Chapter 1 - Sarah

All boxes are unpacked. Finally, I’ll be able to settle down. Not too soon either as I start my new job tomorrow. I’m so excited! I’ll be working for a big video game company in downtown Montréal, joining the marketing team.

This is a dream come true! I’ve always enjoyed video games ever since I was a kid. Mom and dad where a little sad to see me go away but I’m only a half an hour drive from their homes so it’s not like I’m never going to see them again.

Looking around, I can’t help but feel proud to finally live on my own. At twenty-five, some of my friends already moved on their own. But I wasn’t in a hurry to move, life was good living with my parents. And as their only daughter, they didn’t put any pressure on me to go away, we were getting along just fine.

Walking around my apartment, everything was just as I wanted it. A big open space which serves as a dinner and living room, a modern kitchen and finally, my bedroom. I put a lot of time in picking paint and decoration in every room. My bedroom was the one that I liked the most. You could just feel the calmness envelop you as you’d walk in.

I sent a quick text to my mother to say that I was fine and went straight to bed.  

The next morning, I got up fresh and ready to start my first day at work. I put on a pair of black pants and a blue blouse. I think it looked professional and cute. That should do a good first impression at work, I thought to myself.

I lived only a few blocks away from the subway. In total, it took a little less than half an hour to get to work, not bad if you consider that going by car would be longer because of the traffic hour. The subway stopped right by the interior parking lot of my work. From there I just had to take an elevator to the fourth floor.

Arriving at the reception, a young blond woman greeted me.

“Hi, welcome! Can I help you?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m Sarah. The new employee in marketing,” I answered.

“Oh welcome! Please take a seat, I’ll call Marissa right away to pick you up,” she answered with a big smile, while replacing a strand of hair that had fallen on her face.

I sat on the big red visitor couch as I waited for Marissa to come. Marissa was the marketing’s department boss. I’ve met her during the interview for the job. She seemed serious and a little frightening but then again, who is not frightened at least a little bit when doing a job interview?

I didn’t have to wait long for Marissa to show up. She was wearing her brown hair up in a ponytail, with black pants and a beige cardigan on top. She was pretty; I would say she was about the same age as me. But her gaze was cold as she walked to greet me. Although she was less scary than during the job interview, still, I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with her. Even her handshake felt cold.

Thankfully, as soon as we walked through the employee’s door, I was greeted by lots of friendly coworkers and immediately felt welcome. Everyone was eager to meet me, it felt great!

The day was going on real fast. I had lots of meetings in the morning and had so many things to learn! I also had a few documents to read and sign from HR. I took a look at past events then company held and even tried some of the video games the company produced. Time really flew by.

I sat with the marketing department at the cafeteria at lunch time and got to know them a little bit more. I met a few people from sales. Zach was Marissa’s cousin, he worked in the sales department. He was a tall blond guy with blue eyes and a broad chest. I thought he was kind of cute. He seemed like a nice guy.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get to know him better one day. I had been single for quite some time now. I wasn’t particularly looking for someone. My friends had been trying to get me to date some guys, but I was very busy with my studies. I always thought that when I’d met the good guy, I would know it. So I never worried about it.

As I was preparing to leave at five, I got called last minute in a meeting with the R&D team to talk about the latest game development. I was already tired and could not wait to go home but I wanted to make a good impression for my first day of work. I put on my best smile before walking in the meeting.

A few people were already in the meeting. I looked around the room as I entered and then I saw him. I almost stopped breathing when I spotted this guy, sitting at the back of the table. He was tall, maybe about six feet’s tall, with dark brown hair and green eyes. You could easily guess his muscles under his shirt. He was dressed elegantly.

I could feel my cheeks blush. I guess I was staring because he raised his head and looked up at me. I immediately stared at the floor to hide my embarrassment and found an empty chair to sit. When I looked back at him, he was still looking at me, with a light smile on his face. I’ve never felt drawn like that to someone before.

Then I looked at everyone else in the room. When I met Marissa’s eyes, she was looking at me with daggers in the eyes. “What the hell did I do to get her angry?”, I thought, but decided to brush it off.

Soon after, the meeting started with a round of introductions. I hate those! It always makes me nervous and I never know what to say. Everybody was looking at me, so I got up.

“Hey! I’m Sarah, just started today in the marketing department. I’m really eager to work with each of you!” I said with a big smile.

It wasn’t that bad, and I think I got a good impression.

Everybody presented themselves and I got to learn a few things. It turns out that one of the software developers, Keven, was Marissa’s boyfriend. He was the lead developer of the new game. I also learned that the beautiful guy at the back of the table’s name was Sam. He was the director of the R&D department and Marissa’s cousin.

He didn’t seem a lot older than me. I guess they have young directors here since him and Marissa are directors but neither of them look to be older than thirty at most.

Keven presented the new video game currently in development. It was a first-person game about werewolves and vampires.

Marissa looked at me and said, “You, my dear, will be the one responsible for all the marketing of the new game.”

I looked at her in surprise and gaped. I mean, I was happy, make no mistake. But this was my first serious job after finishing marketing school and it was also my first day! This felt like a huge responsibility.

“Wow! For real?” I asked her.

She smiled and answered, “Of course! If you need any help or advice, I will be there for you. The same goes for the other members of the marketing team.”

It was the first time I’ve actually seen her smile. She did look a little less frightening like that. Maybe she just had a cold personality?

The fact that the team was behind me in case I needed help with the project was reassuring me. I’m sure that I’ll be able to find incredible ideas for this game and I couldn’t wait to get started! In the meantime, I would get to meet with the developers as often as necessary to get early peeks at the game.

The rest of the meeting was about other details that didn’t concern me. It was dragging on. Some people were always asking questions when I thought we were finished and I was really starting to get hungry.