The morning sun glowed faintly through the city skyline as Arabella stood in front of her wardrobe, nervously eyeing her new formal outfit. A pale blue blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt, with the blazer Yaasi insisted on. She'd never dressed like this before. She looked… professional. Grown-up.
She checked the time — 7:45 AM.
She grabbed her toast and milk, then headed out.
The bus ride was quiet. Her heart, however, was not. She kept checking her bag for her ID and documents every few minutes.
By 9:10 AM, she was standing outside the grand glass tower of Kingsley Tech Group, staring up at the building she was now part of.
She walked in and approached the receptionist again.
"Hi. I'm Arabella Pearls. Today's my joining day. I was told to submit my documents and get my ID?"
The woman nodded with a polite smile. "Yes, fifth floor. Admin desk."
Arabella took the elevator up and submitted her paperwork. The staff handed her a neat ID card with her name and a small photo, clipped to a lanyard.
Then she was told to report to the tech department on the 8th floor — her new workplace.
Arabella entered the floor cautiously. It was modern, clean, full of cubicles and quiet hums of productivity.
She asked a passing woman about the tech manager, and was led to a glass-walled office where a man in his 40s sat typing away.
"Mr. Holden? This is Arabella Pearls, our new hire."
He looked up, offered a brief but kind smile, and motioned her in.
"Arabella, welcome. You'll be part of our software development team, under Team B. This is your ID. You'll be working closely with our lead developer, Ava."
Arabella nodded quickly, clutching her bag tightly. "Yes, sir. Thank you."
After a quick briefing, she was taken to her cubicle. It was small, but clean, with a window view and a new monitor waiting to be set up.
Her heart fluttered with nervous excitement.
This is real. I'm working here. I'm not dreaming.
---
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the building, Damon Kingsley sat at his massive desk, sipping his black coffee while flipping through reports.
His assistant, Carter, entered.
"The new hires have joined. HR sent over a brief file, just names and departments."
Damon glanced through the list casually until one name made him pause — Arabella Pearls. Tech Department, Team B.
"The one from the elevator?" he muttered.
Carter looked confused. "Sir?"
"Nothing," Damon said smoothly, placing the file down. "Tell me if there's a team report from B by end of the day."
"Yes, sir."
Damon leaned back in his chair, thinking. That girl… she had no idea who he was. And he found that oddly refreshing.
---
Back on the 8th floor, Arabella had just finished setting up her system when a woman with sharp glasses and confident energy walked over.
"You must be Arabella," she said, smiling. "I'm Ava, your team lead."
Arabella stood up quickly and extended her hand. "Yes, I'm really glad to be here."
"I reviewed your projects. You've got a good foundation," Ava said. "Let's see how you handle live tasks."
Arabella nodded.
Ava showed her the current project they were working on — an internal workflow tool. Arabella was to start with a small feature module and gradually build up from there.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of onboarding, reading documentation, and carefully writing her first lines of company code.
At lunch, she sat alone in the cafeteria until a cheerful young man from her team, Caleb, waved her over. He introduced her to a few others, and soon they were chatting casually. Arabella smiled more than she expected to.
By the end of the day, she felt a strange sense of accomplishment — and also exhaustion.
But as she exited the building and walked to her bus stop, she felt proud.
She had made it through her first day.
---
Far above, from the CEO's private window, Damon happened to glance down just as she walked away.
That girl again.
He didn't even know why he kept noticing her.
But he did.
Maybe I'll see her again soon, he thought, then returned to his laptop.