Emma's POV
NYC
Present Day
"Oh, Crap! Emma, shit, Emma, listen!"
His words echoed as I ran down the empty corridor. Frantic breathes synced with ocean of tears flew freely down my burning cheeks.
"Emma! Emma, wait, please stop." He followed me. He was closing in, so I brisked up my pace. Every step forward dug a deep hole in my aching heart.
He tried to catch me, but before he could, I entered an almost closing elevator. As the door closed between us, I finally looked straight in his eyes.
The blaring alarm clock got me out of yet another reverie, or was it a bad dream? Honestly, I wasn't sure anymore.
This had become a regular drill since days now. My subconscious mind kept playing tricks, and made me revisit the events of that day, troubling my soul to bear and accept things that had caused immense pain in the first place. No matter how hard I tried to make peace with the truth, I failed every single time.
The days dawned the same, the birds flocked the same, the world voyaged the same, yet something had changed. Maybe not on the outside, but within. Every passing minute of my life in the past month felt unfamiliar. I didn't feel the same anymore.
I saw the clock and realised I was running late. I rushed through my morning routine and got ready; and without wasting another precious second, I headed downstairs. The moment I entered the living room, I heard my parents talking softly.
"Is she down yet?"
"Not yet, she should be here soon. I have prepared her breakfast."
"Today is important. It's her first outing outside this house in months."
"Yes, I am so worried about her Taylor. I thought I would never be able to see her smile again."
"Don't worry, Samantha. She is stronger than you think. I trust our daughter; she will get through this."
Guilt washed over me as the distress in their voice reflected how disappointed they must have felt, watching their grown up daughter break like a fragile doll.
Now when I looked back, it all seemed worthless.
I heaved a deep sigh and mustered all my strength before I stepped in their room.
"Mom, I am leaving, I am horribly behind schedule", I dashed into their room and without making further conversation, I turned to step out of the house. I felt ashamed to confront them after all these days.
I walked past them, and almost instantly heard them call my name from behind.
"Emma, wait. Just eat a little, your food is ready and served."
"Later, Mom. I will call you once I reach," I tried to control my trembling voice as I slammed the front door and ran into the cab that had been waiting for me for the last eight minutes to be precise.
"I am sorry I am late, can you please take me to this address here", I passed on a visiting card with my destination address to the cab driver while adjusting my blue pencil skirt before settling in the back seat of the cab. I took one final look at my reflection in my phone's front camera, and once satisfied, I threw it back into my cluttered purse.
While on the way, I recalled how this was a dream come true for me. I worked really hard to reach here. My grades were always on point, and morals virtuous and high, basis enough for landing me a prestigious scholarship to study corporate law in a reputed ivy college. Luckily in my last semester, I got hired as a Junior Associate Attorney at S&M, one of the fore-running law firms in the United States, headquartered in the heart of Manhattan.
As a teenager and even through college, I ran behind the notion of being perfect in all the dutiful roles that I was expected to endure - a doting daughter, a sincere student and a loyal girlfriend.
That was until three months ago. Today, I was just one of those million girls who wore a brave smile on the outside with a very broken heart on the inside.
I was taken out of my thoughts, when suddenly I felt my phone ringing, it was Niki.
"Hi, Emma! You are going to start your first job, I am so excited. Just called to wish you all the world's luck." As always, she sounded pleasant and cheerful, like the first ray of sunshine.
"Thanks, Niki, it means a lot," Hearing her voice made a small smile form on my lips.
"Hey! Cheer up. Don't sound all sad and depressed, not today at least. I know the last few months have been challenging Emma, but you need to focus on the new beginnings."
I listened to her silently.
"Come on, Emma. I am banning you from feeling sad anymore. Promise me. You won't let anything spoil your day today."
"I will try Niki. This job opportunity means a lot. I don't want to put everyone down again."
"You are amazing, sweety. You can never put anyone down. Just stop being too hard on yourself. Now get out there and have a great day."
"Yes. I will call you later to fill you in on details. You have a great day too." I hung up, as her words echoed in my ear.
I had been difficult on myself, true, and I was determined to change that now.
Niki was my best friend and Nate's twin sister. Three of us had been childhood friends, and there would not even be a single memory of my younger days, that didn't remind me of my happy times together with these two.
Niki was also the cupid that tried to strike the cord between her best friend and brother; and not that I had any regrets because everything happened for a reason, my heart winced to think of how badly it ended. He was my first and only love. Nate and I were quite solid together, as we lasted more than four years, or so I thought.
As time flies, things change, and so do people.
***
The noisy streets snapped me out of my thoughts again. Zoning out had become my thing. I had reached my workplace. I quickly paid and stepped out of the cab, adjusting my dress for the last time, I headed to the reception in my brand-new office.
My new workplace was impressive, spacious and had a modern feel to it. A young and charming female was sitting at the reception desk. On getting closer, I could read her name as Britney Sanders.
"Hello, Good Morning! How can I help you?" She eyed me from head toe, after giving me a soft smile.
"Hi, Good Morning. I am Emma, I was supposed to join Atty. Benjamin's office today." I handed her my appointment letter.
"Right. Welcome aboard, Emma. That won't be required", she pointed at the piece of paper in my hand. "Atty. Benjamin is expecting you in his office. Walk down the corridor on your right, and it shall be the third door from the left". She sounded very warm and welcoming.
"Thank you, Britney. You have a good day too." I responded before heading straight to his office.
Atty. Benjamin was in his early forties, and he had won several accolades in the field of Corporate Governance, which was also my area of specialization. He was highly respected in the industry, and I felt fortunate enough to have gotten a chance to work in his team.
I lightly knocked at his office door and heard a loud "Come in".
I made my way in and greeted him with my best smile. He was on a call, and he waved his hand, indicating me to sit.
While he was busy, I took a minute to observe his office interiors. The cabin was well lit and had light green walls, and there was a huge window at the back of his chair overseeing the busy streets of downtown Manhattan.
There were fresh lilies in a vase neatly placed on a stand on the right of his table, along with a picture frame which had a female along with two little girls roughly five-six years of age, most likely his wife and daughters. Near the door, there was a neatly placed workstation with a desktop and office chair arranged right at the corner.
"Good Morning Emma. My name is Benjamin Behan, and you would be joining my team here at S&M. I am glad to meet you in person today. I have heard great things about you from the HR team."
"Absolutely, Sir. I am so excited to work in your team, and this truly is a dream come true for me. I will ensure to never disappoint you".
He nodded and gave me a file that had details about the organisation, and it's several departments.
He continued to explain further, "you wouldn't get to any direct client work until the next six months, that is your probation period. During this time you will be mostly operating from my office here, assisting me in my current work on as need basis."
I nodded as I listened to him attentively.
"Let me tell you, this is a a very busy office and a lot of work may pile up on your small workstation there". He pointed to the far corner of the room.
I felt happy looking at my first workstation, even though it was small and nothing fancy, I adored it already.
"Alright? Any questions?"
"No questions, sir, I am looking forward to starting my day".
"Call me Benjamin, and let's start with a hot cup of coffee. I prefer it strong and less sugar. The break-out area is towards the right at the end of this corridor. Hurry as we have a lot to cover".
"Sure Benjamin. I will be right at it". I swiftly got up from my seat, placed my bag at my workstation and headed out to get him the hot cup of coffee he asked for.
The entire day went by taking down instructions from Benjamin and receiving calls in his absence when he went out on meetings.
I was exhausted when I reached home; it looked like a tough week ahead. I took a mental note, once I survived this week, I got to find an apartment for myself, something near my office.
I changed my clothes, had dinner with my family and went to bed early. I looked at my phone and was scrolling through my notifications. I had three missed calls and four messages from Niki.
"Hi, Girl! Best of luck for your first day today! loads of love xoxo."
"How's it going, Emma? Get back to me when you see this"
"You won't believe what happened at the gallery today, I met this cute guy, and he instantly made small talk with me. He even gave me his number. His name is Barry. Buzz me for more details."
"Whatsup Girl! ping me when you get home"
Niki and I were still strong in our friendship. My breakup with her brother did not change much, except that she almost punched him in face and did not speak to him for two months straight. She cared for me, and I was more than glad that I always had her back.
I texted her back as I had no energy left for a phone call.
"Hey, Niki! I had an amazing yet exhausting first day. Just got back from work and have hit the bed already."
"Wow, Barry sounds cute. I want full details about him. It looks like it's going to be a crazy week ahead, let's plan to meet up Saturday? I would need your help hunting an apartment anyways. Let's catch up for brunch at our regular spot."
I waited for her reply, and my phone beeped instantly.
"Yes baby, Saturday it is. I will meet you around noon. xoxo".
With this, I turned to my side and closed my eyes. Five minutes into bed, and flashes of my trip to Corsica three months ago ran through my eyes. We went there to celebrate Nate and Niki's twenty third birthdays.
Unlike me, Nate and Niki belonged to a very wealthy family. We were former neighbors until their family business took off and they moved to the city. Our parents were good friends till date, their relationship didn't change much, even though they were hugely disappointed when they heard Nate and I broke up. They were all silently shipping us, but we don't always get what we plan, right?
Never could I have imagined, that while travelling to one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, where millions of couples may have professed their love for each other, I would return back home with a broken heart.
Author's Note: Hello, Readers! Please leave your feedback and comments as this is my first story :)
The story gets better as the chapters progress. I promise you won't be disappointed. Stay tuned!
Happy Reading to all of you! <3