The Dawn

Chapter 7

Ria's Pov

"Why were you here by the way?" Andrew asked, breaking me away from the philosopher inside me.

My eyes widened slightly as I realized why I was here in the first place. "My phone. I thought I left it here so I came to get it. But I didn't find it while cleaning the room." I said getting up. "Maybe it's in my office. I'll go get it."

"I'll come. I have to pick up some important documents and drop this box back anyway." He said.

I nodded and both of us took the elevator. It was working strangely slow tonight and the longer it took to move upwards, the nervous I was getting.

Andrew noticed my discomfort.

"What's wrong?" He asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Claustrophobic." I mumbled.

He must've returned back to the old Andrew because he grunted in annoyance. "How many sicknesses do you have? You're a walking hospital."

I frowned at him, irritated. "Hey mister high-and-mighty. If it wasn't for me tonight, you would've failed tomorrow. And then you're father would've converted you into a walking ICU ward."

He opened his mouth to retaliate but the elevator doors dinged open and I quickly slid out. Even though he'd annoyed me in there and made fun of my fear, still his unnecessary bickering had taken my mind off my phobia. I moved down the corridor and opened my office door.

Sure enough, my phone was lying next to the computer. I slapped my forehead with my good hand and grabbed it. When I walked outside, Andrew was just getting out of his room, holding a grey file in his hand. The clock struck 12.

My mouth dropped open. "It's so late! I better get home."

Both of us rode the elevator back down and once it opened, I took off running to the door after I bode Andrew a goodbye.

Several minutes had passed but I couldn't hail a cab. There weren't any driving by and I was getting anxious. I'd never been out this late and that too, all by myself.

That jerk left in his big, fat fancy car and is probably sleeping at home by now.

I grumbled obscenities under my breath and continue to wait for a cab or anything. Suddenly a huge, black coloured BMW, don't know model name, parked itself right in front of me and honked it's horn.

The window slid down, revealing Andrew in the driver's seat.

"Get in. I'll drop you off."

I was about to snark at him and tell him that I wasn't going to, but a huge howl in the distance made me scurry inside like a mouse and shut the door behind me.

He smirked and put the car in motion. The car ride was silent, so I turned the radio on.

A song with a disco beat blasted in full volume. I clapped, excited.

"Oh I love this song!" I started to swerve a bit as I danced.

He abruptly changed the channel and another soft song began playing. "Now this is better." He gently tapped the staring wheel in rhythm.

I glared at him angrily. "Put my song back on!" I quickly pressed the button, changing it back.

"No. I want to listen to my song." He stated and changed the channel again.

"My song!" I ground out through gritted teeth and pressed the button.

"No, my song!" He exclaimed, pressing the button.

And both of us continued to bicker until we reached my apartment complex. I got out and slammed the door of his car shut. He visibly winced at the noise.

"Way to thank me for dropping you off!" He yelled popping his head out the window.

I simply made a face at him and stomped inside my building. He should be thanking me for saving his sorry ass from a beating from Mr. Jefferson.

I yawned and quickly changed. Then I popped a pill and quickly slithered in bed. Tomorrow was a big day for my company and I wanted to make sure that I would have enough power to see it all through.

I stood infront of the glass doors feeling all nervous. There were employees standing next to me holding bouquets and gifts and what not. I just stood stiff and rigid, trying my best to give off a professional look. The men from G.C would come any moment now and I could practically hear Andrew throwing a hissy fit over some unfinished task.

I rolled my eyes. Such a dramatic person, really.

The glass doors slid open and about 6 men, dressed in professional suits walked in. Their shoes made 'clunk' 'clunk' noises as they strolled in. I straightened up my shoulders and located for the man I had to greet.

It was quiet easy to spot him though.

Terrence Greyson walked with pride, his head held high and shoulders squared. The look he had on his face could make people think he was involved with the FBI on an important case or something.

His son, Jared, walked behind him in a lazy and disinterested kind of stead. The future heir to his fathers' highly successful construction company, he was notorious for being heavily disinterested in his father's work and preferred the high life, partying and showing off his family's wealth.

The group stopped infront of me and I put on one of my bestest smiles.

"Welcome! My name is Ria and I've been assigned to be your assistant for the day. Please follow this way." I gestured towards the elevator.

Terrence gave a grunt and nodded. Jared, who had been very disinterested before, now stared at me with ample amazement. I confidently led them inside the elevator and the doors dinged shut.

I may appear all strong and confident to them, but I was shaking a zillion times inside. My eyes wandered nervously around the small space as I was getting vary of the people around me.

It kind of reminded me when I moved to this country, 12 years back. I would be frightened by every single thing. Each person passing by me would make me nervous. Every stare would make me shake with fear.

The door slid open and I walked out, leaving all of my worries and memories behind. I led the group of men down the hallway, infront of the meeting room. Andrew stood there, a pleasant but firm expression on his face. He locked eyes with mine and they widened so slightly that I almost didn't notice.

What happened to mister 'I'm gonna win this contract with the back my hand'?

As soon as he had seen slightly stunned, he composed himself that quickly. He shook hands with Mr. Greyson and his son before motioning them inside the room.

From then on, it was a roller coaster ride. The expressions on Mr. Greysons' face would either be satisfactory or change to that of disinterest. I was so nervous that I was sure I was going to faint.

Andrew though, looked so confident. Masculinity and professionalism radiated off of him. His steely eyes were so captivating and intense.

I stayed inside the room, occasionally tending to the needs of the people Mr. Greyson had brought with him and serving them refreshments. The meeting went on for 2 hours, with Andrew and a few other empemples giving presentations.

Jared particularly made me work extra. The man wouldn't sit still. He need something every 10 minutes and I was beginning to feel snappy. It was sometimes water, sometimes a napkin. Sometimes he needed tea and sometimes a snack.

Since the others were so busy in discussing the contract, no one even realized he was making me hand him stuff like a little kid. And each time I would cater to his needs, he'd either smirk at me or give me a weird compliment.

Since I could'nt punch him in the face, I had to smile at him and return to my standing position near the door.

The meeting finished and the men shook hands. I kept my eyes fixed on Andrew's handsome face. He showed no emotion whatsoever, so it was impossible for me to tell whether this meeting had been a success or not.

I could've figured on my own, but that i***t Jared had distracted me so much that I wasn't able to listen in on anything. The group of men and Andrew walked out, and I plopped down in one of the chairs.

Fiona walked in, looking excited and worried at the same time.

I met her when she came back to work after her sick leave. She was a short woman, probably in her mid-thirties, with straw coloured hair. She had an amazing personality and was a really jolly person.

"So? Did we catch the bird?" She asked, taking a seat next to me. I shrugged.

"Can't say anything till the boss tells us." I told her. Before I could say anything more though, the door swung open and Andrew walked in.

Both of us hastily scrambled to our feet. He had a red coloured file in his hands and his face was still blank.

"Ria. Here take this and place it in the safe of my office." He handed it to me. I nervously took it and looked at him.

This man wasn't going to tell us anything until we asked him ourselves.

"Did we get it? The contract?" I asked meekly. Of course he was going to give me a smart ass reply but I really wanted to know.

He tried to look at me with a blank expression but I caught the corners of his mouth twisting upward. "Why else would I ask you to keep this in the safe?"

No soon had the words flown out of his mouth that I gave a huge squeal. I heard Fiona do the same behind and both of us jumped up and down, hugging each other.

"Ok ok. Listen here," Andrew called out and both of us turned to him, "We need to celebrate. Let's have a huge party tomorrow for the entire office."

"Yes boss." Both of us replied in unison.

"You two can take care of everything. The refreshments, guest-list etcetera etcetera." With that, he spun and walked out of the room.

I promised Fiona I'd help her plan the party in a short while and quickly made my way upstairs to secure the contract.

It took us more than 5 hours but we managed to throw a splendid party. The hallways were all decorated and the employees were all having fun. There was fruit punch, which I was certain would be intoxicated by now, little Spanish pastries, something that had egg on it, and loads of snacks.

I dressed casually for the event though. I wore black jeans with small, shiny chains hanging at the waist, a white sweater-shirt and white fur-slippers.

"You know, this is the most fun I've had ever since I joined this company!" Fiona yelled beside me over the loud music, before bursting into a series of inebriated giggles. I smirked and took a sip of my orange juice.

"Why, didn't you have fun before this?" Harry, from special relations, asked her.

Fiona just laughed and clapped her hands. I shook my head with a small smile and downed the rest of my juice. At the corner of the lobby, I spotted Andrew talking to a group of men. He caught my eye and motioned for me to come over.

I quickly scurried over to them.

"Ria. Go upstairs and bring the contract please. These gentlemen here would like to take a look at it." He said with a boastful smile. I nodded and strolled over to the elevator.

I hesitated a bit but decided to ride it up anyway. I could control the nervousness. Besides, it just had it's monthly service check yesterday so there's no way it could stop midway.

The doors slid open and I walked down the hall. It was eerily quiet up here, as compared to the loud music and the huge crowd downstairs.

My phone buzzed inside my pocket. I fished it out. Andrea's name flashed on the screen.

"Hey. How's work?" I said, pressing the phone to my ear. I neared Andrew's office.

"Tiring really.. Could you do me a favour and pick Hailey from Vienna's on your way back? She and her grandmother have to go to a friends' and I can't make it home until 10. Devon's running late today too. Just babysit her until I get back."

I pushed the handle of the door to his office down and stepped in the dark. "Sure. What time do Vienna and Nana leave?" I asked, fumbling for the light switch. I pushed it, and the room flooded with light.

I looked around and just like the hallway outside, it stood quiet and empty. I walked towards the bookshelf behind Andrew's desk.

"They leave in about an hour. Could you possibly make it by then?"

I knelt down and pulled the keys out of my jean pocket. "Ok. My boss threw a party anyway so I guess it won't be hard getting off early a few hours." I replied, removing the books that covered the vault. The vault was password protected too, but only Andrew and his father knew what it was. Andrew had handed me the key to open the little door.

"Oh yeah. How did the meeting with the construction company go?"

I spun the key and pulled out the red file. Placing it on the floor, I closed the door of the vault and began to put back the books I had removed.

"Awesome actually. They liked our proposal and the estimated success rate of our hotel and agreed to sign the contract."

I stood up and balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder, walked towards the door. I pushed the light button to off and spun the handle down of the door to open it.

"Yeah. Devon told me about Andrew being a total professional in this field and how-" I was halfway out the door when I heard a small ruffle behind me, causing me to lose attention from Andrea. I froze and slowly spun around.

My eyes wandered over the entire room, which was now sitting in total darkness and silence once more. Not a single movement followed.

I stared for a bit longer. Maybe it's still my sleeping pills acting up or something. I pressed the phone back to my ear.

"Yeah you were saying?"

Feeling slightly creeped out, I hurried back towards the stairs.