Him : A Fantasy

Have you ever wondered what you’re soulmate would be like? Will he be like your ideal type? Will he give in to all your wishes? Will he be a simp? Is he the one who is currently involved with you, or do you still have to meet him? Will he end up with you, though he is destined for you? *** "Time to get your ass to work!", my roommate screamed in my ears. I was half asleep and totally hungover on my bed. It was her fault, practically. I told her I didn't want to attend her friend's birthday party in High Hills Club. But oh heavens, does she even listen? Regarding my drinking habits, I drink very rarely. I can literally count the total number of times I drank alcohol on my fingers. But when I do drink, I swallow buckets. And the next morning, I am a mess like this. "I made you hangover soup, my FF", she said. I opened one of my eyelids at the comment. FF is the abbreviation of Favorite Fruit. It's the nickname she gave me, because my real name is her favorite fruit. My name is Strawberry Baner, deputy director of mechanical design at Altos, Los Angeles, a leading aerospace and weapons company. I am the youngest employee to reach that position, thanks to my hardworking nature, which can sometimes crumble due to hangovers. No joke intended. I live with Alin, my best friend from college, in my fancy 5 bedroom apartment, only because I didn't want to live alone and Alin didn't mind skipping rent. My parents visited once in a few months to make sure I was doing alright. I could say I am lucky to have them in many ways. "Okay", I mumbled, rising up from my bed. I blinked at her like a clueless being. The headache was really getting worse for me. "Come on", she said, getting out of my room. I woke up completely and headed to the washroom to brush my teeth and take a warm bath. It helped release my fatigue to an extent, though my head still throbbed. When I got to the living room downstairs, my breakfast, including the hangover soup, was neatly placed on the dining table. "Thanks Al", I said, smiling softly. "My pleasure, sweetheart. I need to head to work now! Bye", she said, dashing through the hall with all her belongings. "Drive safely", I said after her, while she just winked at me before leaving. I shook my head and sat at my dining table eating and scrolling though my phone for any updates from the world in general. Playing a big part in an aerospace and weapons company, especially one like Altos which is thriving in the public eye, requires a lot of general awareness. I still had 30 minutes to get to work. Altos headquarters was just a ten-minute drive from my place, so I didn't have to worry. For a person who wakes up every day at 5 am sharp, waking up at 9:00 am with a hangover can be quite terrific. But these are the kind of experiences one should have atleast a few times in their life. I quickly finished my breakfast and got ready for work. I predicted something like this would happen last night, so I kept all my stuff packed beforehand for this morning. I simply picked them up and headed out. "Good morning Liv", I greeted my favorite security guard, who was the only one in the ground floor corridor now. "Good morning. You look like you're in good spirits today, huh", he commented, chuckling. "Yeah, very sarcastic", I replied, laughing. I unlocked my Rolls-Royce Wraith and put my huge bag in the back seat. I climbed into the driver's seat, inhaling the pretty floral scent of my car, that smelled more like nature. I bought this car with the money I got as royalty by selling my new security technology a couple of months ago. It was a huge success in the market, and it eventually ended me up in my current position as the deputy director of mechanical design in Altos. This car is a reminder of my hard work, and why I should be proud of myself, every day. My colleagues were probably able to detect my hangover due to my hand constantly rubbing my temples. "Dr.Baner", Mr.Leaug said, entering my office. He was the team leader of team 3 in mechanical design. There were a total of five teams in mechanical design. "You're on time", he said, suprised. I am always an hour earlier at the office, be it because it is peaceful or if it's just a good habit. "Yes", I chuckled. "What brings you here?", I asked him. "The final draft for the shaft and engine in the new condenser for Alpine 1 is ready", he said, widening my eyes with delight. "You're a day early", I smiled. "Yes", he chuckled. "Send it to my mail", I said. "If all goes well, we can forward it to the development committee", I added. "Yes Dr", he said, leaving my office. I quickly changed my schedule and spent the next couple of hours going through the final draft Mr.Leaug sent me. I then settled into the other tasks I had to complete as the Deputy Director. By the time I was done, it was lunch time. I had a huge meeting with the higher-ups and prominent directors that afternoon at 2, so I headed to the office cafeteria with a few of my colleagues, also my friends, for lunch. It was 12:26 currently and I had plenty of time to chillax before I got to the meeting. "Is your hangover better?", Jill Mariey, the deputy director of Sustainability and my closest friend in the office, asked me. "You noticed", I sighed. "Yep", she shrugged. I was sitting with Jill and the other two engineers whom I befriended when I first joined the company, Lemi and Ryan. Jill was our senior most, five years older than me. Lemi and Ryan were my age. "You kept rubbing your temples", Ryan said, signaling that it was obvious. "Where were you last night?", Lemi asked, biting into her vegetable and spice-filled pasta that never failed to water my mouth. "Shane's birthday party. He is a friend of Alin", I said. "Oh! The doctor guy", she asked. "Yeah", I replied. "I'm way better than compared to morning though", I smiled, taking a spoonful of rice. "Good for you", Ryan commented. "By the way, I heard there is some collaboration with a foreign company", Jill said, mixing her maccoroni. "Uhuh?", I looked at her. "Yeah. The meeting might be about that", she said. "A new project for us probably", I cheered. "Yes", she smiled. I headed to the boardroom at 1:50 pm, after a heartfelt lunch and resting in my room for a few minutes. I could see a lot of new faces entering the conference room. The meeting was arranged in the largest of the boardrooms. This was definitely an inter-company arrangement. I took my seat around the huge oval table where my name plate was placed. As per the seating arrangement, there were around 75 members attending this meeting. I suddenly spotted a panicked Dr.Jeryl Wu, the Director of Research and Development and a dear friend of mine, rushing towards me. "Berry!", he cried in relief, "here you are". "Dr.Schoklar has resigned", he said, making me statue. Dr.Schoklar was the Director of Mechanical Design. "What?", I snapped my neck so hard, it almost broke. "I know. But you guys are kind of important for this meeting. This is good news actually, because you have been promoted to the position of Director of Mechanical Design. It was a joint decision by the committee. Congratulations! You don't have to worry about this meeting as much because it will only be introductions of our team mates and the whole new project. No pre-preparation required", he rambled, as my eyes changed shapes throughout his dialogue. He said that and began walking out, signaling he had other tasks to attend to. "Your new plate will be here in seconds", he said, leaving the room. I didn't even say a word. I was happy, for sure. But I was shocked. I hoped Dr.Schoklar was fine anyway. Just like Jeryl told me, my new nameplate arrived in seconds and I couldn't help the smile on my face. Dr.Schoklar better be fine! I glanced around the conference room to find that most of the people had already arrived. And for sure, I spotted a few new faces, seated in the section that had a mini-banner that read, 'Simwes'. I have heard of Simwes, a huge aerospace company from Toronto, Canada. This collaboration is going to be interesting. I was still very much dwelling in thrill and excitement due to the sudden announcement of my new role, but I now had a meeting to concentrate on. Everything began to fall in place and the meeting started at 2 pm sharp. Punctual, just as I like it. "Dear fellow colleagues,", our COO, Dr.Reem began, "we are gathered here today for an important announcement. We are collaborating with the Canadian leader of Private Aerospace Technology, Simwes. Please welcome our collaborators with a round of applause", he said, clapping right after, everybody mimicking his action as they gave a nod towards where the Simwes employees were seated. "Without any further ado, I will introduce you to the head team of this project and hand it over to them to explain the details", he said. "Dr. Silas Houl is the head of operations for this project, from Simwes, and the current COO of Simwes", he announced, pointing at a person sitting closest to him and slightly nodding, acknowledging his presence. This man looked familiar. But, I totally couldn't make it from where exactly. He looked very young, and too charming for his post. His looks had a couple of female eyes glued on to him, considering most of the members here were seniors in age. Dr.Reem began introducing the other members, including a representative and two engineers for each involved department. My department was one of those departments involved. "Alright, as per our staff, we would like to present you to the directors you will be working with", he said, looking towards the side where I was seated. Jeryl went first. It was then my turn. "Our director of mechanical design, the field in which I heard Dr.Houl specialized in", he spared a glance at Dr.Houl and turned his attention to me again,"is Dr. Strawberry Baner", he said. Dr.Houl's gaze shifted color when his eyes landed on me. With almost what looked like a smirk on his face, he spoke, "I'm looking forward to working with you, Dr.Baner". His voice. I heard that voice. But where? Oh. My. God. That's when the realization hit me like a truck. This is that guy from last night! Shit, s**t, s**t!