Chapter 02 : Unusual meetings

Tuesday, 10:52am

Blair was ill.

Everyone could tell she was as she spent the entire meeting trying to hold in her sneezes and coughs while attempting to cover her red nose.

Blair was not the type to take a sick day. She was not the type to ask for a day off, ever. It just did not fit her criteria of what she deemed a "perfect" employee.

"-so she will be supervising the makeup refresher" Blair was brought back to reality by Ms. Aaliyah's announcement

Everyone gave Blair a light applaud to congratulate her at the opportunity, no one was shocked, it 𝘸𝘢𝘴 very Blair to get such a good project so quickly after joining the company.

"T-tha-" Blair let out a cat like sneeze "-nk you everyone, I will try my best and make sure not to disappoint any of you" she sniffled "especially you manager Aaliyah"

"We're counting on you" Aaliyah said, smiling wildly "well, that is it for today. Everyone can leave now"

And just like every time; everyone scrambled off their seats, grabbed their files and left while Rose picked up samples and turned off the projector.

Blair quickly walked back to her little cubicle in the huge office so she could grab some nasal spray to use before going to Aaliyah's office to meet the person she was supposed to be introduced to.

"Fuck me" she lowly grumbled as she sprayed two puffs in each nostril

"Blair?" A familiar voice called out

Blair turned around only to see the blonde and her hijabi friend standing next to each other, staring intently at her.

"Can I help you…?"

"Riley" the blonde said, then pointed to her friend "Mina"

Mina gave a slight smile that Blair ignored by simply acting like she didn't see it. She noticed the hijabi was wearing a white scarf with a black cap underneath this time, she assumed it was to keep covering the hair even if the headscarf moved.

"Blair" she introduced herself despite knowing they're already aware of who she is

"Yeah, we know" Riley said, "yesterday you heard me talking about wanting the supervisor position. Why didn't you tell me you already had it? It could've saved me some heartbreak" she laughed awkwardly towards the end

"I wasn't aware I was going to get the position then" she lied easily "you should not hold yourself to such a high standard, I do not care about you—or anyone else—enough to be listening to your conversations" she continued lying as if she completely believed every word she said, it was as if she had rehearsed everything in front of the mirror at least a dozen times

"Oh" Riley replied feeling awkward

Blair took a moment to analyze their looks.

Mina was on the skinnier side, though you couldn't tell due to the loose dress she was wearing, it was a pink floral with puffy sleeves and it contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. Her eyes were doll-like with pouty glossy lips and a wide nose. Her dimples were placed on her cheeks and appeared every-time she flashed her million dollar smile.

She was quiet the beauty, Blair thought.

Riley had short choppy hair with a few brown strands. She seemed to be a bit chubby, her outfit consisted of a suit jacket with a pair of baggy blue jeans and a tank top. Her eyebrows were simply just brushed and her eyes were hooded and downturned. She had a few freckles on her cheekbones and thin lips with red lipstick. She seemed comforting and genuine.

"Well, have a lovely day" Blair passed them within a blur

Riley and Mina stood still for a few moments, bewildered by the weird interaction.

As Blair passed her other coworkers in a hurry, she heard a few of them taking about the new CEO, at that news her steps faltered.

How come she didn't know?

"Are you sure?" She asked one of the random women huddled together "that there is a new boss?"

Was that who Aaliyah wanted to introduce her to?

Blair was questioning her luck. Did she have to get sick today? Why was this happening today? The perfect employee is rarely sick, and when they are; they do not make it known. Anyone could take a second look at her and guess that she had a high fever. It felt like her world was crumbling. She had the perfect image, being sick was a bad first impression. According to her.

"I'm not sure…I just heard one of the managers talking about it" the girl informing her group of the rumor answered unsure on whether she'll get in trouble over this.

"Thank you" Blair mumbled, almost incoherently as she fast-walked towards the restroom

She was caught by surprise but she would still look presentable.

Blair grabbed her sample of the makeup refresher kit and started to apply it to fix her worn down makeup, it took her a few seconds to look fresh again before she put her hair down and combed it through with her fingers.

She wrapped her hand around her hair, at the top of the back of her head and lowly spoke, "high ponytail?", she then lowered her arms, not failing to keep her slender hand tightly wrapped around the hair "or low pony tail?"

After a few seconds she chose to settle on a regular ponytail.

She needed to look more professional than any of the employees at her department.

With a quick recheck of her attire, Blair almost ran out of the restroom towards Aaliyah's office.

Everyone looked at Blair with concern as she swiftly passed them with a look of urgency, and all hell broke loose.

If Blair was this panicked about something, should they, too? She was quiet literally the star employee of their department only five months after joining—making her the newest employee, as well—if she was panicked or nervous about something, they all should too.

The few seconds it took Blair to pass through her coworkers had them in shambles—attempting to fix their appearance, work faster, clean their desks, etc.

"What are you all doing?" One of the senior managers suddenly stood in the main entrance of the marketing department

"Well…uh" Mathew—one of the employees—looked around nervously "Blair passed by here and she looked nervous. Some of the girls even saw her touching up her looks in the restroom"

Jeffery (senior manager) let out a scoffed laugh "really? Do none of you know Ms. Evans? She's always in a hurry. That's why she's better than all of you" he concluded with another awkward laugh

The atmosphere was getting even more awkward as he continued laughing on his own, it was as if years have passed before someone interrupted him—Rose, "there's a new CEO" she said, gaining everyone's attention "Ms. Aaliyah wanted to introduce Blair to him. He wanted to make some changes in our department. Ms. Aaliyah is trying to brag using Blair, because she is one of the most efficient" she continued, "I heard he has major anger issues, you should probably continue what you were doing, just in a more civilized manner. Well" she smiled before walking off

"Darn" Jefferey whispered to himself before—basically—zooming out of the office

***

Blair knocked on Aaliyah's door three times before walking in, yet again, not waiting for a response.

Having not noticed the strange man sitting in one of the sofas at the far end of the room

, Blair took a seat at one of the chairs in front of Ms. Aaliyah's desk.

Her manager's office was undeniably big with expensive furniture. It was not a shocker though, despite not being that old; Aaliyah was still one of the senior managers.

A large, brown wooden desk with a glass top was at the front, it was the first thing you see once you enter her office. Most of of the chairs were beige and black, making them contrast beautifully with the light brown of the walls and the dark shade of the desk.

The sofas were placed towards the right, next to the wall. It seemed comfortable, and you could relax there for a bit. Someone would have to walk in to the middle of the office to see the seating.

Blair had always thought it was a questionable choice of interior design but she wasn't one to judge, her house was not all that either.

If anything; she lived with her best-friend and together they shared a house flooded with blankets, stuffed toys and beer cans.

"Blair.." Aaliyah spoke awkwardly

"Who was I supposed to me-"

"Is this how you train your employees?" A deep, stern voice asked

Blair's head shot to the back of the room.

Well.

Is all that she could think. Her head was completely blank, for the first time in her life. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts and maintain her composure and soon enough, her face was back to expressionless.

"Hello sir, excuse me for not noticing you" She stood up, in an attempt of expressing her sincerity.

Bullshit.

Blair did not give a single mother of fuck about offending him. This was just what she had to do as an employee. Even if you weren't particularly good at your job, everyone knew that if the higher ups like you; you're good to go. That was not the case for Blair though, no, Blair shouldn't only be the best, Blair must also be respected and loved. The idea of someone not admiring her or not liking her was unbearable.

The strange man dismissed Blair and turned to Aaliyah, waiting for her answer "Is it? "

Aaliyah's hand slightly shook "This is Blair, she's one of our best emplo-"

"What is the point of being the best if she lacks basic manners? Even wolves respect their leaders"

A sudden feeling of rage consumed Blair, was he comparing her to some wild dogs?

"I understand your frustration sir, and i apologize but, please remain civil when reprimanding me" Blair said, a hard look in her eyes

It was as if he sensed her anger, like it turned him on. "Oh? How was i being uncivil?" He asked, almost mocking her

"You compared my behavior to that of dogs" she stated, her eyes not breaking away from his gaze

It was evident to anyone with eyes that her referring to 'wolves' as mere dogs set his temper over the roof. How dare she? How could she call his kind dogs?

"You're dismissed. Go home" He waved her off with his veiny hand after standing up

Blair felt her heart stop and physically drop. What?! She suddenly had to put in effort so her posture wouldn't slouch, her eyes were as hard as stone and it was as if any moisture in them evaporated. Her nails dug deeply into her palms, she could feel them sink in and scar the tender flesh.

Her anger almost prevented her from noticing his huge build. The frustrating man stood at least at 195cm, it almost felt like he was never ending. His black Armani suit clung to his muscles and the few undone buttons of his white dress shirt revealed some of his many tattoos. He was surely littered with that ink as you could see some on his hands and peaking out from his rolled up sleeve. The rings on his fingers made him even more appealing--visually.

Blair took a deeper breath as his hand ran over his long, silky black hair. Blair could swear she didn't care about man buns until she saw this Greek god with one.

Suddenly Ms. Aaliyah's nervousness made sense, it was impossible not to feel nervous around this man.

"Excuse me?" She asked

Now he was intrigued. He knew who Blair was, of course he did, it would be impossible not to. He had always assumed the moon goddess would give him a more submissive mate considering he was a dominant. He almost found it laughable, she was going to take a while to tame and he wasn't sure he'd be able to considering the little time he has before he is crowned king and married off to some royal.

Ms. Aaliyah had prayed the ground would swallow her whole as two of the most stubborn people she knew stared at each other.

Blair would not lower her eyes or look away even if she had to stay there all night, she knew that much. But she also knew she'd be stupid if she thought he'd give up on their staring contest.

The air felt heavy and Aaliyah was starting to sweat, she was sure that if anyone moved an inch a whole fight will break out.

It felt like hours had passed before a knock on the door made them all come out of their trance, Rose walked in but clearly didn't notice the great tension, "There's a few members of the board of directors waiting for you in your office. They seem a little frustrated"

The dark haired man rubbed the bridge of his nose before walking towards the door "I will see you later, Aaliyah", he gave her a slight node

"Sir? What did you mean by sending me home?" Blair asked, her heart was pounding, she couldn't be getting fired. She'll sue if she has to, firing her for no proper reason must go against the labor or employment law or something, right? right?

His lips slightly twitched up before he looked back at her again, "Go home," he repeated his earlier statement "You look like you're about to collapse"

He didn't give her a chance to argue before he left the room and shut the door behind him, leaving Aaliyah and a blushing Blair alone.

Why was she blushing? It's not the first time someone has expressed concern over her. So, why did she feel the need to go hug him and thank him? She wanted to rip her hair out. Blair does not like not knowing her own feelings, inner conflict would be her doom eventually.

She let out a huff as she aggressively pulled her hair down and stormed out the door after hearing Ms. Aaliyah letting out a small frustrated "That's Mr. Arsenio for you"

Blair took large strides towards the staircase and almost slammed the door shut behind her. She took harsh deep breaths and made her way up to the roof in an attempt of exhausting herself too much before her fury eats her up.

"Fuck you deity, or whatever magical being you are! If you think you're gonna punish me by bringing this weird, frustrating, stupid, huge man here then you're well wrong!" She whisper yelled as she mended her injured palms

"Well, that's one way to express your anger" A melodic voice said, with a chuckle

Blair almost got whiplash from turning her head too fast to look at the source of the voice mocking her.

"You still can't disinfect a wound properly" He said, slightly concerned

a gasp escaped Blair as she locked eyes with the hazel eyed boy.

Lunas.

There he stood, Lunas with all his glory. black dreads swaying in the wind and muscley, tatted arms folded against his chest.

It almost felt surreal to say, "Lunas..."