1 1: ...to be the wife of an aspiring CEO

Nova brushed her wavy dark brown hair and put it in a low ponytail, to be the future wife of an aspiring CEO, there were habits she had to cultivate. The most important was always looking put together no matter the occasion.

She stared at the emerald green of her linen dress in the mirror and the cheap but stylish pearl earrings that pulled the look together and gave herself a bright smile, straightening her shoulders in preparation.

Nova was on her way to give her boyfriend, Levi, his lunch at work and she always made sure to put effort into her dressing although she didn't have much. This wasn't because she was poor but rather because she gave all her earnings and savings to Levi as a startup for his tech company, it was why she was forced to manage cheap knock-off jewelry and thrift clothes.

She didn't mind though, she loved Levi and would give him everything so that he could achieve his dreams. Even if that meant quitting her job so that she could handle everything else while he focused on juggling a job and laying the foundation blocks for his company.

She called a cab and gave Levi's work address to the cab driver before getting in. She had been to the headquarters of Reyes Media a lot of times because Levi liked her bringing his lunch over.

The company's headquarters was huge and it had a lot of branches all over the country. Nova was proud of her boyfriend for working in such an elite company but she was even prouder of him for taking the risk to start something for himself.

She thanked the cab driver and paid him, her black heels taking her through the gates and the security. She was already a familiar face to them and they were always nice to her. She stepped into the massive lobby, her eyes taking a moment to adjust from the brightness outside before she walked over to the counter.

"Hi," She smiled at the receptionist, her voice level although being at the company always made her anxious, her slender fingers holding tightly to the fancy bag that held her boyfriend's meal.

"Here to see Mr. Thorne, right?" The friendly receptionist returned her smile, handing her a visitor's pass that allowed her to move freely through the building.

"Yes and thank you," She took the tag and wore it over her neck before heading for the elevator. She already knew where Levi's office was so she didn't need to ask - it was on the fourth floor, the left wing.

She walked with purpose to one of the three elevators and just as she reached out to push the button, it opened up to reveal the very last person she expected to see.

Nova nearly tripped over her tacky heels at the sight of Mr. Reyes, her eyes going wide in alarm. She just silently bowed to him in greeting and hurried in, frantically pressing the buttons in a panic.

Roan Reyes was a literally force of nature, he walked with the aura of a man who knew his worth and as someone who was worth billions of dollars, Roan Reyes was worth very much. He had black hair which was always slicked back, his smoky grey eyes intimidating.

Nova had only seen him in screens and from a distance from how often she frequented his headquarters but this was the first time she was bumping into him in person, so she was rightfully nervous. So she didn't think about her actions, not until the elevator doors closed while the CEO was yet to get off.

Nova just looked up at him with frozen deer eyes as the elevator started to go up, she had trapped Mr. Reyes in the elevator with her. "I-I'm so so sorry," She apologized frantically, pushing even more buttons to get the elevator to stop, nearly dropping her bag in the process.

She actually dropped it when Mr. Reyes caught her wrist, his heavy rings cold against her skin. "Breathe," His raspy voice was like a waft of cool air, "It's fine, I just remembered that I have something to attend to on the fourth floor."

Nova clutched her hand to her chest when he let her go, certain that he had only said that to be nice, she just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. "I'm really sorry once again," She murmured, awkwardly picking up her bag.

Mr. Reyes had an amused expression on his handsome face, "A visitor, huh?" He pointed out.

She looked up at him now, worried that Levi would bear the brunt of her failure, "Y-Yes," She stuttered, her voice failing her whenever she looked at him.

The elevator opened right then much to her relief and he walked out without a second word. Nova stared speechlessly at his broad back until the elevator doors started to close and she had to rush out on unsteady legs.

She had to pause and scold herself at that point, she usually wasn't this much of a hot mess but today just wasn't her day. Mr. Reyes had already disappeared around a corner and Nova couldn't help but think about how that might be the only chance she would ever get to speak to the CEO… and she blew it!

That was a chance to try and build some kind of connection that would probably favor Levi in the future but she couldn't even get a full sentence out. If she was going to be the wife of a CEO, she still needed to put in a lot of work.

After giving herself a quick break, she straightened up and put that fake confident smile on her face before walking down the hallway. Levi worked in the IT division, she just had to walk over to his table, say hi to him, hand him his lunch, and then leave. It was easy, she could definitely do this.