Still Choosing You
Book 1 Chapter 3 — Scene 1: JUST ANOTHER MONDAY
The office lobby smelled faintly of coffee and air-conditioning.
Daniel stepped through the glass doors with his access card already in his hand. The security gate gave its usual soft beep as he passed through. Around him, people moved with the familiar rhythm of a Monday morning.
Some carried takeaway coffee.
Some looked half awake.
Some were already staring at their phones before reaching their desks.
Nothing felt unusual.
The elevator doors opened.
A few people from Finance stepped inside with him. Someone yawned. Someone else complained quietly about traffic. A man in a blue shirt glanced at the floor numbers as if willing the elevator to move faster.
Daniel stood near the back and waited.
The weekend already felt far away.
The elevator stopped twice before reaching his floor.
By the time he stepped out, the office lights were fully on.
Rows of desks stretched across the open workspace. Computer monitors glowed. Chairs rolled across the carpet. Phones rang occasionally in distant corners.
The day had already begun.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“Hey, Daniel.”
“Morning.”
He greeted people as he walked toward his desk.
The greetings were automatic after years of working together. Friendly without being personal. Familiar without requiring effort.
His chair sat exactly where he had left it on Friday.
A stack of documents rested near the corner of the desk.
A water bottle.
A notebook.
A pen that somehow always disappeared and returned.
Nothing had moved.
He placed his laptop bag beside the desk and sat down.
The chair lowered slightly beneath his weight.
His computer started its familiar sequence of loading screens.
For a moment, he simply looked across the office.
A colleague was already arguing with a printer.
Someone was refilling a water bottle.
Someone else was standing beside a desk discussing football results.
Normal.
The kind of morning that disappeared from memory before lunchtime.
His email loaded.
Forty-three unread messages.
Not unusual for a Monday.
He clicked through them methodically.
System notifications.
Meeting updates.
Project questions.
Status reports.
Nothing urgent.
Nothing surprising.
His coffee mug sat empty beside the keyboard.
He picked it up and stood.
The pantry was already crowded.
A line had formed in front of the coffee machine.
Two people from Operations were discussing weekend plans.
Someone laughed at something on a phone screen.
A woman near the counter shook her head.
“I swear my son woke me up at six on Sunday.”
“Six?” someone replied. “Mine was awake at five.”
The conversation continued around him.
Daniel waited his turn.
When the machine finally finished pouring, he took the mug and stepped aside.
The coffee was hot enough to fog the surface for a second.
He added nothing.
No sugar.
No milk.
Just coffee.
The way he always drank it.
As he turned to leave, he noticed a message flashing across his screen when he returned to his desk.
Weekly Townhall Meeting.
10:00 AM.
Attendance Required.
He glanced at it briefly.
Then clicked confirm.
Across the aisle, Marcus leaned back in his chair.
“You going?”
“The townhall?”
“Yeah.”
Daniel sat down.
“Have to.”
Marcus groaned.
“Every week also same thing.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“Maybe this one shorter.”
“Never shorter.”
Marcus pointed toward the meeting invitation.
“Probably another update about growth and strategy.”
“Maybe.”
“Or another presentation with twenty slides saying the same thing.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“That sounds about right.”
Marcus turned back to his monitor.
The conversation ended there.
Neither of them thought much about the meeting.
Townhalls happened regularly.
Leadership gave updates.
Employees listened.
Everyone returned to work.
The pattern rarely changed.
Daniel opened another email.
A project timeline.
A request for clarification.
A meeting moved from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Ordinary work.
The office settled deeper into the morning.
Phones rang.
Printers started.
Conversations rose and faded.
A manager walked past carrying documents.
Someone asked for help locating a spreadsheet.
Someone else complained about a system outage.
The familiar noise of people trying to finish things.
Daniel worked through his inbox.
One message at a time.
One task at a time.
The same way he always did.
By nine forty-five, people were beginning to stand.
Chairs rolled back.
Coffee mugs were picked up.
Laptops were carried toward the larger meeting rooms.
The townhall was approaching.
Marcus appeared beside his desk.
“You coming?”
Daniel saved his work and locked the screen.
“Yeah.”
He stood and picked up his coffee.
The mug was still half full.
Together they joined the slow movement of employees heading toward the meeting room.
The corridor was busier than usual.
Groups formed naturally.
Some talking.
Some checking phones.
Some already discussing work before the meeting even started.
Nobody looked concerned.
Nobody looked worried.
The atmosphere felt routine.
Predictable.
Just another Monday.
Daniel walked through the doorway carrying his coffee.
The large meeting room was already filling.
People found seats.
Conversations continued quietly.
Someone adjusted the projector.
Someone tested the microphone.
The screen at the front displayed the company logo.
Nothing about it seemed unusual.
Daniel chose a seat near the middle and placed his coffee on the table.
Around him, employees settled into their chairs.
Waiting.
Expecting another ordinary meeting.
Daniel expected the same.
He leaned back slightly and looked toward the front of the room.
The meeting had not started yet.
Outside the glass walls, employees hurried through the corridor carrying laptops and documents.
Inside, conversations slowly faded.
The room prepared itself for another weekly update.
Daniel wrapped one hand around his coffee mug.
He expected another ordinary meeting.
He had no reason not to.
Scene-by-scene release. Continue only when the next scene is ready.