Cassandra woke up to the sound of alarm clock going off in a siren of urgency. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, stretching her arms. As she got out of bed, she remembered about Mal last night. She walked over to Mal's room and gently pushed the door open.

Inside, Mal was still asleep, her mascara running down her face from all the crying, making her look like a sad heroine from the 60s in her cream silk gown. Cassandra felt a pang of sadness as she watched her sleep. She knew how hard Mal had been working lately, trying to make it in the competitive world of modeling.

Cassandra tiptoed out of the room and made her way to the kitchen. She put the kettle on and started to make coffee for herself and Mal. As she waited for the water to boil, she thought about the previous night. Mal had been so excited to go to the party, hoping to make some connections in the industry.

When the coffee was ready, Cassandra poured two cups and made her way back to Mal's room. She set the coffee down on the bedside table and gently shook Mal's shoulder.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Time to wake up."

Mal groaned and opened her eyes. She sat up slowly and rubbed her head.

"How are you feeling?" Cassandra asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Ugh, I feel terrible," Mal replied. "My head is pounding."

Cassandra sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened last night? Did you have a good time?"

Mal sighed and looked down at her coffee. "Henry didn't show up," she said. "The whole night I was just standing beside the bar, gulping drinks after drink. At some point, I tried to talk to the photographer, but they ignored me and bought me more drinks to not make me feel entirely sad."

Cassandra felt a pang of sympathy for her friend. She knew how hard it was to make it in the industry without connections. "I'm sorry, Mal. That must have been really tough."

Mal shrugged. "It's just the way it is, you know? Without connections, it's pretty much impossible to get a big break."Cassandra knows this Mal she's always playing it cool, she doesn't show her sorrow to anyone.

Cassandra shook her head. "Don't lose hope, Mal. You're talented and beautiful. You'll make it eventually. You just have to keep working hard."

Mal smiled weakly and took another sip of her coffee. "Thanks, Cas. By the way what's up with you, since when you became so nice? is this early signs of you selling your soul to the devil Lyla Harper?"

"oh shut it Mal." they both laughed. "I've to go now I'll close the door so you can get ready Mal, I've to go to the work."

Mal nodded sipping the coffee, and she smiled up at Cassandra. Mal can pretend to feel not bothered by this but Cassandra couldn't help noticing the heavy sigh when she closed Mal's door behind her.

***

Later that day Cassandra got lost in her work. She was so focused on her work that she didn't even notice Rachel, her colleague, standing next to her.

"Hey, Cassandra. Want a coke?" Rachel asked, holding out a can of soda.

Cassandra shook her head. "No, thanks. What's up?"

Rachel grinned. "You've got a new assignment. You're going to love it."

Cassandra's heart leapt with excitement. "What is it?"

"You have to write an article on the new trend of fashion that involves 20s fashion in it," Rachel explained. "And you have to gather celebrity pictures to back it up."

Cassandra couldn't believe her luck. May be this seems like a great opportunity for her to establish a place at this Harper styles.  "That sounds amazing. When is it due?"

"End of the week," Rachel said. "But I know you'll nail it."

"Thanks Rachel, may be we can go grab dinner someday."

"oh man that's my weakness. food. Hell yes I'll go!"

"great!"

Cassandra got straight to work, scrolling through pages and pages of pictures and articles, trying to find the perfect ones to use in her piece. As she was researching, she felt someone looking at her. When she turned around, she saw Daniel from the finance department staring at her.

She found it odd, as Daniel never looked at anything other than his keyboard. Cassandra decided to wave at him, and almost as if he felt getting caught, Daniel quickly turned back to his computer.

As the day was winding down, Cassandra was lost in her work when she suddenly heard a commotion in the office. She looked up and saw a Chinese-looking girl standing at the entrance, announcing something.

"Excuse me, everyone," the girl called out, "I have an announcement to make. As you all know, our magazine has just reached two million readers per month, and to celebrate this milestone, we are organizing a big event at the end of this week."

Cassandra and her colleagues clapped and leaned in to listen.

"There will be lots of influential people there, and we want all of you to come and join in the celebration. The theme of the event will be mentioned on the invitation, which you can pick up from the reception desk. You are allowed to bring one guest with you, so make sure to grab your invitations before you leave today."

As soon as the girl finished her announcement, Cassandra felt a buzz of excitement. She knew that this meant she is going to invite Mal with her and she knows how much this would mean for her career.