new start

Uenuku was confused, to say the least.

After the afternoon with the team he had made his way home and felt a sense of restlessness as he tried to unwind from his first day.

Ana's words repeated in his head and he frowned.

He pulled out his laptop and began to search for her.

She barely had a social media presence.

the only thing he could find was the company website and the one article about her being awarded woman crush Wednesday for some local paper.

which...valid.

"Who are you."He thought with a sigh as he closed his laptop.

'And why the hell do you hate me so much!?'

As an accounts manager for a high-end recruitment company, Uenuku plays a crucial role in ensuring that clients receive the best possible service. With a keen eye for detail and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Uenuku is responsible for managing the accounts of some of the most prestigious companies in the industry.

Working closely with clients, Uenuku is responsible for developing customized recruitment strategies that meet their specific needs. Whether it was finding the perfect candidate for a high-level executive position or sourcing top talent for a specialized technical role, Which meant that he not only had to be in tune with the clients but the recruitment team as well.

he sighed trying to get anas words of war out of his head before he let sleep take him.

The next day he arrived earlier than most of the recruitment team, setting up quickly.

"Good morning," Kiriwai said groggily, her eyes covered by large designer glasses, a coffee cup larger than any he was sure were available at the cafe downstairs in hand.

"Good morning" Uenuku beamed happily making her pause as she tipped down her glasses.

"Turn down the lights lover boy, your way too bright."She snickered walking by him.

"O-oh I...I'm sorry?"He chuckled nervously.

"It's fine, how funny that the Accounts manager is yet another light atua tho."She teased sitting at her desk and setting herself up.

"Oh, Tama is as well?"

"Yep, descendent of the sun itself" She shrugged.

"And Uru is also a light atua, honestly you lot should just be our brand at this point."She chuckled.

"Are you an atua?" he asked

"Nope, just a normal ole' mortal ."She said cheerily as her laptop booted up.

"You'll find, non of us plebs are- the atua get to be managers."She chuckled.

"All of the managers are?"

"No, Rangimarie and Tutanekai arent atua, they're just great at their jobs," Hinemoa said entering the hub and the conversation.

"Is...ana an atua?"He asked trying to keep his casual demeanour.

"Of course she is loverboy, you can't tell me you haven't felt that icy chill when she's pissed off... especially since you seem to piss her off a lot."She cackled.

"Well I mean I haven't thought about it."

Which was a lie, considering his thoughts had been consumed by the woman's aura since he met her.

that and those ice-cold, cobalt-blue eyes.

"Yeah she a storm atua I believe, doesn't speak much about it tho" She shrugged.

"She doesn't speak much in general."Anaru teased as he joined them in the office.

"Good morning everyone." Tama's booming voice drawled, still obviously sleepy.

"Uenuku, I've sent you a list of people to call today, and after lunch I need you to come with me for a meeting, "Tama said entering the room.

"Of course, ill get on to that now."

"Att att att, you can get on to it after you come with me. you are too, pretty. It's training time."Tutanekai said in a singong voice.

Mana snickered as hines face went bright red, she huffed pushing her thick glasses up on her face before unclipping her laptop and picking up some belongings to follow the man.

"Chop chop newbie we've got software to learn about."Tu chuckled holding the door open for hinemoa before following her to the elevator.

"The offshore website developers have been working tirelessly to get this software up and running so soon enough we won't have to use those crappy pay monthly systems," Tu said as he got his laptop set up to the projector in the meeting room.

Hinemoa watched the man intently, Uenuku noticed how she seemed to hang off of his every word but seemed to rein herself in every now and again.

"And this side will be where you'll hang out Uenuku, a lot of the company business development will live under this section. Data entry will input the details you send them here for the clients and-" Tutankeai continued as Uenuku made haste to jot down notes about the system before He began clicking into tabs on the system on his laptop.

"There will be a full work instruction added to our system, feel free to send them out to the team before you run them through this training moduel pretty, but that's about everything from me. any questions?"He asked.

"Not from me, it's good that you'll be learning from this system right off the bat Uenuku. I think for the time being, while you're making calls if you could just write full reports about any clients that are interested in working with us and send them to Tama."Hinemoa said packing away her things.

"Sounds good, ill get on to that right away," Uenuku replied with a smile.

"Oh and don't forget to have your hi-vis ready for your site visit after lunch."Tutanekai beamed happily packing his things away as well.

The day moved along easily as Uenuku made cold calls to prospective clients.

Soon enough he had full reports written up and sent away to Tama who replied with a gif of a happy bunny dancing.

"How's your day going?"Mana asked gliding across from his desk to Uenukus in his swivel chair.

"Good, I've just finished up the list Tama gave me."

"Oh cool, man you're pretty quick! I'm surprised your phone didn't catch fire with how fast you were moving through those calls."He teased.

"I just enjoy talking to people I guess."

"Well, maybe you could do less chitchat and focus on your actual job." Ana's cold voice snapped from the door of the office.

"O-oh hey boss lady, I was just touching base with the new guy. he's doing pretty well ya know."Mana beamed moving back to his desk.

"I would hope so, we don't need dead weight in the company."She said moving past them to step beside Hinemoas' workspace.

"Look at that, it's lunchtime," Mana said checking his watchless wrist.

"Anaru, Newguy and I are taking lunch," Mana called.

"Sure man no worries."

"Ooh, I'm going too! doing a coffee run when I come back so if you want text me now."Kiriwai said standing up and grabbing her handbag.

"Let's go losers, I'm starving," Kiriwai said leading the men out.

Uenuku cast a glance over to Ana who was staring at him with a heated glance look before she quickly looked away.

"C'mon man, I'm hungry too," Mana said drawing him out of his daze.

Kiriwai, Mana, and Uenuku stepped out of their office building, taking in the bright sunshine and warm air.

Kiriwai suggested they try the new sushi place down the street for their lunch break, and the others eagerly agreed.

As they walked towards the restaurant, they chatted about their morning tasks and caught up on their personal lives.

Uenuku mentioned, "I had a call with a potential client this morning. They seem really interested in our services."

"That's great news!" Mana replied.

"Did they have any questions?" Kiriwai asked.

"Not really but, if they do Tama will be touching base with them again this afternoon I'm sure- they seemed to have heard a lot about him and wanted to have a conversation with him."He said scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't look too disheartened loverboy, that'll be all on you next week."Kiriwai winked.

Uenuku tried to ignore the soft tinge of pink he knew would be gracing his face.

"Oh," Kiriwai dadded.

"I had a call with our IT department. They're working on fixing the server issue we've been having."

"That's great cos it's been such a drag trying to get all of this crap sent to data entry manually."Mana groaned.

As they arrived at the restaurant, they were greeted by a friendly waiter who showed them to their table.

They perused the menu and decided to order a variety of sushi rolls and sashimi to share.

As they waited for their food, they sipped on iced tea and continued their conversation.

Uenuku asked, "So, has anyone made any exciting weekend plans?"

Mana replied, "I'm going to a concert with some friends. I'm really looking forward to it."

Kiriwai added, "I'm planning on going for a hike. I need to get some fresh air and exercise."

Their food arrived, and they eagerly dug in, enjoying the delicious flavours.

"So hike? you heading out alone?"uenuku asked nonchalantly.

"Why you gonna come be my kie buddy loverboy?"She smirked before chopping on a piece of sushi.

"Well I mean, I am new to the area so a hike wouldn't be so bad."He shrugged.

"You say that now until you actually go with her, she's a damn menace," Mana warned.

"Your just lazy, I honestly don't know how you stay so skinny for someone who refuses to move."Kiriwai chuckled.

As they chatted and laughed, they felt their stresses melt away. When they finished, they paid the bill and headed back to the office feeling refreshed and energized for the rest of the day.

Tama and Uenuku arrived at their prospective client's workshop, eager to see what they had in store. As they entered the building, they were greeted by the sound of machinery whirring and the smell of freshly cut wood.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Tama exclaimed, taking in the sights and sounds around her.

"I know, right?" Uenuku replied, equally impressed. "I can't wait to see what our client has in mind."

The client, a skilled woodworker, greeted them warmly and showed them around the workshop. They pointed out the various tools and projects in progress, explaining the intricate details and techniques used to create each piece.

"This piece over here," the client said, gesturing towards a beautifully crafted table, "took me weeks to complete. I wanted to make sure every detail was perfect."

Tama and Uenuku nodded in appreciation, admiring the client's dedication and skill.

As they walked, the client shared their vision for a new project, a bespoke piece of furniture that would be both functional and beautiful. Tama and Uenuku listened carefully, taking notes and asking questions to ensure they understood the client's needs and desires.

"I Take pride in my work and I need a team of workers that do as well."He said looking at Tama and Uenuku.

"I have about five labourer roles, twelve trade qualified roles and I need a new team for the workshop I'm opening but given that this workshop has just had a major loss in employment thanks to one of the old managers who has also been let go- I'm unable to vet like I would like to."He explained

Tama and Uenuku nodded, jotting down notes as they went.

"I see, well we can help out there. our recruitment staff are trained to help out finding people for every role that you need to be filled, you just let us know"Tama drawled out, his heat radiating as he did so.

He truly is a sun atua uenuku thought with a small smirk.

"That's exactly what I like to hear, this won't be an easy task as I'm notoriously picky-"

"Im sure we'll find a way to get you exactly what you need," Uenuku said with a smile, letting his own light shine through, radiating good energy to the client.

"We pride ourselves in our candidate pool and given your current needs we'd be happy to fill permanent roles as required, we may even be able to cut you a great deal- isn't that right Tama"

"Exactly right, you just get your requirement sent over to me and ill drum up the rate, and since you're looking to fill quite a few roles ill even waive a few of the establishment charges for your white-collar roles."He winked

"That would be amazing, we have so many roles we need to get on to so ill be sending you an email by the end of the day. I really just wanted to get you out here to get a read on your people and I'm liking what I'm seeing if I'm honest." the client grinned.

Tama and Uenuku exchanged a quick glance, Tama smiling at the younger man with pride.

After the tour, the client thanked Tama and Uenuku for their time and promised to follow up soon.

"Thank you for coming," the client said, shaking their hands warmly. "I'm excited to see what you come up with."

Tama and Uenuku left the workshop feeling excited about the possibilities and confident in their ability to deliver the perfect solution for their client. They knew they had a lot of work ahead of them, but they were up for the challenge.

"You did great out there, "Tama said as they drove back to the office.

"I'm just happy to have been able to help."Uenuku smiled.

"I think you'll fit in just fine around here, now we just wait for his email and get everything sorted on our end.

Uenuku plopped down on his sofa, towel slung over his broad shoulders.

"Man, what a day."He sighed to himself, flicking through the tv stations.

But he felt that he had made great traction in his role.

He had wanted to make a great start before but with Ana's words still rattling in his mind, he couldn't help but get fired up.

"ill prove to you that I'm worth it Ana."He said determinedly.

He couldn't help but continue to think about the way she looked at him.

Like she truly knew who he was.

He wanted to have a proper conversation with the woman without her reacting so volatile, but as it stood she hated him.

And he would make it his mission to rid her of her hatred.

His mind wandered to the thought of her beautiful plump lips curling into a smile and he sighed, wishing she would smile for him.