Being back in work feels surreal somehow; I know it's because I've been away from everyone for the last month but it still feels really strange. Don't get me wrong, no one is bitter about me getting the project opportunity, but its almost like it never happened. No one talks about it, only the odd question now and then, most of the time I'm back to photocopying and fetching coffees.

Admin is a regular part of my job, as well as: graphic design, managing and sharing ideas in meetings, assisting in PowerPoint, and several other activities that I won't bore you with; even though it seems to be a drag to someone on the outside, it's a real passion of mine to be able to manage and direct certain aspects of the company.

My ambition to be the managing director is a long shot I admit; I'm not experienced enough, and I don't yet have the knowledge to fulfil the role as I would in a few years time. Maybe Odette's right. It is a big job, perhaps I should aim for something a little more manageable, and progress my way through the company - I was never going to get a managing director job straight from being an intern at someone else's company... I'm not that clever.

I could aim for something along the lines of a supervisor; like Mrs Yates for example, she seems fairly satisfied in her job role, I mean she gets stressed from time to time but who doesn't? Then I'd progress one further and be a division manager, after that a branch manager, then once I've gotten the correct experience I can reach my final target of being a managing director... and no doubt by then I'll be old and grey, toddling to work on my zimmer frame.

At the minute my job is simple, I do administrative work mainly and then whatever Margaret orders me to do, such as finance or graphics; it's a nice job and I get along well with everyone - mum always said I was the charmer. But I want more, I want to progress and get better and listen to people's ideas and opinions and make their voices heard. I want to be respected but also I want everyone to know that I'm human too, and that just because I'm in a higher role doesn't mean I'm any way different. Everyone starts from the bottom at some point, and I strive for greatness - even though it may take me several years. I want to make a difference and show the world my creative side, I want companies to be baffled at our marketing ideas and I want to help this company strive across the world and grow larger with success.

It's a dream in the making basically.

"Harry, could you look over these stats and highlight any mistakes for me please." Margaret orders stressfully, dropping the Manila envelope onto my work station and heading to her office immediately, wrinkled hands rubbing over her forehead in an obvious attempt to wipe away any stress, her actions failing miserably however.

"Sure thing." I whisper more to myself than to my boss as I get to work straight away, seeing if there's anything else I can do to help. I look over the paperwork and open up a spreadsheets on my computer - typing in all the necessary information and financial details that I need to, then grabbing my tired and overused highlighter to find any mistakes on the paperwork that Margaret has handed to me.

My eyes glance around the office occasionally to see my fellow interns and my fully qualified colleagues sit at either their desks, or small work stations - that us interns have been provided with; it's essentially a shared table. I sit opposite Elliot who's actually really cool, his hair is a dirty blonde colour, his eyes a bright blue and he has just the right amount of stubble across his chin and jawline. Despite his skater boy look, Elliot is extremely clever and I'm surprised he didn't get the opportunity to progress quickly in the company, he's a great person to work alongside and I'm glad I sit opposite him. It's a hell of a lot better than where I used to sit opposite Rachel, who just caressed her sharp heels up my calf and attempted to play footsie with me; unbeknown to her that it in fact made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"You with the lads tonight mate?" Elliot asks, his blue eyes never leaving his computer screen as his fingers type away, simply finishing whatever piece of work he was in the middle of. Elliot knows the lads pretty well actually, I introduced him to them a few months ago when I moved desks - everyone seemed to get along, so we invite him out on occasion.

"Not tonight, the lads are all busy so I think I'll just see Odette for an hour then sit at home and watch a movie or something." My highlighter skims across the paper effortlessly, finding my sixth mistake already. Doris must be pretty stressed, I'll just re-type it up for her.

"Mind if I come around, I don't think I can handle another night on my own. My girlfriend's working abroad this week." I think over his offer and accept, it's rare that Elliot comes offer to my place, just me and him, so it'd be nice to get to know him properly and not just talk about work - I mean, I know the basics, but nothing else.

"I'll text you when I'm back home then." I offer carrying on running my highlighter across the page, mistake number nine coming into view. The paperwork given takes less that twenty minutes to complete and I'm already heading to the printer to fetch my newly typed up copy for Mrs Yates.

"Oh bugger." I hear a voice curse from just behind me, a soft feathery touch grazing my right foot as I stand waiting for the rest of my print job to finish. I turn to see a middle aged man, silver streaks runny through his hair as he struggles to pick up his scattered mess of papers from the cheap carpeted floor; I bend down instinctively picking up the majority and telling him to stand. "Thank you so much." His voice croaks, it's only now that I notice the walking stick beside him. That's strange, it's somewhat unusual seeing a man of his age with a walking stick - it makes me feel all the more better helping him. Not that I wouldn't anyway.

"It's my pleasure sir." Correcting the papers in my hands and straightening them out, I glance down at the familiar letter head and feel a bubble of excitement whenever I see it.

"You're very kind, what division do you work in?" He asks me politely, gratefully taking the stack of papers I collected from the floor.

I take my finished printing and turn to the important looking man just as he ends his sentence, "well I'm just an intern at the minute sir, I'm hoping to progress into the company though - or higher up in the business world if I can. It's a work in progress." My chuckle making a smile appear on the mans curious face.

"What do you have there son?" He motions towards my printing and shuffles closer to take a look, his security pass dangling on a lanyard in front of me.

"Oh it's just a financial document on some of the regular business' that needed double checking. I've just retyped it all and printed it so my boss doesn't have too." I shrug modestly and pray to the heavens that the attention deters away from me.

"That's a very generous thing you've done there son. What's your name, may I ask?"

"Harry Styles sir. I work on the third floor." I smile at the man and shake his firm hand, his grip strong as if he's been shaking hands for the majority of his life. A true business man I'm sure.

He nods with an almost proud smile, "it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Styles, you're an asset to the company."

"You're too kind sir, and please, call me Harry." He nods, and with one final smile and a pat on the back, he shuffles towards the printer as I exit.

It's a little over two hours before we're released to go for our lunch - Elliot and I walking side by side as usual, making our way into the lift and down the three floors before walking through the pristine reception and out the glass double doors. The relief is spectacular, a cold breeze blowing in our faces as we escape the large glass cage that is our office building, my head tilts up and I glance at the top story - ideas of one day working up there are running through my mind like rabid cheetahs catching their prey. Excitement covers my eyes before I'm knocked out of my trance by a small nudge, Elliot's voice becoming clearer as I follow him to the coffee shop across the road.

After purchasing a simple chicken sandwich and a bottle of water I sit myself at a corner table, Elliot now stood at the till as he pays for his items whilst I open up the sandwich packaging and get started - I was running late this morning so the idea of breakfast was a crushed dream when I hurriedly ran out of my apartment door. "So what work does your girlfriend do abroad?" I ask Elliot when he returns. The question popping into my head earlier, only to be compressed by highlighters, spreadsheets and Manila folders.

"She's an estate agent, she often gets asked to do work abroad. Just selling fancy houses to high end clients and things like that." He shrugs in return, taking a quick bite out of his sandwich and skilfully catching the loose breadcrumbs that fall.

"Oh really? What company does she work for?" I ask intrigued, considering the business we intern for owns shares in a wide variety of companies - including plenty of travel agencies, it's good business.

"One of ours," he answers, "GreenHall Estates, it's an international company, quite successful actually." His expression is pleased, as if he's so proud of his girlfriends achievements - much like I am with Odette, although she's not my girlfriend, but I want her to be...I battle internally before shaking my head and returning to reality.

"Well that's great. She seems really good at what she does, I'm happy for her."

"She is. Thanks man, I'll let her know you said that, she'll be so pleased." His response is genuine and grateful and I can't help but feel happy for him, he's found someone that he really loves out of the billions of people in the world - it's funny isn't it, love, how with one person you can just feel it. It will always astound me how strong love can be.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" I ask, finishing my sandwich and taking a simple sip of nicely cooled water.

"Well you said before that you were going to watch a film, that sounds good to me." He shrugs, also finishing up his sandwich and following me to the bin to throw away our empty packaging.

"Great, do you want to come straight after work or go home first?" I internally beg that it's the latter, it's not that I don't want to see Elliot it's just that if I'm spending the night watching movies with him and having a 'lad night' then I want to see Odette beforehand, I don't think I could handle going a day without her - I did the few days before Evelyn left and that was bad enough, almost painful even.

"I'll go home first and change. I always feel grimy after being here." My subconscious cheers at his decision and partly agrees. I'm not the only one that Rachel has her eye on, to be honest she has her eyes on most of the male gender in the office.

"Alright mate, well we better get back before Margaret has our head. She looks more stressed today than usual." We laugh momentarily and head back to the glass fort that is our office building, the sun shining off the ten stories and almost blinding us as we cross the road.

The third floor is quiet and everyone seems to be concentrating a lot harder than usual, there's not much laughter or general chit-chat for that matter. Elliot and I sense the change in atmosphere immediately, "Freya, what's happened?" I mumble to another intern that I've grown to know, she turns and lowers her voice to a whisper.

"Margaret just literally blew up in front of everyone. Shouting and hollering from the top of her voice, scared the shit out of us!" My mind begins to worry, she must be more stressed than we thought - yes she can be a bit of a grump at times but I don't think she'd ever shout at anyone, especially not in public anyway.

I decide to fetch some tea and a shortbread biscuit for Margaret, I know what it's like to be completely stressed and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. After knocking vulnerably on her office door and handing her the items, her shoulders seem to relax and she takes a small breath with a genuine 'thank you'. I leave with a small nod, only to almost crash into the man from earlier.

The one from the printer, he didn't tell me his name but I recognise his face; the winkled hands, the overused walking stick, the silver hair - it's definitely him. "Hello Harry," he smiles, recognising me also.

"Hello sir, sorry about that, I was just handing my boss some tea and a biscuit." His features frown and he looks more professional.

"Did she ask you to do that?" He asks skeptically.

"No, no sir. She looked extremely stressed so I thought it might help. I don't know. I just don't like seeing anyone unhappy that's all." His expression seems to soften at my slight panic and I hastily leave before he can reply. How embarrassing, I don't even know this man and yet I'm telling him that I don't like people unhappy? He probably thinks I'm bonkers!

After work, I say a small goodbye to Freya and Elliot before heading out to the car. This has got to be my favourite part of the day, being able to go home and just relax; the clock reads six and the car ride takes about fifteen - Elliot and I both agreed that eight would be a good time to start our film, which means I have two hours to myself. Oh what to do...

The apartment car park is packed signalling that the majority of occupants must be home; all of the lads' cars are there as well as Odette's - even though she rarely uses it, walking is one of her favourite ways to relax so she often substitutes driving for walking. I briskly jog into my apartment and take a quick shower before making my way across the hall, it smells like Odette's doing some cooking because my olfactory sense is buzzing with excitement.

I press the doorbell and wait, within minutes Odette opens the door with oven mitts on and a large welcoming smile, the warmth of the apartment hits me like a brick wall and I'm overwhelmed by the strong cooking smell. "What are you making?" I ask in interest, my large hand working its way gently around her waist.

'Navarin D'Agneau with Gougères' she replies simply, as if I'd know exactly what that is. My expression must show one of confusion because she giggles cutely, oh will I ever get used to that beautify sound. 'They are French dishes, I'm writing about them in my blog and giving my readers the best recipes.'

"Ahh," my head bows in understanding, glancing at the pot containing what looks like a beef stew with an assortment of spring vegetables, and by the open white wine bottle to the side I assume she's put some of that in too. "Have you only made one portion?" I ask cheekily and she nudges me back in return, that smile never fading from her lips. She looks so happy.

Odette's arms slither around my waist and she blushes at her own actions - however I'm quite proud of myself that I've made her this comfortable, and I'm even prouder of Odette for embracing those short bursts of confidence that she occasionally has. "How was works?" I say plurally knowing that she's at least been to two of her jobs today, and that she's technically doing the third one now.

My joke doesn't go unnoticed, 'They were great, thank you. How was your work?' Her arms tighten around me and she rests her head on my chest - the light breaths that escape from her lips sending a chill up my arm as I embrace her fully.

"The usual really. I'm having a friend over tonight but not until later, I wanted to see you first." And there's that crimson blush again, her nose nuzzles further into my chest from embarrassment and I can't help but chuckle, this beautiful woman right here in front of me, I still can't believe I have her all to myself.

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So what do you thinks going to happen later in the book? Leave a comment and let me know :D

Thanks for reading guys! Hope you like it :)

- Pianogirl56