New Start, New City, New Woman

The city always seemed so radiant and bright from across the bay. By day, the buildings were tall, sleek, and professional, forming and changing over time to suit the ever-changing population. At night, the lights would sparkle like stars, leaving the actual sky above pitch black. To be among the people in this city, to live the busy yet exciting lives they had, was too alluring to possibly resist. The moment a little boy named Alexander caught a glimpse, the moment his wide, blue eyes sparkled from watching the city transform in less than a day, it was love at first sight. The older he grew, and the more he learned about this city, the more his love grew along with him. Yet as time passed, other things began to grow as well...

...But now wasn't the time to be nostalgic. Alex was about to be late for her first day at work! She walked as briskly in her black heels as she could to avoid tripping, but even short heels were a hazard when the sidewalks were so cracked and uneven. From all of the loud construction work buzzing in her ears, you would think they would have gotten around to fixing it by now. She couldn't let herself get distracted though. She was almost there!

She had tried to prepare by getting up early in the morning and not wasting too much time, but there was a major delay at the train station and the morning traffic was too heavy to call a taxi. Luckily, all those years of being around roosters made her used to waking up at the wee hours of the morning, so if she had to get up earlier next time so be it. This was just a small bump in her road to success. So what if Yorkyo City wasn't as perfect as her young self imagined it? This is what she had chosen for himself, and she was going to make the best of it regardless.

At long last, she had reached her destination, stumbling straight inside the office building and into the elevator. She made sure to memorize the layout when she came for an interview, and it seemed fitting that her department was towards the top. Since she had a chance to breathe, she used this time to look at her reflection coming from the elevator's shiny, metallic walls. White dress shirt clean and straight? Check. Black knee skirt not all bunched up or slipping down her waist? Check. Her brown bob neat and aligned? Check. Her signature red beret didn't fall off? Check and check. She sighed with relief when she saw everything was still fine after some small readjusting.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't until she heard a man clear his throat that she realized someone else had gotten in the elevator with her in the middle of all of this. She awkwardly turned to face away from him for the remainder of the ride, hoping he wouldn't notice her embarrassed blush. Did it look like she was trying too hard? She couldn't help it. This was the job she always wanted, one that she would often daydream about while flipping through their magazines every month, and she needed to make a good first impression.

She was the first to leave when it finally got to her floor, dashing forward until she nearly ran into the person who had been waiting for her. This caused both of them to let out a surprised "Oh!" just as she came to a halt mere inches from a complete disaster. The woman waiting for her was quick to recover from this, her dark, round cheeks perking up with her sweet smile.

"Hello. Alex, was it?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah, that's me," Alex replied while trying to laugh it off, then quickly straightened herself up as she extended a hand. "Alex Rosalind. I look forward to working with you!"

The woman gave her a solid handshake in response, her large, soft hand feeling warm against Alex's cold, thin fingers. "Nami Fideline. I look forward to working with you as well at Fashion with Passion Magazine!"

With introductions out of the way, Nami came Alex the grand tour of their office. While it was still all neatly divided like any other office, some things gave it a bit of a unique flair. Magazines on display, cubicles personalized and decorated to fit each person, people in office rooms rolling around a floor littered with dresses while screaming about fabric patterns... Okay, maybe that last one was a little weird. Alex didn't want to question it yet so she just kept walking. Eventually, after enjoying a brief stop at the break room, they got to the most important rooms in the office.

"Since you'll be working directly as my assistant, you'll need to be familiar with the printing room," Nami said. Alex took a peek inside said room to see the man in the elevator earlier now grumbling under his breath while giving one of the printers a glare almost intense enough to blow it up. She immediately ducked her head back out and hoped he didn't notice her. Oblivious, Nami simply resumed the tour as normal.

In the end, they wound up at what would be Alex's desk. It was plain and gray now, but Alex had plans. Big plans. She was giddy thinking about the possibilities, her heels bouncing a little as she tried to contain herself.

Sensing her enthusiasm, or more accurately noticing the big grin on her face, Nami giggled and said, "I see you're ready to work. Well let me get your number and you can take your time settling in. Don't hesitate to ask me any questions."

Alex nodded and pulled out her ruby red phone to exchange numbers, then Nami stepped away to leave her to it. Whatever it was... Alex wasn't sure yet. But this wasn't her first printing job. She would get into the motion of it eventually. For now, she needed to backtrack to the bathrooms they passed and relieve herself. She wanted to ask earlier, yet Nami was talking so eagerly about the job she felt it'd be rude to interrupt.

As she was making her way over there, she noticed a group of people exiting a room, most likely getting out of a meeting. However, it was the last person leaving that caused her to stop everything she was doing and stare. There stood a tall, sleek, and professionally dressed man, his black hair slicked back and his black eyes sharp and attentive behind his thin, rectangular glasses. As soon as Alex saw him, her eyes sparkled with intrigue, yearning to know more about this handsome gentleman. She had only felt this way one other time in her life, and it was a feeling that drove her to be here at this very moment. It was destiny. It had to be.

However, as she was about to move toward him, Nami reappeared in front of her, pushing up her thick, pink glasses with an ominous glint.

"That's Edmund Hironori, the editor-in-chief," Nami said knowingly, and Alex shivered as she wondered if Nami was a mind reader. On the other hand, even his name sounded elegant and refined. Alex would've drifted off into a dreamy fantasy land thinking about it if Nami hadn't snapped her out of it by moving closer. "Don't get any ideas. You'll only make things worse for yourself."

Alex blinked, curiously tilting her head. "What do you mean?"

"He's divorced. His wife took half of everything, including their kid."

"WHAT?!"