First day blues

Setting himself up in his cubicle went seamlessly, and soon enough uenuku was going through the various work inductions quietly as the office continued around him.

He paused when he felt a warmth behind him, his actions coming to a complete stop when he saw light illuminate from behind him.

He turned and saw a goliath of a man standing at the door, speaking to Rehua with a smile.

he took out his earbuds as he saw them approach and stood.

"Uenuku, this is Tama-nui-te-ra, our current Accounts manager and your mentor for the week, "Rehua said politely.

"Good to meet you," he said beaming at uenuku.

His warmth radiated from him like the sun

"You as well, I look forward to working with you."Uenuku smiled.

"For as brief a time as you will be, come with me any way you can finish up those inductions later- ill give you the tour of upstairs and we can see if our illustrious vice prez has time for a quick meet and greet," He said nodding to the door.

Uenuku felt his heart flutter at the chance of seeing Ana again

He followed Tama into the elevator.

"Here is my, soon to be your office." He said with a smile as they came to a set of doors.

"Come let's see if the team are in."He smiled leading him down the hallway.

"This is The operations manager, Tutanekai" He introduced knocking on the door before swinging it open.

Tutanekai was a Maori businessman in his early thirties, who had a laid-back personality.

He was known for his unique way of working, where he would often play the flute while completing his tasks.

The office had large windows that offered a stunning view of the city.

The walls were painted in a calming shade of blue, and a few potted plants, he even had a small water feature that dripped water into a plant feed which added a touch of nature to the space.

Tutanekai's desk was situated in the corner, and it was clutter-free except for a few stacks of documents that he was working on.

He had a comfortable swivel chair and a small table next to his desk, where he kept his flute.

The sound of his music filled the room, and it added a peaceful ambience to the busy office.

"Hey, man."He said lowly, his voice just as calming as his office.

"Tu, this is the new accounts manager Uenuku."tama said motioning to the man.

"Nice one, good to have you on board Uenuku, feel free to let me know if you have any questions, always happy to lend a hand."He smiled, uenuku felt his calming presence and smiled back giving him a small nod.

"Thanks, I look forward o working with you," Uenuku said.

"Let's keep this tour moving hey." Tama winked.

"Next door leads to Rehuas's office. He duels as the office's general manager and health and safety officer. so if there are any claims, take them to him."He said nudging the door affectionately.

"Next we have Tohu, Payroll and accounting coordinator."He said nodding into the office with the open door.

it also had large windows that offered a breathtaking view of the city. The walls were painted in a warm shade of orange, and a few framed paintings adorned the space.

"Howdy, if you have any pay-related discrepancies, please also send those to rehua"He winked looking up from his computer desk with an easy smile on his face.

He had bulky glasses and short black hair.

he had a playful personality that made him stand out from the crowd. He was exceptionally smart and had a keen sense of humour that he often used to lighten the mood in the office.

"I actually do need the numbers for the new clients done by this afternoon T"

"I know, don't worry I'll have the full report on your desk by three. promise."He beamed earning a chuckle from Tama as he led uenuku out.

"And last but not least, we have Rangimarie, our human resources manager."

"Hi Uenuku, nice to meet you." she greeted cheerily opening her office door, aware that they were making rounds for introductions.

Rangimarie was a 25-year-old human resource manager who had a heart of gold. She was always willing to lend a helping hand and had a kind word for everyone she met.

Her office was decorated with cute and colourful knick-knacks that reflected her love of all things adorable.

"Tama, did marama enjoy my gift?" She asked excitedly.

"She did, I did hell the neighbour down the street sick of hearing her mood swings enjoyed it."He joked patting her shoulder affectionately.

"I'm glad, gonna miss my office mum and dad around here."She pouted.

"Can always come visit, love. we'll still be around."He beamed before leading uenuku away.

"She's a young one, but she's the most empathetic person I've ever met, deals really well with all the HR stuff, and Ana adores her."

"She does?"Uenuku asked, his interest piqued.

"Everyone does, but yeah. Ana has a bit of a soft spot for the girl, if you do see Ana on this floor, it's probably to see rangimarie."

"Over here we have a little kitchenette for all your coffee needs The door at the end of the hall is the meeting room and on opposite sides before that are the bathrooms.

"But this is the place you'll be settling into."He said opening his door again.

"This is a nice set-up you have here."

"Yeah? Was my wife really, she was the main receptionist, you probably would have met her with your initial interview with Uru."Tama smiled proudly as he turned the photo frame on his desk revealing a wedding photo of him and his wife.

"Ah yes, she's lovely," Uenuku said earnestly, she had been lovely in the short duration he spent with her whilst waiting for the CEO.

"You can decide how you want the office laid out, but I'm leaving pretty much everything here since I have no need for it where we're going."

"That's very generous of you, thank you."

"Don't even worry about it, for now tho let's go through the expectations the company will have for you."

they spent the rest of the day going over his employment expectations and uenuku felt a sense of relief wash over him as Tama took the time to train him correctly to take over his position.

Uenuku felt the mood shift as the elevator doors opened again.

There was now a chill in the air.

"Ah Ana, come here a second would you?"Tama called.

"What do you want."She deadpanned sticking her head into the office.

Uenuku felt his heart clench as he got to bare witness to those dazzling blue eyes again.

"This is my replacement, uenuku."He introduced.

"We've met."She said with a roll of her eyes before ducking out of the office.

not even spearing him a second glance.

"Huh... that was odd."Tama pondered.

"Yeah, I-...I don't think she likes me too much."Uenuku sighed.

"Ah don't worry too much, she's pretty standoffish to everyone."Tama amended.

"Has she worked here long?"

"Yeah, she and Uru started the whole company 10 years ago."He said thoughtfully.

"Oh, is Uru her husband?"

"Man gossip spreads faster than ever down in the hub hey."Tama chuckled.

"No Uru isn't her husband, In all honesty, Ana keeps her personal life quite tight-lipped. I don't think anyone has ever met her family. there have only been a handful of times that any of us have seen her outside of work."He admitted.

"Well, hopefully, she warms up to me soon," Uenuku said thoughtfully.

Tama eyed him curiously before continuing with his discussion.

After a quick coffee break, He made his way back to his cubicle to finish off the inductions.

"hey man, we're gonna go for a bite to eat, did you wanna come hang out?"Mana asked as the afternoon rolled around.

Uenuku looked up wide-eyed and nodded.

"Oh uh y-yeah, sounds good."He smiled happy to be invited.

"We're not getting kebab this time man I swear I've gained like 5kgs this week because of you."Kiriwai pouted shrugging on her winter coat.

"I don't even understand why that's a bad thing, you still look great."Mana shrugged.

"Of course I do. that's not the point."She huffed

"You could always hit the gym with me you know."Anaru offered.

"When hell freezes over."She hissed glaring at the man.

"She went with him to the gym and he made her do a hundred burpees as a warm-up."Hinemoa snickered at Uenukus's look of confusion.

"Anyone else keen to come?"Anaru asked some of the other recruiters who declined.

Uenuku smiled watching the team leaders with the rest of the team.

He could see himself getting used to working here.

"Hey there, pretty." Tutankais smooth voice drawled as he met the group outside, sliding up beside hinemoa.

"H-hi" she blushed completely enamoured by him.

Which wasn't a surprise considering just how handsome the man was.

He had his blazer slung over his shoulder and laptop bag at his side.

"You guys heading out for an early dinner?"He asked checking his watch.

"Yep, just going to that shop around the corner, if you wanna join."Mana beamed.

"I could eat."He nodded, throwing a wink at hinemoa who all but swooned under his gaze.

Uenuku felt a shiver go through his spine suddenly and he looked behind him to see those striking blue eyes yet again.

"Hey Boss lady, you hungry?"Mana called out getting her attention from the conversation she was having with Tama and rangimarie.

"I have a lot of work still to do, next time" She smiled politely excusing herself.

Uenuku saw his legs move before his brain registered his actions.

"Oh uh- A-ana"He called out walking over to where she had parked her car.

She barely looked over at him as she put her things in the car.

"I-...I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"You do do you?"She sighed crossing her arms and looking to the side as he spoke.

"Yes, Look I apologize if I let you down by not being as knowledgeable in the company's history before starting up here I just. I would hate for us to not have a good working relationship so if we could just, maybe start over?"He asked dragging his eyes up to meet hers as her eyes bore into him.

"You...you really don't remember."She said so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

But suddenly her hand was cupping his cheek and he thought his heart might beat out of his chest.

"I will never forgive you for that."She whispered like a promise.

"I want you to quit and never come back to this company because you made your choice Uenuku, and I refuse to forgive you for it."Her words curried such hatred that he felt the breath in his lungs deflate.

"If you don't, ill make your life hell," she said.

he blinked in confusion as she got into her car and drove away not giving him a second glance.

"Hey, you okay?"Kiriwai asked softly approaching him.

he nodded staring after Ana's car in shock.