𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰

24 - Granted Dreams.

“Not used to a suit, are you?”

“Well I c-can’t say I am,” Aiden tugged on his cuffs with a sweaty huff, “Is it just me or the halls just got hotter by a few degrees?”

Aiden was, both unnerved and excited, to say the least. His blood was burning warm and hot in his veins due to the transient anxiety he’s been feeling from the moment he entered the metropolitan building.

Once the sensor empowered glass doors slid shut behind his figure he immediately realized starting from this day he will no longer be coming as a mere secretary (while his former position isn’t so impressive, the ladies would still give him those certain stares he knew Elsa wouldn’t appreciate just as much) but as a person who would soon be watching his creations come to life.

He felt out of his old element with his current attire, but at the same time he felt like the fabric and colors he is wearing wildly represented him. There was a nagging fear at the back of his mind that he would be far too relaxed to ACTUALLY welcome his new career coming from a recent vacation, but he knew luck was with him and he never lacked it.

The atmosphere around him felt especially thrilling today. The wide smile exposing the dimples at each corner of his lips couldn’t be happier, every nerve of his pulsing in anticipation. From the bottom of his shoes to the seemingly expensive tux and tie Heine insisted on wearing.

The particular group of female employees have gawked at him with a five second extension and he could hear the little squeals emitting from them when they thought he was out of ear shot, when apparently he wasn’t and he even saw one of them nearly trip and drop a folder. Aiden just shook his head and continued going after his new colleague’s path.

Aiden Laurant, that was what the fancy gold pin showed off to every passing employee in the bright consecutive halls and it made his heart race just looking at it again and again. This was a new level for him, and somehow while it had its highs it also had its lows.

His shoulders can already feel the weight of the company. No inspiration, no sketch. No sketch, no submission. No submission, landsliding profit. Landsliding profit, bankruptcy. Bankruptcy, failure. Failure... He failed Elsa. Oh no, no, Aiden, he grunted, you are not dealing with nonsense at seven o’clock.

“I believe there is a reason why Elsa offered the job to you,” Heine must have sensed his supposedly invisible behavior, yet while Aiden knew the blond was speaking to nobody else but him, he wasn’t maintaining eye contact as he was preoccupied with his phone.

“And that reason must be so favorable that you reached such a height. Self esteem isn’t a required qualification... But try to raise your chin up and keep those eyes forward.”

Despite Heine’s slightly blunt tone, Aiden took the executive director’s words of wisdom by heart and responded with a thank you. They don’t talk often, but at some point the two men can already verify each other’s obvious personality, and Aiden supposed they are friends. Heine has directed a playful banter to him a time or two, whenever he and Elsa subconsciously show an act of affection around him, but he doesn’t mind.

The door they’ve been standing in front of finally opened.

A man, presumably in his early fifties, stood by the doorway looking rather agitated with a collection of crumpled sheets of paper secured with his arm. Streaks of gray were found among his dark brown locks, and his furrowed brows sent the male duo the message they had disturbed him greatly. And with the old man’s expression, Aiden’s confidence shrunk a bit.