The Belle Behind The Mask

2

Chapter 2

Alexander's demeanor was serious and cold as I entered the large office- Celeste was right. The entire space was in total disarray with pieces of paper scattered on the floor and catching a glimpse of my boss slightly losing the grip of the tie around his neck, made me bristle immediately and wondered what the hell happened here.

The metallic grey look in his eyes turned icy as he glared my way, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"You're late Ms. Thorton"

Fuck me for thinking he was going to at least care about the way I looked disheveled like Betty's first day in Mode, and at least offer me a seat. Instead, he swiveled his executive leather chair around to face the floor-to-ceiling glass, away from me.

Rude ass. If he weren't my boss, I would have completely slapped him across the face, opened his mouth, and shove 'polite' down his throat so he can have an attitude change. The mere thought of it made me giggle much to my chagrin.

"Something funny, Ms. Thorton?" His cold voice interrupted my little happy moment.

I simply shook my head and started picking up the pieces of paper that littered the room.

I caught a glimpse of what was written on a paper and figured it must have gone through his disapproval.  I wonder how the design team is handling the chaos.

The entire thing summed up to be an idea pitch for a new product from the design team. If only they'd given me a shot as tiny as an interview, they wouldn't be in this mess.

After clearing up the mess, I walked to the closet behind him and caught my gaze in the full-length mirror.

Jesus! I look worse than Betty.

My hair was tangled, with stray strands everywhere, my cheeks flushed, and my top nearly soaked from sweat. I hurriedly used my palm to smoothen the little I could after hanging the clothes from the shopping bags into the closet.

Extra shirts, blazers, slacks, ties, shoes, and casual clothing were neatly placed in their designated spot. Lastly, I placed the watch box inside before shutting the closet doors.

I turned around to find his eyes staring right at me and it made my breath hitch for a second out of anxiety.

"I am done. Is there anything else you want me to do?"

Please say no, I still have a lot of other things to do before the end of work.

"Yes." Great! " I need you to prepare the conference room for a meeting I have with the design team in the next hour," He said as he glanced at his desk and flipped through the stack of papers.

That was my cue to leave. I hurried to the conference room to do the needful,  stack up water bottles, and snacks, and set up the screen and the boss's system.

By the end of the day, I knew I wouldn't have the energy to celebrate Christmas the next day and the resolution made me sad.

"Hey, Diana," A couple of voices said in unison.

Looking up from my computer monitor, I saw my work friends, Caroline and Celeste, standing in front of my desk.

"Where the boss at?" Caroline said after a quick scan of Alex's office through the transparent glass.

"He is in a meeting" I multi-tasked between talking and working.

"We are celebrating Christmas Eve at my place, join us" Celeste offered as she cradled her seven-month-old baby bump.