The First Win
1081 Words
That night, Eve helped Aiden with his assignments while sitting beside him on the tiny couch that had slowly become both their dining table and study area.
The television played softly in the background while Aiden struggled with his mathematics.
"No mummy, this teacher is confusing people on purpose," he complained dramatically.
Eve laughed softly. "The teacher isn't confusing anybody. You just don't want to think."
"I am thinking."
"Clearly not enough."
Aiden grinned before finally writing the correct answer.
After homework, they shared little stories about their day the way they always did. Eve told him about her office, the beautiful building, Lucia, Rafael and how everyone there looked expensive.
Aiden listened with wide curious eyes. "Even the security guards looked rich?" he asked.
Eve burst into laughter. "Yes actually."
"Wow."
Then Aiden happily shared his own little stories too. "Someone gave me snacks today," he announced proudly.
Eve blinked. "Really?"
He nodded while arranging his books. "A girl in my class. She said her mummy packed too much."
Eve's chest softened immediately. "Aww… she's so kind."
"And mummy…" His face brightened instantly. "I got eight over ten in my English test today."
Eve gasped dramatically before pulling him closer. "My smart boy!"
Aiden laughed happily. "You said if I pass well we'll celebrate."
"We will celebrate," she promised softly. "Soon."
After Aiden finally slept, Eve stayed awake through most of the night working carefully on her assignment. Sketch after sketch. Correction after correction. She adjusted tiny details repeatedly until her eyes burned from staring too long at the screen.
But somehow she enjoyed it.
By the time she finally leaned back against the couch near dawn, the cartoon design looked almost perfect. For the first time in a very long time, Eve felt proud of herself.
The next morning both mother and son woke up earlier than usual. Oddly enough, Eve no longer felt exhausted. Maybe because hope finally existed again.
There was still a little food remaining from yesterday's office lunch and even some money left for transportation. Aiden ate first while Eve packed his school things. Luckily there were leftovers remaining after he finished, so she quietly ate the rest herself. It wasn't much. But it was enough.
Soon both of them headed outside together into the chilly London morning. Eve stopped a cab before helping Aiden inside.
When they arrived at his school, she kissed his forehead gently. "Behave yourself."
"I always behave."
"You literally argued with your teacher two days ago."
"That was intellectual discussion."
Eve shook her head laughing. "Go to class."
The moment he disappeared through the school gates, Eve hurried back into the cab and headed straight toward Valmont Group.
After signing her attendance through the thumbprint machine, she barely settled into her seat when an email notification appeared immediately. Her stomach tightened. She opened it quickly.
*You are required to submit your work within the next one hour.*
Eve swallowed nervously.
Lucia leaned over almost immediately. "What happened?"
"I have to submit the design in one hour."
Lucia's face dropped instantly. "Oh God."
Eve laughed nervously. "Exactly."
Still, Lucia squeezed her shoulder gently. "You'll be fine. Honestly your work is amazing."
Eve nodded softly before opening the laptop quickly. She spent several more minutes adjusting tiny details carefully before finally attaching the completed design and sending it to her manager through email.
The moment she clicked SEND, her heartbeat doubled.
A few minutes later a notification came in,"seen".That was all. No comment, no feedback, not even a proper response.
Eve immediately exhaled in relief. At least he saw it.
Lucia rolled her chair closer afterward and both women slowly returned to work while exchanging random conversations to ease the tension. Lucia spent most of her time arranging complicated PDF documents and editing business files with impressive speed.
"You type frighteningly fast," Eve commented.
Lucia grinned proudly. "My toxic trait is believing I can fix every company document."
Eve laughed. "Honestly I still don't understand half the things on this computer."
"You'll learn. Everyone suffers during their first week here."
"Did you?"
Lucia scoffed dramatically. "I cried in the bathroom on my second day."
That made Eve laugh even harder.
Almost twenty minutes before lunch, another email suddenly appeared on Eve's screen.
REPORT TO THE MANAGER'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.
Her heart dropped instantly. "Oh no," she whispered.
Lucia quickly looked over. "What happened now?"
Eve turned the screen toward her slowly. Lucia's expression changed immediately. "Oh God…"
The fear returned so fast Eve almost felt dizzy. What if the design was terrible? What if she had embarrassed herself? What if she was about to lose the job already?
She stood slowly from her chair. Lucia grabbed her hand briefly. "You'll be okay."
Eve forced a tiny nod. After adjusting her shirt properly and taking a deep breath, she finally headed toward the manager's office.
Her hands felt cold by the time she knocked. "Come in."
Eve stepped inside nervously. But surprisingly, the manager looked happy. Very happy.
The moment she entered, he removed his glasses and stared at her in disbelief. "Eve honestly…" he shook his head slowly. "You surprised me."
Her brows lifted slightly. "Sir?"
"How did you do this?" He picked up the printed sketch from his desk. "This is beautiful work."
Eve froze completely. She had prepared herself for rejection, not praise. A soft shocked smile slowly appeared on her face. "You really think so?"
"Think so?" The manager laughed lightly. "This is exactly the kind of thing I love seeing."
Eve's chest tightened emotionally.
"You cracked the puzzle nobody else could solve." He looked genuinely impressed. "Wow… I'm impressed. Congratulations."
For a second Eve genuinely thought she might cry. Nobody had appreciated her work like this in years.
"Thank you so much sir," she whispered sincerely.
The manager smiled warmly. "Keep this up and you'll go very far in this company."
When Eve finally stepped out of the office, her eyes looked slightly watery. Lucia immediately stood up from her chair. "What happened?!"
Eve stared at her for one second before smiling shakily. "He loved it."
Lucia gasped loudly. "What?!"
"He said I solved the problem."
Lucia looked completely shocked, then suddenly excited. "Oh my God!"
She grabbed Eve's hand immediately. "No. We are celebrating this victory right now."
Eve burst into laughter as Lucia dragged her toward the elevator happily.
For the first time since joining Valmont Group, Eve truly felt like maybe her life was finally changing.
- Writer
