Chapter five
873 Words
The email came three days later.
Subject: Job Offer – Fletcher Corp.
I read it twice just to be sure it wasn’t a prank from Stacy. I’d gotten the job.
Me
. The girl who nearly showed up to the interview with mismatched shoes.
Naturally, I celebrated the only way I knew how, by eating an entire tub of ice cream while dancing in my kitchen.
First Day
Fletcher Corp’s office looked like it had been designed by someone who’d seen The Devil Wears Prada one too many times.
“Welcome, Miss Kingston,” she said, smiling like a weirldy wired robot. She just might be a robot “Please head up to the eighth floor. Mr. Fletcher will see you.”
“Right, thanks, wait. Mr. Fletcher?”
“Yes.”
That was fine. Totally fine. Probably just standard first-day formalities. No reason to panic.
The elevator ride felt like being slowly lifted toward my doom.
When the doors opened, I was greeted by the hum of expensive coffee machines and the subtle sound of people typing like their paychecks depended on it.Well it did
A tall woman in a tailored navy suit approached, her smile polite. “Aria Kingston? I’m Claire, head of HR. Follow me , we’ll get you set up.”
We breezed past rows of desks, and I tried to memorize faces without looking like I was plotting something. Finally, we stopped at an office with glass walls and a view that screamed money.
Claire knocked once and stepped inside. “Mr. Fletcher, your new hire.”
And there he was.
Bond Villain from the interview.
Dominic Fletcher.
He looked up from his desk, expression unreadable. “Miss Kingston. Welcome to Fletcher Corp.”
I managed a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “Thanks. Excited to be here.”
“Claire will show you to your workspace,” he said, eyes flicking over me just long enough to make my skin warm, then back to his laptop like I was already dismissed.
Rude.
*****
My desk was three rows down from his office, which meant I had a perfect view of him every time I glanced up, which was annoying, because I kept catching myself doing it.
Claire gave me the quick office tour: the break room (complete with espresso machine worth more than my mortgage), the supply closet (alarmingly organized), and the communal snack drawer (tragically empty).
By 10:00 a.m., I’d already met my team. There was Priya, who clearly ran on caffeine and sheer willpower; Aaron, who had strong “I fix everyone’s tech problems” energy; and a very quiet guy named Leo who may or may not have spoken actual words to me.
“Don’t let Dominic scare you,” Priya whispered during a quick coffee break. “He’s intense, but fair. And yes, he’s single.”
“I didn’t ask,” I said quickly, because wow, this place was apparently also an HR violation waiting to happen.
Aaron smirked. “You don’t have to ask. It’s office gossip 101.”
******
By noon, I was drowning in onboarding paperwork. Every so often, I’d hear Dominic’s voice drifting from his office, very distracting
At one point, he walked past my desk to speak with Aaron. His cologne followed him like it had its own personal fan. I was 97% sure it was illegal to smell that good during office hours.
When he glanced down at me, I forced myself to keep typing like a professional. Act normal Aria you’re doing good
“Settling in?” he asked.
“Yep,” I said, aiming for casual. “No mistakes yet.”
His mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile. “Good. Keep it that way.”
And then he was gone, leaving me staring at my monitor….. rude
*****
By the time 5:00 rolled around, I was mentally fried. I shut down my computer, grabbed my bag, and made it to the elevator without any more awkward encounters.
Or so I thought.
The doors slid open, and there he was again. Alone.
“Going down?” he asked, holding the door.
My brain decided flirt mode was the way to go. “Unless you’ve got a secret rooftop escape route, yes.”
One eyebrow lifted. “Maybe another time.”
We rode in silence, the faint hum of the elevator the only sound. My pulse was annoyingly loud in my ears.
When the doors opened at the lobby, he let me step out first. “See you tomorrow, Miss Kingston.”
“See you,” I said, walking away like my legs weren’t made of jelly.
******
The second I got home, Stacy called.
“So? How was day one?”
“I didn’t trip, I didn’t spill coffee on anyone, and I didn’t accidentally call my boss ‘Dad,’ so I’m calling it a success.”
She laughed. “And the boss? Cute?”
I flopped onto my couch. “Dangerously. Like very very i might just mistakenly fall into his arms and kiss him cute.”
There was a pause. “Aria… don’t.”
“I’m not!” I said, a little too quickly.
Famous last words.
- Writer
