The CEO dream girl

It was a hectic Monday, those Mondays where the sound of the engines of moving vehicles and noisy neighborhood tends to fill the air. For some people setting out to work for their daily needs and also make a life for themselves meant a lot. Happily preparing for what awaits them for the day, while others the thought of working made their skin cramped. They didn't just work to have a lifestyle or for luxury, it was a necessity without which their life will be a deadbeat. This was the reality of Ava.

Her Mondays were always different from the rest of the days, that was something she had to deal with. Always missing her alarm, struggling with tidying up after herself and also meeting up with her schedule for the day. She needed to be at work by 8:00 a.m., her shift at McDonald's started at that time and ended by 12:00 p.m. That was not all, she had yet another job at Relish Delights at 1:30 p.m., which she had to meet up with.

Today seemed to be a bit different, unlike her waking up some minutes later than the actual time. The beeping sound of her phone woke her up, it was the end of the month and she had just gotten her paycheck. Rubbing her tired eyes, she adjusted her position from lying to sitting up on her bed. Her eyes stared at her phone; all her three paychecks came in, all at the same time.

"Now that seems to be a coincidence," she thought to herself.

Her face wore a worried look, not the joy of getting paid for her hard work, but from the fact that the money could barely do enough-it was all going into debt, loan, and taxes.

She needed to budget her money wisely in order not to make any financial mistake. Her eyes landed on a notepad on her table with a pen in it. She took it and got started on her budget for the month. This is what she must do in order to relieve her mother of some financial responsibility.

Her mother had a small business in a small town, her dry-cleaning business couldn't do so much but it was okay for them. Just after her late father's death, a loan shark company came along, claiming their father owed them a huge amount of money.

Her father was a deadbeat drunkard, a gambler, had a toxic personality, and was abusive to their mother. She never knew what it was like to grow up in a good home; she cried every time seeing her mother suffer at her father's hand. He gambled with the money he got from the company, in his quest to get rich and lost all the money in a heartbeat. He died from a ghastly accident and for once in their lives there was peace of mind.

No one felt sad about his death, he contributed nothing but pain and was better off dead. His death was a big weight off their shoulders, they thought-until the consequences of his actions soon found them. She still hated him for what they had to go through after his death. Her mother did all she could financially to pay off the loan, gave up their home but couldn't clear the debt. Life took a bitter turn for them, as they had to embrace their new reality. Her business suffered, as all the profit she made, she took to settle the debt. This rendered them poor and hardly being able to feed.

Ava, faced with a difficult situation, chose to take matters into her own hands. She relocated to a big town and took up a job in order to support her mother, while she went to school with a student's loan. She did send her wages back home every month, paying off the loan. She did dream of a better life for her family, but every time she was faced with her reality. Dreams were just a fantasy for all it could be-for her, she didn't need to believe in fantasy. Survival would always be the choice she had to pick, because life didn't present her with another better option.

She checked her time-it was 7:15 a.m. She had barely 45 minutes to prepare. She rounded up her calculations and headed to the bathroom. She stood under the warm shower, the water beating on her tired skin, as she ran her fingers through her wavy hair. She felt a bit relieved from the warm sensation of the water. She stepped out, drying her body with a towel and another towel wrapped around her chest.

She flipped her hair in different directions as she dried it with the towel. Her wet hair stuck to her face. Not minding, she searched her wardrobe for an outfit. Her eyes found a T-shirt and a jean at the end of the wardrobe. She slipped into it and made herself a toast with warm milk. She scarfed up her breakfast quickly, giving her house a quick inspection as she headed out.

She got herself in a good mood to start off her day, wearing confidence as a mask, as she muttered encouraging words to herself:

"I've got this," before setting out for the day ahead of her.

Ava arrived at work, the sweet aroma of grilled-up ham filled the air. Though work was tedious, it was another way of getting her mind off her current situation. It served as a form of therapy, because it kept her mind busy, and the gossips at work from her colleagues entertained her bored mind from time to time.

She entered the kitchen ready to start her day, slipping into her apron. Thomas walked in on her. He was a blonde-haired man in his early thirties. Funny, hardworking, and there was hardly any dull moment with him. He greeted a very busy Ava, who packed her hair in a messy bun.

"Good morning, Ava. How was your weekend?" he said with so much enthusiasm in his voice.

Ava heard the voice. She turned to grace Thomas' presence with her hands on her hair. She responded,

"Hi, Thomas. Good to see you. How was your weekend?"

"It was splendid. And yours?" he answered, firing up the grill.

"It was lovely as well," she responded to Thomas, who had a light smile across his face.

Soon everyone came to work, one after another. The atmosphere was busy with everyone warmly greeting each other. Orders soon came in and everyone got started on work. Some minutes later, Alice, a young lady in her mid-twenties, soon caught everyone's attention.

"The boss is coming," she uttered, as everybody took their positions.

It was their boss's birthday today and everyone was keen on surprising him. The planned surprise was everybody's idea, with Alice taking a large responsibility for it. She was the head cook and had a habit of planning out surprises for workers on their special days.

Everyone moved towards the door, waiting for their boss to grace them with his presence. A tall, slightly built man in his mid-forties opened the door and met a good number of people waiting at the door carrying a cake.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" they all said excitedly.

This action moved Mr. Mark. Happy by their gesture, he thanked them.

They set the cake down on a table, singing the happy birthday song, with customers also joining in.

"Hurray!" they all responded and urged Mr. Mark to make a wish, after which he cut his cake. It was a heartwarming experience to watch.

Mr. Mark was understanding and also lenient towards all his staff. This made them appreciate his character and celebrate him for that.

The cake was shared among everyone, with Mr. Mark thanking them for their kind gesture. They all returned to their workstations, all carrying a satisfied look on their face. Ava also looked happy. Seeing others happy fueled her happiness as well. Happiness didn't necessarily come to her, but staying around people who cared for others and made them smile did do it for her.

She reminisced on the heartwarming gesture of everyone towards Mr. Mark. Soon she got carried away by work as orders kept coming in. Though the thought of her situation kicked in, she encouraged herself, muttering to herself words she always said when she was down:

"I've got this."