two stars of the same constellation

2

My meeting with Pamela, or Pam as she asked me to address her goes well, even great I'd say. I tried to hide my astonishment at having seen Leo Dane, member of the boyband whenever, walk past me but this was Sitescape. I knew their clientele was star-studded. But tell that to an Indian girl whose drooling jaw was sweeping the floor right there. Not so professional I'd say but Pam was probably used to the reaction.

"Don't be embarrassed, it's okay. At least you didn't jump on him or try to take a selfie. Now that would've been embarrassing for the both of us." She said as she offered me water. "Ahem" she clears her throat trying to catch my attention and I realize I was too busy gazing at her office I barely heard what she said.

"I'm sorry, I was just so mesmerized. I love the tones; they seem to suit you so well." I look at her looking at me questionably. "Sorry, I didn't mean to assume or suggest I know you. Or your taste. I was just reading the vibe, the designers really know what they were doing, haha." She still doesn't answer.

"Obviously they do. We are an architectural firm."

Another pause.

"Do I still have my job?"

"Why would you apologize for looking at a space and 'reading the vibe'? that's literally your job!" finally she breaks the silence. "I can see you are passionate and probably have no idea about it yourself though. I think I have the perfect first assignment for you. How keen are you to take upon a challenge, my girl?"

I blink at her a few times and then just one sentence comes out of my mouth, "I believe in me."

What did I just say, ugh!

"Dramatic little thing, aren't you? Dramatic, passionate, little lost but eager to learn. Am I right?" Okay, either my face is transparent and she can see through me like a wizard, or all my thoughts are written on imaginary bubbles attached to my head because she's literally reading me like a comic book right now.

I just nod in awe. I take out my diary trying to jot down the details of the project I've been assigned. I'll be working under Damon Swift and he'd be supervising me throughout. "He's the bald one with blue glasses" Pam informs me "you must understand that Sitescape has an exotic clientele and how our employees behave with them matters. How you maintained your composure today in front of Leo tells me you are a good fit for us."

"Manners maketh man, ma'am. My parents' favorite motto." I add with a little bit of pride.

I then head to my allotted space which I expect to be upcycled broom closet out of Harry Potter. I would have no complaints after all who am I right now? All I want is to work hard, learn a lot, see new things, and meet new people.

Sarah, Pam's assistant takes me to my desk and I'm surprised when we get to the huge cream-white desk with a pastel blue chair, a new MacBook, and a tiny bamboo plant. I look up at Sarah and hug her immediately because I have no words.

"I suggested this desk for you after I saw you yesterday. You kept looking out the window so I thought you'd like it here." She draws up the blinds and sunlight highlights the wooden texture of the desk. "The laptop is office property. In any case, if you ever to leave us you would have to return it. I have already set it up for you, it has all the contacts and details you'd need. And yes, this is from my side, welcome aboard!" She hands me the plant and tears pool in my eyes as I hold the ceramic pot in my hand.

This day has been too wholesome to be real. I hug her again and thank her for making my day so easy. I make a mental note to do something nice for her soon too. "Don't cry I did this out of a selfish motive. I saw you walk in yesterday I just knew I had to be friends with you. You treated me well and your purple blouse really caught my eye. One always needs friends with a good taste." She winks at me and waves goodbye as I finally settle at my desk.

I don't have much to do. I didn't get most of my office supplies today but tomorrow this space is going to reek of Adira. In a good way obviously. I'm on the verge of boredom when I finally get an email from Sarah saying Pam needed me in the office to discuss the new project with Damon.

I sip some water, straighten my pants, kiss my plant for good luck (not sure why I did that), and head to her office. I knock and enter. A man wearing a crisp navy-blue shirt with gray trousers and leather shoes looks up at me.

"Good morning, I'm Adira" I offer to shake hands and he accepts after a very noticeable pause. "Her?" he looks at Pam. "yes, she's the one. Good to see you again Adira, all settled in?" before I can answer she continues "so, as I told you before this is Damon Swift, he's a senior architect here and he's the one you'll be reporting to."

"Grateful to have you as my mentor, sir" I add when suddenly Pam interrupts. "he's the one who'll oversee your work but I am your mentor. You'll be answerable to me." I can clearly read the room at this moment and know that all the playfulness has been sucked out of the room and a dense fog of professionalism has taken over.

"Do you finally want to know who the client is?"

I suppress my urge to nod enthusiastically and hide my excitement with a stern 'yes'. Pam smirks at me and I bite my lip realizing even now she can really read my face so well. I give her a sheepish look and she finally goes on to break the suspense with the name I couldn't have imagined on my lips a week ago.

"Leo Dane is the new cap in our feather. We are to remodel his condo." The memory of him walking past me this morning starts to play on loop in my head as I try to maintain an expression that doesn't portray how blown my mind is right now.

"He's our client. You are the one who'll be heading all the on-site duties. Do you think you can handle it or should I ask Sarah to take back the MacBook?"

Leo Dane is our client. My client. My first client. My first client in Chicago city.

"Leo is our client. You are the one who'll be heading all on-site duties. Do you think you can handle it or should I ask Sarah to take back the MacBook?"

I snap back into reality. "Oh, can't say no to the MacBook, it's the first apple product I've owned. For the last 45 minutes. Can't let that go. So, I'm ready, where do I sign" I try to use humor to hide the fact that all I want to do right now is call my sister and spill the whole story to her.

Pam tries to hide her smile but Damon just presses her lips in a line. I give an apologetic nod and convey, in a very serious and mature tone this time, that I'm ready and grateful to be a part of this project.

Damon then heads most of our pending discussion that day majorly talking about Leo Dane and the meeting they've had with him previously about his plans and vision. "During our discussions, one thing that he was adamant about was having a young person to be made in charge."

He looks right at me, "Now don't knit all your romantic dreams just yet he wants a young person with whom he could relate to, one he could mould into his taste and style. It's easier to imprint on the minds of the younger. Whether it's male or female, he couldn't care less, he just needed a blank canvas."

I'm actually kind of offended that Damon would think I was daydreaming about somehow ending up as Leo Dane's girlfriend but then I realized it was a harmless dream and decided to take Damon's comment as a disclaimer for my own sake.

The benefit of doubt is awarded right there to man.

I've been asked to research the history, geography, and everything about Leo Dane. After spending a good portion of an hour trying to figure out how a MacBook even works, I finally get to work.

I take my work very seriously as I spend hours scrolling through pictures of him, a shirtless him, a teenage him, a preschooler him, a baby him, all of him. I come back to reality when I find I've landed myself on the Instagram account of a model's mother's fiancé while trying to figure out if Leo was dating the girl or not. Wow. I am a cyber threat.

I decided to focus all of my efforts on figuring out his taste in art, music, spaces, architecture, fashion, and everything that influences a person's lifestyle, thinking, tastes and choices. I needed to know his preferences.

After I decide I have enough data and have finally made up for the time I lost during my stalking endeavors, I finally shut down my laptop and take off for the day.