The following day, as soon as she made her coffee, Vanessa began to prepare for her first day of work.
She wore tight black high-waisted pants, a pink tank top with a high neckline, and high-heeled shoes. Since she had plenty of time, she finished her coffee on the balcony with a few cigarettes and headed for the office afterward.
Mike met Vanessa in the hallway on their floor. "Good morning, Nessa. I've been waiting for you."
"Good morning, Mike." Vanessa greeted him with a smile.
"Come with me. Let me take you to your office."
As expected, Mike took Vanessa to the office that belonged to him till yesterday.
"With a little nostalgia, I'm officially handing over my office to you," Mike said with a mix of solemnity and sadness as they entered the office. "Please, take care well of it."
Vanessa looked at him strangely for a moment. But then she thought that even though she never allowed herself to be emotional, perhaps it was customary for people to show emotion in moments like this—when parting with something, even with an office, after long years spent there.
"You can count on me," she answered. "Plus, you can always come to visit it."
They both started laughing.
"Oh, you can be sure I will," Mike said with a smile and continued a little more seriously. "But the joke aside—you can redecorate it to your liking. You can rearrange the furniture as you see fit."
"Thank you for the carte blanche, but I think it's perfect this way."
"Phew!" Mike sighed as he imitated wiping sweat from his forehead.
They both burst out laughing again.
"Okay, now for work. Cole is busy today, so I'll show you the basic paperwork now."
Strange... Vanessa thought as they sat behind the desk.
"You already know it will be your responsibility to organize and conduct all the interviews when new employees are needed."
Vanessa nodded.
Then Mike continued. "Also, you'll have to get acquainted with Cole's schedule and assist him with everything needed. He will tell you everything in detail, but usually, the assistant has to organize his meetings and sometimes meet people themselves. You will also need to get acquainted with all the employees you will be making work schedules for. Everything needed is here." Mike showed Vanessa the locations of all the files on the computer and how to work with the types of software. "Feel free to explore them later. Everything else Cole will tell you later on."
"Alright, I will check everything," Vanessa replied, confident that she would not encounter any technical problems. The communication and staff control software and tools seemed simple and easy to use.
"Now, let me show you around if you want," Mike said as he got up from the chair.
"I'd be thankful."
Mike and Vanessa walked around the building, and Mike didn't fail to show Vanessa the cafe on the tenth floor.
"We have a coffee machine on our floor, and you can always ask Marissa for coffee, but when you want to relax in a good atmosphere—this is the place!"
The cafe was not very large, but what attracted attention was the vast terrace, which had a view from the back of the building directly to the mountain.
"It looks wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to walk me around, Mike."
"Don't mention it. Now, I need to return to my work. But if you need anything, you can call me anytime."
After returning to the twelfth floor, the two parted ways—Mike entered one of the unmarked offices near the elevator, and Vanessa headed for her office.
She sat in front of the computer and began researching the information Mike provided her about her work. So, a few tedious hours passed.
Shortly after noon, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Vanessa replied.
The girl Vanessa had bumped into in the hallway on the day of the interview entered her office. Or as she recognized her then—Rebecca Willker, Cole's sister.
"Hey, girl." Rebecca greeted Vanessa in a friendly manner.
"Hello," Vanessa also replied kindly. "I think we've met before?"
"Yeah. When you tried to pass through me," Rebecca said, laughing.
"Oh, right... Ahm, I am sorry again."
"Don't worry. By the way, I am Rebecca."
"I'm Nessa."
"It's nice to meet you, Nessa. I was thinking... It's lunchtime. You can come with me to the restaurant if you want."
"That's very kind of you. I would love to. Just wait to get my purse."
"My treat," Rebecca said. She took Vanessa's hand and led her to the door.
"There is no need, Rebecca."
The girls walked to the elevator, as Rebecca did not allow Vanessa to return for her purse.
"The pleasure is mine. And it's not that big of a deal anyway. You are new here, and I want to welcome you to the company and make you feel comfortable."
Rebecca looked very kind and sincere. Her gesture impressed Vanessa, as she imagined her spoiled and even arrogant rather than nice and sweet.
***
In the meantime, Cole walked into Mike's office. "Are all analyses ready?"
"No, Cole, they are not," Mike replied as he got up from his chair, stood in front of the desk, and leaned against it. "You know why?" He paused, but Cole only crossed his arms in response. "Because,"—Mike continued—"I had to meet Nessa and introduce her to her work instead of doing my job. Then the question arises: Why did you not do it?"
"I won't give you an explanation, Mike."
"What is your problem these days, Cole? Don't tell me it has nothing to do with the new girl. You hired her, no matter that you knew she was not the best choice. Now you refuse to meet her. This is pretty crazy even for you!"
"Remind me why I still tolerate you?" Cole asked with all his seriousness.
"Because you can't live without me." Mike shrugged.
"Don't count on this forever."
"Only for a lifetime, bro!"
That was true. Although Cole didn't share personal feelings even with Mike, Mike knew him well, and Cole was aware of that.
"I don't have a problem, Mike—that's the problem. Something in this girl just drove me crazy. And keeps driving me crazy only with the thought of her."
"You like her."
"What? Damn it, Mike! What are you talking about?" Cole replied, visibly angry.
"Calm down, Cole. That was just an assumption." Mike stepped back but decided to test Cole at the same time. "Besides, I don't mind dealing with her. She is sexy..."
For a moment, Cole wiped the anger from his face and showed his typical blank expression, though Mike's words infuriated him even more. "Don't even think of touching her. End of conversation, Mike. The analyses by the end of the day."
As Cole walked out of the office, Mike started to giggle. But in a few seconds, he felt worried. That was something new—this girl Vanessa... Cole liked her. Mike knew that. But he also knew that Cole wouldn't admit it. And the inner battle he was about to lead was definitely about to explode at some point.
***
In the meantime, at the restaurant
The waitress approached Rebecca and Vanessa's table to take their order.
"I want a Toast with Ham and Lettuce and water, please." Rebecca took her order. "What about you, Nessa?"
Vanessa looked at the menu for a few more seconds. "I also want the same toast. And one coffee."
The waitress wrote down their order and headed for the bar.
"So, Nessa, how are you feeling? Do you like your new job?" Rebecca asked Vanessa with interest.
"Well, it passed only a half-day... But the place is amazing, and I really like it so far. Although, I don't know all my responsibilities yet."
"Don't worry. Cole will explain everything to you."
"That's the strange thing. I haven't seen the boss yet."
"Hm, that's really strange... Anyway, you'll see him often, considering that you are his assistant. Even too often..." Rebecca finished with a visibly awkward expression.
"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked her curiously.
"Here is your order, girls." The waitress, who was serving their order, interrupted their conversation. But immediately afterward, she withdrew.
The girls began to eat but were interrupted again a few seconds later. Cole stood in front of their table. "Why don't you pick up your phone, Becca?" he turned to his sister without even looking at Vanessa.
"Because I left my phone in the office, so nobody disturbs my lunch," Rebecca answered indifferently.
"Then again, hello to you, too..." Vanessa intervened with a slight irony in her voice, staring into Cole's eyes.
Cole looked at her for a moment, then continued talking to Rebecca. "Will you come home on time?"
"I don't think so, Cole! We will go out," she answered him as if in stubbornness.
"We?"
"Yeah, Nessa and I." Rebecca gave his brother a reply that was not
Rebecca's reply to her brother was not to Vanessa's liking. She didn't want to be involved in some sibling stories on her first day.
"Whatever," Cole replied, disgruntled. Then, he turned to Vanessa. "Don't be late, Vanessa."
He left the restaurant without waiting for an answer.
But his words pissed Vanessa even more. What kind of strange, unbearable, and arrogant man was he? What kind of behavior was that? And how was she supposed to handle this man when she had wanted to punch her fist in his face since day one?
"Wanna go out with me tonight?" Rebecca interrupted her thoughts.
Vanessa didn't answer, but her eyes showed she didn't like the situation.
Rebecca continued. "I am sorry, don't be mad at me. I don't want to start our acquaintance with bad feelings. I was just about to invite you to go out tonight—to get some drinks, to get to know each other better... You know. I am so happy that I finally have a female colleague on our floor."
Strangely, Vanessa's anger passed very quickly. Rebecca's behavior was friendly, and she seemed genuinely to try to help Vanessa feel good in her new job.
"What's the story with you and the boss? You two live together?" Vanessa acted like she didn't know they were siblings. "And by the way, don't you consider Marissa as a female colleague?"
"Marissa?" Rebecca started laughing. "She is female, yeah, but she is... Marissa..."
"I don't get it."
"Let's just say that she is not the company to have lunch with or even have a chat with. I'd rather think I don't have a female company here than include her in that definition."
Vanessa laughed, too. She wasn't surprised that Rebecca didn't like Marissa. That confirmed her theory of what kind of person the secretary was.
"And to answer your other question,"—Rebecca continued—"yes, Cole and I live together. Long story short—I broke up with my ex-boyfriend in a hard way. Mom isn't in the country, and my hero-brother made me a condition—either to live with him in our house or to go to my mother in Europe."
"Cole is your brother?" Vanessa asked so surprisedly that she herself was amazed at how good an actress she was.
"I'm not to blame for that," Rebecca replied defensively.
The girls giggled loudly.
"Don't get me wrong—I love my brother. He is a good man." Despite the scene from a few minutes ago, while Rebecca was talking about Cole, there was endless love in her eyes. "He is just a bit controlling sometimes... like all the time..."
"Maybe he just worries about you?" Vanessa kept asking questions to learn more about Cole.
"Yeah, he always worries about me but shows his feelings strangely... You will understand that."
At that moment, Vanessa could not imagine how well she was about to get familiar with that.
"Alright, Rebecca. I'm not mad at you. Just don't put me in such a situation ever again!"
"I promise!"
"By the way, what are you planning to wear tonight?" Vanessa asked with a half-smile.
"That's my girl! I knew we'd match!"
So, a friendship began.
Friendship—a word that was unknown to Vanessa until then.
Friendship—a feeling she had never felt before.
Friendship—part of a series of events that were about to change her life.