[One]

|Chapter 1|

🤍🏹

Elara Alissa Suave

~Age: 22 years old~

~Height: 5'6~

~Job: Office Assistant~

𝗜𝗸𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗶

𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Another day, another dollar. I lazily get out of bed, slipping on my fuzzy slippers, and leave my bedroom to get ready for the day. I brush my teeth, eat a small breakfast, and take a steaming, hot shower.

After finishing my hygiene, I do my hair in a half-up, half-down hairstyle because it's quick and easy. I then put on a black, long-sleeved, loose dress that accentuates my curves and pair it with nude heels.

Strolling out of my bedroom, I grab my essentials: my purse, laptop, lip stick, and phone. Once outside, I get into my Volks Wagon Atlas and drive swiftly towards my work building.

As I pull up to Moldovan Industries I notice there are more people in a rush than usual. When I walk in I spot one of my work friends coming out of the elevator. Her wavy, brown hair bounced gracefully as she walked towards me.

I smile sweetly and say, "Good morning Isa, why is everyone in such a hurry?"

She facepalms, "You should start checking your email more often, you always miss out on important events. Today is the day Mr. Moldovan steps down and let his son take over the company so, everyone's making an effort to ensure that everything is in place before he arrives."

"When is he expected to reach here?"

"At 12 but, he's probably going to arrive earlier," she replies.

I nod my head and quickly shuffle towards the elevator.

The office tramps must be in the bathroom caking up their faces with more make-up because they are nowhere to be found. There are three of them, Wren, Paige, and Carla. You would usually find them wandering around getting on people's nerves so, this must be extremely important.

I grab my keys from my purse, unlock my office door and proceed to open the blinds. I make some hot, twinings tea and log onto my computer.

My office isn't large or small, it is just right. I personalized it and made it my own when I first received it. It's black and white themed which I like because, for some odd reason, it helps me to concentrate. And the decorations like pictures, plants, and pillows, just add comfort. It's simple and cute, like me.

Looking through my mail, I see the email Isa was talking about and I sigh because I am not prepared at all for a new boss. As the personal assistant to Mr. Moldovan, I had little to no interactions with him but, when we did speak, he seemed like a nice guy.

I know it's convenient to have a strong, professional relationship with your employer, but not having one didn't affect me because I was still getting paid good and that's all that matters.

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

It is currently 11:50 and I'm expecting my new boss to arrive any minute now. So, I go into my bathroom to check my outfit and put on some vibrant, red lipstick. I smile because the color goes perfectly with my black dress and it compliments my brown skin.

As soon as I am done, there is a knock on my office door. When I open it, I think damn. This man is tall as hell compared to me, standing at an average height of 5'6. He looks as if he's about a foot taller than me.

I smile and shake his hand saying, "Good afternoon sir. You are Mr. Moldovan right?"

He smiled "No. Well yes, but not the one you are expecting. Unfortunately, he has an urgent meeting in another country, so I will fill in for him until he arrives ."

"Ok sounds good, when will he be here exactly ?" I ask in confusion. How could you not show up on your first day of work?

"I'm not sure but he'll definitely send you an email or call to keep you updated."

I nod my head. "Well, I'm Elara Suave, and welcome to Moldovan Industries, New York."

He puts on a charming smile and says, "I'm Carson Moldovan, and I look forward to working with you."

We shake hands and I smile softly again before he walks out and towards his office. He seems nice, I hope it stays like that.

As he walks out, Isa steps in wiggling her eyebrows with a smug smirk on her face. She quickly closes the door and speaks, "Soooo, how did it go?"

"Do not make that face!" I respond giving her a pointed look. "But turns out that's not my official new boss, I guess that's his brother temporarily replacing him."

"Oh, well that's a bummer. I wouldn't mind him being the boss because he's super good-looking. But, I'll leave him to Wren. Even though she was slightly disappointed, she still was all over him. She just never gives up."

Wren is one of those girls in the office who likes to constantly get at the male employees. Of course, some men appreciate the attention but, Wren sometimes takes it too far. For example: a guy would tell her that he is happily married and has five kids, but guess what? She wouldn't even care. It makes her look extremely desperate.

"I honestly expect no less from her. But, let's not talk about her. Did you want to go to lunch with me?"I ask feeling hungry.

"Sure, let's go."

"Yayyyy", I squeal in excitement at the thought of food.

As we walk towards the elevator, Carson stops us. "Are you guys going to lunch?"

"Yes sir, we'll be back in about an hour. Do you need anything?"I answer.

"I'd like a mushroom soup and a cappuccino from down the street please and thank you," he gives a small smile before quickly walking towards the board room.

"Well, he seems extremely busy. Let's hurry up before people start piling up in the cafe."

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

Thankfully, when we arrive there are only about ten people inside the cafe, which isn't normal. There's usually a crowd of people in here. But hey, I'm not complaining.

Whiles Isa goes to order our food, I sit down and decide to ring my sister Eliza. She takes longer to answer so I wait a bit until she answers. "What the hell Elara!? What do you want?"

"Well excuse me for checking up on my baby sis. Since you're in a mood I'll call back later when you correct your attitude."

She quickly replies, " No, don't hang up. I'm just having a bad day."

"Well as Tabitha says, 'If you're having a bad day, don't go messing up anybody else's.' I haven't spoken to you in about 2 weeks and you always call me at least twice a week. What's going on in Canada that is keeping my sister from communicating with me?"

"It's just that college is a lot right now and I am in desperate need of a break. Also, I don't have many people to talk to here other than Mads and she has other friends so, most of the time I'm all alone. And calling you doesn't make me feel better because I'd rather be there with you," she explains.

"You know you can always come down here and stay with me anytime." I think for a moment, "Actually, I want you to come to New York until you feel comfortable enough to go back."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes, Liza. I love you and I don't want you to feel alone especially if you have me. I'll give you three weeks to prepare and you can finish school online, but, we'll go back to Canada for your graduation. Sounds good?"

I hear sniffling and she says, "Thanks Lara, I love you so much. I promise to call you at least once a week."

"I love you too, now get some rest and I hope you feel better in the morning." I give her kisses over the phone and hang up. I look up at Isa walking towards our table with the food, and I'm starving so, as soon as I got my caesar salad, I dig in.

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

When I get home, I take a few hours for self-care. I enjoy a warm bubble bath and watch a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I also do my longer skin routine and my face ends up feeling smooth and refreshed.

These types of days are important to me because they make me feel a lot more confident about my physical appearance. And I use this opportunity to spend time getting closer to my faith.

Afterward, I make myself some baked salmon, garlic bread, and green beans. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. Growing up and not eating meat, forced me to learn how to cook for myself. I do prefer a plant-based diet but I need some protein here and there.

As soon as I sit down to eat and watch Netflix my phone starts to ring. Realizing it was my bestie calling, I quickly answer. "Sara Olivia Jade, to whom do I owe the pleasure."

"Lara, I hope you are not in public saying my government name like that."

I chuckle, "How was your first day at work."

"I am so exhausted, why the hell did I decide to be a personal trainer."

I laugh, " At least you'll stay in shape, and maybe you'll find a super fit, fine man at the gym. Who knows?"

She scoffs, "Girl please if anyone needs a man, it's you. The fact that you have only been in one relationship that didn't even last a month is depressing. At this point, I need to be finding you a man."

I giggle "I don't need anyone right now, I am 21 and quite happy to be single, thank you very much," I respond.

"Ok, sis, whatever you say. How was your day ?"

"Well, I have a new boss who is currently out of the country so, his brother is filling in for him. He's tall and handsome so, you know Wren and her minions are trying to impress him."

"Maybe you should hop on that too," she laughs.

"Girl, no. He's my boss and I don't find him that attractive."

Sara and I speak for another hour, chatting about our day before hanging up. I finish off the rest of my dinner and clean the dirty dishes.

I then scroll through Instagram for about 20 minutes until I suddenly had the urge to post. I have not posted on Instagram in about 3 weeks so, I post a picture that I took a few days ago.

Immediately, people start to like and comment on my post. The support kinda makes me want to post more often.

After liking and replying to a few comments, I tie down my hair with a silk cloth. I put on some comfortable sweats and decide to just lay down and watch Grey's Anatomy until I fall asleep.

-

-

-

-

-