Chapter 2: A spark

Alexa woke up with her alarm going crazy and some madman banging on the door. It took her a second to realize that the madman was none other than the madwoman she called her best friend, Lin. The sun hadn't come up yet. At that hazy moment, Alexa contemplated whether a career was worth it. While pondering the idea, the banging on the door gave her a headache.

"Alexa, open up!" Lin was giving her a headache at that point.

"Okay, alright, give me a second!" she groaned as she opened the door. Lin looked so ready. Damn, Asians and their work ethics!

"What are you doing? We need to be downstairs in 10 minutes," Lin yelled, shoving Alexa to the washroom.

The room was still spinning for Alexa when they came down. She wondered if she was having a stroke. Could she be excused for the day if she did? The hotel arranged a special breakfast for the conference attendees. And their company thought it was a good idea for them to live here even though they had homes in the city. It would save time. At that moment, Alexa regretted agreeing to it.

"Hey, coffee is over there. C'mon!" Lin started dragging her toward God knew where. She wasn't watching and bumped hard into someone. The other person subconsciously held them so none of them would fall.

"Are you okay?" a heavenly voice startled Alexa awake. She opened her eyes fully for the first time that morning, and that was the moment she saw it. It was her, the woman whose thought kept her awake last night, dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt, looking like an angel minus the wings.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," she apologized quickly to save her job. But, instead, she saw Lin standing frozen by the corner of her eye.

Maggie just laughed, "It's okay. Where were you going?"

"Coffee!" Alexa pointed out the obvious.

"Oh, I need some to wake up as well. Do you mind if I join you?" Maggie smiled politely.

Alexa gestured her okay, and they started walking together in the long hall.

"So, how do you find work so far?" She asked Alexa in a soft tone. Lin still looked like she was constipated.

"It's terrific. Everyone's input is appreciated. It's fascinating to work as a group and brainstorm," Alexa grinned. She did like working there. She was working with her best friend and was making new friends. Now she had another reason to stay. Did her mind just say that?

"Well, your input is well appreciated. Thanks for last night," Maggie said all too politely. Alexa didn't know why it made her blush. It could mean another thing if it weren't her boss. Lin just looked confused.

"Well, thank you for asking me. What do you think then?" Alexa asked, trying to brush away the fluttering in her heart. She swore to God that puberty hit her late.

"We are definitely postponing the launch. We might have some more to discuss with my father. I will let you know," Maggie smiled as she took her coffee and walked away. Alexa couldn't help but notice that they both took black coffee without sugar.

"What was that about?" Lin inquired as Maggie was out of earshot.

"She called me last night," Alexa said plainly.

"In her room?" Lin asked with her mouth open.

Alexa laughed out loud, seeing her expression. "No, silly, the lobby."

"Oh, thank God!" she sighed a relief.

"What are you talking about?" Alexa arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well, don't get me wrong. You're beautiful, and she is beautiful. I can see something there, even though no one knows her preference. But she is the boss. If anything happens and doesn't work out, you will be devasted. It will be hard for you to work here, and..." Lin took in a mouthful of air.

"And?" Alexa asked for further.

"Everyone would say you were trying to seduce the boss. It's bad for business," Lin said with a poker face.

"Jeez, calm down. Nothing is happening here," Alexa said as a matter of fact. Still, she suddenly felt that the weather had become gloomy.

"Just saying. She never talks to us like this. She avoids talking to us," Lin said as a matter of fact which surprised Alexa a little. She had heard but never faced the cold bitch herself. Maggie was always so warm.

Little did Alexa know, Maggie woke up with a smile. She didn't understand why she felt happy. As she started stretching after waking up, her mind drifted to a particular scientist. She didn't know why she was still thinking about her. Maybe because she was the last person, Maggie talked to before bed last night. She couldn't sleep well, though. She kept thinking about what Alexa said about their product. She needed to talk her father out of the launching idea.

She was genuinely afraid to tell him. He was planning on a family vacation after the launch. Guess they had to cancel that as well. It dampened her mood as she desperately needed a break. But maybe working wouldn't be so bad now because she would get the chance to know more about Dr. Scott. The direction of her thinking surprised her. What was wrong with her?

During breakfast, she saw Dr. Wu comically dragging Alexa to get food. She joined them for a bit and chitchatted with Alexa. After that, she felt as if she had been reborn. The exhaustion from the past week was gone.

She then called her father and asked to cancel everything after lunch. She had to take a workshop in the morning. And she also asked her assistant to fix an appointment with her father and other directors. She was nervous about facing him. She was 28, but in front of her father, she was still a 5-year-old.

The workshop dragged on. She couldn't focus much, but she didn't let it show. She ran to my room as soon as it was finished. Her assistant was running behind her, holding a plate of pizza. She ate as I ran towards the room. Her father was already waiting along with the other directors. And when she opened the door and found them laughing, she was nervous again.

"Maggie, what is it that you need to tell us so urgently?" her father asked firmly.

"I wanted to talk about XZOY5," she said, calming myself.

That picked everyone's interest. Finally, he just asked, "What about it?"

she explained everything to them that Alexa had explained to her the night before. His face grimaced along with others.

"Let's hear it from Dr. Scott, shall we?" he said with a frown. She could tell he was mad.

She looked at her assistant, who then went to bring Alexa.

Dr. Scott seemed nervous when Maggie asked her to sit beside her. There was no available chair, okay? She didn't know why she suggested it on impulse. Her father seemed to have caught it on as well. But he didn't say a thing. She could feel Alexa's nervousness radiate to me. But suddenly, she took a deep breath and became cold and professional. Maggie was in awe at the sudden change in Alexa. She respected her more at that moment. She explained everything she told Maggie; even better, she came prepared. Maggie was impressed. She could tell her father was too.

The day ended with them agreeing that postponing the launch would be a great idea. And Maggie was to personally oversee the matter with Dr. Scott. Well, lovely, as If she didn't have to run a company. But working with Alexa didn't seem so bad. Everyone left, and Alexa shoved her laptop into her bag.

Before she could think of anything, Maggie's mouth started speaking on its own, "Hey, it's late," she paused for a bit, thinking over what she was about to say, "Do you want some dinner?"

Alexa looked confused for a minute as if she was mad for keeping her more. Maggie didn't want her to make her feel like she had to do whatever Maggie said.

Before Maggie could say something else, she spoke, "I'd love to."

Maggie felt her heart flutter. She ordered chicken dumplings and red wine.

Maggie grinned to herself after Alexa left the room. She was so excited and full of adrenaline. She felt like jumping. But reality hit her within a minute. What was she doing? She was probably leading the other party on. But it was just dinner. But why was she so happy about it? Damn it. She even had to control herself not to make eye contact for long or not to stare at Alexa's lips. What was happening to her?

She called her sister, "Hey, Lilly. I needed a suggestion."

Lilly yawned, "Can't this wait till morning?"

"Are you sure you are not infatuated?" Lilly asked her as she had finished rambling about Alexa. She couldn't help it. The thought of that blue-eyed angel made her so happy.

"Maybe a little crush. But this is different. She is different," she said.

"But?" Lilly was fully awoken.

"But, this cannot be happening. There are many things at play here?" she said sadly.

"Such as?"

"Well, for one, she is straight. She works for me, so she could make a complaint of harassment. Even if we got together, people would say she was seducing me, and I couldn't do that to her," she felt her mood dampen to the point of no return.

"Do you even hear yourself? I have never seen you like this. Stop overthinking," Lilly tried to encourage her. But she knew better than that.