"Oh my goodness, I'm freaking out. Oh goodness, what am I going to wear? How am I going to act? Gosh. I'm going insane." I pace around my bedroom, with thoughts racing through my head like little cars. I'm looking through my closet, trying to find what I can wear on my first day, and the choices inside really aren't helping much. 

I go through the closet, and look through to see what I can wear. I see blouses, tops, pants, skirts, dresses, but nothing seems to go through my mind as good enough. I have the option to wear bright, happy clothes or dark, somewhat classy clothes, and yet I can't narrow it down. It feels like a hundred river streams coming down from mountains and merging into one, refusing to filter out. 

I want nothing more than to just go back to bed and let myself relax until I've come to a choice. Lara comes running into my room, with a hairbrush in hand, and says, "Woah, calm down, tiger. Don't worry, anything is going to look good on you. Here, let me help you." Lara goes through my closet, and my eye finally catches a maroon blouse. 

I take my hand and take it out of my closet, and Lara gets out a pair of black dress pants. "These would go amazing together. Pair it with some heels, maybe, and you've got a winner, girl," she tells me, and I reply with a smile. 

"Thanks, Lara. Sorry, I shouldn't have overreacted about this." 

She shakes her head, and says, "Nah, it's cool. Dom had a somewhat similar dilemma on his first day at work. You got this, don't worry." She walks out of the room, and I close the door. I hold the top in my hands, and process everything that's happening. 

I'm starting my first job, with my brother and former brother in law by my side. I'm back home with my family, and I've got my former brother in law pursuing me. I feel like someone should pinch me in this moment. I don't believe anything that's happening, and yet, here I am. In a world that seems far too much like a fantasy. I can't wait for the new opportunities that come to me, and I can't wait to handle them like a boss. 

As I'm thinking about all of this, I hear a light knock at my door. "Nicole, are you ready? I'm leaving in 20 minutes, and I'm your ride," Dominic reminds, to which I say, "I'm coming. Give me 10 minutes." 

Without another moment's of hesitation, I take off my nightgown, slip on the top and pants, and go over to the mirror to complete the rest of my look. I take my hairbrush and run it through my blonde locks, and then use my fingers to clean it up a little bit so that it looks just like how I want it to. 

I look at myself with a somewhat confident look, and say, "Well, here we go." I turn on my heel swiftly, and go out of my room. I go over to where Dom is sitting and enjoying breakfast with his cup of coffee. He looks up at me, and then he smiles. 

"You look great Nicole. And don't be nervous. I've droned about you so much that everyone's excited to be working with you. Trust me, you'll get along great with everyone." 

I smile, and then Lara says, "Especially with Ash, considering he's in love with you." At that moment, Dom stops chewing his breakfast, and then looks up at me. 

I look at Lara, and then the look of realization basically says, "Dear gosh, I screwed up, huh?" I gulp a little bit, and look back at Dom, who still looks like Pennywise walked through the front door with a knife in one hand. 

"Ash loves you?" 

I gulp a little bit, and say, "Uh, yeah, he told me a few days ago. Please don't stab him with a twig. I beg you." 

Dominic rolls his eyes a little bit, and then chuckles a little bit. "Come on, do you really think I'm mad? Why would I be mad? It's Ash, for crap's sake! He's awesome! If it was someone else whom I didn't trust, I'd probably stab them. But Ash is someone I can definitely trust to take care of you. So, you don't worry about me. If you want to date him, do it. It's really up to you at this point." 

I smile at Dom a little bit. Honestly, I would've expected his reaction to be a little bit worse, as a matter of fact. I find him to be the kind of brother who would probably slaughter a guy just for trying to hit on me. You know, the kinds of brothers that rarely exist in real life. 

Yet, Dom seems to be chill about it, which I find reassuring. "Thanks, Dom. I thought you'd flip out," I say, and he chuckles. "Nah. Nothing really to flip out about. Ash is a really cool dude. If it was someone else whom I didn't trust, then yes, I'd flip out," he tells me, as he gets up to put his dishes in the sink. 

As we hear the faucet running, Lara comes over to me, leans in. "So, we've defined the age bracket for your novel. We need to start looking for agents. Do your research, and I'll help you do it. Once we get a good list of agents, then we can go on with the next step. For now, we will take things one step at a time," she tells me, and I flash her a smile. 

I wouldn't have been able to start getting my book out like this without Lara's help. I owe her a huge one right now, because she really has made everything so smooth for me. "That sounds great, Lara. Thank you," I tell her. 

She smiles. "Of course. You're family, Nicole. Oh, and speaking of which, I have a bridesmaid's dress picked out for my wedding party. If you can, try it on, and we can get it fitted so that it's a perfect match." I smile even more, and the thought of Dom and Lara's wedding just makes me smile a little bit more. 

Lara walking down the aisle in her flowy white dress, with Dom standing at the end wearing a suit and looking like he fell in love with her all over again. Dom is holding Lara in his arms as they dance to a romantic song, with a 6 foot cake in the corner, as we dance to a selection of songs that will make our feet fall off. The occasion is months away, and yet I'm so excited to see them finally get married, even though they're already pretty much married. 

"Sounds great. You know, I can't wait for you guys to get married. I know that you'll make an awesome team, even though you both are practically married as is," I say, and Lara chuckles. "You know, you're not wrong. We ARE pretty much married, huh?" she asks me, to which we both get a good chuckle out of that. 

"Nicole, come on! Let's go! We're gonna be late otherwise," Dom calls, as he jingles the keys in between his fingers. I nod, and take off with Dom, as we both go to work, with me going for the first time.

 ********

"So, the boss will be here in the front. He knows we're expecting a new member, so he'll be here to greet you and introduce you to your fellow colleagues. I know it seems a little bit intimidating, but I promise you, it's so exciting. I had a blast with my colleagues on the first day. I'm sure you will too," Dom tells me, as we are being carried up to the corresponding floor. 

I cross my arms, and say, "I'm excited. Did you meet Ash on your first day?" 

Dom smiles, and says, "Nah. I met him a little bit later. Maybe about 6 months into my job. We were paired up for a project in the company, and we worked together amazingly. We became good friends after that." 

Right when he finishes up the story, the doors of the elevator slide open, and we step out. Some people are coming out of the other elevators, and Dom waves a little bit to all of them. 

One of the people that come out of the elevators is none other than Nasir. "Hey, Dominic! Good morning!" he chants, and Dom smiles. 

"Good morning, Nasir! Did you have a good weekend?" he asks, as we walk towards the office. 

Nasir smiles, and says, "Yes! It was great! Oh, Nicole, it's good to see you again! I'm glad you've decided to join the company!" he says, and I smile. 

"You too! I'm excited, but kind of nervous," I say, adding a chuckle on there, to which Nasir also chuckles to. 

"Don't be. You'll be fine," Nasir assures, as Dom scans his ID against the scanner. Dom holds the door open, and says, "You guys first." 

We both thank him and go inside, while Dom closes the door behind us. We walk down the hall, where Nasir goes to his cubicle and Dom leads me to the boss' office. 

He gives a slight knock, and a voice behind it says, "Come in!" Dom pushes the door open, and we walk inside. Surely enough, there are a few people in there, talking to a woman who's sitting in a big leather chair. One of the people standing there is Ash, who looks so professional with his dress shirt and pants. 

The lady looks over at us, and says, "Dominic! Good morning. I assume this is your sister?" 

Dom gives her a proud smile, while I go over and say, "Hi, I'm Nicole. Nice to meet you." 

I hold out my hand, which the lady gladly takes and shakes firmly. "Very nice to finally meet you, Nicole! I'm Candice. I hope you're excited to start working here," Candice tells me. 

I smile, and say, "I'm both excited and nervous. Everything seems so intimidating!" 

Candice chuckles, along with everyone else, and she just says, "Don't be. You'll get adjusted pretty quickly. Now, I feel like we should give you a tour of the place, huh?"

 I smile. "Yes, that would be amazing." 

She smiles, and then turns to the people standing behind her. "So, here we go. This is Alia, and she's our HR manager. This is Scott, and he's our communications manager. This is Asher, and he's our marketing manager. This is Bailey, and she's our financial manager, so you'll be working with her a lot, since you're a financial analyst. This is Karina, and she's our sales/business manager. This is Hank, and he's our IT manager. And finally, this is Hannah, and she's our actuarial manager. I know, lots of unfamiliar faces. But they're here to help you if you ever need any help along your way." 

I smile, then look at Ash, who is just beaming at me. The look on his face basically says, "I'm so excited that you're working here. I can't wait to spend more time with you." 

I smile back at him. "Oh, no, I know Ash. He's my former brother in law. So yes, I know him a little bit better than the others around here. But either way, I'm so excited to meet all of you." 

They all smile, along with Candice, and she says, "Oh, that's great! Hey, another familiar face along with your brother. That's great, huh?" 

I smile, and give her another slight nod. "Anyways, let's get started, shall we?" she asks, and she opens the door to lead me out. 

I look out of the door, and say, "Let's do this." 

I walk out, with the others following behind me, and just gives a look around to see who's here and who's not here. "Okay, so this is my office. You can come almost anytime. I'm really good about putting a notice about when I'm not available, but most of the time, I am, so I'm just a knock away," she tells me, and then she walks to a cluster of cubicles about a 20 seconds walk away. 

I follow her, and she says, "This is the actuarial department. This is closest to my office, because I find it very important. Calculating risk is something I always need to know about, because risks are all about a job. But anyways, this is the department. Hannah is our manager, and she manages most of the actuarial things that go around here." I nod a little bit, in understanding, and then my head cranes to find Dom. 

Surely enough, with his glasses perched on his nose, looking like a hot nerd, he's scribbling something down with a clutter of pens and papers surrounding him like a barrier. He looks up a little bit to tend to something, and then his eyes shift towards me. He smiles, and waves a little bit, to which I wave back and say, "Hi, Dom!" 

Candice chuckles a little bit, and then moves on. She walks closer to another cluster of cubicles, and says, "This is the HR department. Alia is the manager of that, and I think you've figured out that we do human resource. But overall, this is a chill area." 

She keeps on walking, with elegance and professionalism radiating from each step. I admire the stride she has, with such pride and her hair tossed back and her posture so perfect. I know I'll never be as perfect, but I'd love to try. "This is the financial department. You guys got the lucky one, because you're the closest to the break area. You get the quickest access to all of the snacks and goodies. I'm envious, trust me. But anyways, what we try to do is just manage the sales and revenue so that we don't go bankrupt. The end!" she says, in a rather cheery voice, which only makes me chuckle a little bit. 

"I'll try my best. I promise," I say, and everyone bursts into a fit of chuckles and giggles. 

"Let's keep moving," she says, and she moves onto the next department. 

"This is the business and sales department. This is the big guns of the whole company, because it's the largest one, and they manage a lot of the logistical work here. So, it's clearly a very important department." 

Candice then moves onto the next department. "This is the marketing department. Asher is the manager of this. Marketing is the one that works with all the other departments the most often, so you're definitely going to be working with marketing more than a few times. But yes, overall, they are probably the most outgoing department." 

Without another word exchanged between the departments, she moves on. "And finally, this is the communications department. This is where most of the talk between other businesses goes on, and this is also another very crucial department as well. So, Scott is the manager of this. Again, since he's in communications, he should be very easy to talk to." 

We all chuckle a little bit, and the next thing you know, Candice gives me a little smile. "That's the gist of all the departments. You think you're ready to start?" 

I tuck a hair behind my ear, and say, "Yes, I think I am." 

Candice smiles, and says, "Great! Bailey, I think you can start giving her the work that she needs. Nicole, let me know if you need anything. I'm here okay?" she assures me. 

I nod. "Yes, of course," I say, and Bailey looks at me. "Cool. Let's go," she tells me, and she briskly walks out of the area. I follow her, but not before I get a quick glimpse of Ash flashing a warm smile at me.

"So, you can start on the cash flow statements. We're trying to analyze the finances so that we don't fall into eternal debt and we have no clue how to pay it off. Do you think you can do that?" Bailey says to me. 

I smile."That sounds okay. Thanks, Bailey." 

Bailey smiles. "It's no problem. Say, wanna meet me in the break room at lunch? I always use my lunch to get to know the new members of the workplace." 

 "Yes, that sounds perfect." 

She smiles, and says, "Sweet. See you in a bit then."

***

As I shove the forkful of food into my mouth, Bailey just looks at me with a smile on her face. "So, tell me about yourself. Other than the fact that Dom won't shut up about you, which can be a good thing, I want to know you! You can ask me questions as well. Go ahead," she says. 

I smile, and say, "Well, let's see. I'm a Pisces, I'm the youngest of my two siblings, I can speak 3 languages fluently, and..... that's all I can think of. What about you?" 

Bailey nods, and says, "I'm an only child, a Cancer, which is a horrible thing to say, I'm married, and I'm only bilingual. What languages can you speak? I speak English and Spanish, because my mom's from Cuba. What about you?" 

I take notice of the shiny wedding ring on her finger, and immediately, the memory of my wedding day comes into my mind. The day in which Colin had the slight look of triumph on his face as he slid the ring on my finger. The day in which all the hell started for me. It was the day that my wings were clipped. 

"Nicole? Nicole?" Bailey asks, and my attention diverts towards her. 

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I speak English, Spanish, and German. My dad's German born, and half German. My mom's from Venezuela." 

Bailey smiles. "That's nice. Are you in any relationships right now?" Right when she says that, the dam holding back the flood of memories is cracked open. The memories of his fingers around my neck come flooding back. The days in which he pinned me to the bed and did the unspeakable to burn me down. The days in which he would practice his boxing skills on me. 

All those memories start to flood back. It's almost as if I feel the pressure of his fingers on my neck, and I feel the pain in my head and abdomen. I hear Bailey mutter, "Oh my goodness." 

I take deep breaths, as my eyes start to water. "Look, there's ice cream over there! I'm gonna get some. You can join me, if you want." I know she's trying to get me to do something that I love. And honestly, it's working. I follow her to where the ice cream is, where I take a cup and open the cap. I start to gently lick it, while Bailey says, "Would you like to talk about it?" 

I take a deep breath, and say, "I was in a very abusive relationship." After that, I start to elaborate on what happened. It honestly relieves some of the iron fist's pressure on my memory and thinking, which is amazing, because I can't think straight. 

After I tell Bailey my story, her jaw is hanging open. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Nicole! Wow, Ash is so sweet. I'm so happy that he gave you some comfort. But, if you need anything, I'm here. Always." 

I smile, and say, "Thanks, Bailey." Well, at least I didn't have a full on meltdown. Now, I have to do the hard part. Facing Colin in court.

________________________________________________________________________________

Yay, Nicole's working again! How fun is this? So how bad do you think facing Colin in court is going to be? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! How are you all? How's it going? So, out of curiosity. Do you guys tend to read a collection of smaller books or one huge book? Let me know. 

Other than that, I don't have much else to say. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great week!

Love you guys, 

Shree