Still Falling For You

Chapter - 1

The alarm won't stop ringing. Usually, it is in this moment that I regret setting the alarm the night before. However, not today! Because today, I am too much excited to be grumpy. It is my first day at work and the hard work of the last 5 years has finally been paid off.

 I was a law student until 2 months ago, a job seeking lawyer until 3 days ago but from the moment I received my recruitment letter 3 days back, I AM A LAWYER. I finally got my dream job at one of the biggest law firms in the city "Vincent and Associates". 

I slowly get out of my bed. It is a simple winter morning and winter makes me happy. I smile for no reason and head to my bathroom to get ready, after all it IS my first day!! I make myself some coffee because coffee is love and realize I'm early. First day anxiety slowly creeps up to me and I, being a socially awkward butterfly cannot seem to calm down. I stand in front of my mirror and analyze my outfit for the day. I try to look professional wearing navy blue colored pant suit but my curvy body and my curly hair makes it harder. I sigh loudly and make a move to my office, locking the door. 

I moved out of my parents house when I got into my desired college and immediately after my college, I decided to pursue law for which I had to spend many sleepless nights and caffeinate myself with tons of coffee. My apartment is not that great but it is affordable and immensely cozy for one person. I am extremely uncomfortable in sharing my space with anyone. Hence, I live alone. I still live on my parents money because my pay in the training period was literally very meager. Now that I have my dream job with a good pay, I can finally call myself an independent woman.

I get down the stairs and take up a metro to get to office and as I stand in front of my gigantic office building, I am in AWE but the anxiety in me doubles. I gulp it down and slowly make my way to the inside. The interior of my office is exactly like the ones from the Korean dramas I used to watch as a child. I smile to myself as I get inside the elevator and wait as it takes me up to my floor.

As I reach my floor, I go to the receptionist and give her my recruitment letter. She smiles and asks me to follow her. She takes me to a group of people talking. The group of people seem to be friendly enough and more importantly attractive enough to raise my anxiety to another level.

" Hi! I am Ellen Walter." I say waving my hand awkwardly.

They take turns introducing themselves and I forget to register their names in my mind, being busy in trying to concentrate on my breathing. However, one name catches my attention. Alaric Barton. He is at least 8 more inches taller than me and has an incredible face with dark brown eyes, perfectly slid back jet black hair and is dressed immaculately professional. Moreover, he has a deep voice that makes him even more alluring.

"Welcome to the team! I am Alaric Barton and I am your team leader.", he says smiling. He seems to be friendly with all the people and that makes me slightly comfortable.

"Nice to meet you", I say returning the smile.

The first day at the office was not at all what I expected it to be. It was extremely boring and I spent most of my time staring at the clock and people watching. At around 1 pm, I went up to a girl named Brianna Williams asking about the cafeteria to have some lunch. She seemed even more introverted than me and that made me comfortable. Brianna is a tall and a lean girl completely opposite to my demeanor. She has long, brown, silky hair and exceptionally charismatic eyes that makes any person to keep looking at her. Brianna seems to have a fan club filled with boys including one guy from our team, Ivan Hartz. However, she does not seem to know that.

It was very easy to communicate with her and I found an immediate connection to her. The more I talked to her, the more similarities we find between us. She is extremely confident but hates to socialize much. She knows what she is doing yet is clumsy as hell. Looks like I made a new friend on my first day. Yay! 

We had our lunch and as the day progressed, it killed all of my initial excitement for the office. It was that boring. At the end of the day, my team members(it is odd to be calling them that) planned a welcoming party for me. We went to a neighborhood bar and had a couple of drinks. Brianna and Ivan left the bar together and Ivan seemed extremely happy about it as he was beaming like an idiot.

Alaric is one of the sweetest guys I have met not only because he kept me company at the table while all the others went onto the dance floor but also because he offered to take me home after the party. It seemed odd at first to believe that he was just being friendly with me but after observing him the whole day, I realized that he was naturally sweet to most of the people in the office. So, I felt like an insane person for doubting him. As he and I are walking to my apartment, we do not have much to talk. It is really embarrassing. 

Suddenly, he glances at his phone for a moment and says, "Sorry Ellen! Something urgent came up and I will not be able to take you home this time. I am extremely sorry. I promise to make this up to you the next time." and took off without waiting for my answer leaving me wondering.