The Mediocre Boss tells. The Good Boss explains. The Superior Boss demonstrates. The Great Boss inspires - William Arthur Ward

All too soon, the fateful day arrived when the new bosses would arrive at Bee's Interiors. On top of the usual workload, everyone in the office scrambled to perform extra tidying. Mrs. Ade had insisted her staff have everything in perfect order when the two men showed up.

Most frazzled of all was Tara. Mrs. Ade had entrusted her with preparing a portfolio of previous work to show the company's new partners, and she still had other commissioned graphics to complete before their deadlines. Her mind raced, but her fingers could barely keep up, adding further to her stress.

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A sleek car the color of the deep sea cruised to a stop in front of the building. The vehicle bore two people sure to change the entire course of the company's story.

The two men eased out of the car and entered the building. The secretary, Michelle, rose to greet them. A brief exchange of pleasantries, and she guided them to the elevator that would take them to Mrs. Ade's conference room two levels up.

Mrs. Ade had assembled the entire staff once more to meet with their new partners and bosses. A certain anticipation hovered over those seated at the table; knees bounced and fingers fidgeted. Everyone would soon have to put in their best effort to make a good first impression.

A swift knock on the door and time seemed to grind to a halt. Tara exchanged a glance with Alice across the table. The two ladies visibly shared an understanding with all their coworkers, that once that door opened, the company would enter the realm of the unknown.

Mrs. Ade bit her lip and brushed some wrinkles out of her skirt. "Come in," she called out.

The door swung open on recently greased hinges, revealing Michelle's tense face. She informed Mrs. Ade that their guests had arrived before pushing the entryway further open. She beckoned the men inside.

The first man entered with a stoic face. His chocolate-colored eyes betrayed nothing of the thoughts in his head, and neither did his mouth or even posture. Crowning his head was hair more gray than black, and hugging his body was a suit more black than gray. Overall, Tara decided he exuded the typical vibe of a shrewd businessman.

A subdued but pleasant expression graced the next man's face. Almost everything about the man struck Tara as lighter than his companion, attitude, eyes, and suit alike. Only his ebony hair was darker. Dye definitely worked wonders.

Mrs. Ade gestured for her staff to rise to their feet. Then she stepped closer to her guests and extended her hand to shake.

"Welcome to Bee's Interiors. It is a pleasure to have you here."

Mr. James Angelo, the one with grayer hair, shook her hand. "Of course; it's our pleasure to partner with you, and clearly, you have a wonderful team. This is my partner, Mr. Marcello."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Marcello."

Mr. Marcello dipped his head. "I'm pleased to meet you as well. I'm sure it will be a pleasure to work with you and your capable team."

Tara watched her bosses new and old with appraising eyes. Mrs. Ade visibly sighed, and her smile became increasingly less forced. Mr. Angelo and Mr. Marcello interacted stiffly with her, but no animosity hovered between them.

Mr. Angelo increasingly struck Tara as shrewd, calculating, and no friend of nonsense. His counterpart appeared more polite and humble, as well as a little more personable. But she may have been wrong, as they say: "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Mrs. Ade spoke louder than normal, waving a hand toward her staff. "Because we have a large team, I will settle on introducing you to all the most important faces of the company. Here, we have Mr. Tony Adio, general manager, Miss Alice is our accountant, and this is Mr. Williams, our HR officer. Mrs. Ali, our head interior designer, and her team."

After pointing at three women and men surrounding Mrs. Ali, she went on with the introductions. "I would imagine you already met Miss Michelle, our company secretary. Oh, and this is Mrs. Dara, our head graphic designer, and the junior members of her team, Miss Tara and Miss Lola."

Mr. Marcello had made eye contact and smiled at each team member as Mrs. Ade mentioned them. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I am sure we will work wonderfully together."

When he locked eyes with Tara, she sucked in her breath. Now, with his gaze and grin focused on her, she felt it oddly familiar. She'd seen those eyes on another face. But she couldn't pinpoint who and where she'd seen them.

Mrs. Ade cleared her throat and dismissed the workers, instructing them to carry on as normal while she showed the new bosses to their offices. The conference room emptied itself out into the rest of the building.

Tara felt Alice's smile long before she spotted it in her peripheral vision. She even picked up her pace as she walked to her desk, just to make Alice work harder to catch up. But sure enough, Alice prevailed and matched her stride.

"So, what do we think of our new bosses?" Alice asked.

"I don't know what you think, silly." Tara said, "But from what I can tell, Mr. Angelo seems strict and shrewd, while Mr. Marcello's polite and kind. I could be judging too soon, though."

"Don't you think they're quite attractive? Who knows, maybe they have sons who are eligible husbands!"

Tara glanced over sharply. "Don't you think it's awfully early to be crushing on your boss's son? You don't know him, and he probably doesn't even exist! And besides, isn't it wrong to mix business with pleasure?" Her brows wrinkled. 

"Oh please. You can forget all that nonsense; just because he's our boss's son doesn't mean he can't be an eligible boyfriend or husband. Especially if he takes after his dad in more than just looks."

"You're hopeless." Tara said, laughing, "Do yourself a favor, please. Just focus on work and let God do the rest. And maybe try letting your imaginary husband surface first before you fawn over him."

Alice pouted. "Dream killer."

"You should dream in your bed, not at your desk."

"I was waiting for you to say something like that! Boring and predictable."

Tara laughed as she reached her desk. "Guilty as charged. At least I get my work done."

With a huff, Alice left Tara alone and stalked off to her own desk, though she knew Alice was more acting dramatic than being dramatic. One would need more than just words to pop that woman's bubble.

Mr. Marcello's eyes flashed in her mind and she stiffened.  One question floated in her head.

Do I know him?

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Hi, my lovelies 😍
Happy Valentine's day In arrears❤️❤️
I love you all so much 💖💖

So finally we have welcomed our new characters. XD
Let's get our imagination active.
What part do you think they will play in the story????🤔

So moving forward...

Question of the chapter :
Who is your favorite character in any book you are reading or read recently either on Wattpad or in real life??

So for me, my favorite character in the novel I am reading in real life is Zach Sawyer from the novel Mckenzie written by Penny Zeller
And here on Wattpad, my favorite character is Kahiri from the book Hidden Things Revealed by Y. I. Turner.

So until next time. Be happy 😁