Starting Fresh (Lorica Series #1)

"Oh god! This customer is crazy!" Tovi couldn't help but express her anger towards the customer that she spoke to. She removed the headset from her head and dropped it on her desk, stood up, and stomped on the carpeted wide floor while passing through the cubicles with her colleagues speaking through headsets in front of their computers. She opened the wide door and found herself in the bathroom. She washed her face to calm herself, pulled a tissue from its dispenser and patted it on her small and heart-shaped face. She stared at the mirror, looking at the dark circles under her eyes, probably because she always took overtime everyday. She picked up some of her makeup from her purse and applied the rose-colored matte lipstick on her thin lips, adding another layer of eyeliner on her upper eyelid and pounded some powder across her face. She combed her long and chestnut wavy hair then fixed her fitted blouse. She heard that the new Director of the Operations will set his foot in this building for the first time. Their Team Leader told them to dress accordingly and as much as possible, follow the company’s protocols. After she took a deep breath, she grabbed her purse and stepped out of the door then she bumped into a guy who wore a casual suit. Her head bumped into his chest, almost losing her balance due to the impact. "Hey! Watch where you’re going!" he said as he adjusted his tie. Because of how close they were, Tovi caught herself gazing at the young and dashing man. He had tousled dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were a mesmerising deep ocean blue. His face was strong and defined, his features molded from granite. He had dark eyebrows, which sloped downwards in a serious expression. His lips were pale pink that reminded her of a rose bud. The top lip was thinner, but not too thin, and it had a natural cupid's bow; the bottom one was larger and more plush. "What are you looking at? Aren't you supposed to be on the floor taking calls?" he said. Tovi's thoughts were interrupted; how he talked kind of ruined his beautiful image. "I'm sorry but . . . who are you?" Tovi asked while chuckling. His appearance didn't intimidate her at all but it kind of annoyed her. "Cole Lorica. I'm the new Director of the Operations," he said while standing up straight and his chin lifted upwards. "And you are just one of the workers here who doesn't know how to look where they're going." Tovi couldn't handle Cole's arrogance anymore. Her innocent face turned into a frown. "Excuse me? Even if you're the Director of the Operations, it doesn't give you the right to look down on employees like me," she said with her arms crossed on her chest. Cole laughed sarcastically. He finds Tovi as someone who thinks that she was the boss between the two of them. "I don’t look down on you guys. But if you keep showing me the attitude, I might have." "I am not giving you the attitude. You are. And you seemed young," Tovi said as she roamed her eyes from his head down to his shiny shoes that looked like they were just bought minutes ago. "Why? Are you older than me?" he said with a grin. Tovi couldn't help but get attracted with his grin and his perfect white teeth. But she still maintained her stand. "Yes. I'm twenty-eight," she said with her chin upwards, trying to gain power between the two of them. "I thought you're thirty-five," Cole said with a smirk then he walked past at Tovi that he almost pushed her out of his way. Tovi just stepped back and watched his back. "Unbelievable," Tovi said as she shook her head while rolling her eyes. "What are you even doing in the woman's bathroom?" Cole wrapped his fingers on his chin like he was investigating the cubicle's door. "Checking if you loitered around." Tovi rolled her eyes and scoffed then she walked outside the door. Cole just chuckled with Tovi's reaction. Then as he turned around, he saw Tovi's purse lying on the counter. He pouted and thought of meeting her again sooner than he was expecting. Tovi ran back to the office and stormed inside the floor. She went back to her team’s stations and sat on her desk. "Whoa. What's going on with you? Did your child have another episode?" said Tovi's Team Leader named Amy, who has a round shape body, her blonde hair is always tied up, and has a tattoo on her arms. "No. I met the Director of Operations at the women's bathroom. And he was so professional!" Tovi said in sarcasm with a frowning face. She pressed her fingers on the keyboards with heavy force like it was going to break. Tiana—Tovi's teammate and Amy's girlfriend—exchanged glances with Amy and wondered what exactly happened there. They would love to hear Tovi's story later and was about to ask her again when they heard the microphone's feedback. "Attention, Lorica Employees." Tovi's eyebrows furrowed after she heard a familiar voice speaking from the microphone. She couldn't contain her curiosity and stood up from her desk, popping her head out of the cubicle. And there was Cole, standing in the middle of the floor, lifting up her purse. "I am Cole Lorica, your new Director of Operations. And I'll be staying here for six months. I may be young and inexperienced but my Dad gave me this job for a reason—to take care of all of you," he said. Tovi was surprised that this guy wasn't the same guy that she bumped into in the bathroom. "And I wanna make sure that you all comply with the company's rules. And that is to avoid loitering, especially in the bathrooms." As soon as he ended his sentence, he pointed Tovi's purse on his hand. He saw Tovi right away who was hiding behind the cubicle. He gave her a smirk, and then she felt her cheeks burn.