After leaving the office, the earlier conversation still fresh in my mind,
I walk to the employee break room to get a cup of water.
After what just happened, I think I might need to get on the nearest bus and pass out on my bed.
I pick up a biodegradable cup. Hmm, eco-friendly.
I push the button, releasing water from the opening under the dispenser, and take a huge gulp.
I sit on one of the chairs, pondering the encounter.
Suddenly, someone taps me on the shoulder.
I turn around — it's Hanna.
"Hey, where were you? We were looking everywhere for you. We thought you'd gone missing and were contemplating calling the police," she says with a pouty face.
I sigh. They are unbelievable.
"So it never even occurred to any of you that I might have just gone home or not turned up for work today?"
She rolls her eyes. "That's a very boring assumption. Where's the fun in that?"
"It's boring, but one of the more likely things that could have happened."
She sighs. "When are you going to stop being so boring?"
I shake my head, but I don't stop the smile from forming on my face.
I needed that. I just need Hanna to be Hanna — no more drama, please.
She pulls me by the hand and drags me to the table where Chloe and Cleo are waiting.
I give them a small wave as they stand up immediately.
"Where were you? We were looking everywhere for you," Chloe says.
"Yeah, we were really worried," Cleo adds.
I smile. No one had ever openly been worried about me. Ever.
So seeing them so concerned makes me happy.
I roll my eyes. "You guys are such worrywarts. I'm fine."
Cleo rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure we are. Where were you, anyway, and why didn't you text?"
I stay silent, pondering whether I should tell them.
Hearing my silence and seeing the look on my face, they all immediately drop what they're doing, focusing completely on me.
Any chance I had of lying flies out the window.
This is a full three-woman press. There's no escape.
Besides, there's no point lying — they'd find out eventually.
I sigh and start recounting what happened, leaving out the part where Julian apologized and that I was the person who ruined the company. I do add the part where Julian took me home, though.
The entire table goes silent.
No one says a word before they all erupt into cheers.
"Congratulations, girl! You so deserve it," Hanna says. The table fills with laughter and joy.
That is — until the clashing of cutlery and plates rings out through the room, making the entire place go quiet.
We all turn to see what caused the commotion.
I wish I hadn't.
I turn and see Kara glaring daggers at me from another table. I think she must have overheard our conversation.
Because the way she's staring at me now makes it obvious — if looks could kill, I'd be long gone. I wouldn't even have existed.
She's going to make sure of that.
She walks over to our table, glaring at me intensely.
"What did you just say?!" she screeches. "How does someone go from being the janitor to head of a department and the CEO's secretary?!"
Now everyone has stopped what they're doing, watching, murmuring, wondering if what Kara is saying is true.
I ignore her, picking up my phone and tapping at the screen, not doing anything in particular. I decide that if I ignore her, she might go away.
Well... knowing Kara, I should have known that wasn't happening anytime soon. In fact, it makes it worse.
Kara scoffs, a smirk on her face. "Well, of course you got an insane promotion like that. It's only expected from someone who's been sleeping with the boss to keep her job."
The room erupts into gasps and murmurs, everyone forming their own opinions.
Upon hearing this, I decide ignoring her won't solve anything.
I slam my fist on the table, getting up and facing her.
"How dare you say something like that! Don't spread baseless gossip if you can't back it up."
I'm appalled by the accusation.
Hanna stands up, glaring at Kara. "I wouldn't say such things if I were you. Where's your proof? Huh? What proof do you have?"
Cleo and Chloe stand up as well.
"You do know that without proof this is classified as slander, right?" Chloe says.
I'm shocked they're standing up to defend me — but this isn't the time to dwell on that. My name is being dragged through the dirt by this witch, and I'm not about to sit around and watch it happen.
Kara cackles. "Oh, if proof is what you want, proof is what you'll get."
She pulls out her phone and plays a video... and not just any video — a video from the night I got into Julian's car because it was late and I'd missed my train.
Out of context, it could mean anything. And she's ready to use it to her full advantage.
The little creep. Why was she there anyway? And why did she record us?
She shows the video to everyone, earning gasps from around the room.
Everyone stares at the screen in disbelief — except for Cleo, Chloe, and Hanna, who know the truth.
Kara speaks up. "Why else would she and the boss be leaving the office in the dead of night, in the same car? They obviously did it so no one would see them and they could keep hiding their affair."
The room buzzes with a mix of agreement and skepticism — but she's winning them over.
"That's not true!" I shout so the room can hear me. "I was leaving late because I finished work late and my train had left, so since we were the only ones left in the office, he offered to take me home. That's it."
The room buzzes again, this time with unsure murmuring.
But Kara is quick to kill any hope I have of clearing this up.
"Oh really? Then if you claim that's true — keep in mind that on this day, this lady damaged my property and wasn't even given a slap on the wrist. She was completely left without punishment."
The room buzzes again. I swallow — she just keeps making it worse.
"And now the same person who was the janitor before is suddenly 'qualified' to be the public relations officer and the boss's secretary?"
"The boss wouldn't have given her the janitor job in the first place if she was qualified for this one — especially knowing the rut the company is currently in."
Affirmations ripple through the crowd. They all turn to me with hateful glares and whisper horrible things about me.
But they don't know the whole story.
The room starts spinning. It's getting hard to breathe.
I'm getting flashbacks to that night at the gallery opening — the hateful glares, the murmuring.
No.
I don't want to go through that again.
I start to hyperventilate, my vision blurring.
I think I hear Hanna yelling at people to give me room, but I'm too out of it to know for sure.
Before I know it, I'm on the floor, clutching the table for stability. My vision goes dark, and everything goes silent.
⸻
JULIAN
I sit in my chair, pondering the conversation we just had.
Was it really a good idea to entrust my company to her of all people?
She's now the public relations officer — nothing is stopping her from running my business into the ground.
Could I trust her?
I sigh. I don't really know if I can. But I do know she looked cute with her cheeks tinted red like that — I wanted to pinch them.
I chuckle, remembering the way she started giving her goodbye speech like I was firing her.
She looked so ridiculous and serious at the same time that I couldn't stop myself from laughing.
I smile. It's been a while since I've done that — smiling casually, laughing heartily. But with her, it comes easily.
Suddenly, I hear a loud commotion from the employee lounge.
And it sounds serious.
I get up immediately from my seat, rushing toward the noise.
I'm the CEO of this company — it's my job to ensure everything is under control at all times.
I walk in on a scene that makes my blood run cold.
Kara is standing triumphantly over a body on the ground, surrounded by three girls who seem to be the only ones who care about the person lying there.
Everyone else just stands around, waiting to see what happens next.
I step into the room, and everyone goes silent. The once-triumphant Kara looks terrified. Then I notice — the person on the ground isn't just anyone.
It's Regina.
I immediately rush to her, checking her pulse. She's still breathing.
"What happened here?!" I roar.
No one answers. The room is dead silent.
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"I've already called one," says a girl beside me with black hair and black eyes. I recognize her — one of the twins who work here. The only twins in the company, easy to remember. Plus, I pride myself on knowing all my employees by name. I've also seen her and some other girls with Regina before. They must be friends.
I nod, scooping Regina up bridal style, earning gasps as I sprint toward the door.
"Hang on, Firefly. Help is on the way