Pumpkin Spice Latte (1)

Everyone experiences bad days.

When things seem to go wrong, your alarm clock doesn’t ring, or you miss your bus. Those rare days where many little misadventures happen, and you cannot do anything about it. It is a bit sad, but it does happen, right? Yet today, I didn’t get to work late or miss my bus. Everything was going well, I walked there and arrived perfectly on time. Even a bit early, so I could make some nice coffee for everyone and enjoy a delicious cookie.

It was going to be a lovely, happy day of December.

...Until this very moment.

“You call this a presentation, Ophelia?”

The blue folder slams loudly on my desk, making me jump. I glance down, a bit surprised. I was only given half a day to prepare this, but I did stay up very late last night to finish it. I was pretty sure I had done great, too. I found some excellent materials, compared them to previous projects that had received good responses, and double-checked every single piece of data… How come she was so unhappy with it?

I grab the file and stand up from my chair.

“Miss Veronica, there was very little time for me to prepare this presentation,” I say. “But I can assure you, I found the best materials…”

“Well, it’s not enough!” She yells. “You want me to give this to the director? Improve it before the meeting this afternoon, or you’re fired!”

Before I can add a word, she turns around and walks away, her high heels clattering loudly on the floor. I let out a big sigh. I know she doesn’t actually have the power to fire me, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to her bad temper and awful yelling… If only she was a bit nicer. As I fall down on my chair, I see all the heads of my colleagues popping up from their cubicles, sending me sorry expressions. I smile a bit weakly, I’m alright, but this is still embarrassing…

My desk neighbor, Kitty, rolls her chair to my side with a frown on.

“How can she talk to you like that! So mean… And she’s just basically giving you her job!”

“It’s fine, Kitty. It’s the secretaries’ office’s job to assist others anyway, right? Don’t worry, I can do this!”

I take a deep breath.

Well, there’s nothing else I can do, I suppose. Come on, Ophie, let’s take another look at this! I open that folder and carefully go over the contents again. Where do I even start? Can I improve this? I glance up at the clock on the wall. Did the presentation get pushed back? She definitely said she needed it by 9 AM this morning when she gave it to me yesterday…

I look at the calendar on my desk. Only nine days until Christmas Eve! I’m off to a bad start, but the day can get better, right? I have some time ahead, and I’m pretty sure I’ll figure out how to improve this presentation after re-reading it a bit! I open up my browser, grab a piece of my cookie, and get to work. It’s alright. As long as I have this sweet taste in my mouth, nothing can get me down!

Since last year, I have been working at Hansel Corporation’s headquarters, and nothing could make me regret it! It’s my dream job, and I love it. Of course, office work can be a little bit gloomy sometimes, and I loved working in their shops as a saleswoman, but I was so excited when I got this new job offer! How could I have refused to work at the headquarters, when I love their products so much?

As one of the best gourmet food companies, Hansel Corp has over a hundred shops all across the United States, some in Canada, and a handful in Europe and Asia! All are so pretty inside and smell so good! They are also the creators of one of the top trending cooking magazines, and they sponsor a famous baking competition show and three culinary schools. What I love most are the products, of course. Our current best-selling products, all from our special Winter Selection, include the peppermint chocolate cookie mix, the extra-caramel sauce, and my favorite, the seasonal pumpkin spice latte powder.

And the cherry on top, all employees at the headquarters get to try the new products before they are released, and we get discounts on everything! For a food lover like me, working here is a dream come true!

“Ophelia!” Calls Laetitia from across the open space. “Do you have any ideas for the Christmas charity event? They suddenly decided to have thirty-six children from the Hansel Children’s Institute come over, and we need an activity for them! Macaron baking is too hard, and I don’t want them running all around with fingers covered in flour next to the guests!”

I take a few seconds to think, finger on my chin. These children should be between... six to ten years old, right? A bit too young to be baking indeed, but we can’t just have them eat sweets all night…

“How about a cookie decorating contest?” I suggest. “Or even making gingerbread houses! They can play with chocolate sprinkles, and the icing is easily washable. I’m sure Amy can get some, she mentioned an extra order from our new cookie product last Thursday!”

“Ophelia, you’re the best!” She says while jumping on the phone.

I can’t help but smile. The children are going to have so much fun decorating and eating those cookies! Kitty winks at me.

“Ophelia, you’re our ray of sunshine! Come on, let me give you a hand on that damn presentation. What do you need?”

With Kitty’s help, I managed to get that presentation improved quite fast. Is our new CEO planning to open a gourmet macaron shop? All this data and these pictures of sweets make me so hungry!

I’ve always been what I call a food enthusiast, as far back as I remember. As a child, I was fascinated by bakeries and restaurants. Now that I’m a full-fledged adult, I still go to my favorite ones a lot, and I could certainly watch my favorite cooking show all day long. I even have all the editions of the Hansel Cooking Magazine!

I just can’t help it. Cooking is like magic, isn’t it? Taking some raw ingredients and a bit of inspiration, you get something pretty and delicious!

Of course, being fond of all those sweets has put me on the heavier side, but it’s okay! I’ve learned to love my body as it is, and my boyfriend Andrew doesn’t mind my chubbiness either. We have been dating for almost two years now. He is nice, handsome, and actually works for Hansel too, in the finance department! Aren’t I lucky? Sadly, due to that, he often comes home late... Well, at least we get to have lunch together!

Today, he will probably insist that he wants to eat out again. Andrew hates office gossip, so we usually have our lunches outside, far from curious eyes.

“Ophelia, are you coming with us? The girls said there is a new menu at the Veggie Galaxy for the holidays!”

“Thanks, Kitty, but I’m eating out with Andrew. I will join you for coffee, as usual?”

“Lucky you! My fiancé only takes me out once a month!” She chuckles.

She leaves for the cafeteria with the girls while I grab my bag and head to the bathroom to freshen myself up. With my mid-length brown hair, green eyes, and freckles, I’m not among the company’s prettiest girls, though I like to think I may be the cute chubby type? Somehow, when I try on makeup or new hairdos, it never looks right. Hence, I usually settle for just brushing my hair a little bit or tying it, just enough to tame my curls, and a little bit of lipstick! I like my natural appearance; I guess something too sophisticated just isn’t for me.

I put some pink on my lips, redo my bun, check for any crumbs on my knitted dress, and get ready to go out.

Just when I’m about to exit the building, I receive a text from Andrew.

“Sorry, love, too much work. I’ll see you at home tonight.”

I sigh, a bit disappointed. The finance department is probably still crumbling under all the work from the end of the year…

My phone vibrates again.

“I’d love to eat your minced beef again! ;) ”

I chuckle, my spirit’s up again. He really loves my cooking! He always eats it so fast. I smile and turn around. It’s too late to join my coworkers, but I can still grab a sandwich at the company’s cafeteria and work some more on the presentation.

I get to the tenth floor and get in line, trying to think of what to get. As a food company, of course, we have one of the best cafeterias, with a lot of choices! The Salad Bar, the Grill, the Fisherman’s Selection, the many sandwiches and toasts, and of course, all the yummy desserts! By the time it’s my turn, I’m starving! I grab one of the last tuna sandwiches, saluting Stan the Chef, and hurry up to pay so I can get back to work. We have a nice view of Boston, but this floor is always so crowded, it’s impossible to get a seat at this time.

The secretaries’ office is empty and unusually quiet. I like our little space, though. It’s like the company’s hive, all of us little bees working to help every department in any way we can! We all get along, too, from Alice, our oldest secretary who acts like everyone’s mom, to Jena, our latest recruit who brought lots of plants to make our space greener.

I smile and sit behind my computer when someone runs in. It’s Marc, the marketing director’s assistant, looking panicked. Doesn’t the marketing team have a meeting upstairs at that time…?

“Where is everyone?” He asks when he spots me, alone at my desk.

“It’s lunch break, everyone went for lunch…”

“Oh, right! Damn it, there is no time for lunch now!”

“What is it, Marc? Can I help you?” I ask while getting up.

“I need to put my hands on last year’s plans for the peppermint brownies! The CEO wants to see them now, and no one seems to know where they are!”

Here goes my lunch break… I run down to the archives to find out if we have these plans somewhere, but it doesn’t seem so. It’s too early to give up, though. I quickly go back to our office and call two colleagues to get the marketing agency’s number. Thankfully, someone at the agency still has the file, and they are nice enough to send it right away! Relieved, I quickly print it anew and staple it with a clean, transparent sheet before running up to the eighth floor, where the director should be having his presentation. I hope it’s not too late...

Taking a second to catch my breath, I knock on the door and walk in discreetly. Every director is there, and, at the end of the table, between the marketing and sales directors, our CEO himself, Mr. Hansel… I bow politely. It looks like the financial director is the one presenting something at the moment. I can’t see Marc, so I quietly walk up to the marketing director. He notices me and seems relieved as soon as he recognizes the document from afar. It looks like I made it in time after all!

Yet, to my surprise, the CEO on his left suddenly grabs the file I was about to hand him.

“Thank you, Miss…?”

...Eh? Why is he asking for my name? Did I do something wrong? I blink, confused, but he is politely waiting, expressionless. The marketing director looks as surprised as I am.

“Miss Valentine, sir,” I whisper. “From the secretaries’ office…”

“I see. Thanks, Miss Valentine.”

“You… You’re welcome.”

Gosh, from up close, he is really handsome! I leave quietly, but everyone in the room has their eyes on me. How embarrassing!

I let out a long sigh of relief once I’m out. What was that? I was so surprised! He is so handsome, really too charming! Of course, I have already seen our CEO multiple times, from the magazines, interviews, and company gatherings, but a little secretary like me has never been so close! I’m even blushing a bit now...

Mr. Hansel is the typical bachelor every lady in this company has had a crush on! He is tall, with ash brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes behind his glasses, and delicate features. He is known to be very serious, however, and cold to everyone… So why did he ask for a simple secretary’s name?

When my colleagues come back for our usual coffee time, I’m still a bit flustered. I hesitate a bit and try to relax myself, keeping my hands on my cup, but I can’t take it anymore. I briefly tell Kitty and Laetitia, my cubicle neighbors, what happened. They are both as surprised as I am.

“Really? Our CEO asked for your name?” repeats Kitty. “I heard he doesn’t even know his own secretary’s full names!”

I nod.

“Veronica is always acting so mighty because she is one of his secretaries, but really, if she was replaced tomorrow, he wouldn’t even blink!”

I nod again. I knew all that already, that’s why I’m so stunned!

“He is too serious,” adds Laetitia, a hand on her hip. “No one knows anything about his private life. Only that his mother, Mrs. Hansel, comes to visit from time to time, but he only sees her in his office, so no one knows anything more than that!”

So mysterious… I keep listening to my colleagues’ gossip they have heard from all over the company. Mr. Hansel is the leading figure of this company, after all, so of course, everyone would be curious, but... How come we really don’t know much about our own CEO?

The girls switch topics to the latest office gossip since there isn’t much more to say. Of course, I am still curious, but the afternoon gets too busy for me to think about it again. The week before Christmas Day is one of our most active periods of the year! Although all our campaigns are launched already, the marketing, production, and retail departments are going crazy, and our phones ring nonstop all day until 6 pm.

Thanks to that, however, Veronica has no choice but to take the updated presentation, and before she can say anything, someone else jumps in to ask me for help. My afternoon goes by in a flash, but I’m used to the pressure; it is quite thrilling! Moreover, I know this is only temporary. Still, I take a little break as soon as I can to distribute hot cocoas to everyone in the office, as we all surely need a small dose of sugar to get through this!

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Author Note: A Love Cookie is finally coming to AnyStories, bringing you some Extra-sweet Winter Romance! Don't forget to add to your library, leave a comment, and see you next update! ;)