Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Annabelle's POV

A tall man with sharp handsome features and jet black hair sat at the desk reviewing some papers. He would be around 29-30 years of age. He looked up when we entered, his chocolate brown eyes staring at me, without blinking.

"Sir, Annabelle Carter is here," informed Cassandra.

"Thank you, Cassandra. You may return to the reception," said Mr. Warner. Cassandra nodded and left to return to her front desk.

"Good morning sir, " I said courteously.

"Please have a seat, Ms. Carter. I am Michael Warner, partner, and center manager here. Have you gone through the email we sent you?" Mr. Warner asked, opening his drawer and taking out some papers.

"Yes sir," I answered as I sat down in front of his desk. His desk was cluttered with papers, a laptop, and lots of important-looking files. How he found things through all this mess, he only knew.

He looked up and gave me the papers he drew out from his drawer. I took them from him.

"This is an employment contract. Some general rules and guidelines for all employees to follow. Please go through and sign." He said again looking me in the eyes.

As I read the contract I could sense Mr. Warner's eyes on me. I read and signed the paper and looked up. He was still watching me. Why was he staring? Was there something on my face? I felt a little uncomfortable with his constant staring.

"When do I start, sir?" I asked him.

"You can start from today. You need to meet Harry Lewis, he's the coordinator here. He will schedule your classes. Come, I will take you to him," He said standing up to his full height of 6ft 1 inch. I too stood up to follow him out. We went out of his office. He walked into the staff room and I followed him inside.

The staff room was relatively empty. Maybe all were busy in the studios taking classes. There were two girls of my age giggling away looking at a phone. A man with curly blonde hair stood with his back to them, checking some schedules that were fixed on the wall. Another woman with long black shoulder-length hair, maybe in her mid-twenties sat at a desk doing some paperwork. The room was large with lots of seating arrangements and desks and a changing station with personal drawers and two washrooms in the corner.

As we entered, the girls stopped giggling and eyed Mr. Warner with respect and love-struck eyes. Then they eyed me with malice in their eyes. I just ignored them. The man turned around and looked at me, his dark green eyes taking in my appearance.

"Harry, meet Annabelle Carter. She is joining us today as a senior dance instructor. Please schedule the classes for her and show me when you are done," Mr. Warner instructed.

Then frowning at the two girls he spoke in a seriously cold voice, "Ms. Cooper and Ms. Thompson, please maintain decorum. Don't you have classes now in 5 minutes? "

"Yes sir, we were leaving," One of them said, glaring at me as she left. It was strange. What did I do? The other also left quietly after giving me a death glare. I internally rolled my eyes at their silly behavior. I didn't like such bitchy behavior and I never indulged in such things myself.

Mr. Warner gave me a nod, "If you have any queries, feel free to ask me, Harry or Cassandra, at the reception," He said with a small smile and I nodded. He walked towards the door and left for his office. Everyone visibly relaxed once he left.

"What was that? He never entered our staff room," said the other woman to Harry.

Harry grinned at her. "Maybe it's her magic working upon Warner," he suggested looking my way. I blushed at his cheeky retort. As if, it was true. I just met the man today and he was my boss for God's sake. Now I realized the reason why those girls were giving me death stares. They might have thought that I was interested in Mr. Warner just like they were.

"I don't think so. I just met him today and he's my employer," I corrected him but he just grinned at me.

He called me to a desk and sat down indicating the chair beside him. I sat down and we scheduled my classes together. Harry was a very friendly, jovial, and happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I liked him immediately.

The woman at the other desk turned and smiled, extending her hand towards me, her jet black eyes twinkling as she said, "Hi, I'm Sandy. Welcome to our institute."

"Thanks, I'm Anna, " I smiled back at her. She too seemed friendly and nice.

"You look too young to be a senior dance instructor," she commented and I smiled at the compliment.

"I started learning at a very young age," I answered and she nodded.

"I guessed as much. I teach the middle level. Did you meet Cassandra? I'm her cousin, " she said and I took in the information. They didn't look alike at all. Maybe they were distant cousins.

"Anna, where were you for so long?" Harry asked, grinning at me. I couldn't be sure I heard him correctly.

"Excuse me?" I was clueless as to what he meant by what he said. Was he flirting with me?

"I'd been hunting for a girlfriend for the last 5 years and today I met her," He grinned, trying to be extra flirty.

"Does it always work?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Why? Is it working on you?" He grinned mischievously. I gave him a lopsided smile.

"Nope. I'm already taken, for your information," I answered thinking about Stefan.

"Oh, my bad," He said, touching his heart and feigning a heartbreak.

"We're done with the schedule, let's go to Warner and show him," he said, shifting his chair and getting up. I too followed him.