By now, we had reached the first floor and I heard multiple voices and noises coming from the center. There was whispering, giggling, clanking, and some typing going on. As we reached closer, I soon recognized Tori who had also seen me. Her wide eyes and the loud gasp already told me what she was about to do next.
"Willow's here!"
At once, every person who was busy with their own work just a few seconds ago, left it to come together, surrounding Tori. The one thing that touched my heart was how they were all beaming at me. All their bright faces and smiles explained what River said to me was indeed the truth; they were excited to meet me in person. So was I, and I'm so glad I'm here.
Wade gestured me to walk forward with him towards the team, and so I did. I mirrored their smiles and waved at them.
"Guys, we finally have our very own writer with us; Willow Sterling. As we all know, there's no doubting her skills, experience, and capabilities. So, let's welcome her to the team!"
"Hey, all. I can't express how happy I am to be here at last and meet you all. Thank you all for believing in me and seeing that potential in me to be a part of your family. I'm really excited about this!"
Wade, who was looking down at me with a smile that I know expressed his happiness but with a little twist to it. I honestly don't know how to explain that to myself. Guess I'll just let it be for now.
"Allow me to introduce the team," Wade cleared his throat and began speaking, "This lovely lady right here is, Daisy. My manager, PRIZM's manager. She's everybody's manager."
"She's a momager, to be precise," Tori added with a little giggle, as everyone else followed.
Daisy, who clearly was the eldest in the team, rolled her eyes and smiled briefly at me. "Just ignore them, please. I'm extremely happy to see you here, Willow. You have no idea how desperately we've been waiting for you, haha!"
"I've been told," I nodded at her.
"This is Tori, as you know, the manager for the catering services in our events."
Tori waved joyously at me, "Nice to see you again, Willow!"
"Guess we'll be seeing each other more often," I replied.
"That dude right behind Tori... that's Tanner; he takes care of every and any technical issue, presentations, animation stuff, etc. He's the computer science geek, you can say. He's also the one managing our social media accounts until now."
"You don't know how relieving it is to see you, Willow," Tanner laughed, making me join him along. "Nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet you too! I'm happy to take that burden off of you."
"The red hair beside Daisy is Lexi; responsible for all that is fashion and event decorations. From our costumes, when necessary, to the total planning of our events, she takes care of everything.
"Hi, Willow! I'm really excited to work with you!"
"The feeling's mutual, Lexi. Happy to meet you!"
"Now towards the twins in our team; meet Min and Kim. Min takes care of all the mini-events that make up our main event like, meeting the sponsors, making the deal. Basically, he looks after the mini-games that we organize. And now, he'll be the one who will mainly cover the Vlog idea you gave. He loved it a lot."
I grinned, "Oh, wow. Thanks a lot for considering it."
"Everybody here loved it and now, just need you to look at what we created before uploading it," said Min with a kinda boyish smile. "Oh, and it's a pleasure having you here, Willow."
"Same here, Min. I'll do whatever I can to help."
Everybody is so enthusiastic and determined about their work here! Just the kind of work environment I always needed.
"And that's his twin sister, Kim; the sweetest person here with kinda similar responsibility. She hosts all our events, takes care of the special guests, and co-manages duties with Lexi."
Kim is a cute-looking girl, with the same smile as her brother, with straight bangs that give her a school girl look. "Hi, Willow! So happy to meet you. We loved your ideas and cannot wait to work with you!"
I chuckled at her jumpy demeanor, "Of course! I'm just as excited as you are."
"Alright, then," Wade began, "now that the introductions are out of the way, let's proceed with the significant task that officially connects Willow with PRIZM. So, Tanner, Min... if you will please bring it?"
Bring what?
I stayed silent as the rest beamed, eagerly waiting for Tanner and Min to return as much as I did. When the two men id return, I saw that they were holding a box very carefully as if it was made of glass.
I frowned, "What's that?"
"See for yourself," Tori replied with a mischievous grin.
Once Tanner and Min placed the box on the center table, Wade came forward and uncovered the box, revealing a red velvet cake that had 'WELCOME WILLOW!' written over it. A silent gasp escaped my mouth and there was one thing question that instantly came to my mind.
"How did you guys know that red velvet is my absolute favorite?" The delicious aroma of the cake had already filled up the room.
"Wade told me and so I ordered," said Daisy.
I quickly shot an amazed look at him, "I'm flattered by this welcome, really. But still... how did you know that?"
He shrugged, "Don't give that look. Tori helped me with it."
"Okay, I seriously don't understand," I frowned and laughed while glancing at Tori. "How did you got to know that?"
Suddenly, Tori seemed a bit hesitant to answer my question that only made me more curious.
"Uh, you know how I've been visiting the Drive lately..."
And that was enough for me to know the answer.
"Cara told you," I stated with a smirk.
She smiled nervously, "Yeah, you can say that. We're now good friends since the interview happened."
Goodness Gracious. I have a feeling that Ben's feeling is becoming a reality here. And I'm already loving this.
I beamed at her, "That's great news, Tori. I'm so happy to know that. All along, this was the reason why you met her - I mean, why you met us."
"Yeah, that is crazy. But Cara is really a great friend and so good with all the fashion stuff and trends. I haven't met Ben, but from what all I've heard, he seems like the party of your group."
"And you won't be disappointed. He's much more than that, haha."
"Yeah, we didn't meet your friend Ben," Wade said from beside me.
"You were there just for a day, remember?" Lexi spoke up mockingly.
I'm loving how people here are just how they describe themselves as; family members. They tease each other, work as a team, and celebrate things together with joy. Where the hell was Wade Samuels all this time?
I smiled at her, "He wasn't there on the day of my interview. He's a sous-chef actually and had been out that day to meet with his boyfriend's family."
"Oh, so he's committed?" Wade asked, making me wriggle my brows.
"Yeah... why?"
"Nothing, all good now," he said, giving me a toothy smile that I think is too innocent.
But what was with that goofy look right there? And does he mean by 'all good now'? Wasn't he good before? Wade Samuels and his mysterious words can be so confusing sometimes.
Daisy clapped twice to gain our attention, "Alright, folks! Now let's welcome Willow. The cake has been waiting ever since!"
"Yes, finally!" Min sighed dramatically, somehow reminding me of Ben.
"Here," Wade handed me the beautifully ribboned knife, which again made our hands brush softly.
I deliberately didn't react to it, and I'm sure Wade did the same. I know I must not think of such things because for all I know he could be in a committed relationship. Not that I'm really concerned about it, I don't want to. But when small things like this happen, they stir up some oblivious sensations inside of me. Although I have been single for two damn years, that doesn't mean I'm a desperate freak. That simply means I gave time to myself and my career. I took time to heal and bring balance into my life. That only means that I was always there for my mom and my friends, which is something that's never going to change even after I get into a relationship. That is if that's written in my fate.
At last, the cake was cut by me as everybody cheered. Tanner and Min pulled the party poppers just on time, scaring the shit out of me.
"That was way too close!"
"That's part of our welcoming session, Willow. Sorry for the scare," said Tanner with a goofy grin.
I smiled while brushing off the confetti off my clothes and head, "No worries. My best friends do it all the time to me. So, I'm used to it, but never prepared."
Daisy was the first one to offer me the cake.
"I feel like it's my birthday," I chuckled.
"You're not alone. Wade has done this with all of us, making sure that we feel at home," said Kim.
"And this ain't it. Be it anyone's birthday, PRIZM anniversary, or any celebration, no matter how little or big, is celebrated with equal zeal."
Hearing that, I glanced at Wade, "That's really nice of you, and you have no idea."
He gave a faint smile, "Whatever PRIZM is today, is because we all work together. Everybody deserves happiness, and that happiness must be celebrated with people you care for."
Be still, my heart. Slowly and steadily, I'm starting to believe in his truthness as all my doubts about him are clearing out.
As we stare at each other, he raises his hand with the piece of cake and brings it up to my lips with the smile I love seeing on his face the most, "Welcome to the team, Willow."
I take a little bite from it and give him a similar mysterious smile, "Thank you."
"Oh, and before we forget... here. The contract."
Wade handed me a file that weighed light as a feather and didn't have a single wrinkle on it. It was the contract, as he said. I flipped the file open and read the contract. It was the same as he had emailed me on the same day of the interview so that I would know all the conditions and legal stuff beforehand. With a big smile on my face, I took out a pen from my side bag and placed the file down on the table. I took a deep breath and finally signed the contract, now becoming the official member of PRIZM.
"Yay!" Everyone began to cheer as soon as I signed it.
After that was done, Wade showed me around the entire office, lastly introducing me to my own working space. I saw how everybody's desks were not too far away, forming a semi-circle separated by colorful glass walls that didn't take up much space. There was even a lounge for those who need silence to work. When I said that this place is way too classy, I wasn't exaggerating. PRIZM office isn't just classy, but a very relaxed one too. There's a resting place here to sleep or take a quick nap if you're tired, or are working overnight. Even the chairs here are so damn comfy that make me compare the ones in the Bue Dove office. Those were so rigid that my back still aches because of them. They have been there since I joined, and have no idea if they were there even before me. That is one such big drawback about Blue Dove; it never updates.
Coming back to my working area, it was at the corner attached to the wall. A laptop whose cover matched with the glass wall separating mine and Tori's desks, was placed neatly at the center. A beautiful pen stand, a cleared-up pinboard, and two prism paperweights were sitting undisturbed. The tidy area was tempting me to start with my work right away.
"Wow... as a writer, this for me is Heaven," I said in awe while everyone laughed. "I love everything about PRIZM and every member here. I just can't thank you enough. I feel blessed. That's it."
Wade chuckled, "You deserve this, Willow. Your talent deserves it. Just like these amazing folks here, you are no less than a star to me."
This man should be a motivational speaker. If you talk to him personally, he will boost your self-confidence and will make you realize your worth.
Suddenly, we heard a crumbling noise as if something had been knocked off. It was alerting and flashed expressions on everyone's faces like the scared Shaggy and Scooby-Doo's.
"What was that?" I asked with a glint of fear in my voice.
"Oh my God, that's Elsa!" Kim freaked out.
"Who's Elsa?" I questioned again.
Is there another member of the team? Or maybe someone special to Wade?
"I thought you were taking care of her," Min said to his sister. "You know how she reacts when she's hungry."
"I thought she's with Daisy this whole time!"
"Of course, she isn't," replied Daisy, now looking tensed.
"We should see what happened," I suggested, hearing which Wade was the first one to run inside the room that was adjacent to my desk.
I followed him along with the others and saw that this room was more like storage. There were many files, papers, costumes, decorative material, a few lamps, and a single table. It was painted white, spacious, and was surprisingly just as tidy as the whole office with a glass wall that gave the beautiful view of the city.
Wow, I love this room the most.
"Elsa! What did you do?"
Wade's concerning voice gained my attention and I looked at the source of the mysterious noise we heard before. She stared at us with her grey-blue eyes while licking her pink paws and settling her white fur. Down on the floor were the scattered pieces of an artificial plant.
"Meow," she reacted on seeing us looking the least cared about what she has just done.
Oh, so this is Elsa. Not Elsa a human, but Elsa the pretty, aristocat.