Chapter 7

• ARIA'S POV
• My first day in Chicago was pretty adventurous. Lena and I spent the entire day sightseeing, eating different food and snacks, and watching movies. She took me to places that I needed to know, so I would be able to find my around whenever she wasn't around.
• Lena took me to Styles company and my jaw dropped to the ground at the sight of the magnificent building that was covered in Royal blue glass. The place was closed since it was Sunday, so she promised to show me around the company the next day when I resumed work.
• I rose from bed earlier that morning as I couldn't sleep out of nervousness. As I took my bath and got ready, millions of butterflies were having a party in my stomach and I kept doing the breathing exercise to calm down.
• "Breakfast is ready," Lena said in front of my door followed by her footsteps walking toward the living room.
• Lena's apartment was spacious with a living room and two bedrooms which were directly opposite each other. The kitchen and dining room were attached to the living room while the washing and drying unit was at the end of the apartment right after the bedrooms.
• I stood in front of the mirror in a white shirt and wine-colored fitted skirt which was one of the outfits Lena made me get during our outing yesterday. Lena insisted I change my wardrobe saying, "You are now an employee of Styles Company, you need to look the part." And I had to admit that most of my clothes were out of style and needed to be replaced.
• My hair was tied up in a ponytail and I applied some makeup on my face. I smiled at the mirror when I was satisfied with my look before putting all my things in my black Channel bag that Lena bought for me as a gift.
• Walking out of the room with my bag, I was greeted by the aroma of bacon and eggs. I followed the smell into the dining room to see Lena wearing a black top with red pants, and having breakfast with her face buried in a fashion magazine.
• "Good morning." I drew out a chair and sat down.
• "Good morning." She closed the magazine and placed it on the table beside her food. "Now you look like a Styles employee." She smiled when she took in my appearance.
• "Thanks." I smiled back as I served myself breakfast.
• "Hurry up, we leave in ten minutes."
• "Okay."
• We finished up with our breakfast and left for work in Lena's Porsche. She parked her car in the parking lot of the company where I was greeted by a lot of expensive cars. We entered the building through the door in the parking lot and I gasped in awe at the sight of the interior part of the building.
• Every inch of it was covered in Royal blue glass and lots of fabric designs were used in decorating the place. My head turned from side to side as I studied every inch of the building.
• "You're drooling," Lena's voice pulled me out of my trance as my hands flew to my mouth. True to her words, I was indeed drooling, so I quickly wiped my mouth clean.
• We stepped into the elevator and Lena clicked on the tenth floor before the elevator began to move. The lift stopped with a ding sound and we walked into the tenth floor where a banner with Designer's Floor written on it was hanging at the entrance.
• "Good morning, Miss Fernandez." The workers greeted Lena as we walked to her office.
• She replied to them with a nod before we stopped in front of a door that had Head Designer pasted on it. She pushed the door open and we walked in.
• "Wow," I said as I took the white-walled room with a Mahogany desk. There were mannequins wearing designer dresses made by Styles company scattered in every corner of the room.
• "Those are the designers I made." She turned to me after placing her bag on the couch. "I keep them in here like a trophy."
• "They are nice." I walked toward one of them and grazed my hand on the fabric.
• "Why don't we get you settled in?" She moved to the door and opened it for me to walk out before closing it after her.
• We strode down the hall and stopped in front of another room that had Team 4 written on it. She pushed the door open to walk in as I followed behind her.
• "Good morning, ma'am." The workers stood up upon seeing her.
• There were five people in the room; three females and two guys. A brunette who looked like she was in her late twenties approached us with her eyes focused on me. "She must be the new designer on our team."
• "Yes." Lena smiled. "She's just like a sister to me, please take care of her."
• "Of course." The lady smiled back.
• Lena turned to me with the same smile on her face. "Meet me at the cafeteria during lunch. Bye." She exited the room.
• "Welcome to Styles company, it's nice to meet you. I'm Celestine, your team leader." The lady stretched out her arm to me.
• "I'm Aria, nice to meet you too." I took her hand in a handshake.
• "There is your workspace." She pointed at the desk in the back left corner. "Summer, come here."
• A petit blonde girl who was sitting on the desk opposite mine stood up and scurried toward us. "Hi." She waved at me with a shy smile on her face and I waved back.
• "I want you to fill her in on the newest project we are working on," she instructed before turning to me. "If you have any questions, you can come to me. Also, feel free to suggest your ideas to us."
• "Okay. Thank you," I said before she turned to walk back to her desk.
• "Are you ready?" Summer beamed at me.
• "Always."
• Summer made sure to fill me in on the rules and regulations of the company and also explained how the company had five teams of designers but team 4 has had the most launched designs.
• No wonder Lena assigned me there.
• During lunch, Summer led me to the cafeteria where I saw Lena sitting with some guy in a blue suit with red and black hair. I approached them and she waved at me when she spotted me.
• "So how's your first day going?" She asked as I took my seat beside her.
• "It's going great." I beamed.
• "Is she the girl you told me about?" the guy sitting opposite her asked.
• "Yes," she replied before leaning to whisper in my ear, "I may or may not have put in words for you with the managing director here to get you employed."
• My eyes widened as I turned to him. "Thank you, sir."
• "It's fine." He shrugged. "Anything for my wife-to-be." He winked at Lena, making me raise my eyebrows.
• "Will you stop that?" She whisper-yelled as she looked around the cafeteria to see if someone heard him. "You know employees are not allowed to date."
• Yeah, I remembered Summer telling me that as part of the rules and regulations in the company. It wouldn't be a problem because I didn't come here for romance. Boys were the last on my list at the moment.
• "Oh please." He rolled his eyes before resting his elbows on our still-empty table. "You mean to tell me that of the thousands of employees in the building there's nobody in a relationship with another employee." He cocked an eyebrow at her.
• "Well, there may be but at least they are not announcing it to everybody they come across." She folded her arms.
• "So you're saying if I can keep it a secret you'll give me a chance?" His blue eyes brightened up.
• Lena leaned closer to him. "No."
• "Well, it was worth the shot." He leaned back into his chair.
• Just by looking at the two of them, I could tell that they would make a great couple if only there wasn't that stupid rule hindering them, and besides I didn't know if Lena likes him back.
• His phone that was in his pocket chimed and he sighed when he checked its screen.
• "What is it?" Lena asked.
• "It's Dave. I wonder what is it this time." He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "I'll be right back." He turned to leave but he stopped in his tracks and turned to me with a serious expression on his face. "I usually don't get involved in hiring employees, so you will be the first person that would be coming into this company through me. Don't disappoint me."
• "I won't."
• He nodded and walked out before Lena and I went to get our lunch.