1 Introductions

" Mum!!! We are going to be late! I can't afford to be late on the first day!" screamed Maya Manick from the hall. She just hated being late and creating a bad first impression. She wanted to impress her boss, since it was the first job she got after graduating.

" Coming! Stop bringing the house down Maya," commented Irene Manick while shaking her head at her daughter. " Stop fretting, I will drop you off on time," said her mother smiling.

Maya just plonked herself in the car frowning. " It's going to be fine Maya… Deep breaths… breathe in… breathe out." She chanted in her head. " Stop being so panicky. Relax, your going to do fine," mum said while she took her sweet time playing with the dogs instead of getting in.

At last Maya reached her new office. Just trying to look up at the domineering building gave her a neck ache. She adjusted her crumpled blouse and walked in with her head held high. Reaching the elevators she realized she needed an access card.

"Dang it! What do I do??? Oh ya… I was suppose to call Melissa," she said while tapping her forehead for being so silly.

Melissa, her new co worker came down and greeted her. She was a beautiful blond with a cute smile. Maya instantly knew they would be friends.

" Hi I am Melissa, how was your trip here? You look so nervous, relax…um... Maya right?" said Melissa with a kind smile. Maya just flattened her crazy ebony curls she inherited from her mother while nervously smiling.

Reaching the 25th floor, Melissa keyed in the office code and turned to Maya saying, " The code is 5678, don't worry you will memorize it in time." "5678 that sounded easy," thought Maya. She forgot the code the next second when she locked eyes with him. He was the first person she saw walking into the office.

" Maya, this is our colleague, Lucas. He is the tech genius behind our brand. Lucas, this is Maya, she is our new Part Timer." He didn't bother acknowledging the introductions and just grunted a response while walking away. Maya couldn't take her eyes off him. He seemed so familiar yet so strange. She never felt that way before.

" For god's sake Maya, please don't embarrass yourself in front of him… Act matured. Your a brilliant scientist with a PhD. Don't turn into a schoolgirl fawning over guys!" she warned herself.

She walked away but felt his eyes boring holes into her back. She turned but no one was there. She just shook her head and followed Melissa as she made the rest of the introductions.

She was introduced to the rest of the team, Tim the bubbly tech guy who is collaborating with Lucas. Such a stark difference between the two guys she noticed. Alex and Melissa were her new team mates on this project. She was hired by her bosses Mark, Harry and Christopher to work specifically on their current project and see how things progress. She hoped to make it a permanent gig.

After the tiresome introductions and talking about herself, Maya finally got to see her office. Luck be it, it was right opposite Lucas' office. She could see him through the glass door and partitions. She wished her walls were concrete so that she wouldn't feel so exposed.

But Mark being the Feng Shui expert said, glass provides better flow of creative energy. "How am I to concentrate when all I do is constantly look at him?" grumbled Maya to herself.

Focus Maya, focus. We need to be excellent. She kept motivating herself whilst sneaking peeks at him. Lucas wore a black shirt which tightened around his biceps giving them a flexed appearance. Maya could feel the butterflies in her stomach just by staring at him. His hair was quite long that it fell over his forehead. He kept brushing it away while typing on his laptop.

Her mouth ran dry when he looked up suddenly and locked eyes with her. She was so flustered that she turned so fast nearly getting whiplash. She pretended to look at the documents on her desk, her appointment papers which she should have been reading and signing.

For the next 20 minutes, she studied those documents thoroughly just to avoid looking up. She managed to calm her erratic heart and her childish crush. After schooling her emotions and being done with the documents, she walked over to Parker's office, the HR.

She then went over next door to Melissa's room to get her briefing on the project and their status so far. Alex and Melissa were flirting so blatantly that Maya assumed they were a couple. " Are you guys dating?" she accidentally blurted. Melissa laughed and just shook her head. " I have been trying to win her heart for over a year now but she won't relent," complained Alex while staring adoringly at Melissa.

Maya being a hopeless romantic just smiled at the two. She looked at her papers and decided to start working on her part. She went back to her room without bothering to look at any certain person in the opposite office. She tried turning on her computer but then realized she needed her Access ID and Password. She sighed whilst calling Melissa.

" Ask Lucas. He will get you one in a minute. He is in charge of it," said Melissa while giggling at Alex's jokes. "Why would I need to ask the tech genius for such a simple thing. Can't anyone else do it? Maybe Tim ?" wished Maya internally as she reluctantly got up and knocked on the office door opposite.

" Come in," Lucas said absent-mindedly as he was busy working on a Program he was creating. " Hi, sorry to bother you, but I was told to ask you for my access ID and Password. If there is anyone else who could help me with that, just point me in their direction," mumbled Maya nervously. Lucas just stared at her for a minute before starting to type back again. She didn't know what to think of it. Was he going to help her or was he just ignoring her? She waited for a while before he suddenly asked, " What's your phone number?"