Chapter 3: Unexpected gestures
Maggie walked into the empty elevator with only one guard. She insisted that they should leave her alone at work. As she drove her sports car there, they had no other option but to leave her alone. What did she know? They followed her discreetly in an SUV, and one was standing in front of the elevator. She missed the simpler time when she wasn't surrounded by guards 24x7, which of course, happened only in her dreams. She was drinking her coffee silently and heard a commotion. She guessed the bodyguard wasn't letting anyone else enter the elevator with her. She rolled her eyes under my sunglasses. What a joyful day, she thought!
The morning consisted of meetings with their engineers. Alexa would be there – her heart fluttered at the thought. What was wrong with her? She scolded her subconscious as if she were scolding a child. It was hard not to think about her, given that she had spent her previous night watching Alexa's lecture videos. Alexa taught at a university for some time back in her country. How she wished Alexa were her professor! Her lips curved a little at the thought.
Ding. The elevator opened, and it was showtime like every day. She brushed off the smile from her face and went into full ice queen mode. Everyone stopped and stood where they were. Only heel clicks could be heard. She preferred it that way. Her secretary greeted her at the door.
She listened to everyone giving their input and kept reticent, taking it all in. Alexa was sitting in front of her and others, which made it hard not to stare at her. Her gray suit complimented her curves nicely. Her hair was in a ponytail; Maggie was disheartened at that a little. She liked Alexa's wavy hair. Then, someone's phone rang, and she was brought back to reality. Alexa seemed to look directly into her eyes and averted her gaze a little too late to her liking.
After the meeting, everyone went their own way, leaving her with a pile of mess to solve. She was frustrated at this point. Her secretary was told not to let anyone in. She needed to go into her own world if they were to come back from this. She started comparing notes and analyzing the data. For example, she didn't know how many cups of coffee she had. She thanked my dad silently for installing a coffee machine in her room's eating area. Her room had a little eating area and a closet in case of emergency cloth change. Someone called her name for the third time, and she looked up. It was her secretary.
"Boss, do you want dinner?" she asked.
What! What time was it? She nodded, saying yes. The secretary left her with food, and she told the latter to go.
At some point, her phone startled her awoke. God damn it!
"Maggie, for God's sake, go home!" her dad yelled.
"Why, what time is it?" she asked groggily.
"It's 2 in the morning. God damn it!" his frustration could be heard over the phone.
"Yeah, Dad. I will leave after a while. Don't worry." she said, yawning. And he hung up. She quickly texted her bodyguards to leave as well.
She was focused on the laptop screen when she started hearing chatter. She jumped on her seat. She looked around, and it was already morning. God damn it. She wouldn't hear the end of it from her parents. She didn't always spend the night at the office, but it happened more than they liked. Her dad has a link to the CCTV on his phone. Then, she heard a light knock on the door. She looked up, and it was the Goddess herself. What did she just say? She blamed it on the lack of sleep.
"Good morning, Ms. Chan. Did you spend the night here?" The Goddess asked.
Her mind was too tired to answer, and she nodded. Alexa said something, but she kept losing her focus. And then Alexa wasn't in front of her. Did she just doze off on Alexa? Shit.
About 30 minutes later, Alexa was in front of her again with a large cup of latte and breakfast. She was shocked, and she wondered what Alexa was doing and where the hell her secretary was. Even though she had a coffee machine, she was thankful for the latte. It was from her favorite coffee shop just a block from their office. She stared at Alexa, confused.
"You bought me dinner. The least I can do is get you breakfast," she smiled widely.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much!" Maggie was at a loss for words.
They silently ate waffles with chocolate syrup. Alexa made some small talk, but it wasn't boring. Maggie was glad to hear her voice. Maggie had it bad. Was it a crush, or had it already turned into infatuation? And why was Alexa being so friendly to her? No one else dared to do what Alexa did. She wasn't afraid of her. It should have hurt Maggie's ego, but instead, she felt relieved.
She left the building sometime after 5. The morning events were still spinning in her head like a movie. She had a goofy smile thinking about that. Then she remembered the call from her parents. Her dad threatened to fire her if she kept spending the night at the office. Go figure! She slipped past her guards without them noticing. Clearly, they weren't doing a perfect job.
She walked to her car, and the keys fell out of her hand. She cursed at her own clumsiness. She was contemplating if she should drive with sleep in her eyes when someone called her from behind.
"Ms. Chan, are you sure you can drive?" Alexa asked softly.
"I'm thinking about it," she shrugged.
"Let me drive?" Alexa asked, looking directly into her eyes, asking for permission.
"But, can you?" Maggie was worried about my favorite car. But, crush or not, the vehicle would not leave her or break her heart.
Alexa laughed out loudly, "Trust me." She took the keys from Maggie's hand, and the latter was too tired to protest.
"I'm glad tomorrow is the weekend," she mumbled, and Alexa laughed again.
The same morning
Was Ms. Chan staring at her lips? God, she must be daydreaming. Alexa walked out of the conference room, happy.
"What's wrong with you?" Lin raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing," she shrugged.
"The sexual tension between you two is unbearable!" Lin smirked at her when they were alone.
"What are you saying?" she was shocked at what her friend said.
"You know exactly what I'm saying."
"Did you sense something?"
"Apart from the staring contest between you and Ms. Chan?" she laughed.
Alexa tried to roll her eyes, but the laughter won.
"But, trust me. I'm your friend. She isn't named The Ice Queen for nothing," Lin said with concern.
"Care to elaborate?" Alexa pressed.
"The first time anyone had ever seen her smiling was when she was talking to you," Lin explained, thinking something.
"Oh, My God! She likes you!" she shouted after a dramatic pause.
Alexa shushed her, "You're overimagining it."
She came home and showered. Maggie's face kept coming up in her mind. Those dark eyes would be the death of her. Why was she acting so weird? She needed to get a grip on herself. She wasn't a teenager anymore. Her fingers automatically typed Maggie's name on the search bar. She was going through article after article about her. Lin was right. She never smiled. But she always held a power pose; it only made her more attractive. Alexa found her inner teenager blushing.
As she came to the office, Lin dragged her where no one could hear them.
"Do you know she spent the night here?" She said. Alexa only got confused.
"Who spent the night here?" So she asked.
"Ms. Chan. She was working all night," Lin said as a matter of fact.
Without thinking, she knocked on Maggie's door. Yeah, she called her by her first name in her mind. A faint come-in was heard. She entered, and Maggie looked drained. She looked at the board beside Maggie. It was filled with ideas and directions. How did Maggie come up with all of that in one night? Alexa was in awe; however, Maggie seemed lost. She called her name and asked if she had eaten something. But she had already leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes. Alexa left the room without making a noise. On her way out, she met Maggie's secretary.
"Hey, what's Ms. Chan's favorite breakfast?" she asked.
"Waffles and latte. I was gonna bring them. Why?" the secretary asked, confused.
"Leave that to me. Thanks," Alexa smiled and went on her way.