ARIA'S POVSitting on the edge of Lena's bed, I scrolled through my social media account, waiting for Lena to decide on an outfit so we can leave for Mr. Mendez's birthday party. According to Lena, Mr. Mendez opted for a less extravagant dinner party much to his wife's dismay. They invited only their family members and a few friends which extended to Lena. She and the guys insisted that I tagged along when all I wanted to do was watch N*****x and sleep, but I had to agree because I couldn't resist Dave's puppy eyes.I placed my phone in my purse and sighed. "Will you just pick a dress? If you continue at this rate, the party would be over before we get there." "I'm almost done." She came out of her closet in a red-laced gown before sitting in front of the mirror to fix her hair and makeup. She put her hair in an updo before painting her face with everything in the makeup bag but to my surprise, the final result was beautiful. "Okay, I'm all set." She stood up and grabbed her purse.
DAVE'S POVThroughout the party, I was all smiles when I noticed that my mom took a liking to Aria, mostly because of her relationship with Lena but I was sure they will get closer if they meet each other more often. My cousins took it up as a task to mock Nixon and me for being single, almost forcing me to announce to them that Aria was my girlfriend but I couldn't because she wasn't ready to let anyone know yet, especially my family.It was a relief for Nixon and me that the party ended well without any drama because we noticed the tension brewing between Jenny and Lena, and I could tell that Lena refused to spend the night at the house because of Jenny. I had no idea what was going on between them, so I made a mental note to ask Aria when I get the chance. After watching Lena's car drive out of the gate, Nixon and I made our way back into the house. The moment I stepped into the living room, I froze in my steps at the next words that came out of Jenny's mouth."So what do you guy
LENA'S POVMillions of butterflies erupted in my stomach as I stepped out of the house that afternoon to see Nixon waiting for me. He was dressed in simple jeans and a white shirt and he still managed to look devilishly handsome.I had to admit that I had a crush on him since the first day I met him at Styles Company. Everything about him screamed professional and intelligence which was my type of guy. I thought it was a tiny crush that would fade but my crush began to grow into something stronger when I got closer to him and got to experience the playful side of him.Months later, I realized that Nixon felt the same way toward me but I feign ignorance because I wasn't ready to put my job on the line by acting on my feelings for him. What I didn't expect was that Nixon would go out of his way to get the 'No dating ' rule in the company canceled just to be with him. That action of his made my heart surrender completely to him and I didn't make any attempt to control it.Every fiber of
ARIA'S POV"Is Dave going somewhere today?" I asked Lena as we stepped out of her car. "He texted me this morning not to bring him coffee.""Yeah, he has an interview concerning our new fashion line that we are launching soon," she replied. "Nixon also went with him." "Oh okay." I nodded as we made our way into the building.When we alighted from the elevator on the fifth floor, we saw all the designers exiting their offices and moving toward the conference room."What's going on?" I turned to Lena with a confused look."We are all expected to watch the president's interview, so each department gathered to watch it in their meeting room," she explained and I nodded. "See you there." She strode to her office.I walked toward my team's office as the others made their way out. "Meet us at the conference room," Summer said as she walked past me.Stepping inside the office, I went to my desk and placed my bag on my chair. I brought out my phone, typing a short text to Dave. 'Good luck o
NOTE: I will be changing POVs mid-chapter.ARIA'S POVTaking a deep breath, I pushed the door to my team's office open. I walked in with my head down as I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The moment I took my seat, Summer turned her chair to face me."Is it true?" she asked. I glanced to meet her curious eyes and I looked around to see everyone else giving me the same look. Realizing there was no point in lying since Dave already said it all, I nodded in response."So I was right all along," Michelle said, making everyone including me turn to her with a confused look. "Mr. Mendez's secretary is my neighbor, so he told me about how you used to bring him coffee every morning and go to his office during lunch break. We had an ounce that something was going on between you two and it was proven right today." She smiled. "Congratulations, by the way." "You're cool with it?" I asked because I was expecting a different reaction."Of course. I have no reason not to be, neither does anyone
DAVE'S POVThe next day, Aria and I left work earlier than usual to visit my brother.Stopping the car in front of the cemetery, I tightened my hands on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath as I put my head down. "You don't have to go if you are not ready." Aria who was sitting on the passenger seat placed her hand on my shoulder."No." I raised my head to look at her. "I have to do it now." My brother's death broke me to the point that I went into denial. I got pissed off when I listened to people talk about his death because I wasn't ready to accept it. Due to that reason, I refused to visit his grave because it would mean I have accepted that he was gone forever and never coming back. After fighting it for years, there I was, struggling to see my brother and letting out all the pent-up anger and grief. If I waited until I was ready, I knew I would never go there because I would never be ready."Are you sure?" She gave me a worried look. "Yes." I forced a smile on my face. "
LENA'S POVAria and Dave left work earlier, going to God knows where. Some other employees noticed it too and took it upon themselves to badmouth Aria. I didn't pay attention to it because I knew they were all jealous and only something to ease their jealousy.As I parked my car outside my apartment building, I climbed down to see Nixon's car stopping behind mine. With scrunched eyebrows, I watched him alight from the car. "What are you doing here?"He shoved his hand in his coat pocket as he approached me. "Since Aria is not here, I came to keep you company just like a responsible boyfriend would." He grinned"You are not my boyfriend." I raised my eyebrows at him."Yet." He turned away from me and walked towards my apartment, leaving me to stare at him in surprise. "Come and open the door," he called when he got to the entrance.I made my way to the door and opened it. He sat on the couch, resting his back on the arm and his long legs stretched on it. "What would you like?" I aske
ARIA'S POVONE MONTH LATERThe days ran by and before I could register it, my relationship with Dave was already a month old. During that time, I had to put up with my colleagues constantly gossiping about me whenever I passed by. I realized that I wasn't the only one frustrated by it when Michelle called some girl on it during one of our lunch breaks and bashed her for being jealous. My other teammates supported Michelle and the girl left the cafeteria in embarrassment.Ever since that time, the gossip about me died down, or maybe they were just careful not to talk when Lena, me, or anybody from Team 4 was around the premises.And also Lena and Nixon became an official couple after going on three dates. Nixon made sure to update his new relationship status on his social media page to announce it to everyone and urged Lena to do the same. I was in my office that morning when Lena summoned me and instructed me to deliver some documents to Dave's office. I didn't need anyone to tell m