one night with the alpha

004

Cressida

Cress knew she was running late. Everything that could go wrong was and it took all her control not to break down. As she dashed off her purse fell down and opened. Everything scattered.

A sob escaped her despite her effort to keep them in. With trembling hands she took up all the small things she always carried in her purse. All the while she was aware of the tick of the minute hand from the clock over the mantel piece.

Why did she have so many things in her purse anyway? Scopping up as many of them as she could, Cress dashed out of the house and into her garage. Her hand dove back into her purse as she searched for her car keys. To no avail. They must've fallen out and she'd missed them!

She cursed, then froze. Even though it was a mild one she looked up to heaven and crossed herself in a prayer for forgivenes before rushing back into the house. She grit her teeth as she opened the door and dashed to the living room where her purse had emptied itself.

In her need to hurry, she pushed everything aside leaving a wake of disaster in the room she'd made an effort to clean just last night. It didn't matter, she couldn't afford to lose this job before she started, not when she'd worked so hard. Finally, she found the keys underneath the armchair her abuelo had given her.

Quickly snatching them up she once again ran out, making sure the door from the garage was locked. She'd have to forgo going to her mother's place otherwise she'd be late and lose her job. After struggling to finish her degree and managing to get recommendation from her mentor for a prestigious start she couldn't afford to mess it up.

Working for Earis international was a dream few professionals ever achieved and Cress was starting out there. She sped just under the speed limit and fumed every time she had to slow down for one reason or another. One thing she prided herself in was always being on time. Earis was owned by some sort of European royalty and they were even more particular about time.

Cress breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled up before the imposing Earis Minor Hotel. It was a study in architectural beauty. A testament to wealth. She knew it was so far beyond her price range it was laughable. Were it not for her employee badge, she was sure she'd never have been allowed onto the premise.

Taking a deep breath, Cress swiped her employee card onto the access panel into the employee parking lot. Her heart was in her throat at the thought that she might be denied access as her mind came up with various scenarios.

Relief washed over her as she managed to get through. She found a parking spot that had her name newly sprayed painted on. Parking there, she quickly got out, making sure to take out her purse before hurrying into the building.

She'd been shown where her employee locker was, in the room reserved for middle management. No one was in there and even though her watch told her she was ten minutes early the fact that the room was empty had her feeling anxious.

Without any other idea, Cress went to the office that would be hers, at least during her shift. At the moment she was starting with the night shift. It was inconvenient, but the pay was good and she'd have a good resume afterwards.

The office door was open, she'd been shown the room after she'd been hired. The room was divided into four cubicles, each one glassed in and rather spacious, for a cubicle. Of the four, two were occupied. Cress went to the door of her own cubicle and unlocked it then placed her purse under the desk to the right of her chair.

Though she knew what her duties were, she wasn't sure what to do just then. Taking her seat, she booted up her desktop then logged into her employee account. Cress had hoped to find work already set out for her, but no such luck. What was she supposed to do now?