Chapter 8 Office Tensions

In the early hours of the morning, as the first hints of dawn painted the city skyline with a delicate palette of pinks and oranges, Bella stirred from her peaceful slumber.

Her room, nestled high above the bustling streets, was illuminated by the soft, gentle glow of the early morning sun.

As she rose from her cozy bed, the distant sounds of the city began to seep into her consciousness. The gentle hum of traffic below and the occasional sirens wailing in the distance were the city's way of greeting the day.

She quickly took a shower, then chose to wear a Bae & Co Blue Strappy Crop Blazer and a matching Bae & Co Blue Asymmetric Wrap Mini Skirt.

As she was about to open the door and head downstairs to get some coffee, the door opened, and standing in front of her in a blue nightgown was Lily, her mother.

"Oh, Mommy!" She hugged her mom tightly.

"And my little girl is already dressed for work." Her mother beamed.

"You guys seemed to have slept early yesterday; I didn't want to wake you." Bella said.

"Your father drained all my energy last night."

"What do you expect, Mum? He hasn't seen you for like 4 months."

They both laughed. "So did you get the job?" Bella asked.

"I should receive an email this afternoon." Lily didn't seem happy.

"What's wrong, Mother?"

Lily is a model; she has worked with several clothing brands, fitness brands, and so many more...

But all of a sudden, she received an email from The Laurels, one of the most popular clothing brands, stating that they had an opportunity to try new models for their products, and if she loved the offer, she should come and register.

The entire family encouraged her to go to Milan, Italy, where the company was located, and she was there for four months.

"I don't know, but I do not think that they would accept me."

"No, no, no, why would you say that? Even for your age, you're still stunning."

"Nope, you're only saying this to make me feel better."

"Mom, please stop; I'm serious."

Bella wasn't lying, not one bit. Her mother had amazing looks, and that's where Bella got hers from.

The raven-black hair that was long and naturally wavvy, sea-blue eyes that were difficult to behold without being lost in them, an exceptionally flawless white complexion, a perfect body mass, a wasp waist and straight legs like that of an athlete.

You would think they both spent their nights in the gym keeping this body fit, but Bella barely took a walk.

"And what are my women talking about?" Charles walked in.

"Dad, you shouldn't enter a woman's room without knocking." Bella answered.

"I'm so sorry; I forgot how much you've grown." Charles laughed.

"Seems like you're ready to head to the office." Lily said noticing he was already wearing a suit.

"Yeah, I have a business meeting to attend. I'll see you once I get back." He came close to Lily and kissed her before he left.

"I think I should be going too, I'm already running late." Bella answered.

"Speaking of late, where were you last night?" Lily asked, quite concerned.

"I went out with a friend."

"I hope that friend doesn't have 'Gentry' as his last name. Well, I trust you; you don't stoop so low to date any of them. I would even prefer Alexander; he seems more responsible, but with the news I'm hearing about him, I think he should keep his head down." Lily wasn't joking.

"Thanks for the advice, Mum; I'll be heading to work, I'm already late." Bella quickly grabbed her bag and headed off.

The discussion she had with her mother had thrown her off balance.

Even as she walked through the bustling streets of New York, it still felt like she was walking alone.

"Why would my mum say such? Not even about Alexander but Sebastian?" She mused as she headed to the office.

Lily from the onset had hated the Gentry family; she believed they were a set of proud men. She wouldn't blame Dana, their mother, for divorcing Richard.

As she was walking to the office, she received two text messages simultaneously; the first was from Sebastian, and the other was from Catherine.

A subtle blush danced across her cheeks as she read Sebastian's text, "Good morning Bella; I know you're already awake, and I'm also sorry for sending this so late. I'm just waking up myself. I've never had such a peaceful night until I had that dinner with you. Let's see who reaches the office first."

After she had read the message for the third time, she decided to open Catherine's message.

"Where on earth are you? Alexander has gathered everyone at the hall for the past 1 hour waiting for you. I don't think he went home yesterday. Be fast."

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Bella screamed and began running to the office; she wasn't ready for another deduction.

Still sweating and breathing heavily, she stepped out of the elevator at the office, and headed to the hall, only to find every staff seated, with only Alexander standing.

"Welcome, Miss Sterling; please have a seat," Alexander said, surprisingly calm.

"Now let's begin," he added.

His words shocked Bella to the bone. She expected him to say things like, "Back to our discussion," or "As I was saying."

Her heart began to beat fast, and she had a gut feeling in her belly that her annoyingly handsome CEO would deal with her later on.

Not a few minutes after she had settled, Sebastian walked in. Even as everyone turned to look at him, no one said a word, not even Alexander; he acted like no one had entered.

"I saw a video of our ex-colleague, Julius Covada, saying that Prime Tech was about to release a project." He paused to see the reactions of his staff.

"Now, it's a very big coincidence that we also have a project that is in progress and yet to be launched. But, Prime Tech is already 3 steps ahead of us as they have announced it to the public, and that is why I held this meeting."

Little murmurs were heard amongst the employees.

"Silence!" He said with a commanding voice that forced everyone to keep mute.

"From now henceforth, an extra 2 hours have been added to your working hours."

Bella couldn't take this; she raised her hand to plead her case, and once she was allowed to speak. "With all due respect, sir, I usually leave at 7 pm every day. Adding an extra two hours means I'll have to leave at 9 pm."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Sir, that's too much; I can't survive it."

"Well, you can either quit or stay an extra two hours. The meeting is dismissed, and I want to hear an update from the software development department."

"Asshole," Bella cursed as she walked out of the hall.