Gabriella Montez entered the building of the major law firm called: Jensen & Co. She walked into the office where three desks were located. It was a beautiful office with desks made of- "Mahogany." A man's voice rang out as she turned around, startled. She was met with a pair of piercing blue eyes. She looked at the man's full profile, seeing that he had jet black hair and only towered a few inches over her. "They're made of mahogany if you were wondering." he smiled. Even his smile was just as marvelous as the rest of him. He was wearing a light grey business suit, practical white long-sleeved shirt, and a red tie. Gabriella looked at the tie and her immediate thought was that it wasn't his color.
The man pulled a hand out of his pockets and held it out to her. "Ethan Jensen." Ethan smiled as she reached out and shook his hand. Gabriella recognized the last name and figured that he owned the company. "Gabriella-"
"Montez." Ethan finished for her as they shook hands. "I read your resume. Very impressive I must say. I'm glad I could finally work with you. Let me give you a tour." He pulled his hand away and showed her in the direction of the door. Gabriella just nodded as he opened the door for her and walked out of the office. While they walked down the hallway, Ethan explained to her all the different types of rooms throughout the building. "We will be working with different kinds of cases." he said and listed all the range of cases that they come across. We arrived back in front of the entrance of his office. "If you need me, I'll be here in my office. It was nice meeting Miss Montez." With that being said, he entered his office and the door closed behind him.
Gabriella just stood in awe after he entered his office. His smooth-talking and good looks overwhelmed her. She simply shook her head, trying to get the slightly disturbing image out of her mind. She couldn't deal with any attachments other than Troy. She went back into her office and saw two new faces. "I'm Alexa Carlton and this is Josh Bradley." Alexa Carlton was a red-head with bright green eyes and light freckles on her face. Josh Bradley was a blonde haired man with bright blue eyes, reminding Gabriella of her best friend, Ryan. "Gabriella Montez." Gabriella smiled, shaking hands with both Alexa and Josh.
"Hope you didn't run into Ethan Jensen." Josh said. Gabriella didn't say a word and the other two knew that it was too late. "He is bad news. Trust me." Alexa said. Gabriella didn't want to question Alexa just yet about Ethan, but eventually she was going to have to later. Throughout the rest of the day, Gabriella had worked through tons of paperwork. It was definitely a load, but she managed to get through most of them. They had rolled right into lunch and before she knew it, Alexa and Josh were asking her if she'd like to get lunch with them. Gabriella agreed and walked out of the office, then to the lounge.
"He's not going to be a problem." Gabriella said, sitting down at the table with her colleagues. "I have a boyfriend." After work, Gabriella drove to the apartment that she shared with Troy Bolton. Troy was working for a business company, instead of being a basketball coach like his dad. "Hey babe, how was your first day?" Troy asked, kissing her on the lips. She kissed him back and smiled, kissing him back. "It wasn't too bad." she replied, but she knew what she was diving into. "How about you?"
He shrugged, "Same." Gabriella and Troy have been living in California for five years. Even though their friends weren't living in the same state as they were, they all still kept in contact with each other. "Let's go out for dinner." he smiled. Gabriella was just about to ask for what the occasion was until her phone began to ring. She picked up and answered, "Hello?"
"Hey Gabs, it's Kelsi." Kelsi Nielsen had been staying in New York with Ryan Evans. They also had shared an apartment together. "Hey Kels. What's up?" Gabriella asked her best friend, walking out to Troy's car. "Ryan and I are coming out to see you guys this weekend. Do you have any plans?" Kelsi asked. Gabriella glanced over at Troy after she got in the car and buckled herself in. "No, no plans at all. I'm glad you two are coming out see us. We really miss you guys. Tell Ry I say hi." Gabriella said. The two girls talked for another few minutes before hanging up. Gabriella told Troy that Kelsi had called mentioning that she and Ryan were going to come visit for the weekend. Troy parked his car in front of the restaurant and they went inside. They were seated at a table. The two looked over the menus, seeing that everything was reasonably priced. They ordered the food and drinks, then immersed into conversation about their first day of work.
. . .
The next morning, Troy arrived at work and sat down in his cubicle. Just like everyone else, he had to start from the bottom and make his way to the top. "Hey Troy, can you do me a favor?" Loraine Taylor was Troy's boss. She had long curly blonde hair and hazel eyes. Troy nodded, "Yeah sure." Loraine smiled and handed him a folder, telling him to copy the papers that had a red tab on them and shred those with the green tab. "Hope that's simple enough for you." she added. Troy took the folder from her and went into the copy room. He did the task that he was told and then dropped the folder off on her desk. "Anything else you need me to do Ms. Taylor?" he asked her before he walked out of her office. Loraine looked up from her paperwork and smiled, "I will page you if I need you. Thank you." Troy smiled and gave a small nod, then left her office.
Until lunch, Troy had been running errands for Loraine but he didn't mind. Loraine was happy for someone who could be so willing to do everything when asked. She never had an employee so loyal before. Finally it was their lunch break and Troy was on his way to the lounge when he heard Loraine call out his name. "Come join me for lunch. We need to talk about your… priorities." Loraine had grown a liking to Troy, even though it was his second day at work. Troy glanced over at the friends he had made and then looked back at her. "Yes ma'am." he said, then followed her out to the parking garage. They got in her car and drove to the nearest cafe. They sat down at a table outside the cafe. "Don't call me ma'am or Ms. Taylor. Call me Loraine." she said.
"I have a feeling that you didn't ask me to join you for lunch to talk about my priorities." Troy said.
"You're most certainly correct. I didn't want any of the other employees to overhear our conversation, but I like you. You're a wonderful addition to our business. You're hardworking, loyal. You have all the qualities of a true business man. I know it's too soon to tell, but I can see that you have potential in the near future. Maybe one day you'll be working with the big guys and girl." she added with a smirk. In a lot of ways, Loraine reminded Troy of Sharpay but he let it go. "I know it's a lot to sink it Troy, but I do enjoy working with you."
"I like working for you Ms. Tay-uh, I mean Loraine." he said.
. . .
Gabriella was just about finished with her paperwork and was just walking down the hallway when she ran into Ethan. It was 5pm and most of the employees were going home. "Miss Montez, I've been meaning to talk to you." Ethan smiled. "Are you available for dinner?" Gabriella was just about to decline, but when she looked into his eyes, she couldn't really say much. She shook her head in reply. "Great." He led her out to his car, but was about to mention that her car was in the parking lot. "Oh don't worry about your car. I'll have someone drive it to your apartment." he added. The two of them got in his car and he drove to a local restaurant. For a guy to own a law firm, she expected to be taking to a more… fancy place. "This seems like a nice place." she said as they got out of the car.
Ethan shrugged, "My dad took my mom here on their first date. I'm not saying that this is… our first date, unless you want it to be. I mean, it's okay if we're just here strictly because of business." Gabriella couldn't imagine anything being business with Ethan. Besides the suit and tie, she could sense that there was a real person underneath that harsh exterior. Ethan opened the door as she thanked him upon entering the restaurant. They were led to a table and given menus as soon as they sat down. "I wasn't sure if you were going to agree to come to dinner with me. I know it's only the second day of you being at the law firm, but I am starting to… to enjoy your company." he said. "It's been a while since I've seen the light of day."
Gabriella wondered if he was setting up for a serious conversation with her. She barely knew her own boss. "I'm glad you joined our law firm. You're a great addition." he smiled. As soon as they placed their order and their food was brought out, they were immersed in deep conversation. Gabriella found herself laughing at every joke that Ethan had said. After dinner, they got into Ethan's car and drove off down the street to Gabriella's apartment. Ethan parked the car in front of the apartment. "See you tomorrow Gabriella." he smiled.
"See you tomorrow Mr. Jensen." she smiled.
"No please, call me Ethan." Gabriella nodded and then got out of his car. She entered her apartment as soon as he drove away and was confronted by Troy. "Who was that?"
