Chapter Five

Nicole;

The ringing doorbell is what wakes me up. I glance at my alarm and see that I've overslept by nearly thirty minutes. Shit. This week just couldn't get any worse. I push up to my feet and pad my way downstairs to the door, yanking it open, my eyes squinted against the harsh morning sunshine. But there is no one. I glance around but there's still nobody. Disgruntled and highly annoyed, I wonder what kind of sicko would be thinking of pranks this early in the morning. I'm just about to close the door when I spot the parcel at my doorstep. I step back in surprise. What the hell? It's a bouquet of red roses and I pick it up, peering into the flowers suspiciously. There's a note attached to it and I shut the door behind me before I open. In shimmery blue ink, a scrawly handwriting reads;

I'm sorry, Nicole. Give me a second chance, please. 

Love, Gregory.

I scoff to myself and read the note again. A few weeks ago, I had decided to revitalize my dating life and against my principles, I had gone on a dating site. I got matched to a handsome 34 year old lawyer named Brad who owned his own firm and supposedly lived a few miles away downtown. That was until I went on the date and found a stocky older man with rheumy eyes and a shiny bald spot whose name was definitely not Brad. He reintroduced himself as Gregory and confessed that he had used a cousin's picture on the site because he was scared he wouldn't get a match if he put himself out there. I sympathized with his insecurities but I definitely didn't enjoy being played and I had made that very clear to him. He apologized but I made him know that was it. I was never going on a date with him again. Apparently, not only is Greg deceitful, he's also annoyingly persistent. He's been blowing up my phone with calls and messages but the utter guts to leave this at my doorstep? I scoff even louder and dump the flowers in the bin, sending the note in with it. I go upstairs and proceed to take the quickest shower I've ever taken in history. Still, when I come out, it's dangerously close to work time.

I cuss under my breath and zip through my house, donning the first pieces of clothing that I find in my closet. By the time I'm finally dressed and grab a doughnut, it's damn well almost 8. I run to my car and zoom to work. After the episode yesterday, the rest of the day had gone by in a blur. As much as I tried to comprehend it, it still seemed surreal to realize that Alex is back in my life. I had left work early and against all logic, grabbed a glass of wine and gone up into my attic, revisiting our pictures and memories. At some point, I had taken my favorite album back down to the bedroom, grabbed even more wine and proceeded to cry my eyes out. Finally, I had slept off by way past midnight. I glance at my rearview mirror and grimace at my appearance. I have no make-up on and my eyes are still puffy from yesterday. In this moment, I'm thankful for opting for a short hairstyle. It didn't require much stress to maintain. 

I pull into my parking space and kill the engine, sighing softly. I retrieve my compact mirror, facial moisturizer, a mascara and a lipgloss. As fast as I can, I do what I can to my face and pat my hair down. The shirt I had grabbed is one someone at work had gifted me for Christmas last year ...I've forgotten who. It's lilac and has short ruffles around the collar and wrists and while it's not my favorite, it flatters me. I chose plain black suit pants and a flat pair of female loafers I don't wear often. I make myself breathe slowly and maintain composure before stepping out of the car. I'm an assistant team leader, I have to act as such.

It's a whirlwind of pleasantries as I make my way upstairs to our office space. I grab a coffee from the vending machine on the way and when I finally approach my office, I'm actually smiling. I love work, the working space does this to me. I pass by the adjoining space that my team members share but no one is there. The next space is my office and I enter humming to myself and taking a sip of my coffee. But immediately I drop my things on my desk, Aurora's door pops open.

"Nicole. You are here. Come in here, will you?". She doesn't even wait around to see my reaction as she turns around and heads back into her office 

"Good morning to you too". I mumble as I take another mouthful of coffee and wipe all traces of doughnut off my mouth. And I head into her office. As soon as I open the door, I'm halted in my steps. Everyone is inside. My team members and Aurora. 

"Good morning". I say and make my way deeper into the room.

"It's a good morning indeed". Aurora says as she walks around to her chair. "The chairman has sent for us". My heart drops to my stomach. Could it be that Alex really rejected our product? My mind flashes back to all the efforts we put into this and a wave of anger washes over me. How dare he?

"It's about the product, isn't it?".

"It has to be". Aurora rests against her desk. "You were odd after the meeting yesterday. Is there anything you need to tell us beforehand?". I should probably tell them that I think our product has been rejected. But then, I'd have to explain why I think so and that would mean talking about me and Alex's history. I can't do that.

"They liked the product". Technically, that's not a lie. And yet, Aurora's eyes still fix on my face, searching for any give aways. I maintain my poker face. Finally, she leans up.

"Good then. Let's go up". She makes her way upstairs and the rest of us, Dave, Asia, Vanessa and I follow making small talk among ourselves. But with each step we take, nervousness roils in my stomach. My fists tighten as I consider the possibility that Alex might have indeed rejected our product. I'm going to track down the bastard and go for him. When we get to the Chairman's door, Aurora knocks softly and he orders us in. We all glance at each other reassuringly before making our way in. He's seated on his seat, his small frame mostly obscured by his huge desk. It's still hard to wrap my head around how yesterday, he had so easily transitioned into someone Alex could order around. Isn't he even embarrassed that I saw him in that kind of moment? If he is, he doesn't show it. 

He waves us forward and we march further into the room, hearts thudding in our throats. I tell myself the worst thing that'll probably happen is that we'll be rejected, no biggie right? But this is my first project as an assistant team leader and heaven knows, I really don't want to start our this way with my team. As we approach the chairman, I see that there is a small smile on his face, my heart relaxes somewhat.

"Good morning, sir". We chorus in varying pitches, me and Aurora being the highest. His smile widens at us and he gets to his feet. 

"Mrs. Webster. It's good to see you and your team here". Typically, I'm not the team leader, Aurora is. So I definitely find it a bit weird that he's addressing me instead her. Regardless, I paste on a polite smile and give a nod. "Come, let's sit". He walks forward towards his sitting area and we follow dutifully, settling into the leather seat. The chairman is smiling but I can't help noticing that his smile is mainly directed at me.

"You've all worked hard on the new product and I'd like to appreciate you for giving your all for this project. I received the mail from Van Lewis Galaxy today". I'm assuming that's what Alex's business chain is now called. The chairman beams at us widely. "They like the product. And they are willing to partner with us".

We all let out a simultaneous whoop and high five each other happily. So he did accept it after all. Good for him. I would have been very disappointed in him if he lost his taste.

"That's not all!!!!". The chairman says. It can only get better from here. We all turm to him happily, expecting the next big news. "They are willing to partner with us on one condition". His eyes turn to me and my spine stiffens. I don't have a good feeling about this. "Mrs. Webster will have to transfer to Van Lewis Galaxy as a project supervisor and brand ambassador". The smile slowly falls off my face.