OFFICE ROMANCE

Emma~002

A creme loose shirt with a long caramel brown skirt, a chocolate brown belt, cuff earrings, a vintage watch, hair all down, high heels, I smelled like vanilla.

I knew it was going to be a grand party but it was not like I wanted to draw anyone's attention by wearing something party like, moreover, I wasn't in the mood to pull on any of my short dresses, it wasn't a club and I knew I had to be there for a long time.

Looking at the rare view mirror of my car, I checked myself for the last time. This dress had been in my closet for months, I had been waiting for a better event to come for this dress to show its glamour, yet I still kept it on the back burner but since Andria gifted it to me a few months back for no apparent reason, I found it befitting to wear it today.

I walked out and my feet halted when I saw my parents coming out of their car too.

It wasn't like I was shocked, since I was aware they would come here, it was their daughter's birthday party, but I had still expected them to not come here. I didn't want to see their faces.

It always reminded me of the moment I had been striving to forget forever.......

As dad noticed me, he smiled and attempted to move closer to me but I looked away and walked past him, completely ignoring his presence.

"Emma!" my mom called out weakly yet I behaved the sound didn't reach me.

I knew they were disappointed by my ignorance but sometimes we had to choose a less damaging option between something wrong and something worse.

Instead of hurting them with my words that I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back, it was better to ignore meeting them.

"Woah, what an honourable personality we have here tonight! You just glorified the whole hall by your presence! I am grateful to you!" Taehyung, my sister's only brother-in-law chirped.

"Oh god, Taehyung! When will you stop the puffery?" I asked as he hugged me.

Taehyung was a social butterfly and we got along with each other soon after our first meeting. He was a nice person with ethics and principles. Not starting with his beauty, I was always amazed by his personality. He was someone you could rely on, in any situation. He was helpful, smart and kind.

"It's been months since I last saw you! Are you not on good terms with Andria these days?" he asked with a gentle smile."Aren't you too busy these days?"

"Busy? That's ironic considering you are the CEO of a renowned company while I am currently unemployed! Looks like your wishes came true but in the wrong favour for me! Now I am all free!" I replied.

"Unemployed? What about the job you were doing at ION Pharmaceuticals? You left it?" he asked slightly frowning.

Everyone knew I was career-oriented so it was fair enough to get that surprised by the news.

ION industries were window dressing their financial status to hold on the same value of shares in the market but all the employees knew the reality. They were facing a huge loss because of the incompetency of the new CEO.

Maybe the reason behind my resignation was not only the low pay of the company with an unhealthy work environment, it was all the stress I had been taking that my therapist suggested to leave for a while.

She said to function perfectly, I needed to take care of my mental health. And there was no way I couldn't take stress when I was working in a company that was slogging to survive.

"They paid me nuts for the work they assigned me. There was no extra incentives for extra hours and bonuses and acknowledgement were foreign terms for them. I had to leave them!" I replied sighing, totally not regretting my decision.