Lara smiled at herself in the mirror as she checked out her profile this morning.

Clothing and accessories play an integral part in a person's outlook. She looked like an utterly different person.

She looked high-class and exotic. Her new look was a far cry from her usual casual hand-me-down jeans and cardigans, which she usually wore to work daily.

A giddy feeling spread through her belly, coating it with a bubble of warmth and excitement.

"Wow!" She breathed into her reflection in the mirror. "You look good, girl." She blew a kiss to herself and chuckled.

There were bags of clothes, shoes, heels, bags, and a lot of other accessories occupying more than half the space of her room.

She hadn't been able to completely sort through the collection of purchases Shane had made the previous day.

She tried not to think about how much money had been spent on all the clothes in her room. The ones she had been able to unwrap after his driver had assisted her with carrying all the bags into her living room would have paid her house rent for four years' worth.

She had been too tired to carry them all into her bedroom and had zonked out immediately after she had taken a shower and picked out the clothes, shoes, and bags she would be putting on to work.

She looked at the bags. Luxury brands she could never have imagined she could afford at the moment.

How had she gotten so lucky—and within such a short period?

She had gone from scrambling to pay her debts to living a life of luxury and abundance. It was amazing.

"Mom." She smiled at her mom's picture. "Your princess will be fine from now on." She pressed down on her lips tightly, trying hard to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. "I'm on the path to actualizing the dream you've always had for me." She nodded, exhaling softly. "I've got to go now. I will talk to you about how my first day of work went. Hopefully," she shrugged, "it won't be awkward." She flattened her lips and scrunched up her nose before she laced her forearm through her handbag and walked out of her apartment.

People stared as she walked down the street to the road to hail a cab. It was a few blocks away from her house.

She understood the surprise on their faces at her overnight transformation. Of course, she had been surprised too.

"Oh, my God! Lara, is this you?" Sarah gushed over her new look.

She lived in the next flat to the building her apartment was in. She had done her fair share of supporting her after her mom's death.

She and her mom were neighborhood chat buddies, so it had been as devastating for her as it had been for Lara when her mom died. "You look..." She was at a loss for words for the perfect compliment to evaluate her new look.

"Stunning. Exquisite, darling," she finally said, her eyes going over her body with awe and unsheathed admiration.

"Thanks, Sarah. Good morning." Lara flashed a smile at her, beaming.

"Run along, child. Don't let me get you late, alright? Break a leg!" She winked at her, holding a fist raised in encouragement.

"Sure, Sarah. Later..." She turned and flagged down a cab as soon as she got to the road.

"Miss Lara." The receptionist smiled at her as she walked into the lobby. " Morning. You look flawless today."

"Good morning. So do you."

"You can call me Diana. I gather you are resuming work today?" She inquired.

Lara nodded in response. "Correct. Okay, Diana."

"You know where to head. Have a lovely first day at work. You are welcome."

"Thanks, Diana." Lara smiled at her and made her way to the elevator.

She was in Shane's office in a few minutes. He looked impressed.

More spellbound upon her entry.

"Good morning," Lara said slowly, inclining her head forward when he wouldn't stop staring. She held her handbag over a finger on each hand while she waited for Shane to snap out of his daze at her appearance and acknowledge her presence.

Shane blinked. "Oh, God! I'm sorry, Lara, for staring. You look..." He spread his arms out, falling back into his seat with a satisfied look on his face. "Now, this is more like it." He nodded in acknowledgement of her image.

Lara bit down on a smile and nodded in agreement.

"Let's get to work, shall we?" He clapped his hands lightly and sat up, picking up the telephone on his desk. He extended a hand toward her as he held the phone to his ear. "Have a seat, please."

"Right." Lara nodded and approached the sofas.

"Yes, Claire. Meet me in my office," he said into the receiver, placing the phone back on hold.

Claire came in a few minutes later, and she followed her out to get started with her tasks for the day.

She was shown her office, which, from Lara's perspective, was leagues more beautiful than her apartment. It was flawless. Astonishingly beautiful.
She trapped air in her cheeks and released it slowly as she took in the room that would be her work space from then on.

"Wow!" She breathed.

She settled into work quickly, listening raptly to all she was taught over the week of her resumption.

Within a few weeks, she had grasped the ropes of things and was able to carry out her tasks, as expected, without supervision.

Shane was more than impressed with her ability to adapt rapidly to how things were run. It had been a frustrating journey, and she had a hard time keeping up with her lessons given the fact that her guide, Miss Claire, wasn't particularly an enthusiastic instructor.

Dealing with correspondence and calls, managing diaries and handling paperwork, organizing meetings and appointments, among others, had never been as tiring as they had been over the weeks she had resumed working for the company.

She knew Claire was the one making a fuss of the tasks and making them appear to be harder to execute than they actually were, but what choice did she have?

She had pulled through obstacles far worse than enduring Claire's unwarranted antagonism against her, and she had overcome her supervision as well.

"Good morning, Lara," Shane greeted her first as she walked into his office.

She had just finished drafting the report he had asked her to do the previous day, summarizing key information on the progress of the projects and initiatives within the company.

"Morning, Shane," she replied as she approached his desk. "Here is the report you requested." She extended the file to him.

He took it from her. "Thanks. Could you please bring me the sales report for our new product line?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Great. Also, conduct extensive research on our new target location to identify potential demand for the products, assess the competitors, and determine the best way to reach and engage with customers."

"Yes. I will do that and have it delivered promptly."

"Excellent."

"Will that be all?" Lara inquired.

He hissed softly through his teeth, then tweaked a finger at her. "Right. Have the research carried out promptly and make arrangements for a trip in a few months time. You are coming along with me."

"Noted."

"That will be all." He permitted her to leave.

She heaved a sigh as she settled back in her seat after leaving Shane's office. She had been accompanied into her office by Claire's glare. Not that she cared anymore, but she was tempted to ask what exactly her problem with her was.

She blew air exasperatedly through her mouth and buried herself in work. Working over the years had gotten her used to a workaholic lifestyle. She never felt comfortable sitting idly around, and whenever she worked, she poured herself completely into it, often losing track of time in the process.

She jumped in her seat as the telephone on her desk gave off its ringtone.

She picked it up immediately and raised it to her ear. "Hello?"

"I knew you would still be in the office. Come out for lunch, will you?" Andrea chuckled over the phone.

Lara bit down on a smile, twitching her eyebrows in amusement. "It slipped my mind again. Thanks, Andrea." She wrapped up what she was doing so that she could get back to it after lunch was over.

She warmed up to Andrea quickly during her first week of working and enduring Claire's constant torture with overwhelming tasks that kept her drained all day.

To think her job demands weren't as tedious as Claire had initially made them appear to be. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth when she thought back on the early days.

Her rigorous training had been beneficial after all. It had honed her into a diligent, proficient, and fastidious assistant to the CEO.

Andrea waved over to her from the table she had secured for the two of them in the cafeteria on the ground level. She held her tray in her hands and pivoted her way to meet the only friend besides Diana, whom she had at work.

Diana and her were more in a casual-greeting relationship. Smiles and good mornings, or good byes, were more of what constituted her relationship with the receptionist; she also exchanged compliments.

However, with Andrea, it was mutual recognition and bonding. The two kicked off their friendship during the time Lara was still being trained by Claire and Andrea had an issue with her department head.

She still did, often, but now that the two had found each other, they could endure the torture through the morning and laugh over it at lunch, as well as give each other moral support in anticipation of what the hours after lunch promised before the close of the day.

"How is your day going?" Lara asked as she sat on the chair opposite Andrea and set her tray down on the table.

"The usual," Andrea replied with a shrug, slicing a forkful of her food into her mouth and chewing. She reached for a tissue and gently dabbed the side of her mouth to ensure her lipstick hadn't been smeared by crumbs. "How about you?"

"Things are shaping up better now that I'm overseeing my duties without being supervised by an overly demanding instructor," she answered, picking up her spoon and starting to eat.

"Good for you, I guess." Andrea flattened her lips.

"Are you still having issues with the head of your department?"

"I will say my association with you has rubbed off on me positively. I'm as efficient as you are now in my duties." She flashed a grin at her.

"Well. Isn't that wonderful? You are welcome." Lara smiled at her.

"Look at that, will you? Your admirer is on his way here." Andrea looked to the left with a crooked grin on her face.

Lara followed her gaze and groaned, mentally rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Ah!"

"It's not easy being a beautiful lady; I must concur." Andrea nodded pitifully at Lara as she resumed eating while Liam approached where the two were sitting.

"Mind if I sit with you two?" Liam inquired, pulling out a chair for himself and taking a seat.

Andrea furrowed her brows, her hands half raised, poised to slice into her food. "I don't recall giving you permission to sit." She turned to Lara. "Perhaps I missed hearing you grant him permission to sit for lunch with us."

"Don't be an arse, Andrea." Liam tsked. "Lara, hey. How is your lunch going?"

Andrea rolled her eyes and hissed. "How else would it be going?"

"Well, with you here, it won't be the ideal lunch she would have been looking forward to given the enormous tasks she must have worked through in the morning."

Andrea scoffed. "Really? Maybe you should excuse yourself from this table as well to not create more hitches in that plan of hers to have an ideal lunch."

She glared at him.

"Please." Lara rocked her temples with her fingers. "You two should stop bickering and let me have my lunch in peace, will you?"

Andrea harumphed and swept her hair from one side of her face behind her.

"Liam. My lunch is going well, but I fear it might be ruined if you keep up with your bickering with Andrea."

Andrea stuck out her tongue at him. "You are the odd one here, Liam."

"You can't single yourself out to befriend her, Andrea."

"Neither can you," Andrea shot back.

"Why are you always against everything I do, Andrea?" Liam frowned. "You irk me with your conduct with me, Miss Andrea Johnson," Liam said heatedly.

Lara observed that the playful banter and bickering were changing into a sour exchange. "Liam, Andrea, can we have lunch in peace?"

"I'm sorry, Lara. I will catch up with you later. After work, maybe?"

Lara arched an eyebrow, her lips parting in a daze. "Uh? Uh!"

"Okay. Till then." He twitched his jaw in annoyance and stood up from the table to find another.

Lara watched him go, words stuck in her throat to tell him not to leave their table annoyed but rather have his lunch with them and allow them to apologize for their brusque reception of him initially.

She inclined her head toward Andrea. "What just happened, Andrea? Do you have a disagreement with him?"

Andrea, at the moment, looked withdrawn and sullen. She slowly raised her fork and ate listlessly.
Lara huffed an exhale and resumed eating, deciding she was embarrassed by his outrage.

After lunch, Andrea didn't even so much as look at her before she excused herself from the table and walked out of the cafeteria.

Lara blew out an exhale. How hurt must she have been over Liam's words?

She pushed her way out of the table after finishing her lunch and headed back to her office. She got settled back to work, mentally noting to reach out to Andrea during closing hours and find a way to reconcile the two with each other.

She grabbed her bag after work hours were up and walked toward Andrea's office in hopes of catching up with her before she left.

She came across Liam instead. He flashed a quick smile at her as he spotted her from a distance, hastening his steps to meet with her.

"Hey, Lara. Aren't you through with your tasks for today?"

"Liam. I am on my way to meet with Andrea. Is she still in the office?"

"Oh!" He shook his head. "You should have called her. She left immediately the clock struck six," he informed her.

"Okay. About what happened at lunch today, Liam, I'm sorry."

"I'm not annoyed with you, Lara. I can't."

Lara pressed her lips tightly together. "Thanks, but I hope you've reached out to Andrea... You know... She was really hurt by how you lashed out at her. She couldn't stomach the rest of her lunch."

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Lara. I will make amends for my action."

Lara smiled at him. "I would appreciate that, Liam."
He stared at her longingly. "You are beautiful when you smile," he whispered.

Lara chuckled. "Don't attempt to flatter me, Liam. I will be on my way then. See you tomorrow."

"It's my desire to see your captivating smiles every single day of my life, Lara."

"Liam?"

"You might think I'm forward or acting out of sorts, but I admire you, Lara. I have always thought about telling you this, from the first time I saw you. You don't have to..."

"Liam. I'm sorry, but, please..." She shook her head.

"Let me prove my affection for you, Lara. I.."

"I can't. Office romances are a no-no for me. Don't let's make things awkward with each other, Liam. I will love to take you as a friend, and nothing more."

Liam tipped his chin toward her, twitching his lips with a tsk. "Sure, Lara." He twitched his eyebrows. "It's your call."

Lara looked at him, her lips parting wordlessly. She swallowed. "Later, Liam." She turned quickly and walked away.

TBC...