You're The Boss

Chapter 3

As Lyra walked into the pristine office, she was greeted by the busy hustle and bustle of the people working. It seemed like they all had a million things to do with no time to do them, which was a bit overwhelming for her, but at the same time she liked the challenge. 

A guy around her age walked up to her with a wide smile on his pale face. He was tall and sort of lanky, not quite scrawny but not quite muscular, with dark brown hair with matching eyes. He seemed all around friendly, so Lyra matched his smile.

"Hi, I'm Derek, you must be Miss Jackson. I'm here to show you around!" He said kindly, as he stuck his hand out for a handshake. Lyra, already deciding she liked this Derek, met his hand with hers in a firm handshake. 

"Hi! And please, call me Lyra. It's what the cool kids are doing" She joked, met with a small chuckle from Derek. "So what do you do around here Derek?" she questioned. 

"I am the head of social media marketing, which is how I ended up all the way up here. Please follow me." He said as he began walking. "You see, this is basically the cool kids floor, it's where most of the heads of certain departments call home, where we do our important work, while some days we might be on the floor of their department which is usually run by the assistants when we're not there." He rambled on, Lyra nodding as she soaked in the information.

"The boss wanted us all together on one floor working near him, so that all of the important stuff and people were in one spot. We have found it's more efficient that way. " He smiled with a bit of pride, she was guessing Derek might have been a part of that decision. 

He walked her around that floor, introducing her to people and showing her bathrooms and break rooms and also showing her who the "mean people" were and who the "awesome people" were, which Lyra was grateful for, at least she would know who she could ask for help. 

Finally, after a full run down of where everything was and who everyone was, they rounded the corner into a gorgeous and rather large office on the edge, overlooking the city. "Ah, and here is where your office will be. Hopefully there's enough space for all of your law-y stuff. Just be careful not to play your music too loud, you get to hang right next to the boss' office." He winked as he teased, Lyra taking in a big gulp of air. She didn't realize she would be in such close contact with the big boss everyday, that was what she was trying to avoid. 

"Come on, there's one more person for you to meet." He smiled, dragging her into the room net to her office. Actually, it wasn't a room, it was an office! Putting two and two together, she figured out this was the boss, Athen Creek's office. She took a deep breath, she'd have to meet her boss sooner or later right?

Derek knocked on the closed door and waited for permission before even thinking about walking in. So much for an open door policy, she thought. After a few seconds, she heard a deep voice say 'come in'. 

As they walked in, she began surveying the most beautiful space she had ever seen, and it was someone's office! She looked around at all the sleek furniture in the very spacious room. There was 2 different desk sections, one surrounded by cabinets and papers, and the other surrounded by shelves and stacks of books. In the back of the room next to the corner with the desk of books, was a modern looking couch with two decorative pillows on each end. The desk with the papers was up by the wall of glass on the opposite side of the room, two plush chairs opposite the desk. It was set up so nicely, making her wander who the interior designer was responsible for such a masterpiece, surely they were proud. 

When she was done taking in the room, her eyes wandered to the man leaning against talking on the phone, clearly finishing a call. But his focus wasn't on the call, it was on her. She was immediately shocked at the mans incredibly good looks, sure he's all over the tv and magazines and newspapers, but she never really paid attention and besides, a picture could never do him justice. 

He wore a perfectly fitted Navy blue suit, his blazer hung over his chair and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was very muscular, you could see that clearly despite the clothing. He had a tattoo sleeve on his left arm, something Lyra wasn't close enough to see well. His face was perfectly sculpted, his scruff of a beard accenting his incredible jawline nicely. He had bright blue eyes, the kind that could put anyone in a trance, with dirty blonde hair similar to that of Lyra's but a bit darker. All in all, he was God like. Lyra found it very hard to believe he was real. 

She was so busy looking at him and his office, she hadn't noticed him hang up the phone. When she began to refocus, she caught Derek talking to him, "..... and finished the tour here. I thought you might want to meet the newest member to the family. " The man smiled back and forth between Athen and Lyra. Lyra smiled at Derek, he was adorably sweet.

Lyra smiled at the intimidatingly handsome man and walked over to him to shake his hand. "Hi Mr. Creek, I'm Lyra. I'm sure you've heard a bit about me by now." She joked. He took her hand with a smile of his own, joking with her.

"And I'm sure you've heard about me as well?" He said lightly. She was afraid to answer, she knew nothing of him but was afraid of offending him. Oh well, the truth shall set you free right?

"Actually, at risk of sounding entirely rude, I have not. I'm afraid I know more about your company than I do of you. " She said nervously. He looked entirely shocked by her response, not at all what he'd been expecting, however he wasn't upset by her response at all. In fact, he seemed almost happy about it?

"Really?" He said in a disbelieving but friendly tone. "So you mean to tell me you have not seen anything about me on the news, or read any articles? Nothing?" 

"None that I paid attention to I'm afraid, I'm sorry to dis appoint. " She joked, feeling a little bit better about the situation knowing it was all still friendly. If everyone at this place was as friendly as the two men standing in this office, work would be a breeze. 

"Well, while I am entirely shocked, I must ask, are you purposefully avoiding anything to do with me, or does it happen to be a coincidence?" He said, crossing his arms and leaning back against his desk again, his eyebrow raised.

"In all honestly?" She questioned, making sure he was okay with whatever she had to say. He nodded silently, almost amused.

"It's not so much me ignoring you, as ignoring the attention you bring. With all due respect, I have no interest in the '50 hottest bachelors in the US'. I find that sort of thing ridiculous, i'd rather focus on building a better tomorrow through science and law, but hey that's just how I see it. " She said putting her hands up, showing she means no harm (or offense in this case). 

He laughed a little to himself, shaking his head up and down. "Well alright, that is honest and I can appreciate that. But hey, what's the point of worrying about what tomorrow will look like if you're not even enjoying today?" He said getting up and walking around the other side of his desk. 

Lyra nodded her head in thought. "That's a very good point. But if we don't think about tomorrow today, then the same issues we faced today will only recur and strengthen tomorrow. " She said, walking up and standing behind one of the plush chairs by his desk, leaning against it. She probably wouldn't have ventured so far, so close to him, if she hadn't been so invested in their conversation. 

He laughed. "Alright, you got me. Why don't you have a seat and we can get you up to date on the company, it's going to take a couple days and there's no time to begin like the present, right?" He smiled as he pulled a bottle of water to his lips. 

"I'm going to get back to work. Good luck Lyra, you know where to find me if you need anything else." Derek said with a kind smile. "Thank you, Derek." I responded with a smile of my own, leading to him walking out and leaving me with Athen Creek.