MILIANI'S POV
"Ani, your driver is here" My mother called out to me.
I was putting the finishing touches on my outfit. I made it a mission of mine to look my best for work every single day. I always got complimented by co-workers, but never by my boss. Declan came off as nonchalant at times and I wondered why. It was none of my business though, I was only there to work.
I came downstairs quickly and my mother handed me a pack of food.
"You didn't have breakfast this morning so I packed some food for you" She said with a smile.
"Thank you mom" I said and then kissed her goodbye. "I'll see you later, bye" I rushed out of the house and into the car.
"Good morning Simon" I greeted the driver with a smile.
"Good morning Ms. Peters. Hope you had a good night's rest" He said as he started driving.
"Yes I did, thank you Simon and sorry for keeping you waiting" I said and apologised.
"Not a problem Ms. Peters" He said and continued driving.
Working at CrimsonRich Industries was a dream come through for me. Although I didn't have the job I wanted, I learned to adapt to the new one. It was quite difficult handling Declan's tight schedule. Sometimes I'd mix some of them up and he'd miss important meetings. At this point I felt like he hated me.
He was always quiet and the only time I remembered seeing him smile was the day of the interview. He only ever stared at me without saying a word. Surprisingly I never found that creepy or weird.
My office was next to his so I saw him all day every day, except during lunch when I had to go down to the cafeteria to eat. Even during lunch he'd call me randomly to do some work. It was tiring but I didn't complain because he paid me well.
"So Milly, how's it like working with Mr. Pierce?" One of my colleagues asked me during lunch.
"Well it's okay so far. He hardly says anything to me so I don't know how to feel about that." I replied
"Don't worry about that, he hardly says anything to anybody unless it's work related" My other colleague reassured me.
"Ohh I see."
After a full day of work I felt exhausted. My colleague, Andrew, had asked me if I wanted to get dinner with him later that night. I didn't have anything else to do so I agreed and he was nice so I was a bit excited for it too. I finished up the remaining tasks I had for the day and left the office.
"You're leaving already?" I heard Declan's voice behind me. He walked up to me. Strange
"Uhm yes sir I-" He cut me short
"My name is Declan, not 'sir'. I don't want to have to correct you on that next time Peters" He said with a stoic expression on his face.
"Of course, Declan"
"Good girl. Now where are you running off to so fast?," He checked his watch "It's not even 5pm yet"
"Oh, well I'm going out with someone this evening"
"Is that so?" He said with one eyebrow raised. "You're going on a date?" He asked again
"Yes, well something like that"
"With who?" He asked
I hesitated "Is that Important?" I said and immediately regretted questioning him. But why would he ask such personal questions anyways?
"No, it's not." He said and walked back to his desk.
That encounter was weird. Was he angry? I left the office while replaying the whole conversation in my head. Did he just have a conversation with me? That wasn't work related? I was stunned to say the least. I walked downstairs to hail a cab and I could feel someone watching me. I looked around and saw Declan by his office window. I couldn't see his face properly so I wasn't sure if he was looking directly at me. I brushed it off and entered a cab.
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The dinner date with Andrew went well. He was a funny guy and I enjoyed every minute I spent with him. He even remembered some tiny details of myself that I had mentioned in our earlier conversations. He asked me out on a second date and I agreed without hesitation. He made working at the company even better.
He drove me home and hugged me goodbye. I found my mother sleeping on the couch.
"She probably waited for me," I said to myself and smiled.
I dropped my bag on the other chair and brought a blanket for her. I readjusted her body on the couch so that she'd be more comfortable and then covered her with the blanket.
I could see her eyes open slightly when I readjusted her on the couch.
"Ani, is that you?" She asked, still half asleep.
"Yes mom, it's me" I replied
"Ohh, that's… that's good. I was waiting for you."
"I know mom"
She tried to sit up
"No, no lay back down you need to sleep"
"I want to hear about your date Ani, I'll be fine. Now, tell me about it, how did it go?" She said smiling, her eyes filled with curiosity.
I let out a deep sigh "Alright, if you say so," I sat next to her on the couch. "It was really nice. He's funny and nice and calm. He's very fun to be around too" I said, smiling sheepishly.
"I'm so happy for you. Love is a beautiful thing y'know"
"Mom I'm not in love, I just enjoy his company"
"Ani just keep an open mind. You revolve your life around work and taking care of me. You're a young beautiful woman, enjoy your life because you only have one" She said and hugged me. "He seems to like you a lot."
"I guess so" I said as I hugged her back
"Just loosen up a little okay?"
"Okay mom"
She got up "You should get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, Ani. Goodnight" She said as she walked to her room.
"Goodnight mom" I said as I watched her leave.
He is a nice guy though. But I don't think I have my heart set on him. This spark… it's missing