Stella woke up to the blinding sunlight peering through her curtains, she stood up right on her bed as she stretched, she could here the vibration of her phone on the bedside drawer close to her. she picked it up.
8:12 a.m....looking at the time she realized she must have slept in, just then she received a message which brought a frown to her face. Michael had sent her a message asking for them to meet up later in the day and have a romantic date.
The thought of it irritated Stella. "Thanks for the invite, I thought I was feeling better , but I still feel sick, so I'm going to stay home today. Let's go on a date some other time." Stella sent the reply to Michael.
She obviously didn't plan to stay in all day, remembering all that Michael told her last night about Stocks, she had planned to go over to a a book shop and library, to make research about stocks and investment.
She quickly sprung out of bed and into the shower, getting ready to head over to the bookstore. Not so far from her apartment ,Stella made her way to a book store which was also a Library. She glanced around before asking the lady at the front which shelf had the books for investment and stocks. She quickly made her way there picking up a few books and flipping their pages, but there was just one problem, she couldn't understand anything she read.
There must be a book for beginner's somewhere, she glanced up and saw exactly what she was looking for....." The Absolute basics to Stocks Market if yo wanna quit your Job"...".But why is it so high up", Stella rose on her toes as she tried to reach the book but her finger tips only brushed against the edges." I am Five foot six and even I can't reach it, how is anyone suppose to- but before she could finish her sentence,, she could feel someone standing behind her and a large hand reached passed her and took out the book she was trying so hard to reach earlier.
She turned ready to thank the stranger, but the words got caught in her throat. "Are you planning on quitting your job, Ms. Stella? A deep voice asked.
"M-Mr. James....?"Stella's mouth dropped open, Surprised to see James.
"I guess you're really thinking of quitting your job" James said as he looked at the front cover of the book in his hands. "W-What? No, no, not at all , Michael has been investing in stocks so I thought I'd give it a try too. Stella said trying to explain.
Stella watched as James expression changed from calm to annoyed. "OH, no . He's pissed, why did I have to run into him here?!"
He handed her the book but didn't look at her. "I see". James said with a sullen expression. His tone was calm buts Stella noticed he wasn't in the best mood.
"Umm.....anyway, Stella said. I got the book I was looking for so....I'm going to get going now!!"Stella said as she tried to get away.
"Ms. Stella. Are you off to see Mr. Michael from here?? "James asked." If not- "No, I'm not seeing him today. I just want to spend some time alone this weekend....Oh sorry, what were you going to say? Stella asked.
"Never mind." James said. Have a nice day I'll see you at work tomorrow. Oh right and you look really pretty, without your glasses.
Stella could feel her cheeks quickly change color , unlike the reaction she got yesterday when Michael complemented her, this time was completely different, she couldn't stop her cheeks from going red.
T-Thank you Mr. James, I'd get going now, That was awkward, He makes me feel weird. Stella thought as she quickly left the book store.
The rest of the weekend was spent inside Stella's apartment, she used the free time to study the investment books she got from the book store, only going out unless it was something necessary. The weekend quickly passed by in a blur.
Monday morning, Stella arrived at the office earlier than she ever had before, it was just 7:09 when she stepped out of the elevator. The office was completely empty.
Woah, I've never come this early to work before, but I guess it's fine since I have a lot to get done with today.....HUH!! Mr. James??
She spotted the sleeping man at the edge of the office ,the sunlight glistering on his skin, She reached up and adjusted the blinds above him, to block out the sunlight from disturbing his sleep. Her eyes lingered on his face, his skin was smooth and flawless, and it looked more apparent up close, she couldn't help but stare and he didn't have his glasses on.
"Wow, he is even more handsome without his glasses" Stella said as she etched closer to have a better look, not even noticing how close she was to his face.
His eyes suddenly flew open, catching her off guard and snapping her out of her daze.
".......Miss Stella?"
Stella gasped and backed up immediately, her eyes wide "Oh!! I'm -I'm sorry. Good morning Mr. James.
James sat back up, trying to blink away the sleep." Good Morning. You're....early."
"Yes well I left early on Friday so I thought I should come in early today to make up for it. Stella said sheepishly.
" I'll jus get back to work," she muttered quickly retreating to her desk.
The office remained silent and empty as Stella got into work, she pulled up the investment platform, carefully starting to scatter her funds with what she had learned over the weekend. She glanced at her note and back at the system , focusing on what she was doing.
The low screech of a chair ore her attention away as she turned to see Mr. James heading out of the office, she assumed he was heading out for a morning stroll or coffee. Several minutes later, a hand reached from behind her shoulder as it gently placed a plastic cup ,filled with coffee and wrapped sandwich on her desk.
She looked up to see Mr. James hovering above her.
"It looks like you're working hard, Miss Stella. James said. " I got you something this while getting my morning coffee, Please have some when you feel hungry.
Stella was surprised that he thought of her and got her something to eat. Oh! You didn't have to, thank you Mr. James, I really appreciate it.
....James gave her a slight nod. It's nothing just don't skip meals trying to take over the stock market" He said while glancing at her computer screen.
Stella chuckled, hearing what he just said. "Noted sir, I wont." she said with a smile on her face.
He gave her a slight smile, before heading back to his office, time went by and other people started puling up to the office, the air filled with the sound of keyboards clicking and buzzing chatter. Just then she heard the unmistakable voice of Rachel , she walked in with Michael both lost in their conversation as they smiled happily towards themselves.
Just the Michael had made eye contact with Stella and he quickly made his way over. "Hey Stella, how was your night, Hope you are completely fine, Well I met Rachel on the way to work so I thought I'd give her a ride. Michael said as if reading her thoughts.
"It's ok," Stella said with a tight lipped smile, Just then she remembered the amount of times in her past life , when Michael and Rachel would come in at the same time, and their excuse would always be that they ran into each other on the way to work or on the way in.
Now I see ...they weren't just meeting by chance, he already started picking her up and bringing her to work back then too. Rachel also approached Stella.
"Good morning Stella, How was your night, I guess you got here early huh.?? Rachel said. "Yes I did, let's chat later, I have a lot of work to cover, Stella quickly brushed her off. Rachel felt Awkward and quickly went back to her sit.
Stella was deeply engrossed in her work when she noticed Michael standing by her side with a proud smirk plastered on his face, his hands in his pocket.
Hey Stella, so about the stock information I gave you, there is one more thing, I bet it's been super helpful, but there is one more thing I think I should tell you.
Stella looked at him but her expression remained calm but while she listened she noticed Rachel from the corner of her eye pretending to be busy but actually stealing glances towards them. Almost like she could explode from from curiosity if she wasn't part of the conversation.
Well the the thing is, I was thinking of selling my stocks and switching to a new company, and I -....WAIT!!! Is that a cappuccino, you don't drink cappuccino's so why did you get it. Michael asked gesturing towards the coffee cup on Stella's table.
"Yes Well, that's because I didn't get it, Mr. James got it form me". Stella said.
"Hmmm I guess that makes more sense, you always drink americano's and not cappuccinos and it fits his personality perfectly, Michael said with a chuckle. WAIT!! Why did he get you coffee and when was this. Michael asked with a pointed look on his face.
Stella looked at him with a pointed look but still answered." Well, I got here really early, second to Mr. James, and since it was just us two here he got an extra coffee for me when he stepped out."
Hmm, that adds up I get, so back to what I was saying. Michael continued .I was thinking of selling my current Stocks and switching to a new company, I already made a little profit from the stocks and heard about a new company coming out." "Gemo technology" The company developed new technology and with how things are going it looks like their stocks are going to sky rocket soon."
"Gemo technology"?? In my past life I had no interest in Stocks but even I knew about the company. They had talked about introducing a new product so their stock soared unimaginably high, but a month later ,all their investors ended up loosing a lot of money after the founder of the company left the country .Stella thought. "But what was going on, In my past life Michael never invested in this company so why was he doing it now."
"Look Stella" Michael said, I am only telling you because your my girlfriend so don't tell any one okay". he said with a wink. Michael chuckled lightly as he strode past to his desk. Stella's gaze trailed behind Michael at the same time she noticed Rachel going towards Michaels desk as soon as he had sat down.
"Oh Michael", Rachel said with a sheepish smile, I overhead you and Stella talking about something like a game, what was it about??
Michael looked up. No it's nothing , you don't have to worry about it, and plus I don't think you'd understand anything even though I explained.
Rachel's flinched as her smile faltered. " Oh...I see, umm okay then."
"It stung- Stella could tell, but Rachel didn't say anything as she tried her best to hide it. "Okay then, I'd just get back to work". Rachel turned on her heel as she made her way back to her seat.
Stella thought back to what Michael had just told her about the stocks market, but since she already knew what was going to happen , she decided not to make the same mistake Michael was about to make, and stick to her current stocks.