Sixteen

EVE'S POV 

Finally, I completed the third round of the interview at the Edwards Group and was now officially hired. After the debacle with Ella was out of the way, the rest of the process had been smooth, and I completed my interviews confident, knowing that I would be judged fairly.

 Eventually, I passed all three rounds and signed an employment contract with the company.

On the morning of my first day at work, I went by the flower shop to buy myself congratulatory flowers. I was so excited to begin my career at the company I had always wanted to work at. And getting myself a bunch of flowers seemed well in order. They were the perfect way to symbolise the new beginning in my career. And hopefully bring more luck my way, I hoped.

I had just started looking around the shop when an attendant in a bright orange apron approached me. 

"Welcome to our shop, Miss. ls there anything in particular that you're looking for?".

I wished I could spend more time admiring the beautiful flowers and thinking of what I wanted in my bunch, but I had a job to get to, not that i was complaining though.

 Besides, while I was good at designing jewellery, I couldn't say the same about my flower arrangement abilities.

"I want a bouquet to celebrate a new job”, I told the attendant, confident they would know what to do with that information.

"I will have that ready for you in a bit" she said.

 "Any special request?", she asked.

"Daffodils"' I said clasping my hands beneath my chin excitedly.

"Got it" the attendant replied.

With the attendant gone, I walked around the shop, admiring the flowers and picturing a few in my new house. Maybe I could come by in the evening and get some yellow daffodils for the vase at home. They would sure brighten up the house and make it even more lovely. 

Subconsciously, I wondered what kind of flowers Morgan would like.

"Eve Luciano?"

My eyes shot up at the voice calling my name. A tall man in a fitting charcoal grey suit stood a few paces away, regarding me with a surprised expression.

As I looked at him, his face broke into a smile and he walked forward. 

"It's really you!", he said 

"Daniel? Daniel Sean!”

The man chuckled happily as he came to me and my shook hands. 

Daniel Sean was the last person I would have expected to run into that morning. I had never seen him ever since he graduated from college, while I was still a junior.

“You look good, Eve. It's so nice to see you again," he said, taking a step back and regarding me with a happy look still on his face.

"You look good as well. It's good to see you again”.

When we were in college, Daniel was my senior, a year ahead of me. But other than being my senior, there was something more to our relationship.

He had pursued me and asked me to date him a few times, but I had refused his advances. It's of no doubt that he had been a good senior to me, but I had not been interested in him in a romantic way.

"So, what are you doing nowadays? I haven't really seen you since I graduated," he said.

I couldn't hide my joy when I spoke of my current job.

"Actually, today is my first day at the Edwards Group."

His eyes widened. 

"The Edwards Group? Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"That's amazing. I work there as well”.

It was now my turn to appear surprised. 

"You do?”

"Yes. I've been with the company for two years now, and I'm the head of design team one"

"Wow, that's amazing!" 

I wasn't surprised that he had managed to rise to such a rank after only two years at the company. He had been one of the most popular students at school thanks to his unmatched talent and leadership skills. 

He was the kind of senior everybody looked up to and admired. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't help but wonder whether Daniel had been involved with what happened with my interview. 

Besides Ella, he was the only other person in the company that I had a personal connection with. And, given how he had pursued me back in college, maybe when he heard what Ella had said about me, he must have approached the vice president. Having been in the same school with Ella and I, the vice president must have trusted him and decided to investigate the matter further.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Daniel not only had a high position in the company, but was also from a powerful family. Maybe he had some sort of influence in the company.

DANIEL'S POV

As the two of us waited for Eve's flowers, I couldn't help but think about how much more beautiful she looked compared to the last time I had seen her. I had almost not recognised her. Other than her looks, she seemed even more bright and charming than she had been back then. 

This was what had drawn me to her the first time, and now, I felt I wouldn't be able to resist her charms.

All these years, I had never forgotten about her, only to meet her like this and then finding out that she was joining my company? It felt like the God was smiling on me that particular morning.

I had fallen head over heels for her in college, and it had broken my heart when she rejected me. 

When I graduated and left the school, I hadn't thought I would ever see her again. Now both of our paths had crossed again, and I couldn't help it by getting my hopes high again.

Since we would be working at the same company, I would have plenty of chances to win her heart. Hopefuly, this time round, she would give me a chance.

EVE'S POV 

I had finally received my flowers and the Daniel and I left together to walk to the company building which was nearby. 

We each headed to our different departments, and Daniel had asked whether he could show me around at lunch, to which I agreed.

My first day was smooth, and I was introduced to my new department and space.

Everybody was warm and welcoming, and I had a feeling I would enjoy working here.

 At lunchtime, Daniel was waiting outside my department as promised. 

I was glad to have someone I knew who was willing to show me around, although a little part of me was hesitant, because Daniel had pursued me in college. Was he doing this out of kindness, or was he hoping to endear himself to me? 

I pushed the thought to the back of my head. It was several years since that had happened in college. I doubted he still had that kind of interest in me. Besides, I had rejected him, so he knew where I stood on that matter.

Daniel led me to the company canteen, where we got our lunch. He brought me to a table that was already occupied by several employees.

He introduced me to them as his junior from college, and they all welcomed me enthusiastically. 

I noted that Daniel was as easy-going with his colleagues and just as popular as he had been in school. It would be a surprise if he was still single, I thought. He must have lots of admirers. 

We were almost done with our lunch when l noticed Dickson, the vice president, walking through the canteen down the aisle that passed by our table. He also happened to notice me and made his way over.