Aniya glanced up from her desk as River approached the reception area, looking slightly overwhelmed by the bustling office environment on the lower floors. Today Marwick Garner’s secretary Theodore Panks took her for introducing to other employees. He told her about the different floors Garner offices occupied. "Hey there! How's your second day treating you?" Aniya asked her with a friendly smile. River sighed, running a hand through her shoulder-length hair, "It's been quite a ride. Trying to wrap my head around everything and to remember everyone's names." Aniya chuckled, understanding her confusion all too well, "Oh, I know that feeling. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. You will find everyone around here quite friendly." Yeah. Everyone except, Chad. River thought and leaned against the reception desk, grateful for a momentary break, "These different software systems are like a maze. It's like learning a whole new language." Aniya nodded sympathetically, "Te
All she remembered was her boss who could know her reality. But the leech who was sitting confidently near her, was giving her dirty looks. “So how about we become friends and forget what happened yesterday.” He offered with a friendly smile, but that only made her nauseated. She felt disgusted by his presence. His closeness was giving her the creeps. Chad, with a smug look on his face, slid closer to River, invading her personal space. River's heart raced, and she instinctively shifted away from him. "So, River,” Chad leaned closer to her, “Do you like my suggestion? Let’s forget what happened yesterday. Hmm?" River's stomach churned at the deviousness in his voice, and she fought back the urge to gag. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to keep her guard up. She managed a weak smile, her voice strained, "I think it's best if we maintain a professional distance, Chad. I am not here to create problems for anyone. Let me work in peace." Chad's friendly smile faltered a littl
“You wanted to discuss something?” Chad asked his boss with a pleasant smile but inside he was fuming. Mr. Garner snatched the golden chance to get to know the timid boy. Marwick Garner had a shrewd look in his eyes when he gestured for Chad to take a seat, "Yes, Chad. I've been observing a few things in the office, and I wanted to discuss them with you." Chad's smile grew wider, masking his frustration. He tried to show himself as an attentive employee, eager to give the impression that he respected his boss and his perspective. "Of course, Mr. Garner. I'm all ears." Marwick Garner leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable, "As a director, I expect you not to go to the subordinates, looking for work. You arrange files, sitting on the floor with River. We get VIP visitors on our floor. What type of message are you conveying to them?” Marwick kept his gaze fixed on his face, “River is merely a boy and still in the learning phase. Aniya and Theodore are there to help him. W
River was applying the solution to get rid of her brows when the door of her hotel room got knocked. “Hell.” She muttered under her breath when the solution bottle dropped from her hand. Though she was quick to pick that up there was a little mess on the carpet now. She did remember to put a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside on the doorknob. Weren’t the waiters of this hotel trained enough? Applying the solution on her eyebrow she slowly peeled it off her face. Just then the door got knocked again. “What?” she shouted in frustration and scurried to the door. Thankfully she remembered to look through the peephole. Shoot! It was her cold-hearted CEO. What was Marwick Garner doing here? “River?” Marwick knocked again. At the same time, her phone started ringing. He was calling her. “H…hello?” she spoke in her phone, “Mr. Garner?” “River. I am outside your room. Are you in there?” he asked her, and she was flattered. She wished she was a girl. No, she was already a girl. She wished she
It had been a week since Marwick crashed into her room. He used to get up early in her sleep and used to leave for the office. River used to get up, a little while after her boss, and then after getting ready used to go to the hotel’s restaurant. “Don’t tell me. He is staying with you, and you are telling this today?” Aniya asked her when she told her and Gerald how Marwick was staying in her room. Gerald was the head of the IT department and, like Aniya, was also a very good friend of Ashley Deluca. He was a g*ay and the moment his parents came to know they disowned him. Ashley asked her brother to offer him a job. He was initially hired as a supervisor and but later due to his intelligence and a good degree, Marwick gave him the well-deserved designation. Like Aniya he had also become River’s good friend. River enjoyed being in the office. The biggest reason might be Chad’s absence who had gone to Kuala Lumpur to meet his sick grandfather. “So… Is he sleeping beside you?” Aniya
In the bathroom stall, River was sitting on the toilet seat and was crying her heart out. She was missing her friends. Keanu and the other one whose name was forbidden for her. She could not let the name slip from her lips until and unless she wouldn’t cross the border. “Keanu. You there?” She typed the message and sent it. “Yes. I am here. You, ok?” “No. I am not ok. I am missing you. I am missing all of you.” “Oh, dear. My dear. Please don’t be upset. Your hard work will be wasted, love. Remember? You are the bravest among us. Please don’t do it. Control your tears. Control your emotions.” “Will we ever meet in the future?” “Yes. Once you will reach there. We will follow you there. We will definitely be together, love.” Oh, Keanu. She smiled to herself and wiped her face. She stood up, flushed the toilet, and slipped her phone into her pants pocket. The moment she opened the door, she was pushed back against the wall brutally. Someone hauled her and made her turn to face the
“Aniya. Where is River?” Marwick Garner asked the attractive receptionist who was just placing the receiver after getting done with the call. “He was with us in the cafeteria. But then went to the bathroom. Is there something I can do for you until he returns?” She offered him and moved her laptop. “Yes, please open the Garrison’s file, and then let me tell you about some changes.” He walked to her and stood right behind her. Aniya’s heart almost stopped beating when she got the whiff of his Ah-mazing scent. Oh, God. If I will tell him how his presence affects me, he will fire me. If I need his closeness, I need to show that I don’t care how close he is. Oh, Marwick. Why are you so handsome? “Open the damn laptop, Aniya!” Marwick demanded and took a revolving seat beside her, “Switch it on.” “I don’t know what got into it. It never took that much time to fire up.” She remarked and patted her laptop, but the screen was blank. “If the laptop was having problems, you should have ca
After reaching her hotel room, River got rid of her glasses, fake nose, and brows. She was unusually happy today. Chad who was going home for a few months was now sent home permanently. Marwick had promised him to pay his salary for one year but after that, he was on his own.Marwick was expected to be in the hotel room late at night. But River was not worried about his unexpected arrival. Being a gentleman, he never barged into the room. Having a keycard didn’t mean he never knocked unless he was sure that River must be sleeping like a dead. She stood under the shower and rubbed every part of her body like a freak. She could feel Chad’s hands roaming around her body and all she wanted to do was take her mind off him. The room service served her dinner, and she indulged in it hungrily praying that Marwick could get a separate room tonight. She was licking her plate when her phone started ringing. “Hey! Keanu! My friend!” “Is Mr. Marwick there with you?” he asked River cautiously