After so long, going back to the same place with the same hopes and the same tinge of nervousness plus excitement felt like waking up after a bad nightmare that could only exist in movies and books. But alas, real life is not far behind in crushing your dignity by making you feel rejected, dejected and whatever.

It had been a week since that episodic incident by Mr. Miller which was a good thing because Shivaay's leg was beginning to heal as well.

As my pumps clanked against the pristine tiles of the ZAE inc., I was taken back to my first day and how I had been beyond happy. Today was no less because the goofy grin on my face held a certain amount of magic but I knew better than to jinx it all so I was trying to be cautious.

While I was walking toward the elevators, I had half expected the receptionist to stop me but she didn't. On the contrary, she smiled at me, not a single ounce of surprise showed on her face. Maybe she must have been informed beforehand or maybe she never even noticed me gone because who could keep track of so many employees.

Then I gulped internally because who wouldn't have noticed me gone? I was basically travelling almost everywhere through the media channels. A small giggle escaped my lips as I thought about it.

Once inside the elevator, I tried to notch down my joy. Just yesterday, I had received an email from this very institution. I don't know who wrote that because it was a company email but I was asked inside the CEO's office.

I had called Skye yesterday to ask him about it but he was being very vague and didn't give me a proper, legit answer.

So here I was, standing in front of the CEO office and holding tightly onto my side bag. I was not going to knock at first, thinking it would be Skye inside but I decided against it. What if he has company?

As soon as I knocked on the door, I heard a gruff voice saying, "Come in."

I stilled almost immediately because that wasn't Skye's voice even though I recognized the familiarity of it. It was Mr. Williams and the hair on my arms took that exact moment to stand on the edge as if electrocuted. I was nervous, to say the least.

Gulping thickly, I slowly turned the knob and walked in. I held my breath as I was hit by the fresh air conditioning smell. My eyes immediately landed on Mr. Williams, who was smiling at me fondly. I smiled back at him before shifting my gaze to Ms. Maxwell. She was sitting in front of him and as usual, she was poised with her professional expression.

"Good morning, Ms. Jones." Ms. Maxwell gave me a short nod.

"Good morning, Ms. Maxwell," I mumbled awkwardly. "Good morning… sir," I said, this time looking at Mr. Williams whose smile widened.

"Morning, Ms. Jones. Morning. I am sorry if you weren't expecting me." He laughed good naturedly.

His light hearted smile loosened my bunched up muscles. I didn't say anything and just gave him a small smile. I was glad that my professionalism restrained me from blabbering something nonsense. However, what was embarrassing was that he knew I was expecting someone else.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Jones," he told me while waving his fingers at the empty chair beside Ms. Maxwell.

I sat down but I was still clueless as to what this meeting meant. Before coming in here, I thought that it was just Skye asking me to meet him but now I couldn't be too sure. Did Mr. Williams intend to… hire me back again? It was a far-fetched thought, though I didn't stop hoping for it.

"Okay then, John. Ms. Jones." Ms. Maxwell exhaled a deep breath. "I'll leave you both to it."

Mr. Williams nodded at her and when I closely looked at Ms. Maxwell, it was as if she was… tired. I wanted to ask her but I knew better than that. She's too proudy to agree to that. I tried to catch another look at her but she was out of the cabin within seconds. Weird but not out of character for her, I thought dismissively.

"So, Ms. Jones. I am assuming that you must be wondering why you're here," he began, intertwining his fingers and leaning his forearms on the large desk. When he saw me nodding, he continued further. "Well, I believe that you were being judged on a completely different spectrum as to what and who you really are. I talked to Ms. Maxwell and she told me about how deserving you are to be a part of this company. How hardworking and determined you are. How you take the challenges head on. And just like any other successful company, this one needs dedicated employees like you too. And I think, a person should be judged on these basis, regardless of who they are and where they come from. Besides, I deeply apologize for being one of them too."

I just sat there with growing veneration for the man sitting in front of me. I couldn't believe that he was saying all of that in front of me, about me. I knew that I should keep a professional front but my admiration for him was just too see-through. "Wow… I mean." I blinked, chuckling and staring at the paper weight on the desk before meeting his gaze. "I am just so… I can't believe I am hearing you say what I've always heard you say in your interviews," I remarked, feeling mortified all of a sudden. So much for a professional front.

He laughed harder this time, his face crinkling everywhere. There was so much uncanny resemblance between the son and father. "I love the passion people like you have. It helps the prosperity of our country. Forgive me, sometimes I get too patriotic and political."

I shook my head, getting more and more comfortable with him as the seconds ticked by. "Don't worry about it because I've seen it all. Trust me when I say this that my dad can actually write an entire memoir on political stuff." I snorted.

Mr. Williams' eyes widened with interest. "Really? Because I'd love to have a political acquaintance other than my business and golf buddies."

"Well, he would love to make your acquaintance too. Any chance to show off his knowledge," I stated, grinning.

He leaned back on his swivel chair with a challenging look after what I said about my dad. "Let's see," he said, feigning smugness. I could tell that he was trying to make me feel comfortable and it was working. "Okay, then," he uttered after a few seconds' pause and was back to being all serious again. "I'll let you know the reason I've called you here."

As soon as he said that, I sat up straighter and put my hands in my trouser pockets to stop the sudden shakiness.

"Okay, so after going through your CV and hearing all good things about you from Ms. Maxwell, I've made a thorough decision. I've concluded that I would like to have you back at our company, that is if you wish to," he laid out the words in front of me with such calmness that it was as if he didn't know the impact they could have on me.

My back stiffened immediately after hearing that and I was completely stupefied, to put it simply. If I could, I could list all the happy emotions surging through my veins and I was unable to say even a simple "okay, sure!".

"It's okay, you don't have to answer me right now. You can take your tim-"

I accidentally cut him off and on top of that, I literally screamed out my answer like we were two old friends. "No!" I paused instantly before inhaling sheepishly. "I mean no. And I am ready to be back to work." I beamed and wanted to look all normal but it wasn't happening anytime soon.

"Well, I am happy to hear that another one of my wrongly fired employees is back," he said, rolling his eyes jokingly.

That sentence alone though, made my head pop up with two questions. Furrowing my brows, I jutted out my lower lip.

Mr. Williams must have noticed my puzzled face because he chuckled softly. "Go ahead. Ask away."

"Um… is Ms. Maxwell by any chance back again?" I asked expectantly.

"She is, yes," he replied, nodding his head. "She's like the backbone of this place and especially the ad department. Thankfully, she accepted. I was so worried because her initial reaction was appalled."

His last sentence didn't sound like… Ms. Maxwell. "She was?" I asked him without thinking.

"Well, yeah." He shrugged. "Two minutes later, she smiles widely and says that she's joking."

"Oh." We both laughed because we silently agreed that Ms. Maxwell has a bad sense of humor. 

Just then another nagging thought disturbed me. It was the result of my second question. Even though Mr. Williams was sitting on the CEO chair, I couldn't be too sure if it's a one time thing or not. What if Skye would be back and even now our - as in an "employer/employee" - relationship wouldn't be approved of or accepted? 

I feared to be put again in the dilemma of choosing between Skye and my job. Unlike last time though, I was proud and sure of my answer now. I knew that even if I wouldn't be hired anywhere, I could always learn piano and start tutoring others or maybe even be a part of a concerto. Anything to be with Skye Williams.

"You seem conflicted, Ms. Jones. Everything alright?" Mr. Williams asked, passing me a glass of water which I accepted gratefully.

Sipping, I nodded. "It has to do with my next question…" I cleared my throat to think my question through. "Who… is the… CEO now?" I uttered the words slowly because I was unsure if I was supposed to ask that. But then again, I was "officially" an employee so maybe I could.

He gave me a non-committal response before giving an actual answer. "Temporarily, I am the CEO at the moment, until they find someone worthy enough to sit on this chair. And…" he drawled with a playful smirk. "If you are asking about my son then he's not a part of this company anymore."

I gasped before I could stop myself. I couldn't believe that he voluntarily left his position. That made me feel guilty for some reason. Did he do it because of me? Pfft, I won't get too ahead of myself. What if he left because he never really liked working here in the first place?

"Don't worry, Valerie." He laughed and I was surprised that he called me by my first name. "I can't tell you his reason and everything because that's his thing to tell you. However, I'll assure you that it's not as bad as you're thinking it to be," he informed me with a kind voice.

"Okay," I replied abashedly.

He was about to say something when the ringing of his office telephone interrupted him. "Alright, then. Since you're ready to be back to work, you can join again from tomorrow," he informed me quickly as he took the receiver in his hand.

"Sure! And thank you, Mr. Williams. I appreciate it," I mumbled gratefully and he nodded as I stood up to leave. I walked out the door with the biggest smile on my face. "I can finally say that I am not jobless," I whispered to myself, giggling as I was getting inside the empty elevator.

There was a newfound jubilance in my step as I got out of the elevator a minute later and was heading straight toward the parking lot. I swear I felt like a happy actress from some movie.

"Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that you've met a genie or something," said a familiar voice that could make me feel like I am in a field full of cherry blossoms.

A shuddered gasp escaped my lips as I looked up to see Skye smirking at me. It was as if my entire monologue was visible on my face. "What are you doing here?" I breathed out with my hand placed on my chest, trying to calm down my treadmill-ing heart.

"Was making sure if my dad hired you back or not. Seems like he did." He beamed, holding out his arms for me. I distinctly noticed that he was donning casual clothing, consisting of a thick sweater and jeans along with a cap. His eyes were hidden behind his aviators.

Without thinking, I sprinted the few steps toward him and literally pushed him against his car as I hugged him like a teddy bear. "Yes! I am back! Woohoo!" I pulled away for a second just to throw my fist in the air, giggling uncontrollably.

Skye matched my enthusiasm as he chuckled softly. "I am glad to hear that, Val." He looked into my eyes with an earnest twinkle in his.

"Yeah." I stared up at him, putting my chin on his chest as we snuggled close to each other. "But you've gotta tell me something. Is there a reason as to why you didn't take back your position as the CEO?" I asked him the burning question.

He hummed out a sigh with a conspiratorial expression but said teasingly, "All in due time, sweetheart. All in due time."

"Did you just… did you just call me sweetheart?" I poked his side with an open mouthed smile.

"Yes, I did, sweetheart," he corroborated, wiggling his brows. "Anyway, I'm here to pick you up because I gotta show you something. Come on." He took my hand in his before leading me toward the passenger seat.

As we both walked, my mind wondered about what he wanted to show me. I was eager to go wherever he took me as long as we're together and quite, quite, quite away from the scrutinizing eyes.

That's when I got closer to him and stopped abruptly before sniffing his shoulder stupidly because I could detect a somewhat foreign smell on him. "Why do you smell like…"

"Like mud and grass? Well, I forgot to tell you that I had met your dad earlier," he told me, scratching his now pink cheek.

"You… did? But why?" I was bewildered but I was secretly happy that they met. And since Skye didn't look so uneasy, I could only tell that it was a pleasant talk maybe.

"He had called me to talk to me. I like him, he's funny. Plus, he challenged me to a football match against him." He winked.

"What did you guys talk about again?! And who won?" I questioned, feeling half weirded out and half excited to know. And I immensely hoped that it didn't include any of my embarrassing moments. "Tell me!" I exclaimed with wild eyes when he didn't answer.

"Oh, Valerie, Valerie. Wouldn't you love to know? But I am sorry, it's our thing and I don't share, sweetheart." He winked again, this time laughing at my angry scowl.

"You're mean, bitterheart!" I exclaimed, trying to sound angry but my lips were threatening to split into a huge grin.

"Sure but I'd beg to differ." He pecked my lips and it didn't even last for more than a second before he opened his car door for me.

Oh, he's a jerk alright. Teasing me like that. Hmph!

"And as to who won? Well, it was me."