Love At Last Sight

Prologue

     The man sighed as he rubbed his forehead, looking down at the paper in front of him. He closed his eyes shut. That could not be real.

     His office was silent. The only source of light in the room were some moonrays, peaking playfully through the curtains. Outside it was pouring. The sound of water drops hitting the ground was calming Alex Elsher down. He began to tap his foot against the ground, anxiously.

     He ran a hand through his dark hair and opened his eyes. He read the paper again and again. He could not belive it. That paper was supposte to be some joke from an employer – it was almost April, anyways; Early April Fool's. But it was real. Very real.

     A gentle knock on the wooden door woke him up from his thoughts. Alex cleared his throat, trying to be as professional as possible.

     "Enter."

     The door creaked open. Inside came a tall, slim woman, dressed in a black skirt and white, bell sleeved shirt – something very simple for a secretary of a CEO. Her ginger hair was tied in a ponytail. She fixed her glasses on her nose.

     "I think Matt gave you the paper, sir..." She said quietly, almost guilty, her eyes falling on the paper. Alex nodded. His gaze became cold.

     "I did. And... what do you mean by this?" He asked coldly, demanding an answer. He pointed to the paper with one hand and held it up with the other, then looked at her. She sighed deeply.

     "Sir, I am sorry for giving you this news... Something happend in my family and I have to move back to Europe for a few years..." She murmured softly.

     She did not dare to lift her gaze. She felt terrible. Now, when her boss needed her the most, she had to leave for years. Years. That was not okay for Alex, not at all. He sighed again.

     "Maria, what am I going to do without you?" he whispered. "You were my right hand, my best hope – and now you... leave..."

     "I... leave..." She repented, her voice cracking. "Sir, please, I am so sorry...-"

     "No, no, do not apologise..." Alex said quickly, getting up from his seat and approaching the woman, his gaze softening suddently. "You had not done anything wrong, okay? It's just... I did not expect you to leave now, when I need you the most!"

     Maria looked at him. Her hands began to tremble and her breath was shaky. Noticing this, Alex sighed and came closer to her. He wrapped his muscular arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. He began to caress her head gently.

     "Do not cry. You know I get vulnerable around woman like you or mum. You know this too well," he whispered. "I did not mean to make you sad, Maria, belive me... You know you're a friend of mine..."

     Maria nodded, hugging him back. It was unusual for a very well-known CEO to hug his secretary. But Alex knew she needed it. He hated making people feel bad, especially when they were close to him. He had, indeed,  a cold and stoic personality, yet very few people could break it and see a bit of sympathy from him. Maria was one of those people – she was easily getting to see his true colours.

     They knew eachother since middle school. They were best friends since they first met, and getting to work togheter was amazing for both of them. People would often think they like eachother, which was not the case. They were just best friends: nothing more and nothing less. Yet the gossips would never stop, this being the only thing annoying the both of them.

     They hugged eachother silently for a few more moments. After a while, Maria broke the silence:

     "... You will have a new secretary while I am away..."

     He was shocked. His eyes widened. He looked down at Maria, clearly not expecting that one.

     "W... What do you mean by that? I thought maybe I'd work with Matt or anyone else, but... a new secretary? You are really leaving for a good while, huh?.."

     "Mm-hm..."

     Alex pulled away from the hug. His heart was beating fast, drumming against his chest. He closed his hands into fists. Seeing this, Maria only sighed louder.

     "We... I mean, me and some of my colleagues took care of everything. This woman is a little younger than me and is very... "

     She could not find a word to describe the woman. Alex began to look at her again, slightly curious.

     "... Very.?"

     "... Very... creative. Dreamy. Profesional. All these mixed up. But also... shy. Worse than me – I would like you not to make her chicken out with those cold glares of yours."

     Alex felt offended by that sentence. "Well I bet I am not that bad."

     "You are," she giggled, booping his nose with her index finger. He scoffed.

     "Hmph. So... when are you going.?"

     Maria checked the time, looking at the round clock on the wall, above the door. Her eyes widened.

     "Oh.! Right now.! Ah, I knew I would get to talk way too much again and waste time!"

     "Hey, where do you need to go? I can drive you there..." Alex reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. Maria sighed, relieved.

     "To the Museum. A taxi will get me to the Airport from there..." Maria said, approaching the door along with Alex. He nodded.

     "Understood... Well, uh, let's go then!"

     She smiled when he opened the door for her, so she could pass through.

     "Thank you."

*   *   *

     "Oh, right here it's perfect, Al!"

     The man laughed.

     "So no more 'sir'?" Alex joked, parking his gray car in front of the Museum. Maria laughed.

     "Ah, no. I think I called you 'sir' for way too much time. I mean... I will call you that only between closed doors, not when we are alone."

     "Understood. Well... I think it is goodbye for now, hm.?"

     "It is... Bye, Alex!" She smiled.

     Alex chuckled. "As if we cannot talk on Face-Time or anything. But okay, fine – bye!"

     She was about to grab her purse and ukbrella and leave the car, but stopped mid-tracks. She looked at Alex with an half-amused, half-serious face.

     "Before I go, please promise me something."

     "Hm? What's up?" He asked, leaning into his seat and turning his head again to look at her. Maria cleared her throat.

     "Do not fall in love with your new secretary like in those romance novels, please. She's kind of pretty, that's why I am warning."

     Before he could say another word, Maria was out of the car, waving at him playfully, then turning to run to the closest taxi, with her umbrella in hand, opening it quickly. Alex stared at her, confused.

     'Do not fall in love with your new secretary.'

     His face turned cold again. He scoffed. As if he would do that. He did not want a lover anyways – nor children. He was good all alone.

     Even though, he was secretly hoping his new secretary would be fit for the tasks he would give her and for the promise he made his best friend. Not to fall in love.