CHAPTER ONE : THE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER
Chapter One
The New Boss
Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains of Nailla’s apartment, gently filling the room with warmth.
Umwiza Nailla, twenty-five, slowly opened her eyes. She glanced at the clock and immediately sat up.
“Oh my God, I’m going to be late.”
She quickly got out of bed and started getting ready for work.
Before leaving, Nailla walked over to her boyfriend, Michele, who was still comfortably lying in bed.
She leaned down and kissed him.
Michele woke up laughing.
“You’re finally awake,” Nailla said with a smile.
He pulled her closer, and they shared another kiss.
Nailla eventually pulled away.
“Today, the new boss is coming to check how the work is going, so I’m supposed to go early.”
She looked at Michele, who was already settling back into bed.
“And you have to get up and go find a job.”
Michele sighed.
“But I told you, I don’t have anywhere to get one. I’ll keep trying to see what I can do.”
Nailla rolled her eyes.
“You always say that.”
She walked into the bathroom before Michele could respond.
A little later, Nailla came out, fully dressed and ready for work. She grabbed her things, said goodbye to Michele, and hurried out of the apartment.
⸻
At the bus stop, Nailla checked her phone.
She was running later than she wanted.
Fortunately, a bus appeared a few moments later.
She quickly got on and found a seat near the window.
As the bus moved toward the city, Nailla watched the streets pass by.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the new boss.
Everyone at work had been talking about him.
Some people said he was extremely strict.
Others said he was cold and difficult to deal with.
Nailla had even heard someone call him a devil.
She wasn’t sure what to believe.
But she knew one thing.
She didn’t want to make a bad first impression.
⸻
When Nailla arrived at the office building, she hurried inside and entered the elevator.
She pressed the button for her floor.
Just as the doors were about to close, a man stepped inside.
Nailla looked at him.
He appeared calm and serious, with an expression that was difficult to read.
She smiled politely.
“Hi. My name is Nailla. You must be new here.”
The man looked at her.
“My name is Nike.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Nailla smiled again.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Nailla remembered why everyone at the office was nervous.
“Today, the new boss is coming,” she said. “And honestly, I’m afraid.”
Nike raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He continued looking at her without saying anything.
Nailla lowered her voice as if she were sharing a secret.
“I heard that he is a devil. Cold… and old.”
For the first time, Nike smiled.
Nailla noticed.
“What?” she asked.
Nike simply shook his head.
The elevator doors opened.
Without saying another word, he stepped out.
Nailla watched him walk away.
She frowned.
“Maybe he doesn’t like me.”
She paused.
Then she touched her face thoughtfully.
“Am I too talkative?”
After a moment, she shrugged.
“Well… whatever.”
