Today I started at Gideon Digital, the biggest digital marketing company in the country. They also dealt in other various forms of art and antiquities which is one reason I wanted to work there so badly. I loved the history behind the art. Something about imagining the ancient societies and people who created these priceless pieces was fascinating. Their creativity and ingenuity were truly astounding.

I always fantasized about working for the brilliant businessman, Alexander Gideon. He was a world-renowned Artist and Adventurer. Gideon Digital offered benefits that were unmatched by any other company in the industry and the employee retention rate told me he was a great boss to work for. He was only 29, which is 3 years older than me, and already the CEO and founder of a major company. I had always been fascinated by his work. I could probably identify his pieces even if it was my first time seeing it. His style was very unique and payed homage most heavily to the impressionist era. I have worked for a few companies before but none of them turned out to be a good fit. I really wanted to work here. I'd looked at open positions here over and over again without actually applying but last Friday on a whim I decided to drop off my resume and portfolio. I didn't expect to get a call back at all so I was utterly shocked when my phone rang Sunday morning. It was a nice woman named Talia asking if I could come in the next morning for an interview. I barely had time to tell my roommate and best friend, Lily, about it because she was headed to work on Sunday shortly after I got the call. I stayed in my room planning my outfit and gathering anything I might need. I was so nervous I could hardly sleep and when I did sleep I dreamt of golden sunlight seeping through a mossy wooded area. There was a silhouette of a man standing there with his back was to me. I noticed he was holding a sword with an inscription on it. The handle had a single blue jewel on it that shown in the sun. I woke with a start to the sound of my alarm after that so I didn't get to see who he was.

I walked into the lobby for my interview this morning still thinking of my dream while I waited to be called in. I had barely sat down when I heard my name.

"You must be Penelope, it's a pleasure to meet you!" The man who greeted me stuck out his hand to shake mine as I stood to greet him.

"I am Nathaniel, the VP of this lovely place I like to call my second home." He said as he gestured to the building.

I was in such disbelief that Nathaniel Augustus was the one conducting the interview. I knew his work too. His photographs have been featured in National Geographic on countless occasions. They never disappointed.

"Hi, yes it's great to meet you as well. I am a fan of your work. You get amazing shots of nature." I said to him, and he smiled.

"Thank you, I enjoy that part of my job very much. Would you follow me please?" He said taking me to an office nearby.

I took the seat in front of the desk prepared to answer anything he asked but to my surprise he hired me on the spot saying Mr. Gideon looked through my resume and portfolio himself and told him to hire me when I came for my interview today. 'Oh my God! Alexander Gideon not only saw my work but liked it!!!' Internally I'm screaming in excitement, shock and fear but I managed to keep my cool on the outside. If I hadn't emptied my bladder before this interview, I would have peed myself in excitement.

"So, I'm officially hired then?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Miss Reynolds, welcome to the team!" Nathaniel said with an enthusiastic smile. "I saw your work as well and I am very impressed. I can't wait to see what you create."

I just had a famous photographer directly compliment my work and all I could do was stare at him stunned because I couldn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth. Finally, my brain connected with my mouth again.

"Thank you, Mr. Augustus. I will do my best. I've wanted to work here for years so this is a dream come true." I managed to say without embarrassing myself too much.

He laughed, "Please don't be so formal with me, call me Nate. Yes, I am your boss, but that title also comes with the job of guiding and helping you develop as an artist yourself. Plus, being called Mister weirds me out. I'm not even 30. I am glad to hear you're excited about working here though." He said with a grin.

I think Nate and I are going to get along great. He was already making it easy for me to forget he was a celebrity in the art world because he was so down to Earth.

I laughed, "Okay Nate, I guess now that I'm hired what do I do next?"

He looked at me with an excited expression. "Well, this isn't a normal occurrence when hiring someone, so Mr. Gideon wanted me to bring you to his office after we get the paperwork from HR squared away."

My mouth dropped open; I could hold it in no longer. "You mean I'm going to meet Mr. Gideon today?!" I squeaked out.

He had a sparkle in his eyes that told me he was enjoying this. I can't say I blame him; he probably gets bored with all the fake people he has to deal with. I am the opposite of that. I am honest to a fault, and I've always been that way. Growing up, people would avoid me because they thought I was weird. For the most part unless I was just meeting someone for the first time, I always said what was on my mind instead of pretending to go through the niceties of small talk. Life is too short to have boring conversations and waste time on people you didn't really want to be around.

"Yep! I know it's a lot to take in when you thought you were just coming in for an interview." He handed me a stack of paper and a pen. "Here is the new employee paperwork that was drafted up for you. Is the salary to your liking?"

I looked over the paper and my eyes widened when I saw it was double what an experienced design artist normally makes.

I smiled, "Yes, it's perfect." I responded.

It took me about 15 minutes to finish the paperwork. I handed it to Nate, and he got up gesturing to the door.

"Great, be sure to read the employee handbook at home this evening. Now that that's all squared away, let me show you to Alexander's office." He said.

I got up, took a deep breath and followed him, 'Okay Penelope, you can do this! Sure, he's a super famous, rich, handsome artist and businessman but he's just a person!' I said to myself as we were walking. Sooner than what I was prepared for we were coming up on his door. I swallowed seeing the bold letters that read "Alexander Gideon, CEO." 'Welp, here we go. Please be normal Penelope. You can do this!' I pleaded with my brain trying to give myself a pep talk and pinched myself to make sure this was happening.

When his secretary saw us, she smiled genuinely and said, "Good morning, Nate, please go on in. He's waiting for you all. I'm Talia by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you in person Miss Reynolds." She stood and stuck out her hand to me.

I smiled and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Talia. I look forward to working with you. Please, call me Penelope." I said. She returned my smile before gesturing us toward the door.

Everyone was so nice here. We entered Alexander's office and what I saw made my heartbeat uneven. He was concentrating so hard on his computer that he didn't hear us at first. His raven hair was disheveled like he'd run his hands through it in frustration, but it was sexy especially with his striking emerald eyes. His suit jacket was on the back of his chair, the first two buttons were undone on his shirt, and it fit him so perfectly showing his muscular physique. I couldn't stop staring so when Nate cleared his throat and Alexander looked up directly at me, we both startled. Him at not hearing us come in and me for getting caught ogling him. I was mortified. I looked away immediately and turned scarlet all the way to my ears. 

Alexander started laughing, "I'm sorry, you all caught me off guard, I was so wrapped up in my work. You must be Miss Reynolds, I'm Alexander Gideon. I'm so happy to have you as a part of our team." He said drawing my attention back to him. His smile was warm, and his eyes were mesmerizing both of which played havoc on my heart.

He got up to shake my hand. I blushed at his touch and was taken aback at the fiery, intense look in his eyes. I quickly removed my hand from his looking at the floor again and clearing my throat before looking back up.

I smiled shyly, "Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr. Gideon."

Just like Nate he laughed, "Please call me Alexander, around here we like to be on an equal level and approachable. For to err is human, to forgive is divine." He said quoting his namesake, Alexander Pope.

Wow, this man just quoted poetry. I should have expected it though since art is what he's known for. I'd never wanted to get to know any of my previous bosses well enough to be on a first name basis, but he was different. I knew we had common interests and he was close to my age.

"Okay, you all may call me Penelope then." I said feeling a bit out of sorts.

Alexander smiled, "It's settled. Nate you may go now. I have a special project for Penelope, so I'll be briefing her on it and showing her around."

I loved the sound of my name coming out of his mouth. I think even if I were getting reprimanded by him, I'd still enjoy it. I pushed the thought aside. What in the hell was wrong with me today?

Nate nodded, "It was wonderful to meet you, Penelope. I'll see you around."

With that he turned to leave and was gone within seconds. I was now alone with the most handsome man I'd ever seen who also happened to be my new boss. It was intimidating being in the room with someone so young and accomplished. I hoped I could live up to their expectations. They'd seen my work and seemed to think I have what it takes to work here. This should be comforting but my self doubt had my stomach in knots.