Alpha’s Girl - 3 3

I walked into the office unsure of where to go. I wasn’t assigned a cubicle yet. The receptionist was on the phone busy talking to someone.There was a laptop open in front of her. There was open documents. From the expression on her face I deduced that it was an important matter she was discussing. She seemed to be of around my age. She wore casuals. Good. That means there is no dress code.

She ended her conversation and looked up at me.She gave a small smile which didn’t reach her eyes.

“May I help you?” ,she asked in a soft voice.

“Yes please. I am Alexandria Novell. I’m supposed to start work today but I don’t know where my desk is. “, I try to say without showing my nervousness.

“Oh yeah. I heard about the new girl. Go straight the hallway and take a left. First room on the right is where you will be seated.”

“Thank you.” First room on the right. Does that mean I get my own office? Wow.

“I’m Nina by the way” , she genuinely smiles this time.

She says something about the big eagle arriving and goes back to the open document in her laptop.

I start to walk away when her words ring back to me. By big eagle did she mean the big boss? My boss’ boss?

I go back to her to confirm. She confirms my suspicions.

He is my boss so I can’t avoid him forever. I just hope he doesn’t judge me too soon. People in my previous office have been judgmental before. I have got comments like ‘You are too beautiful to do some serious math’ or ‘Beauty with brains’ and things like that. Once I had made a silly calculation error and my boss who was already having a bad week, because of his marital issues, shouted at me saying I ought give more attention to my work than my makeup. I wasn’t even wearing any makeup on that day. Later, he gave me another important assignment, which was his way of apologizing. That was his way of telling that I was good at what I did and that he trusted me. Nevertheless it hurt when he yelled. I just hope my new boss is not prejudiced in that way.

I don’t even consider myself beautiful. I just have ordinary eyes, ordinary nose and ordinary everything.

I reached the room which Nina had directed me to. Before I could walk in, Eric Collins, the man who interviewed me, walked out of the adjacent room. He smiled at me and motioned me to go inside my office. He also walked in after me.

“Good morning Alex. Hope you are excited to start work. This is your office and the one adjacent to this is mine. There is a laptop provided for you which is on your desk. It has pre installed programs which you will need for the work. And I have already kept a few files on your desk. Go through the accounts. Tally the balance sheets and get going.Good luck.Hope you find it enjoyable here. If you have any doubts you know where to find me.” He stops to take a breath.

I just nod sensing that his monologue hadn’t ended. Eric is much older than me. Probably around my dad’s age. There are stress lines on his face and he seems to be a man who has seen the worse ways of life. He has a cheerful personality though.

“Also, Ronan is dropping in today. He may want to run some numbers by you” , he ended and smiled.

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll start working right away.But who is Ronan?”

“Ronan. Ronan Black is your boss. He is my boss as well. I thought I already mentioned that I am not your main boss.”

“Yes yes. I just didn’t know his name” , I reply thinking if I had offended him in some way by not remembering the name of the boss.

He was about to walk away when suddenly his face changed like a thought had occurred to him. He paused and said with a smirk , “Alex. You look too serious. I mean too formal. You can wear casuals here. There is no strict dress code here.” With that he walked away and I was left alone.

Soon I was caught up in my work. Time passed but I was immersed in work and didn’t keep a track. Nina knocked at my door and walked in.

“Hey it’s lunch time. We go to the pac.. ” , she stopped abruptly and gave a small cough.

“Do you need some water?” , I offered.

She declined and continued, “We go to the house for lunch. You can join us.”

She went on to explain that there was a house behind the office building and all the employees went there for lunch.I did see the huge building behind the office. I just assumed that it was another office and not a house.I saved my work and locked my system.

We both walked towards the house. The office space was small but this house was huge. We walked in and there was a huge dining area. Many people had already started eating. There were young people as well, who still seemed to be going to college. In fact there were people of all ages.We took food in our plates and found a place to sit.I took a bite and the food was delicious. Just what was this place? I asked Nina and she thought for a few seconds before answering.

“Think of it like a shelter home.”

“Shelter home?! But who is sponsoring?”, I ask with awe. It’s not easy to provide such delicious food for so many people.

She again hesitated before answering that she doesn’t know the details of how the whole thing is run. I let the matter pass.

We finished eating and walked back to the office.I resumed my work when there was another knock. A tall, handsome man walked in. I automatically stood. He had broad shoulders. He had a frown on his face.

“So you are the new girl.I’m Ronan. Eric says your resume is very impressive. But I don’t get impressed by a resume. Your skills are displayed only in your work.” He said in a serious tone.

He went on to inquire about my day’s work and when I told him and showed on the laptop how much I had accomplished in such a short time, he looked impressed. His frown was replaced by a smile. His smile transformed his whole face. I could easily like this man. At least his handsome face.

“Sorry if I came out too strict before. It’s just that I wanted to check if you knew what you were doing.” He gave me another file and asked me to check on it once I was done with what I had already started.He did not linger much and let me get back to work.I like this man. He gave me work without dictating how it needed to be done.

I finished my day and walked out after informing Eric that I was leaving, and waving at Nina while walking out. As soon as I stepped out the first thing I noticed was green eyes.

Adrian was standing amidst the trees. He was waiting for me. But for how long was he waiting?

I walk towards him and say hi. He licked my face in response.

“Today was good. I didn’t have much time to socialize though.” I tell him and both of us start walking towards my house in a unspoken agreement. Well at least I didn’t voice out my destination, and I definitely can’t make out if Adrian voiced his out. There were only grunts and I am not a grunt decoder.

I tell him about the house where we had lunch. And slowly I start about other topics. I tell him about the books I like to read, the kind of movies I like to watch and my favorite foods.

Soon we had reached the clearing near my house.

“I met my boss Ronan today. He is very handsome. I like him.” I inform Adrian dreamily.

Grr. Grr . He growled at me. I turn to look at him and he is bearing his teeth.We stare at each other for a few seconds. I was about to ask him what happened, not like he could reply, when he looked behind me. And before I could process his reaction he started running and vanished in a few seconds.

I turn towards my home not understanding why Adrian reacted that way. Oh shit! My dad was standing out and he was looking in my direction. I was not sure if he had seen Adrian or not. Only one way to find out.

I walk towards my dad thinking of how best to answer him.