…

Lu sat on the bed as she watched Ari pack her necessaries for the trip; no one has spoken for almost thirty minutes. Lu wasn’t sure if she should be glad or sad that Ari was going on the trip. She had not been to Paris before, but on this occasion; she wasn’t sure if it was a thing of joy or not.

”Okay, Ari, you can actually look on the brighter side of things. It’s not altogether bad, I mean, it’s Paris! There are a lot of fun places to see and before long, you would start enjoying the trip. At least there are five of you. Xavier would not try to do anything funny in front of the other employees, so you just have to make sure you aren’t alone in the same space with him.”

Ari nodded with a fake smile; ”It sounds especially easy on the tongue, but real life is totally different, Lu. I’m very sure Xavier did not get through all those gossips just to let me be, he’s going to try something and I’m sure of it.”

Lu rolled her eyes; ”Why is he doing this? What’s his plan, actually?”

Ari remembered she did not tell Lu about the dinner she had with him.. She contemplated telling her, but finally decided to. After she knew Xavier has selected her for the trip to Paris, she had thought about what she had done wrong that night, but she couldn’t get a hold of anything; maybe Lu could tell what she did wrong,

”I forgot to tell you, Xavier had asked me out on a dinner, and I went. ”

Lu’s eyes widened at Ari’s revelation; ”Wait, hold on, he asked you on a date, and you went already! Without telling me!” Lu exclaimed, unable to believe her ears;

Ari rolled her eyes; ”Dinner, not a date, and besides, not that important. I had to accept because I was in a tight corner at that moment. I just hit his car with mine, and I was still apologizing. But my reason for accepting was just to clarify that nothing was going to happen between us and that he should not get his hopes up.”

”Wow! Wow! Interesting, so what did he say?”

Ari sighed; ”he had acted as though he accepted my request for him to leave me alone, who would have thought he was just a time bomb waiting to explode. The more I think about this, the angrier I become.

Lu, I have to look for another workplace. I don’t think I can bear the rumors spreading in the company anymore. Soon Melissa would hear of it, and the last thing I want now is this getting to the ears of her fans. I would literally be eaten alive. ”

”Greenfield is the best you know. There is no other company that would pay as much as they do, and even though you have some work experience, your CV is quite basic compared to a hundred others that are seeking the job too. So, dear, I would not advise that you quit, or maybe not yet until you find another place. But you should not forget how hard it was for you to get into the company.”

Ari sighed; ”I hate that man so much! Argh!” she yelled as she flung the cardigan in her hands across the room, and it landed safely on her flower vase sitting close to the dresser. Lu stood up and picked the cardigan;

”Take a deep breath, girl. You can do this, you know, right?” Lu smiled at her friend; ”You have passed through worse shits, this surely is nothing. ”

Ari smiled; ”Right! I’m going to forget that all of this happened and enjoy every bit of this trip! I don’t know when next I’ll be visiting Paris again, so I won’t let any human being ruin it for me. I mean, it’s an all-paid trip! I should be happy.” Ari laughed, and Lu smiled, patting her shoulder.

…

Ari was at the company early. They were traveling by the company’s jet. Ari had not flown in a private jet in her life and she was super excited. After a few minutes, the rest of her colleagues arrived one after the other. She greeted them, and they engaged in a discussion as they waited for Xavier and the crew.

But Ari sat alone. They were her seniors, and she had basically nothing to discuss with them.

Her eyes were glued to her phone as she watched some interesting Tiktok videos to pass time.

”Hey.” Ari heard a man’s voice, and she frowned and looked up;

He was one of the senior colleagues with them, but she did not know who he was.

”I’m Zac, the COO, and you’re… Maria. ”

Ari shook his outstretched hand; as she nodded with a smile. ”Did not know I have become quite popular,” she added and Zac chuckled;

”Well, maybe, but there was no way I would not know the name of such a beauty. You’re one of the prettiest women I’ve ever seen.”

Ari laughed; ”Such flattery.”

Although he knew her name, he did not act like the others who were just casting her weird glances, it felt as though he genuinely wanted to talk to her. Or maybe it was because he was handsome and tall, and with a sweet smile. Ari wasn’t sure why she didn’t find him bothersome.

”But it is the truth. ” Zac said as he dipped his hand into his pockets. ”I’ve seen you a few times at the company, but most of the time, you were far away from me, or about to enter the elevator, so I was never able to talk to you, but I’m glad that this trip is happening, if not for anything, to see and talk to you for three days straight.”

Ari smiled; ”It’s nice meeting you Zac; ”

”My pleasure, pretty.” Zac placed his hand on his chest and bowed a little, making Ari smile again.

Maybe this trip was going to be more fun than she had expected.

Just that moment, the doors to the room opened, and Xavier walked in.