Mending The Broken Pieces

Chapter 2: Cornell Enterprises

Her suit was neatly ironed, her heels polished black, her auburn hair swept up in a neat bun, and her glasses resting perfectly on her nose bridge.

It was her first day of work at Cornell Enterprises, a high profile corporation where she was to work as a personal assistant to one of the senior staff. She had mixed feelings about it, excitement and anxiety. Excitement, because she had heard so many good things about a prolific enterprise like Cornell Enterprises. Anxiety, because she had also heard bad things about top companies and didn't really know how to feel about it.

At the end of the day, she finally accepted the fact that there would always be a good and bad in every aspect of life.

Having boarded a taxi to work, she made a quick call to Dani during the drive.

“How's it been for you over there, sweetheart?” Dani asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Pretty good. People are nice and they kind of remind me of how Mrs. Olive made me feel at home.”

“Mrs. Olive? Your former landlady?”

“Yes. I miss the Chinese takeouts she used to gift me. Dani, they were always so good,” Ava answered, moaning off of “good” as though she could smell the aroma of the takeouts somehow somewhere.

“You should have brought her with you then,” Dani teased. Ava could imagine her poking out her red tongue with a scrunched up face.

“I wish I could,” She slowly nodded, pondering on it deeply in contrast to what she had expected.

“By the way I heard some fresh news?”

Ava couldn't help but also imagine her wink and let out a mischievous smile.

“About what?”

“The Cornell Enterprise. What else?” Dani’s loud sneer escaped the phone.

Ava chuckled. “Alright, spill. What did you hear?”

Dani let out a dramatic sigh before lowering her voice, as if about to share classified information. “Word on the street is that Cornell Enterprises has some of the most ruthless bosses in the industry. High pay, high expectations, and no room for mistakes. You mess up once, and they’ll chew you up, spit you out, and replace you before your seat gets cold.”

Ava rolled her eyes, though a tiny knot of anxiety tightened in her stomach. “Sounds like every corporate job ever.”

“True,” Dani admitted. “But apparently, your boss is one of the worst. No-nonsense, emotionally unavailable, probably allergic to small talk. If you ask me, I’d say you’re in for an interesting ride.”

Ava exhaled through her nose. “Great. Just what I need—more emotionally unavailable men in my life.”

Dani laughed. “You’ve got this, babe. You’re smart, efficient, and have the patience of a saint. You don't need to prove anything for anybody. Just be you and you alone. If you don't feel comfortable where you are, you can always leave. Just don’t let them walk all over you, okay?”

“I won’t,” Ava promised, grinning from ear to ear at how Dani still hadn't dropped her “motherly” sort of attitude whenever they talked over the phone.

The taxi pulled up in front of a towering glass building with the words “Cornell Enterprises” displayed in sleek, silver lettering. Her pulse quickened as she stepped out, adjusting her glasses and straightening her blazer.

“You’re going to do great,” Dani said.

Ava smiled. “Thanks. Talk later.”

She ended the call, took a deep breath, and stepped into the lobby.

The inside of Cornell Enterprises was just as impressive as the exterior—polished floors gleamed under the artificial lighting, and the scent of fresh coffee and expensive cologne lingered in the air. Employees in sharp business attire moved briskly in different directions, their heels clicking against the marble.

Ava approached the front desk, where a receptionist, a woman with shoulder-length dark hair and an impeccably tailored suit, looked up with a professional but indifferent expression.

“Good morning. I’m Ava Drew. It’s my first day as a personal assistant.”

The receptionist gave a curt nod and scanned a list on her tablet. “Ah, yes. You’ll be working on the twentieth floor. Someone will show you to your desk shortly.”

Before Ava could ask who, a voice beside her said, “Follow me.”

She turned to see a young woman, possibly in her late twenties, dressed in a sleek navy-blue pencil skirt and a white blouse tucked neatly into it. Her ID badge read "Tessa Lane – HR Department."

Ava nodded and quickly followed Tessa toward the elevator.

“So, first day, huh?” Tessa glanced at her as they stepped inside.

“Yeah,” Ava said, trying to sound confident. “Excited and slightly terrified.”

Tessa smirked. “That’s the right attitude. It’s fast-paced here, but once you settle in, you’ll be fine.”

The elevator doors slid open on the twentieth floor, revealing an open-concept office space. Rows of sleek white desks stretched across the room, each occupied by employees typing away at their computers or speaking into headsets.

“This is where you’ll be working,” Tessa gestured towards an empty desk near the far end of the room, next to a window overlooking the city skyline. “Your boss’s office is down that hallway.”

Ava took it all in, gripping the strap of her handbag tightly. This was it. A fresh start. A new chapter. No looking back.

“Thank you, ma'am,” She slightly bowed her head.

“Miss Tessa,” Tessa corrected, her French-American accent coming through.

“I'm sorry, Miss Tessa,” Ava quickly adhered. The woman, however, ignored her and walked out of the office.

‘First rude person I've met. Very much expected,’ She thought to herself as she made her way towards her desk.

Not too many eyes were on her as she passed. Most of them were either too busy or not just interested enough to turn their necks at every click of her heels. When she finally got to her desk, she proceeded to arrange her stuff and make it as much of her space as she could with her work belongings.

It was when she was doing so, that a petite voice called out from the desk next to hers.

“Hello.”

She turned to see a young woman whose looks easily gave her off as someone who was barely past 20 or 22.

“Hi,” Ava forced a smile. No matter how many times she tried to avoid friendships at work, they always came in search of her.

“You're the new personal assistant to Mr. Ethan Cornell, right?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“I am,” Ava nodded, trying to keep her response as short as possible in order to deter the lady from speaking any further. It turned out that she was wrong.

“Oh I see,” A sudden solemn look of pity came to rest on her face. “I wish you luck. Just be careful.”

“Just be careful,” that was a sentence that had struck her with the knot of anxiety that ingrained itself in the depths of her stomach when Dani had dished out some “fresh news”.

“I'm sorry, but why should I be careful? Is there something I should know?”