ARIA'S POV
My first day in Chicago was pretty adventurous. Lena and I spent the entire day sightseeing, eating different food and snacks, and watching movies. She took me to places that I needed to know, so I would be able to find my around whenever she wasn't around.Lena took me to Styles company and my jaw dropped to the ground at the sight of the magnificent building that was covered in Royal blue glass. The place was closed since it was Sunday, so she promised to show me around the company the next day when I resume work.I rose from bed earlier that morning as I couldn't sleep out of nervousness. As I took my bath and got ready, millions of butterflies were having a party in my stomach and I kept doing the breathing exercise to calm down."Breakfast is ready," Lena said in front of my door followed by her footsteps walking toward the living room.Lena's apartment was spacious with a living room and two bedrooms which were directly opposite each other. The kitchen and dining room were attached to the living room while the washing and drying unit was at the end of the apartment right after the bedrooms.I stood in front of the mirror in a white shirt and wine-colored fitted skirt which was one of the outfits Lena made me get during our outing yesterday. Lena insisted I changed my wardrobe saying, "You are now an employee of Styles Company, you need to look the part." And I had to admit that most of my clothes were out of style and needed to be replaced.My hair was tied up in a ponytail and I applied some makeup on my face. I smiled at the mirror when I was satisfied with my look before putting all my things in my black Channel bag that Lena bought for me as a gift.Walking out of the room with my bag, I was greeted by the aroma of bacon and eggs. I followed the smell into the dining room to see Lena wearing a black top with red pants, and having breakfast with her face buried in a fashion magazine."Good morning." I drew out a chair and sat down."Good morning." She closed the magazine and placed it on the table beside her food. "Now you look like a Styles employee." She smiled when she took in my appearance."Thanks." I smiled back as I served myself breakfast."Hurry up, we leave in ten minutes.""Okay."We finished up with our breakfast and left for work in Lena's Porsche. She parked her car in the parking lot of the company where I was greeted by a lot of expensive cars. We entered the building through the door in the parking lot and I gasped in awe at the sight of the interior part of the building.Every inch of it was covered in Royal blue glass and lots of fabric designs were used in decorating the place. My head turned from side to side as I studied every inch of the building."You're drooling," Lena's voice pulled me out of my trance as my hands flew to my mouth. True to her words, I was indeed drooling, so I quickly wiped my mouth clean.We stepped into the elevator and Lena clicked on the tenth floor before the elevator began to move. The lift stopped with a ding sound and we walked into the tenth floor where a banner with Designer's Floor written on it was hanging at the entrance."Good morning, Miss Fernandez." The workers greeted Lena as we walked to her office.She replied to them with a nod before we stopped in front of a door that had Head Designer pasted on it. She pushed the door opened and we walked in."Wow," I said as I took the white-walled room with a Mahogany desk. There were mannequins wearing designer dresses made by Styles company scattered in every corner of the room."Those are the designers I made." She turned to me after placing her bag on the couch. "I keep them in here like a trophy.""They are nice." I walked toward one of them and grazed my hand on the fabric."Why don't we get you settled in?" She moved to the door and opened it for me to walk out before closing it after her.We strode down the hall and stopped in front of another room that had Team 4 written on it. She pushed the door open to walk in as I followed behind her."Good morning, ma'am." The workers stood up upon seeing her.There were five people in the room; three females and two guys. A brunette who looked like she was in her late twenties approached us with her eyes focused on me. "She must be the new designer on our team.""Yes." Lena smiled. "She's just like a sister to me, please take care of her.""Of course." The lady smiled back.Lena turned to me with the same smile on her face. "Meet me at the cafeteria during lunch. Bye." She exited the room."Welcome to Styles company, it's nice to meet you. I'm Celestine, your team leader." The lady stretched out her arm to me."I'm Aria, nice to meet you too." I took her hand in a handshake."There is your workspace." She pointed at the desk in the back left corner. "Summer, come here."A petit blonde girl who was sitting on the desk opposite mine stood up and scurried toward us. "Hi." She waved at me with a shy smile on her face and I waved back."I want you to fill her in on the newest project we are working on," she instructed before turning to me. "If you have any questions, you can come to me. Also, feel free to suggest your ideas to us.""Okay. Thank you," I said before she turned to walk back to her desk."Are you ready?" Summer beamed at me."Always."Summer made sure to fill me in on the rules and regulations of the company and also explained how the company had five teams of designers but team 4 has had the most launched designs.No wonder Lena assigned me there.During lunch, Summer lead me to the cafeteria where I saw Lena sitting with some guy in a blue suit with red and black hair. I approached them and she waved at me when she spotted me."So how's your first day going?" She asked as I took my seat beside her."It's going great." I beamed."Is she the girl you told me about?" the guy sitting opposite her asked?"Yes," she replied before leaning to whisper in my ear, "I may or may not have put in words for you with the managing director here to get you employed."My eyes widened as I turned to him. "Thank you, sir.""It's fine." He shrugged. "Anything for my wife-to-be." He winked at Lena, making me raise my eyebrows."Will you stop that?" She whisper-yelled as she looked around the cafeteria to see if someone heard him. "You know employees are not allowed to date."Yeah, I remembered Summer telling me that as part of the rules and regulations in the company. It wouldn't be a problem because I didn't come here for romance. Boys were the last on my list at the moment."Oh please." He rolled his eyes before resting his elbows on our still-empty table. "You mean to tell me that of the thousands of employees in the building there's nobody in a relationship with another employee." He cocked an eyebrow at her."Well, there may be but at least they are not announcing it to everybody they come across." She folded her arms."So you're saying if I can keep it a secret you'll give me a chance?" His blue eyes brightened up.Lena leaned closer to him. "No.""Well, it was worth the shot." He leaned back into his chair.Just by looking at the two of them, I could tell that they would make a great couple if only there wasn't that stupid rule hindering them, and besides I didn't know if Lena likes him back.His phone that was in his pocket chimed and he sighed when he checked its screen."What is it?" Lena asked."It's Dave. I wonder what is it this time." He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "I'll be right back." He turned to leave but he stopped in his track and turned to me with a serious expression on his face. "I usually don't get involved in hiring employees, so you will be the first person that would be coming into this company through me. Don't disappoint me.""I won't."He nodded and walked out before Lena and I went to get our lunch.DAVE'S POVParking my car outside Nixon's apartment building, I picked up my phone and sent him a text to meet me in his place, knowing that he was on lunch break. I climbed down from the car and went up to his apartment on the fifth floor of the building, ignoring the group of men watching me from the black Sedan parked a few blocks away from my car.When I got to the door, I punched in the password on the keypad to unlock the door. I slumped on the couch and turned on the TV while I wait for him to arrive. A few minutes later, the door opened followed by Nixon's voice, "I can have you arrested for breaking into my apartment." He stood in front of me with his hands shoved in his pants pocket."It's not breaking in if you were the one who gave me the password." I rolled my eyes at him."Why did you make me come here? My lunch break will soon be over, do you want me to get fired for slacking off at work?" He perched on the edge of the couch adjacent to me."You can't get fired. You ar
ARIA'S POV"So Nixon, huh?" I asked as Lena and I cooked dinner together."There's nothing between us." She glared at me."I never said there was," I smirked. "But I can tell he likes you.""I know that, but the company has a rule so it's never going to happen between us." She filled her plate with spaghetti and meatballs before taking it out of the kitchen.I did the same and joined her at the dining table. "What if there was no such rule? Or what if you guys met under different circumstances? Would you have considered it?""Yeah, I might." She shrugged, putting her spaghetti-filled fork in her mouth."So you like him." I beamed. "Yeah, a bit." She pinched the edge of her finger to show me how small a bit she was talking about."Lena?" I raised my eyebrows at her.She dropped her fork on the plate. "Okay, fine. I like him, but the company has its rules so I'm never going to act on my feelings. I won't risk my career over a man and besides, getting rid of whatever feelings I have for
DAVE'S POVAdrenaline pumped in my vein as I dashed through the woods, letting the dirt under my shoes fly behind me. The music playing from my headphone gave me the drive to continue jogging for more than thirty minutes before I stopped at the edge of the waterfall at the end of the woods.My chest heaved up and down as I stared at the water pouring down, making me remember the times that my brother and I spent together. FOUR YEARS AGO"Dave, come on," Daniel shouted as he ran ahead of him with the wind blowing his shoulder-length raven hair behind him.I picked up my pace to catch up with him but he was too fast. He stopped at the edge of the with his back turned to me while I caught up with him, squatting beside him. His amber eyes looked at me with a smile on his face and his breathing regulated while I was still struggling to catch my breath."How are you not out of breath?" I raised my eyebrows at him."Because I'm not a weakling like you," he spat.Rolling my eyes at him, I st
DAVE'S POVThe beeping monitor and my Dad's raged breathing were all that could be heard in the hospital room as I sat on the chair in front of the bed staring at him. My mother sat beside him, holding his hand with her head resting on it fast asleep. I remembered the last time I was in the position, it was when my brother dropped me off at my penthouse after our little vacation. A few hours later, I got a call from my dad that my brother was in the hospital. It was when I got there that I found out that my brother was dying from Liver cancer and it has already developed beyond control before he found out.It came as I surprise to me that I didn't notice that he was dying after spending the whole month with me. I only understood why he did that through the video, but that didn't stop me from getting mad at him. He passed away in the hospital the following day after saying his last words to me, "I'm sorry." I remembered that moment like it was better which was why I got more scared w
ARIA'S POVThe company was in disarray at the news of the President collapsing but the Assistant managing director managed to calm everyone down and assured us that the President was fine.Everyone went back to work but we could hardly concentrate because Lena and Nixon who went with the ambulance that took the President were not back to give us any news of his condition.I hadn't gotten the chance to meet the President but according to Summer, he was a very nice person but strict at the same time which explained why everyone was sad because of what happened to him.The paper I was sketching on was long forgotten as I kept staring at the door, waiting for Celestine to come back with some sort of information concerning the President. Everyone else was either listening to music or sleeping at their desk because none of our brains were settled to continue working on our project.As the door opened, everyone shot up their desk and approached Celestine who walked in and closed the door beh
ARIA'S POVThat night, I was up way past my bedtime talking to Savannah about how I was adapting to my workplace and things that I have occurred in the few days I'd been here. We got off the call by one in the morning when I told her that I had to go to work early the next morning. "Ari, wake up. We are going to be late," I heard Lena's voice in my sleep before the quilt got yanked off my body. "Five more minutes." I groaned as I curled on the bed."Do you know what time is it? It's 6:40." She yelled and I shot up the bed with wide eyes."Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I climbed down the bed and rushed into the bathroom. "That is because I wasn't expecting you to still be sleeping by this time," she shouted after me. "Hurry up and meet me in the living room, we have to stop by the hospital before going to work." "Okay." I stood in front of the bathroom mirror to brush my teeth. It was all Savannah's fault that I was getting late for work. If only she hadn't kept me awake til
DAVE'S POVWhen Nixon broke the news of my taking over the company to my parents, they were over the moon. My dad was all smiles that day and the doctor was surprised to see my father's health improving faster than usual. My Mom concluded that it was the good news that fastened his healing process. Dad joined in by saying if he knew collapsing in the conference was all it would take to make me join the company he would have done it a long time ago. Before we left the hospital that night, he instructed Nixon to put me through everything I needed to know about the company. They planned to officially make me the president of the company when my dad recovers fully.At first, I wasn't happy about my decision to join the company, but seeing how delighted my parents were made it all worth it. Since my brother died, I had never seen my parent that happy which made me satisfied that I had granted my brother the favor he asked of me. That night, Nixon spent the night in my penthouse, teachin
ARIA'S POVMy mother had always warned me that my hot temper and running mouth would get me in trouble one day, but I never expected that day to come so soon. How would I have expected that the simpled dressed guy who bumped into me and broke my phone would turn out to be Dave Mendez, the new president of the company I worked in? What kind of evil spirit was following me? If only I had been a little patient, my job in Styles won't be hanging on a thin thread. When we left the hospital that day, I kept on begging Lena to talk to Nixon to convince Dave not to fire me. Since they were best friends, there was a high chance he would listen to me. Lena disregarded my begging and told me to face the consequences of my reckless actions. Before we left the house that morning, I went down on my knees to pray, asking God to save me from getting fired. My heart thudded in my chest as Lena's car approached Stlye's building. We got out of the car only for me to hear a familiar voice calling Lena.