cared for her in a way that was hard to put into words. However, she knew they couldn’t go on like this, but what can you expect when you know you have fallen in love with a player? Chad was one of those attractive guys with a swag of his own. He was that kind of man who you would hate to love but so irresistible that it was hard not to.

Natalie was a smart woman, and she knew exactly what and who she wanted. She wanted Chad, so she went along with his flirtatious nature because he claimed that she was his lady. She felt that she was reeling him in slowly. A man like Chad seemed worth it in the beginning, but the lies and lateness had taken their toll.

He is a college graduate, who liked nice things and didn’t mind sharing them with those he liked. . He was partner of a fitness center and a full-time successful broker. He was average height, his body was to die for and lacking nothing, if you know what I mean, and this was a man with so much charisma, women took whatever he gave and hoped fantasy to be real.

Chad looked up at Natalie and said, Come here, baby, just for a minute. You know you want to, don’t cha?

Natalie pulled away. Stop, Chad. I got to go, but we do need to talk.

Chad knew that the talk was about last night, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Chad smiled innocently and laid back down.

Natalie walked out the door.

Natalie rushed toward her car, and just before she could get there, she saw her neighbor Elaine coming towards her jogging with a high-end baby stroller. Natalie sped up, trying to get to her car quickly to avoid a long conversation. Elaine stopped long enough to do what she did best—meddle. Natalie did like Elaine and didn’t mind getting the scoop, but she just didn’t have time this morning.

Elaine looked at Natalie and said, Somebody’s running late again, I see, as she continued to run in place so as not to lose her flow.

Natalie looked at Elaine and said, Oh, hey, girl. I know. I got to do better than this.

I know that’s right, Elaine said. You’re going to have to start sending that man of yours home at a reasonable hour or, better yet, have him come at a reasonable hour so you can get up and get to work on time. Mondays are the worst.

Natalie felt her blood rushing again being reminded of her current situation by a self-righteous chick who didn’t even have a job. Natalie was determined not to let this situation get the best of her and take her to another zone that would prolong her tardiness. She thought, I’ll just let her have that one and just concentrate on getting to work. Elaine stopped and began to stretch as Natalie got into her car.

I guess you are right, Natalie said, deciding to pick her battles this morning, knowing she didn’t have time to win this one anyhow. Natalie knew that Elaine was in one of her talking moods—and not about her own business either. Natalie quickly got into her car. Well, I got to get to work, she thought. Natalie looked at her watch and said, Oops, just look at the time. Talk to you later Elaine, Gotta go. Natalie closed the door to her car and said under her breath, That’s one nosy bitch, and drove off.

Sometimes Elaine could really get on a person’s nerves from being so nosy. She was a stay-at-home military wife with a young daughter. Her army husband Will was deployed overseas 8 hours ahead their time zone which further complicated Elaine’s adult communication efforts. Elaine’s sister would come to visit from out of town occasionally to give her a break, but her days were mostly consumed with Sesame Street, the news, and Real House Wives reruns. So Elaine couldn’t wait to get a chance to chop it up with an interesting professional working class woman like Natalie. She often wondered what her life would be like if she had chosen a career path after high school instead of the comforts of military spouse life,but those occasional regrets quickly vanished as she often saw Natalie scrambling in corporate and the headaches of the dating game.

Elaine’s military-mom housewife boredom was easily more acceptable than entertaining the thought of living a delusional Chad-the-Chump, reality show. I’ll take Real House Wives and Sesame Street any day of the week Elaine smiling proudly as she literally strolled home with her daughter.

Natalie turned up her system in her car, darting in and out of the light traffic on her way to work. She wasn’t really paying attention to what was playing until the DJ faded the last song and gave the artis praise credit for her body of musical work. The song that played the night she met Chad came on. Every time Natalie heard that song, it brought back memories of what Chad had said and how he had done all the right things to sweep her off her feet. However, she soon realized she had fallen for a player.

Chad had changed over the past year, but not enough. Natalie had made it quite clear numerous times how she felt, but Chad continued to make promises that he could not keep and excuses for his cheating behavior, never owning up to any of it. Still, Natalie was a patient woman, willing to give Chad a chance to get past his playfulness. She knew that getting a man was no problem, but she wanted what she wanted and sometimes that took a little more effort, especially with a man as fine as Chad.

Natalie and Camille both knew that Chad was just skating by on a banana peel, but he didn’t seem to know or care until he was called out on one of his ordeals. Time was catching up to their relationship. It was only a matter of time. Natalie chose to believe that time was in her favor because she loved Chad and wanted them to end up together one day .

Driving into the parking lot of the place where she worked, with the words of their song in her mind, Natalie looked down at the clock in the car. Goodness, I got three minutes to get to my desk! Nalalie hurridly got out of her car, rushed to the door and signed I think I am gonna make it. Whew!

CHAPTER 2

I made it !

Natalie walked into the office that she and Camille shared, Good morning, Camille.

Camille looked up at Natalie, waved her hand, and said, Good morning You’re free to join me, Ms. Chambers. You do still work here, don’t you?

They both laughed.

By this time, the two girls were busy at work at their desks when all of a sudden, Ms. Chancellor, their boss, walked into the office. Ms. Chancellor was a no-nonsense kind of woman who knew her job and made sure everybody else was doing theirs. She married early after graduating from college. She lost her husband and never remarried or had any children. The rumor was that her advertising firm was her husband and her babies. . Natalie and others knew very little about Ms. Chancellor’s private life because she managed to keep that to herself, but they did know that the people she socialized with were totally out of their league.

She was a good boss and very compassionate, but she believed in getting the work done. Everybody liked getting paid, so they all tried to march to the music, but there were exceptions, like Natalie’s being late time after time. Camille knew that things happened to the best of them, but Natalie was carrying this a bit too far. Still, they all would stick together and look out for one another. Ms. Chancellor was the boss, and they were the employees, and no one knew when their bottom might be on the line because things happened. They would look out for one another and keep their mouths shut. Things always worked out for everyone, but it did bother Camille that Natalie’s ties with her boyfriend, Chad, were so tight that it had thrown her better judgment off track.

Ms. Chancellor walked into the office and stopped in the middle of the floor so that the whole office would have a full take of her. She was always dressed especially well, just the way you would picture a classy, smart boss to be dressed—big round wide-rimmed glasses that made her look like one of those women in a commercial who would leave her nine-to-five in her sporty red Mercedes sedan, with the top let back waiting outside for her to get off work. She would jump inside and loosen the bun at the top of her head and shake out her hair, letting it fall, then take off her glasses and color her lips with fire-red lipstick, with happy hour being her next stop.

Ms. Chancellar’s friends will be waiting for her at their exclusive VIP hangout.

Ms. Chancellor was a good-looking, highly paid, Wall Street–looking businesswoman; she was a woman who kept her business her business, and from where they were sitting, it looked like she had it all together. A woman who kept the rest of them on their toes, she believed in keeping the office code of dress perfectly intact.

As the ladies looked at Ms. Chancellor, she began to pass out information from the meeting as she spoke to the ladies. Good morning, ladies. This is information I received from the meeting to share with you. Read it. Then she put her hands on her hips. If you have any questions, I’ll be in my office. Ms. Chancellor turned to leave, turned back around, and said, Oh I forgot,Ladies, I will be out of the office the rest of the afternoon. Handle all my calls and save those questions for tomorrow morning. Ms. Chancellor went into her office and walked back out minutes later, wearing shades, her cool shades, and carrying her bag on her shoulder. See you ladies later.

Both the ladies waved bye to their boss. After she was out of sight, Natalie said, I just wonder where she goes in the middle of the day.

Camille looked at Natalie and said, Who knows and who cares? At least she’s out of our hair.

They both laughed.

Camille added, Now that’s one woman who loves her job.

They both laughed again.

Natalie said, Yeah. If I could leave anytime I got ready, I’d love it too.

They both laughed again.

Natalie took her hand and wiped it across her forehead, saying, Whew, I barely made it.

Camille got out of her seat, walked over to Natalie’s desk, paused in front of Natalie, and said, Can’t you see what’s happening? That man of yours is keeping you up all night and tiring you out to the point of you not getting to work on time. You’re late at least three days every week, and, Natalie, that’s not good. If you weren’t my friend, I would keep quiet, but you are, so I won’t. What kind of man plays Jeopardy with his woman’s career?

Natalie thought, She don’t even know what really happened, and I’d be ashamed to tell her. Natalie thought it best not to tell Camille that Chad had gotten to her place late . . . really late. Camille, I know you are right. I am gonna have to tell him that Sunday nights are off-limits because Mondays are hard enough as it is—

Or, better yet, all nights, Camille blurted out.

Natalie looked at Camille with a look of frustration and said, Why don’t you just mind your business and let me handle mine?

Camille put her hand in front of her, looking at them as if counting her fingers, and said, Chad business is bad business. Does this Chad have a job? she asked.

Why, yes, he does, Natalie came back at Camille. Chad is a full-time broker and a part owner of a fitness center.

Okay, now I see how this works. Chad goes to work when Chad wants to but makes you late for yours. You got to let that man know you got a boss. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there is something wrong with this picture, said Camille as she walked back to her desk.

Once you get to know him better, you’ll like him, Camille. Wait and see.

I don’t mean no harm, Natalie, but I am not really interested in getting to know Chad any better. That’s you and Lance friend, yall can just leave me out of all the friendliness. Enough about Chad. What did you decide about my Valentine’s party, Natalie?

I am waiting to see what Chad has planned.

Chad, Chad, Chad. that man has caused enough trouble around here. I just don’t like the way he does things, Camille said.

Don’t worry, Camille. I don’t remember hearing Chad say he needed to be liked by you.

Camille went back to her desk, sat down, took out her lipstick and mirror from her bag, looked into the mirror, fixed her hair, and slowly put on lipstick, preparing to go to lunch. Camille looked over at Natalie and said, You, my friend, best get busy. Ms. Chancellor’s got that ‘Who do I fire today look on her face, and today you are the least common denominator.

She did say she would be out of the office the rest of the day so I guess I’m pretty safe for now, Natalie said, with a quiet chuckle.

They both laughed and started working.

All jokes aside, Camille, thanks for covering for me. Now we’re even.

Not really, stated Camille.

Natalie replied, With friends like you, who needs an enemy?

Camille gave Natalie a quick stare. The only enemy you have has just walked out the office.

Aw, Ms. Chancellor is not that bad. She just believes in getting the job done.

Camille rolled her eyes at Natalie and said, Girl, quit talking. You just need to stop, and she laughed.

Natalie smiled and said, Will you be quiet and let me do my work, please?

Camille looked at Natalie in disbelief and said, "No, you didn’t. It’s almost time for lunch, and