A Business Love

chapter 13

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The next day, Jessie woke up to both her parents in her room. "Happy birthday!" they screamed while throwing confetti at her.

"Guys, really?" she said, still sleepy.

"You should get used to this, Jess, you're our only child. We love you!" exclaimed Veronica.

"I love you too," said Jessie yawning and scratching her eyes.

"Come on!" said Alessio with a loud clap. "We have a nice breakfast waiting for you."

Jessie got up and went downstairs to find her parents' kitchen decorated with balloons and an incredible amount of food. Her mom had prepared her favorite breakfast: strawberry pancakes with custard. But there were also waffles, bagels, muffins, bacon and eggs.

"Holy cow! Who's going to eat all of this?" she asked flabbergasted.

"You have all the choices in the world for your day! We'll save the rest, don't worry," answered Veronica.

"Thanks Mom," she said with a sincere appreciative tone. "You must have woken up super early to do all this."

"Anything for my baby."

They ate together and as opposed to regularly, Jessie didn't rush to go to work. She knew all the effort her mom had put in, so she wanted to take the time and enjoy quality time with her parents.

When she arrived at the office, her desk had been decorated with balloons and a 'Happy Birthday' banderole. As soon as her colleagues saw her, they all cheerfully greeted her and gave her good wishes.

She was completely taken aback by their attention. She wanted to cry, but she knew she had to fight back those tears not to look like a weirdo. She was deeply touched that they cared enough to greet her so warmly. She wished they could all be her friends; she craved to have people like them in her life, but she doubted they'd ever want to hang out with her outside of work. They'd probably end up calling her a nerdy freak if they got to know her better. 

"Thank you everyone!" she said as she got to her desk still fighting back those emotional tears. "I brought muffins!"

"The heck, girl!" said Mariana visibly annoyed as she approached Jessie's work station. "I came in the office this morning at 7 to pull this off, because I know you always come in between 7:30 and 8. It's 9! Had I known, I would have slept in. All this sleep sacrifice for nothing! Look at my eyes! I'm sleep deprived because of you!"

"I'm sorry!" laughed Jessie. "My parents made this huge breakfast for me. Hence the muffins."

"It's your birthday and you come bearing gifts?" said Massimo approaching Jessie's desk. "But yes, I'll take a muffin," he said while reaching for one of them.

"They are delicious. My mom made them."

"Happy birthday, kiddo," he said while taking a bite of the muffin. "Oh! Excellent!" he added while savoring it. "How old are you now? Seventeen?"

"Very funny. I'm twenty-four."

"Mamma mia, such a bambina!"

"I'm not a baby!" she replied offended.

"Well, my youngest son turned twenty-six two weeks ago. You guys are close in age. He's still single. Say one word and I'll put you two in contact."

"I don't know how appropriate it is for my boss to constantly try to hook me up with his son," she said laughing. 

"Oh, the big words now! Don't rat me to HR," he said squinting his eyes as he headed back to his office. "Don't forget we're all going to lunch for Jessie's birthday at noon!"