Chapter 4 C-4

LUCIANA'S POV

I place my lipstick tube on the dressing table and plump my cherry red lips while staring at myself in the mirror. My no-makeup makeup look was on point and so was my full name of wavy, almost curly black hair which, thankfully, I was able to tame it into a high ponytail a few minutes earlier, after almost fighting it in a battle to the death. I smoothen my black formal form fitting knee length dress which hugs my slender, shapely form and begin to put on my low heeled pumps as I hear a thud coming from Rodrigo's room.

Momentarily forgetting to put on the left shoe, I immediately rushed to his room hobbling with only one shoe on.

"What's wrong, m'ijo?" I ask worriedly before even entering his room. "Did you fall? Are you okay?"

I see his little body laying on the carpeted floor and reach out to help him at the same time he picks himself up from the floor.

While I'm fussing and looking at him all over to make sure he wasn't hurt from the fall, he responds in his little milky voice, "I'm fine, mama. I just fell a bit. But I didn't get hurt, I promise".

My brows furrow, "What caused you to fall though?" I ask, my hands resting on his shoulder as I crouch down to reach his height while I stare him in the face.

He looks at me sheepishly, "I just wanted to get you a good luck bracelet I made at school for when you finally get the job of your dreams".

My brows loosen as I feel a familiar warmth spread inside of me, "You made a bracelet for me? Can I see it baby?"

He nods and shows me a beautiful purple woven bracelet with little silver charms which lies in his palms.

"For you," he says while stretching his palms towards me.

I pick it up slowly and run my fingers through the beautifully weaved bracelet. I knew my son was quite quick at picking up and learning things, but I didn't know he would be able to weave this well. He must have really put his heart into this. I chuckle and sniff as the mental image of him using his little hands to weave the bracelet comes to mind. When I place it on my left wrist and find out it's perfectly fitted to it, neither too loose nor too tight.

"Thank you so much, baby. It's so beautiful and I really really love it," I say all this, my voice beginning to cloy with unshed tears which I'm barely able to keep at bay.

He suddenly hugs me and pats me on the head in a comforting manner with his adorably tiny palms. "It's okay, mama. Don't cry. And you're welcome".

"How did you know my wrist size anyway?" I ask while sniffing the familiar calming scent of his shampoo.

"You're so silly, mama," he giggles mischievously, his honey brown eyes twinkling, "You didn't know I took a measurement of your wrist while you were reading "The Giving Tree" to me the other night.

I gasp in surprise and realization. No wonder he kept trying to hold my arm that night. I had noticed that, but just thought he was feeling extra cuddly after a long day away from me. This was almost a month ago.

"Well, I absolutely love this bracelet and I'll wear it forever and ever and ever," I say with a wide smile as I tickle him and he breaks into giggles, trying to resist the tickle monster.

"Oh, and mama," he says when he settles down from the aftermath of the tickling, "I don't know if you've realised this, but you forgot to wear your other shoe. You really are silly."

He then proceeds to burst into another round of giggles while it finally registers in my head that I really did forget to wear the complete pair, due to the thud I heard from his room.

I blink, blushing slightly in embarrassment before quickly running back to my room to put on the other pair, hearing the sound of his magical giggles accompanying me as I go.

°°°

I thankfully got to the office five minutes early, even though the eventful morning I had taken quite a bit of my time and I also had to drop Rodrigo off at school on my way. I had gotten my banged up metallic blue Audi from the mechanic yesterday evening, so that certainly aided me in getting to work earlier. The warmth from the air-conditioning in the building is a welcoming reprieve from the cold winter air which shrouds the entire city.

The blonde receptionist, Constance, whose name I got from Madison when we talked yesterday, smiles at me and greets me as I make my way past the reception, towards the lift. The other one with the adorable brown eyes, whose name I cannot remember, nods at me with a smile on her face as well. I respond verbally to the both of them and make my way into the elevator which is unoccupied.

As I make my way towards the eighth floor, though, a few other people step into the lift and some end up getting off before we reach the eighth floor. When the doors open I make my way out of the now crowded lift and towards my office. I step into the office I'm just now seeing the inside of and my eyes take in everything slowly. The decor is similar to that of MacCarthy's, with wooden furniture and a dark tint to it. It is also smaller than his, but certainly larger than any office I've ever worked in any of the part-time jobs I'd had.

I walk into the well lit office slowly and notice the heater which has already been turned on. I smile and chuckle out twirling in my black and white checkered coat as a feeling of satisfaction builds up in me. Finally, I have a job of my own. Something more solid.

My little Cinderella moment is put on a hold when my eyes spot MacCarthy standing at the door watching me. I almost stumble and fall on my face as I try to collect myself while avoiding his piercing gaze.

"Umm," I clear my throat and say awkwardly "Good morning, Mr. MacCarthy."

"Good morning, Miss Alejandro," he responds, still staring at me with that same blank look. "Come with me to my office," he continues, not giving me any chance to cut in, as he turns and walks towards his office which is opposite mine.

I feel my face burning in shame as I quickly take off my coat and place my bag down on the table, while wondering if one could get fired for twirling in their office and forgetting to lock the door.

I stepped into his office, noticing that he left the door open for me when he came in. While fiddling with my bracelet, I take one of the seats facing him and try my best to give him a small smile as my gaze locks with his indecipherable one.

" Today, you'll begin by going through the sales ledger and financial records of the company for the last quarter and reporting to me if there are any oddities that come up, no matter how minute they may be. You'll also discuss any observations and concerns you may have about them with me".

He continues after handing me a few documents to go through, "Also, we'll have a meeting with the CEO later today to discuss this quarter's sales report. And you'll be attending the meeting. I've given your office computer full access to the complete sales record of the company. Any questions?"

I shake my head, as I flip quickly through the documents he placed before me, "No sir. I'll go through these and the record and get back to you after".

He nods, his eyes now turned towards his desktop and gestures dismissively towards me, "You may go".

I get up after letting out a nod and picking up the documents as I walk out of his office, closing his doors silently. When I got to mine, I immediately took my seat, kicked off my pumps, and got to work.

I let out a yawn I've been trying and holding for a short while now while stretching my cramping muscles and taking my eyes away from the computer. I look at the leather watch on my wrist, sitting beside the bracelet Rodrigo made for me. Three hours have passed since I resumed work.

I place my feet back into my shoes and stand up before stretching my waist and lower back muscles as I then make my way out of the office. And knock on MacCarthy's door.

His "Come in," sounds more like a grunt than two words granting permission, but I walk into his office anyway. He looks up at me with a brow raised in question and I quickly state my purpose for disturbing his work, "Umm, sorry to disturb you, sir. But, where's the company's kitchen? I'd like to make a cup of tea or some coffee".

He looks at me and blinks for a bit as though surprised that I'm asking him of all people where the kitchen is.

"Third floor. It has a sign that says 'kitchen'. You won't miss it," he responds before turning back to his computer screen.

"Thank you. Would you like some tea or coffee?" I ask, the last part coming out awkwardly.

He blinks again in surprise. This was the most expressive I'd ever seen his face since I first met him yesterday. "Yes. Plain black, please. Thank you".

"You're welcome," I state with a small smile on my face, turning on my heels before walking out of his office.

I reach the kitchen which is exactly as he described and take in the large space within. It is pristine white like the ground floor and empty, making me wonder if staff even make use of it at all. As I check for the ingredients to make my tea and his coffee, I mentally go through everything I've done today, from stupidly forgetting to close my door and being caught twirling in the office to the financial report I was almost finished going through. I hear the sound of a throat clearing and my thoughts are interrupted as I turn towards the direction the sound came from. It was a tall slender chestnut haired woman of African descent who looked to be about the same age as me.

"Hi, I'm Amara. You're new here," she states the last part as more of a statement than a question as she courses the kitchen towards me. Her voice is the most lovely soothing contralto I've ever heard. I wonder if she sings.

I smile and stretch my hand out, " Hello, Amara. I'm Luciana. It's nice to meet you. And yes, I am new. Just started today, in fact".

She raised her slender penciled eyebrows and took my hand in her warm larger one. "What position did you fill, Luciana?" She asks, my hand still being held in hers, her beautiful voice sending shivers down my spine.

"The Financial Secretary to the Sales Manager," I answer, craning my neck up slightly to look her in the face. She stands about four feet taller than I am, making her height around 5"9.

Amara lets out a small "Ah," her expressionless face showing signs of a small smile. "Well, I suppose I'll see you around then". She then lets go of my palm and turns back to where she was before our small discussion began.

I nod and pick up the cups of tea and coffee, holding both in both hands as I walk out of the kitchen, wondering if being good-looking was an unspoken prerequisite for working in this company, since everyone I've met so far is definitely high up in the looks department. Her quiet gaze follows me as I walk out of the kitchen.

When I get to my floor, I walk towards my office first and place down my tea before turning to MacCarthy's to give him his coffee. He gives me a silent thank you and takes a sip before I walk out of the office and back to mine, making sure to close my door this time.