Sunlight peeked through the curtains and graced Elliott's face. His peace-adorned face entranced me. I found myself smiling and staring at him in awe. I couldn't believe the stars of my destiny.  I concluded that my scientific logic is going to shit.

Here I am, contradicting the things that I've learned about stars. Light from the stars reaches us late and by then they've already exploded, they said but Elliot, my own personal star, the star of my dreams, the star of my reality was still here in his complete light and glory laying with me.

I chuckled to myself silently as I realised how insane my thoughts were but they made sense to me. For the first time, things made sense to me. For the first time, I felt like I belonged in this world. Before I met him, I was just existing. Then Elliot came into my life and toppled it all over with his insults which were actually praises. He too was in denial of his feelings because of Pearl. I must admit I am wary of what turn things will take when he meets Pearl again? Will she beg for him to come back? Will she fight for him? Will he give in? 

They've had a strong past together, few words from the lover can rekindle it back. If that happens, I'm well aware that I will be left behind.

This love, Elliot, wasn't mine, to begin with. If he doesn't treat me like his only option, I will let him go.

I know, this started on the wrong side but it doesn't have to end that way.

So keeping my doubts aside, I decided to give it my honest shot and the rest is on him. Whom does he wish to be loyal to, that's his choice and only time will tell who he chooses.

I'm aware of my limited options.

Shaking the insecurities aside, I focus on the now. Now, I have him with me. I place my hand on his cheek and I see his mouth slightly open. I closed it. He slowly hums and I place a kiss on his cheek, feather-light. He again hums and his eyes flutter open.

"Hey gorgeous," I smile at him.

His smile dazzles me inside and out, "morning beautiful."

I place a soft kiss on his lips, uplifting my body a little above him.

My duvet slips down from my back and his hand finds a place to rest on my bare back. He makes circles on my back with his index finger. My eyes meet his and he looks at me with a serious look.

"What?" I ask him.

"Last night, baby. You looked so beautiful. It's like, every moment is imprinted into my brain and I can't believe how lucky I am," he whispered.

My cheeks warmed and my eyes dropped from his face. Oh my!

"It was amazing for me too, Elliot. I thought that I would never be able to get so emotionally invested and like..so..so close to someone my entire life."

"Oh Charlotte, come here," he snuggles me into him. Any amount of space that we had in between us was obliterated. His skin touched mine and if it was a fire last night, it's still amber till now.

"I have a busy day today," I tell him as I lay on his chest. I placed a kiss on his chest. His fingers played with my hair.

"I like it when you do that," he said.

I kissed him again on his chest, "this?"

He smiled and nodded.

He pulled my face up, "but I like it even better when you kiss me like this."

This kiss was a slow one. It was reassuring. His mouth warmed mine, exploring it and taking his time. This is the real way to be woken up.

It ended too soon.

"I don't understand what's the need to work so much, Charlotte. But I'm not saying anything, I just wish you would give yourself some rest," he said while moving my hair behind my ears. 

"I know, Elliot. I need a break. But days at N.N.P.O have been tough for me since the accident. The sales of my mobile phone are going great so I keep tabs on it from home. My people keep on sending me all the necessary shifts and details and Mr. Gonsalez is of great help. Till that old soul is there, nothing can worry me. And then there's you, the extra pressure that you have thrown on me is going to give me an early ankylosis of the spine," I joke.

His face gets serious the moment those words escape my mouth," am I burdening you with work, Charlotte?" He looks worried.

"Geez! Elliot, I meant it as a joke. You don't even make me do anything. Sometimes I wonder why did you even hire me? " I try to change the mood of the conversation.

The smirk that crosses his face lets me know that I've been successful.

"Hmm. The only reason I hired you is to look at your pretty face. I am a billionaire, I can afford that," He replies wittily. The smirk was still on his face. He's enjoying this.

"Last I checked you were smart to not waste your money like that,"

"Oh, don't think so little of yourself! You are a good investment baby," he replies with mock arrogance.

I go to punch him lightly in the chest as I roll my eyes. He catches my wrist and our eyes meet. He looks into my eyes and slowly takes my fist near his mouth and places a kiss on it.

My heart warms and a smile creeps onto my lips. He smiles back at me.

"I have to get ready," I tell him.

***

Elliot left at 8.45 am and it's 9.30 am right now which gives me thirty minutes to drive myself to N.N.P.O. 

I get inside my car. I connect my phone to the Bluetooth and call Mr. Robert Wright, the self-appointed lawyer.

"Glad you called, Miss Jones," he remembered me.

"RoBesto's at 3 pm. Don't be late. Lunch is on you," I say sharply.

"Okay. But why is the lunch on me? You're a millionaire," he bites back.

"I didn't make a million dollars without knowing if someone was worth spending my money on or not." I snap and cut the call.

I enter the gates of N.N.P.O. at exactly 9.15 am. The guard stops me.

"Miss, you can no longer park your car here. You need to go to the underground basement," he tells me.

What?

This must be a scheme of Marcus to make me feel alienated. Such a bully!

I know it's just a small thing and I'm usually the kind of person who lets someone win these small games so that I can win the bigger one but if I let him take away my parking space from me, this sends a clear message to everyone that he has control over me.

Small things make statements sometimes.

I smile at the guard and nod my head indicating to him that I understand what he said. I press my foot on speed and make a sharp right turn. The tires make a screeching sound. People looked at me as if they thought that I was about to crash into someone. It might've looked to them like I lost control. I parked my car right in the centre of the entrance, where the flag was held, cemented on the statue of the building logo.

Now, this makes a statement.

Foolish and highly arrogant, in my own eyes but a statement nonetheless.

The guards run after me while blowing their whistles. I got out of my car coolly. I removed my scarf from around my neck which I had put on to keep my wet hair in place. Now that they had dried up, I removed the rubber band from around my wrist and tied my hair into a high ponytail while the guards stood with their hands on their waist looking at me.

I bent inside and picked up my handbag from the shotgun seat and looked into the mirror once. I checked whether my lipstick was still in place, the way I liked it or not.

I slammed the door and started to walk out.

"Ma'am this is going to be an obstruction to passersby's. Please park your car in the basement," the guard pleads to me.

"Who told you that I can't park my car at my usual spot?" I asked him, my voice calm. I don't have it in me to get mad. I'm going to be calm and deal with it like a normal person.

The guards looked at each other.

"Mr. Marcus did," one of the guards, with a long moustache, told me.

"Let him know he is the cause of the traffic jam that is about to happen," I reply and walk away.

I ignore their voices from behind me. It's not their fault. They are just doing their job. Shouting and getting mad at them is of no use. I would only be creating new enemies. I wonder how many enemies I already have and how many more am I going to make on the way.

I board the tram and in no time, I arrive at the familiar place. I feel excitement and happiness after a long time. I missed this smell in the air. Gosh! I missed this place. It gives such a home-ly vibe but sadly it isn't my home anymore. I hate Marcus for taking away the warmth of this place from me.

It's not quite a physical feeling that I'm missing, rather a mental one. I have been coming here since the accident but this place seemed distant from my heart because of the fights, politics, and nuisance. But today, I feel like my heart is here. It's like I've had a mental reset.

Could it have anything to do with Elliot?

Am I happy because of him? 

But whatever the reason, I'm in a good mood and I won't let it go to waste.

I enter the glass building with a smile on my face. I catch the shocked glances people give me. Some stop the conversations they were having to stare at me with their mouths remaining open, some turn back around to give me a second glance and some look up from their boring-ass paperwork and don't go back to complete it.

Well, what is this reaction?

Not so surprisingly, nobody waves at me. 

Except for Janiah, the junior whose name I had mispronounced.

"Hey boss, it's nice to see you this way," she compliments me.

I have a problem with accepting compliments because A) nobody gives them to me so I don't know how to react and B) I feel like people just say things they don't mean just to pump you up and take you to the top and then laugh at you when you fall.

I never claimed to be a positive thinker. I never claimed to be an optimist. But I am someone who wants friends but at the same time, I'm scared of friendships.

What is friendship? A need to impress others and make them like you? Is that what she's trying to do?

"What do you mean 'this way', Janiah?" I remember to speak her name correctly this time.

"Oh um what I mean is, you're glowing and happy and looking pretty. If you don't mind me asking, this red dress and those heels, some special occasion boss?" She fangirls.

I laugh at her childlike curiosity, "oh no. No special occasion. Just felt like adding some joy to my life. How long can I sulk? Dude, it gets tiring," I reply, placing my handbag on my chair after entering my office.

"Of course boss. You look amazing, that's all. I wanted a favour from you," she asked me shyly.

Bingo! I knew it!

"Sure, tell me," I ask her politely, as I open the drawer to take out my work clothes from there. I insert my handbag inside it and lock it. I put the key inside the pocket of my pyjamas.

"When you check the setting on the reactor in the pit, can I assist you? We've not been allowed down there and I feel like I've learned stuff by myself so can I go down with you?" She asks me nervously.

My first reaction is to say no. She takes a note of my expression and starts talking, " boss I heard your speech at UT. Also, I've read about your life. You never shied away from these things. You went against the system countless times if it obstructed your learning. You made new paths. Consider me as your protege and let me follow in your footsteps," she begged.

She did have a point.

And points to her for stroking my ego.

She had me where she wanted her with her emotional speech. She knew I wouldn't be able to say no if she pointed out my tricks.

"Fine. You can join me," I answer and she smiles so happily.

"Thank you, boss. You're the best," she says. I shake my head and close the door after she goes. I go into the changing room to change into my work clothes.

I check my phone once before going into the factory pit. I see a text from Elliot.

'Missing you here babe. I wish you would join me full time

E.W.

My heart fluttered at 'babe'. I looked like a mad fool smiling at her phone this way.

'Focus on your work, sir. I won't like to be blamed for your focus being off

C.J.

'When are you coming here? Your boss needs you

E.W.

I close my legs tighter as I read his text. How can a random text from him do this to me? I know he did that purposefully.

'I'll be there in a few hours.

Ps- breathlessly awaiting my boss's presence

C.J.

'You!
Now I wish I was there, having my way with you on your office table while you muffled your mouth from screaming and I fucked you even harder till people outside came to know who you belonged to

Ps- your boss wants to rip off your clothes and take you when you come here

E.W.

Fuck.

What did I just do?

I can feel the excitement building inside my pelvis. My legs tighten as I feel it in my belly. That electricity. I picture how his fingers had stimulated my clitoris. The toe-curling feeling when his fingers had taken me to a cliff and that sweet pleasure when he had thrusted inside me at a deeper angle. Last night was pure bliss. It was epic.

'Impatiently waiting to do all that my boss asks.

I'll be on time, sir.

C.J.

I bite my lip as I revel in the feeling of last night.

'You're already late.

Get ready to be punished

E.W.

Holy crap!

He has no right to be so hot!

I text a bye and then shut my phone off and put it in my pocket. I try to calm down my fast and ragged breathing.

How am I going to survive the whole day?

***

I worked harder today than I have in the past three months.

Man! It felt good to get something done today.

Janiah is not so bad. She's well-read and smart. I saw the looks other juniors gave us as they saw that she was doing what they could've also done if they had asked me.

But to ask something, they have to accept the fact that I am their teacher and that I exist and put some effort into talking to me. All they do is ignore my presence like I know nothing and lick Marcus's ass. Well, it's still my unit, and who does what, I will decide that.

I change out of my clothes and exit the building via the tram.

It's 2.45 pm, I check on my phone as I am near my car. I see a car parked right behind my car and someone waiting inside it. Looks like someone is stuck because of the awkward angle at which my car is standing. I am near the second car and his windows roll down. He peeps out and looks at me. The smirk that widens on my face on recognizing Marcus' face is even wider than a half-moon.

"For fucks sake, from tomorrow you can have your usual spot back but please don't pull this shit again," his tone is so pissed off.

"Why? Did you have to wait for that long boss?" I ask innocently.

"Thirty minutes to be exact," he replies, buying my act.

Ha! Serves him right.

"I'm so sorry for your inconvenience. I was in a hurry," I replied.

"Yeah the guards made me aware of that," he disgruntled.

I leave him at that and take my time walking towards my car. He honks and I show my hands, signifying that I'm moving it.

I'm having so much fun!

It's so easy to get on his nerves. The more agitated he becomes, the more I want to annoy him.

***
Author's note
Hi.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Simple chap. This one.
Lemme know, how you liking the story so far.
Luv, Leena ❤❤
Bye-bye, until next time.