C2 Coffee and her

Alexa's POV

I woke up with my alarm going crazy and some mad man banging on my door. It took me a second to realize that the mad man was none other than the madwoman I called my best friend, Lin. The sun hadn't come up yet. I really needed to rethink my career choices. I didn't know if losing my sleep was worth the job. While I was pondering the idea in my head, the banging on my door gave me a headache.

"Alexa, open up!" Lin was giving me a headache at this point.

"Okay, alright, give me a second!" I groaned as I opened the door. She looked so ready. Damn Asians and their work ethics!

"What are you doing? We need to be downstairs in 10 minutes," she yelled and shoved me to the washroom.

----

The room was still spinning when we came down. Was I having a stroke? Could I be excused for the day if I did? The hotel arranged a special breakfast for the conference attendees. And, our company thought it was a good idea for us to live here even though we had homes in the city. It would save time. Now how I wish I hadn't agreed to it.

"Hey, coffee is over there. C'mon!" Lin started dragging me towards I didn't know where. I wasn't watching, and I bumped hard into someone. I subconsciously held them so none of us would fall.

"Are you okay?" a heavenly voice startled me. I opened my eyes fully for the first time that morning, and that's the moment I saw it. It was her, dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt, looking like an angel minus the wings.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," I apologized quickly to save my job. But, instead, I saw Lin standing frozen by the corner of my eye.

She just laughed, "It's okay. Where were you going?"

"Coffee!" I pointed out the obvious.

"Oh, I need some to wake up as well. Do you mind if I join you?" She smiled politely.

I gestured her okay, and we started walking together in the long hall.

"So, how do you find work so far?" She asked softly. Lin still looked like she was constipated.

"It's terrific. Everyone's input is appreciated. It's fascinating to work as a group and brainstorm," I grinned. I did like working there. I was working with my best friend and was making new friends. Now I had another reason to stay. Did my mind just say that?

"Well, your input is well appreciated. Thanks for last night," she said all too politely. I don't know why it made me blush. Lin just looked at me with confusion.

"Well, thank you for asking me. What do you think then?" I asked, trying to brush away the fluttering in my heart. God, I could swear puberty hit me late.

"We are definitely postponing the launch. We might have some more to discuss with my father. I will let you know," she smiled as she took her coffee and walked away. I couldn't help but notice that we both took black coffee.

"What was that about?" Lin inquired as Ms. Chan was out of earshot.

"She called me last night," I said plainly.

"In her room?" she asked with her mouth open.

I laughed out loud seeing her expression. "No, silly, the lobby."

"Oh, thank God!" she sighed a relief.

"What are you talking about?" I arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well, don't get me wrong. You're beautiful, and she is beautiful. I can certainly see something there even though no one knows what her preference is. But she is the boss. If anything happens and doesn't work out, you will be devasted. It will be hard for you to work here, and..." she took in a mouthful of air.

"And?" I asked for further.

"Everyone would say you were trying to seduce the boss. It's bad for business," she said with a poker face.

"Jeez, calm down. Nothing is happening here," I said as a matter of fact, but I could feel the environment becoming a little sad.

"Just saying. She never talks to us like this. She avoids talking to us," she said as a matter of fact which surprised me a little. I had heard but never faced the cold bitch myself. She was always so warm.

-----

The morning was packed with workshops. I could breathe at 4 pm when it became more relaxed. A woman in her late twenties or early thirties approached me as I was stretching. She had an earpiece.

"Hello. You're needed in Ms. Chan's room," she announced.

I almost choked on my water, "What?!"

"There's being a meeting held along with Mr. Chan and other directors. And, your presence is needed," she explained further with a poker face. Jeez, she could start with that. Lin was smirking even though she didn't like the idea of Ms. Chan and me.

"Sure, let's go!" I took my laptop and phone and followed the woman.

As Ms. Chan's pa opened the door, I could hear some heated arguments. But then, I listened to her voice. She was trying to explain something to her father.

"We have Dr. Scott among us. For the sake of eliminating misunderstanding, we will converse in English in front of her," Ms. Chan said as she took in my presence. Her eyes lingered for a moment too long, but I was convinced that I had something on my face.

"Alexa, is it?" Mr. Chan reached his hand for a handshake, and I took it. He looked younger in person.

"Yes, sir,"

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin," he commanded. Even though his daughter was the CEO, it was clear that his commands were worshipped.

"Please explain what you have explained to me before," Ms. Chan told me. She gestured to sit beside her on the couch. Mr. Chan's expression was alien for a second, then he was okay again. I took a seat and tried to calm down my nervousness. I took a deep breath and turned on the stoic side. I opened the laptop and was a little delighted that I had prepared something like a presentation after talking to Ms. Chan even though it was late.

I was a projector in a corner. I was standing to get it, but Ms. Chan asked her pa to set it up.

"Well, I won't beat around the bush," I said as I placed the screen on the plain white wall. Everyone was listening to me intently.

"I was given a prototype the day I got here. I found some issues such as the screen starts flickering if it's set on minimum light; the phone gets heated if one plays certain popular games; sometimes the mic gets turned off automatically during video calls, and there's more written on the slide," I spoke firmly with my eyes on the screen as was everyone else's.

After brainstorming the ideas to recover the damages, it was decided that Ms. Chan would be working closely with us for this project. Well, I already knew about some of her patents. Mr. Chan got so annoyed at some point with the people responsible for this project that he wanted to fire all of them. I got scared because of Lin. But, Ms. Chan calmed him down. After that, they all left, and I was lagging in collecting my things.

"Well, that was exhausting," Ms. Chan commented dryly. I felt a laugh coming up from my throat.

"Hey, it's late," she said and paused for a bit which got me looking at her, "do you want some dinner?"

Her question caught me off guard. But I nodded that it was too late and the dinner restaurant had probably closed off. So I planned on skipping it altogether. I didn't know what to say, but I saw the sincerity in her eyes.

"I'd love to," I said as I gathered my things.

"We can order something, or we can go out. What do you prefer?" she smiled widely, and I could see how white her teeth were.

"Can we order something? Unfortunately, it's too late to go out," I simply commented.

"Sure. Chicken dumplings and wine?" she asked, taking the phone.

"Sure!" I answered with returning the smile. I was sure that no one saw this side of her outside of her family and friends.

We were eating on the couch at some point, sipping red wine. We talked about her time in the company, my last job, etc., but nothing too personal as it was too early and not my place to ask. I forgot that I was sitting with my boss; rather than a friend. I felt something strange around her. I felt warmth; I felt happy, which was alien to me.

Maggie's POV

I woke up with a smile on my face. I didn't know why I felt happy. As I was stretching, my mind drifted to a particular scientist. I didn't understand why I was still thinking about her. Maye because she was the last person I talked to before bed last night. I couldn't sleep well, though. I kept thinking about what she said about our product. I needed to talk dad out of the launching idea.

God, I was genuinely afraid to tell him. He was planning on a family vacation after the launch. Guess we had to cancel that as well. It dampened my mood. I desperately needed a break. But, maybe working wouldn't be so bad now because I would get the chance to know more about Dr. Scott. God, what was wrong with me? I groaned and headed to the bathroom.

----

I saw Dr. Wu comically dragging Dr. Scott as I entered the dining area. I laughed to myself. Before I could think, I started walking in their direction. There was a ping on my phone, probably from my pa texting me today's schedule. I looked down on my phone for a second, and someone bumped into me. I was about to give them a mouthful, but they held me gently so I wouldn't fall.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," she apologized quickly. Just the person I wanted to see after waking up.

I just laughed at her rambling, "It's okay. Where were you going?"

She pointed out to coffee, and I decided to walk along. Dr. Wu seemed uncomfortable for some reason. Well, maybe because I didn't talk much. I even surprised myself. Ever since I had met Dr. Scott, I was always curious about what her beautiful mind was thinking about.

"So, how do you find work so far?" I asked softly while pouring myself a cup. Dr. Wu still looked like she was constipated.

Dr. Scott got so excited talking about work and told me how she liked the team, and that brainstorming was fun with them. We handpicked our scientists, so I felt a little proud though I had nothing to do with the hiring. It was all my dad and my uncle Mr. Huang who was also a company's co-founder. I liked hearing her talk. I noticed how her eyes smiled when she talked about something she loved. I saw her cup and noticed that she also took black coffee. I had to start my day and left by thanking her for telling me about her opinion on our product last night.

---

I called my pa and asked to cancel everything after lunch. I had to take a workshop in the morning. And I also asked her to fix an appointment with my father and other directors. I was nervous about facing my father. I was 28, but in front of my father, I was still a 5-year-old.

The workshop dragged on. I couldn't focus much, but I didn't let it show. I ran to my room as soon as it was finished. My pa was running behind me, holding a plate of pizza. I ate as I ran towards the room. My father was already waiting along with the other directors. And when I opened the door and found them laughing, I was nervous again.

"Maggie, what is it that you need to tell us so urgently?" My father asked firmly.

"I wanted to talk about XZOY5," I said, calming myself.

That picked everyone's interest. Finally, my father just asked, "What about it?"

I explained everything to them what Dr. Scott had explained to me the night before. His face grimaced along with others.

"Let's hear it from her, shall we?" he said with a frown. I could tell he was mad.

I looked at my pa, and she went to bring Dr. Scott.

---

Dr. Scott seemed nervous when I asked her to sit beside me. There was no available chair in my defense, but it could be arranged. I didn't know why I said it. My father seemed to have caught it on as well. But he didn't say a thing. I could feel her nervousness radiate to me. But all of a sudden, she took a deep breath and became cold and professional. I was in awe at the sudden change in her. I respected her more at that moment. She explained everything she told me; even better, she came prepared. I was impressed. I could tell my father was too.

The day ended with all of us agreeing that postponing the launch would be a great idea. And I was put in a team with Dr. Scott. Well, lovely, as If I didn't have to run a company. But, working with her didn't seem so bad. Everyone left, and she was shoving her laptop in her bag.

---

I was exhausted, and she laughed when I said it. Then, before I could think of anything, my mouth started speaking, "Hey, it's late," I paused for a bit, thinking over what I was about to say, "do you want some dinner?"

She looked confused for a minute, as if she was mad for keeping her more. I didn't want her to make her feel like she had to do whatever I said.

Before I could say something else, she spoke, "I'd love to."

I felt my heart flutter. I order chicken dumplings and red wine.

---

I grinned to myself after she left the room. I was so excited and full of adrenaline. I felt like jumping. But reality hit me within a minute. What was I doing? I was probably leading her on. But, it was just dinner. But why was I so happy about it? Damn it. I even had to control myself not to make eye contact for long or not to stare at lips. What was happening to me?

I called my sister, "Hey Lilly. I needed a suggestion."

She yawned, "Can't this wait till morning?"

"Are you sure you are not infatuated?" Lilly asked me as I had finished rambling about Dr. Scott. I couldn't help it. The thought of her made me so happy.

"Maybe a little crush. But this is different. She is different," I said.

"But?" Lilly was fully awoken.

"But, this cannot be happening. There are many things at play here?" I said sadly.

"Such as?"

"Well, for one, she is straight. She works for me so she could make a complaint of harassment. Even if we got together, people would say she was seducing me, and I couldn't do that to her," I felt my mood dampen to the point of no return.

"Do you even hear yourself? I have never seen you like this. Stop overthinking," Lilly tried to encourage me. But I knew better than that.