"Under the Winter Stars"

Chapter 2

Lily got engrossed in reading the old financial report, and she didn't notice it was already lunchtime until Sasha approached her.

"Hey girl, it's already lunchtime. Come on, let's grab some lunch together"

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't notice the time"

"No worries"

Sasha led the way to the nearest café she knew. On the way to the café, they saw a bunch of girls giggling while talking about their boss. She recognized one of the girls, and she was sure that the girl was from the same department she was in. She was confused as to why they were talking about the boss. Well, she understands that their boss is attractive, but he's boastful too, so it's a big no for her.

"Are they always like that? I mean talking about the boss?"she asked Sasha.

"Well, yes . They have been talking about him since they got hired. The boss is not the one who interviewed them, but another interviewer. Honestly, this is the first time that our boss has handled an interview."

She got confused. Why though?

"Maybe he got bored in his office"she said and shrugged her shoulders.

Sasha chuckled at her response.

They looked for a seat in the café. It was almost full because there were a lot of people dining in the café. She looked for a seat, and she found one near the window, while Sasha ordered the food for both of them.

She gets one croissant and a coffee. She doesn't feel like eating a heavy meal today. They're talking like there's no tomorrow. Sasha told her about the company's history and some information about their boss.

Lily found out that her boss had already been engaged for a long time, yet he hadn't introduced the girl to the public yet. An unknown feeling fiercely fierce through her heart, a feeling that she couldn't name.

"Are you okay?" Sasha asked her, noticing the discomfort in her reaction.

"I'm okay here, I just remembered something"

Sasha seemed to believe what she said. They continued the topic, and she learned that her boss has a lot of friends around his age and the same status in life, billionaires.

After lunch, they go back to the company and resume their work. She doesn't have a task yet because she just got hired and had to go through the training process of the company. She just signed the contract stating the rules and regulations of the company and the years that she needed to meet as an employee.

When the clock struck at 4 pm, she stood in her seat and stretched her arms. Even if she just sits the whole day, she gets tired and her whole body hurts, maybe because her body is still adjusting. And another reason is she's not used to cold places and that the whole building is centralized with air conditioning, and she only wears a white shirt.

She said her goodbyes to Sasha and headed towards the elevator. Before the elevator closed, someone's hand stopped it and when she looked at who it was, it was a guy from the same department as her.

"Hi, I'm Jackson, I'm from finance too," the guy said while reaching his hand for a handshake.

She took his hands and shook them and introduced herself too.

"Hello, I'm Lily, and I'm a newbie here. I just got hired awhile ago, and I'm planning to go home now since it's already the end of the shift."

"Oh yeah, I'm planning to go home too, we can go together."

She nodded her head and pressed the button on the first floor. They were both silent inside the elevator. No one dares to speak until Jackson talks to her.

"So lily, how was your interview with the CEO awhile ago? He had never done that before interviewing applicants."

Jackson asked curiosly . Actually, she's kind of confused too, liked the CEO's first time doing the interview.

"He's scary, he's cold. " The way he asked me questions feels like he owned the world and I find it boastful. "

Jackson just chuckled at what she said.

"I like your attitude, Lily. It feels like we'll be good friends."she just smiled at Jackson.

Their conversation starts while in the elevator, asking each other until she notices that Jackson seems to be interested in her.

This is not the first time someone has asked her about her personal life, but she's not interested in a male species. That's why most of the people around her say that she's a man hater, but she doesn't care at all. That's what she feels, and she does what she thinks is best for her.

Their conversation got interrupted by the ding of the elevator. They stop talking and look at who the person is in front of the open elevator. To their shock, it was the boss, standing in front of the open elevator while looking at them intensely, like they had done something wrong.

Because of their staring contest, the elevator almost closed, but the boss stopped it before it closed.

The boss entered the elevator quietly and turned his back on them, not like they minded. Usually CEOs don't mind if there's an employee beside them as long as they rule the whole building. The whole ride inside the elevator was silent, and she felt like she was going to be deaf at any moment, but she stopped herself from wanting to talk since the boss was with them inside the elevator.

Time passed by, and they arrived at the 1st floor of the building. When the elevator opened, no one felt like going out, so she faked a cough to get their attention and the boss looked at her.

"Are you okay?"

The boss asked her.

She got shy and contemplated why she did that fake cough.

"I-I'm okay sir, I have to go"

After saying that, she sprinted out of the elevator, leaving the two men behind confused.

Lily's not good at handling her emotions, especially if she's nervous, and she feels that every time the boss is around her. Scared to the new emotions she felt for the first time in her existence.

When she arrived at their house, she saw her mother dancing in the living area with a broad smile on her face.

"Woah! Mom, what's with the happy mood? Is there some good news aside from me getting hired?"

"Nah sweetie, I'm confident that you are going to be successfully hired by the boss."

"ookkkaayy" she looked at her mother with a confused face.

"Oh sweetie, don't get confused, okay, I baked cookies today and sold them for a good price and, guess what, it's sold out", her mom said gleefully while continuing dancing.

She smiled unknowingly because of her mother's reaction to the sold-out cookies she made. She's happy to see her mother happy, that's what she wanted after her father left them.

"We can pay some of the money to the bank", her mother said.

"Mom, just keep the money. I have already been hired and soon can earn money to pay for our debt, so no need to worry, okay?"

Her mother smiled at her and gave her a tight hug. She wanted to make her mother feel her efforts, and she wanted her to know that she was doing all of it because of her mother.

After their mother and daughter's time, they decided to eat dinner and bake more cookies for her mother to sell tomorrow. Her mother has a lot of friends, that's why she's sure that selling cookies is not a problem.

It's already 10 in the evening and Lily is still wide awake. She doesn't feel like sleeping yet, so she browses her social media and searches for information about her boss.