Chapter Text
3rd Person POV
It was another busy day for Sphene Alexandrox XIV, the CEO of the Alexandros Foundation. Today however had the added stress of holding a fundraiser for investors to help fund a local not-for-profit hospital at a venue owned by the foundation. Sphene was a very benevolent person with her company and generational wealth, coming from a family that was like royalty to the people of Alexandria as her family always had a strong sense of duty to the people. Sphene was no different as along with being the CEO of the largest tech company in Alexandria, leading the way in technological advancements with electrope that affected the entire star, she focused on sustainability, and investing back into the people to improve their quality of life; this has resulted in many Alexandrians affectionately referring to her as Queen Sphene. The fundraiser was going well but Sphene was being pulled in every which way constantly being asked questions and hearing peoples offers for a corporate partnership, however Sphene could tell many of the guests' fanned interest in truly helping the people that needed the hospital, in truth they wanted something out of her company. But Sphene knew how to play the game and put on a mask of slight nativity for the sake of appearances and ensuring the event goes smoothly. But the day was very chaotic to say the least. Finally finding a moment of reprieve, Sphene was able to catch her breath behind the stage, she dusted off her dress, it was one she loved, it was a simple yet elegant dress colored white and yellow.
“Finally a moment to take a breath.” Sphene thought to herself.
“Excuse me, miss.” A voice said.
“I suppose it was but my final fantasy that I would get a second to catch my breath tonight.” Sphene thought and quickly changed her face from a tired one to a happy one, she turned around and she met with the sight of a man in a casual outfit, he wore a black t-shirt, a blue and white button up with the shelves rolled up, jeans and sneakers, he stood out in a night of formal wear. He had a lanyard with a badge that said staff on it and a utility belt around his waist looking at her. “Y-es?” She was slightly taken aback as his appearance did not match the guest, and other employees, she had thought he was another guest coming to talk.
“I need to get to that." He said.
“Oh-wha-”
“Behind you.”
“Oh! I am sorry.” Sphene quickly stepped aside as she realized she was standing in front of a bunch of sound equipment, it then dawned on her there were issues with them earlier.
“No worries.” The man knelt down and began working diligently while Sphene observed him.
“I had forgotten the sound equipment went out … given everything going on.”
“It’s alright, that's why I am here.”
“W-well, um, don’t mind me, just need a moment.” Sphene said, holding back a yawn.
“From all that.” The man said with his head gesturing beyond the stage.
“Y-yes.”
“Seems a little bit suffocating.”
“Well … maybe a little, but it is good to see such a turn out.”
“Yeah, you're probably right, that is assuming they are here to actually invest, even rich people can’t resist the allure of free food and drinks. I am sure Sphene is happy.”
This caught Sphene off guard.
“Does he not know me? His badge says staff. Is he some sort of corporate saboteur? Sphene thought to herself
“Do you know Sphene?”
“Not really, heard she is some sort of corporate big shot, apparently according to the people of Alexandria she is likened to a true Queen and idyllic royalty, an actually benevolent billionaire."
“W-well I am sure those people are just being nice … you're not from around here … are you?”
“N-aw” The man just finished implementing a fix job on the malfunctioning speaker and let out a sigh as he looked at what was next. “I just moved here not too long ago, the Alexandros Foundation was looking for maintenance workers, turns out the reason why I was hired so fast was apparently because half the team got poached, and this thing was coming up.”
“That’s right, Preservation somehow convinced a lot of the maintenance staff, and R&D team to leave and join them.”
The man got up and gave her a smile. “Oh, my apologies, I was rude for not introducing myself, name’s Meteor.”
“Garnet.” Sphene lied to Meteor.
“Nice to meet you.”
They talked while Meteor fixed the other equipment. Then Meteor noticed the tired sigh Sphene gave.
“You okay Garnet? Looks like you could use a drink … as in water or an actually quiet space. It an’t perfect but the little outdoor area near the bar is relatively quiet. ” Meteor said as he turned his attention back to fixing.
“I’m okay, it's just … well ….” Sphene thought for a second “I already lied about my name … perhaps this way I know I will be having a genuine conversation, not one where I must determine if they are just trying to use me or my company to their benefit. What is the harm of just making small talk … besides he did ask.” Sphene cleared her throat “It’s a bit difficult out there, I have to project an image and smile and nod knowing full well their smiles and kind words could just be attempts to get something out of us. But as much as I want to call out those that are two faced, I know there are those that are relying on me to smile and nod, and help brokerage deals. Every potential deal could mean pushing my morals aside.” Sphene let out a tired sigh as she leaned against a part of a scaffolding.
“Hm, that does sound like a headache … But don’t let it get to you, if life has taught me one thing, it’s that those with power are seldom benevolent or have care for their fellow man beyond what they can give them, from what I gather you guys at least try your best. People like those you describe have whole textbooks on how to get what you want out of them and I am sure our teams will find a way to use their money to help the people.” Meteor paused as he looked at the equipment to figure out what to do next. “What matters is you stick to your morals, and what you believe, live life with the thought that at the end of the day you will be able to live with yourself and your choices.” He took a breath and as he finished rewiring and now checking his lap-tomb that was linked to insure everything was running smoothly. “I understand, if life were so simple … but I am sure whatever potential deals you make or set in motion, you and your team can find a way to ensure it’s the people of Alexandria that will benefit the most, I haven’t been here too long but you guys do good work from what I gather.”
Sphene hung onto his words, although similar to something she would hear in a self help book, hearing if from him felt … nice, it was simple but she can tell he was genuinely trying to comfort her.
“Well thank you, Meteor. Do you write the advice in fortune cookies?” Sphene with a slight teasing chuckle.
“Hmm, I haven't thought about that career path yet, but maybe I’ll give it a try.” Meteor with a laugh.
The two light laughs died down to a comfortable silence as Meteor was getting the equipment ready. The sound of the crowd behind the banner could be heard, Sphene overheard a few questions on where she was, she felt she should go back out there, but she was enjoying this conversation with Meteor who somehow avoided learning of what the CEO of the company he is working for looked like.
“So Garnet, what’s your role? Marketing? Logistics? Professional gala sufferer?” Meteor asked, last one being a small joke, to which Sphene gave a playful smile and laugh.
“In a sense.” Sphene said trying to play coy, as she feared he might start acting differently if he found out who she was. “I do logistics here.”
“I see … I have a friend that does logistics. The poor guy tells me he spends most of his day either looking at spread sheets or maps. My heart goes out to you.”
“Thanks.” Sphene smiled at him, “I am sure maintenance work has its own stressors.”
“Sure it does, I’m not sure I could handle being in an office all day, I don’t think I am cut out for it, you are stronger than I.” Sphene chuckled, she got a little closer to him as she was enjoying the conversation.
The two spoke on small things like the food at the gala, the music, the clothes people were wearing, or things they could overhear, like a man clearly fanning interest in the foundations as he kept on trying to sell employees on a pitch for partnership with his security company
“By the way, where is Sphene? I know I could just look her up, but I kinda want to see the big boss in person first.” Meteor asked.
“Around, I am sure you will see her eventually.”
“I keep so much about her … a lot of praise … I do feel bad for the poor lady though.”
“W-why?”
“I see a lot of people adore her but I’ve also overheard many praise her one minute, but then among their friends comment on her as one group said “goodie two-shoes nature”, that was the most recent thing I’ve heard, sounds like a nightmare navigating all that.”
“Tell me about it.” Sphene said underneath her breath.
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
“The boss sounds like a nice lady, not many people in her position do the things with her wealth that she is doing.”
“Well, I will let her know you said that.”
“Heh, no need I doubt she would care anyways.” Meteor then completed the job. “Alright all done here. Can’t wait to hit the hay my bed is calling my name.”
“Done? You are leaving for the night?” Sphene looked at her watch, it was only eight post morning, and the gala was until ten.
“Yeah, I've been here since four in the morning. Given the low staff they asked me to come in early … only to ask me to stay late … fun first day I suppose.” Meteor let out a yawn and began stretching his tied bones a little.
It puzzled and amazed her that he had somehow missed her this entire time, the a ping of guilt hit her, she was so caught up in other duties she did not approve of an increase in budget to hire more staff or even bring on temps, which caused Meteor to start working even before she did.
“He had not even been to the head office yet, and was asked to work this event.” Sphene thought to herself.
Sphene observed his features. He had brown hair, it was combed down or he did not bother to style it, he had stubble and light blue eyes. Sphene then took note of his tone and muscular physique, even given his profession he was very well built.
“Well, I’ll get out of your hair, feel free to chill her a bit more, just be careful of the cords on the ground.” Meteor said.
“I rather enjoyed our conversion, thank you Meteor.” Sphene gave Meteor a thankful smile. “I am sorry your first day was a chaotic one”
“No reason to be sorry, it is what it is, besides it’s not like you’re the one that poached half the team.”
“We'll hope to see you in the office.” Sphene smiles, hoping that he will be okay with her lying about her identity, as he is bound to find out soon.
“Probably, I’ll be in next week for a proper on-boarding, perhaps we'll cross paths while I am fixing the toilets." Meteor smirked. “Take it easy Garnet.”
“You too Meteor.”
Meteor picked up his tools and walked off, she watched him go into the back of the building towards the maintenance room. It was too bad, she had a speech at twenty, she wanted to keep talking to him but duty calls … well for her at least since he is off the clock now. Sphene took a deep breath and walked back out into the crowd.
As the days went by, Sphene was happy that the gala was a success but her duty was unyielding as she got back to working on a multitude of projects. While in her office while sipping a cup of coffee she had twenty minutes to take a break. Sphene had decided to check the employee itinerary and tried to look for Meteor but could not find anyone with his name, as she checked the maintenance staff she had found him by recognizing his face in the employee ID photos.
“There you are.” Sphene said to herself as she opened his profile, as his profile opened his real name was displayed. “Hiroshi? Why did you say your name was Meteor?” Sphene thought to herself just then she received a call from Shale, her infrastructure officer and took it, closing the tab and getting back to work.
By the end of the day, Sphene had a headache as more of the maintenance department left, according to their statement’s it was due to a lack of funding and over work. Sphene understood their anger, she tried her best to help all her departments but the maintenance department was notoriously overworked at headquarters, and it did not help that her board approved of a motion that cut their funding as more needed to be put into a new project. What was left of the maintenance department was gathered in a conference room, with their numbers small enough to use one of the smaller rooms. Sphene had so much on her plate that did not cross her mind that she will be seeing Meteor in person for the first time at the office. As she opened the door with HR representative Nostalgia, and maintenance department head Cahciua she took a deep breath and looked at her staff. But she was stunned as not only was Meteor was there but it was just him.
“Wh-wha, where is everyone?” Cahciua said.
“Hiroshi, where did everyone go?” Asked Nostalgia.
Sphene was at a loss for words, not only did she forget Meteor would be here but at the lack of other employees.
“Um … hi, they wanted me to give this to you …” Meteor got up and from the office chair he was at and handed them the note.
Sphene took it while exchanging a glance with Meteor whose expression was neutral. Sphene read the note with the other two looking over her shoulder to read it as well. The note spoke of mass fatigue in the whole department claiming they had enough of it, it made note that the fault was not on Cahciua’s management but rather the company culture as a whole not respecting them. A wave of shame hit Sphene, she knew of their heavy work load but not this disrespect.
“W-we have to issue an apology at once! We need them back, I need to draft an email or speech addressing the issue!” Sphene was panicked given the intense stress of this and of everything else on her plate.
“W-woah their boss, I am sure you do, but take a deep breath, take this one step at a time.” Meteor said, trying to comfort Sphene.
“Of course my apologies.” Sphene nodded and recomposed herself.
“No need for apologies, this is a very unfortunate situation.”
“Are you leaving too?” Sphene asked.
“No, while the work load is already … a lot, pizza is expensive and won’t pay for itself.” Meteor tried to add some humor to bring levity to the situation, Sphene had a slight smile on her face.
“Thank you Meteor.”
“Of course.”
“I guess we’ve a lot of work to do.” Sphene said to Nostalgia.
“Yes, we do.” Nostalgia responded.
“My work phone has been vibrating this whole time, I guess we got our work cut out for us, eh?” Meteor said with a tired smile at Cahciua.
“We do, while get it done … thank you for staying.” Cahciua said, Meteor just nodded and smiled at her.
As the four were leaving the room, Sphene and Meteor exchanged a look and Sphene stopped Meteor for a second.
“Well talk about the night at the gala later … Hiroshi” Sphene said in a hushed tone with a slight smirk as he too hid his real name for whatever reason.
“Sure … Garnet.” Meteor said with a teasing smile.
The two then went their separate ways, unknown to them mixed in with the stress of their jobs, was now a forming rumor as some employees overheard only what Sphene had said to the new guy Meteor.