5 New Boss Arrives

"When will he arrive?"

"Ma'am, please don't worry. He's always on time. Please sit here and have some snacks."

"I see. Call me when he comes." Emily sat down on the couch.

The whole lounge was painted yellow. Starting from the walls to the bean bags littered across the room, everything was yellow. The warm glow of the lamp made the interiors seem like it was evening even though it was 10 am in the morning.

She rubbed her temples and looked at her laptop. The new design was ready.

She came here to Murica City because of this job and she needed to get it done so that she could leave the city sooner. She did not want to face Gerald again. She did not want to stay in this city for a single day.

She looked at her watch again. It was 1 minute to 10 a.m.. She tapped her foot on the floor.

She picked up the tablet and started sketching a doll without a heart. It might not appeal to the audiences but she could only create these sketches now. Her muse was gone and left her behind on a trail of darkness.

Everyone had darkness within them; only lucky ones could accept it and mold it to become their weapon. Emily couldn't imagine a life without Gerald, but whatever happened in the morning made her realize that he had moved on and so should she.

It was not that she did not try. On Terry's insistence, she went to the bar, picked up a guy and went on a one-night stand with him. The only problem being, the person she picked up was none other than her ex-boyfriend.

Three years. Only she knew how she had spent these three years, hoping to meet him but keen on avoiding him.

It was hard to not reply to his texts. But what would she reply? 'Yes I miss you and I want to get back with you.' No, that was not possible. She couldn't do that. Even though it was very hard to stay without him, she had to. After all, it was her who initiated the breakup.

Lost in thoughts, Emily knocked the glass of water off the table. Horrified, she looked at the table. The papers were drenched. A shadow fell on her. She looked up and a jolt of electricity coursed through her body.

Standing in front of her was Gerald. What was he doing here?

"Miss Taylor, in my office in 5 minutes," Gerald barked his orders at Emily and strode off to his office.

Emily stood there with a napkin in her hands, trying to dab it on her tablet. It was nowhere close to being dry. She stared at Gerald's back in shock. This was her second day in the city and she had managed to meet Gerald twice. What kind of shitty luck did she have?

Emily fumed on her way to Gerald's office. The door was open. She knocked twice.

A reply came from within, "Come in."

She entered clutching the tablet in one hand and her red bag in another. A napkin was resting on the tablet's screen.

"Sit down," Gerald ordered.

Emily put her bag down beside the chair and set her tablet on the desk. Thankfully, it was waterproof. The same could not be said about the papers. They were soaking wet and half of the lines and colors faded from the paper.

Frustration built up within Emily. She cracked her knuckles and tapped her right foot against the legs of the chair. She tried to look out of the window, but to no avail.

Gerald looked at her. A guilty look flashed across his face. He had brought an unknown woman to their home, Emily and his home and he did not have an idea who that woman was.

Gerald saw Emily tucking her hair twice behind her ears, but they stubbornly refused to obey her.

He got up from his chair, and came near her. Bending down, he held the locks between his index and middle finger, twirled it around and gently tucked it behind her ears.

Emily's heartbeat increased. She did not know what Gerald wanted, but she knew that she would go crazy if she stayed here for too long. She looked up to find Gerald staring at her intensely.

He was wearing a green shirt and paired it with black trousers. His grandfather's watch adorned his left wrist. Emily had to admit that he looked more handsome than he did three years back.

Time had its own charm. He grew stubble now. He never liked shaving his beard clean, but now, not only was he clean-shaved, he grew a bit of a stubble.

They stared into each other's eyes, trying to look past their soul and see what they had on their minds, for eyes were the reflection of their souls.

Emily once told Gerald that 'No matter who lies, their eyes never lie. One had to look into their eyes to learn what they couldn't say.'

Why was it that it was too difficult to understand all the complex emotions in their eyes? They wondered. They had too many questions they couldn't answer.

The office was painted white, quite opposite to the lounge. There were two doors connecting Gerald's office to the conference room and to some other room Emily had no idea about.

Gerald was looking at her intensely. The thoughts of yesterday came rushing to his mind. He shouldn't have brought someone to that house. What would Emily think if she came to know about it? Gerald had stayed faithful to Emily. These three years had been hard for him.

At times, he wanted to rush to Phoenix City and bring her back, but every time rationale held him back. He knew she did not want to come back yet, and he would wait for her to do so.

A gentle clearing of a throat broke their stupor. Gerald diverted his attention to the doorway where Meera stood holding the file he wanted. Meanwhile, Emily suddenly found the desk in Gerald's room very interesting.

She squinted her eyes at the wood and tried to find some patterns on it to pass her time. She was almost caught staring at their boss in front of other employees. What would they think? Was what happened in the morning not enough? Emily wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.

Meera handed the files to Gerald and walked away, not before giving Emily a know-it-all look.

Emily's face reddened. She tried to lift her tablet up, and in the process, she almost sent the paperweight tumbling down the table and rolling towards Gerald's feet.

'Ah, get a hold on yourself, Emily,' she chided herself.

Gerald's eyes danced in amusement. She was as clumsy as she was all those years ago. She did not change.

Heaving a sigh, he picked the paperweight and set it near him.

"Miss Taylor," he said, "I'm waiting for your presentation."