Chapter I
Some women valued their careers more than others. To Lori, her career was her life. Ever since the ninth grade, she knew she wanted to be a marketing specialist. She’d had a hard time making friends, but she went through Highschool and college just fine, by keeping a small social circle of two friends who didn’t bore her with their party stories and their dreams of meeting the knight in the shining armor or wanting to become a famous model like Blah-blah-who gives a shit.
Her passion and hard work had carried her through college, out to the market, and into one of the best fashion companies in the country. She got an alright GPA, of 3.2; that was only because she couldn’t bring herself to put any real effort into any of the unrelated trivial courses—it wasn’t her fault that the educational system was stupid, and as far as she was concerned, she had more Marketing knowledge in her pinky than all of those A+ wits combined. She bet none of them made it to a company as nice as the one she was driving her car to now.
She parked her car in the company’s garage. She looked into the rear-view mirror and adjusted her long brown bang to the side, before putting her thin delicate glasses on. She didn’t really need them unless she was reading, but she liked to put them at all times; it made her look sophisticated, smart.
She got out of the car and walked in through the company’s big glass doors, swinging her 2000$-suitcase by her side and amusing herself with the click that her equally expensive black heels made against the floor. She wasn’t much of a spender, but when it came to her work clothes and accessories, she didn’t think twice about investing half of her salary in any item that would make her look sharp. At 25 of age, already promoted once only after four years in the company, she was confident that she was going to be the boss one day, and she should look the part starting now.
She took a deep breath as the elevator took her to the nineteenth floor. She straightened her poster and rose her chin slightly as the elevator parted its doors upon reaching her floor. She strode to her cubicle, making sure to walk fast so that no one would pin her down for a useless 10-minute chat. Luckily, today, she managed to do that. She sighed with relief as she reached her cubicle.
“Hey Suzan,” she said to her cubicle mate.
“Morning Lori,” Suzan turned on her wheel office chair to face Lori. “How are you?”
The cubicle included two desks with each one facing its cubicle wall.
“Good,” Lori thudded her suitcase on her desk. “Did you finish the spring collection slides?”
“For heaven’s sake bitch I just woke up…” Suzan whined.
“So. You were supposed to be done with them yesterday.”
“Well yeah but…I had a dozen of episodes of AOT to binge, so I made a judgment call.” She smiled, trying to be funny.
Lori didn’t find it funny. “…Suzan, you were supposed to finish them,” she said, trying to sound firm, but not mean.
“Just relax…only some final touches are left, it’ll take half an hour, I’ll do it right now…after my coffee.” She shook her coffee cup beside her face with a girly smile then took a sip, before she offered Lori hers.
“Thanks.” Lori frowned jokingly as she took it, then turned back to her desk and turned on the computer. She shouldn’t give her a hard time. Suzan was her only friend here. She wasn’t that different from the rest of the girls, but she was different enough. Like most of them, she didn’t work as half as hard as Lori, and she liked to run her mouth for a little bit too long every now and then, but she understood her limits. Lori liked to think that Suzan admired her work ethic and she appreciated her for that. She knew that she was the only woman in here that was genuine when being nice to her, as she’d been so from day one, and hadn’t changed since.
The first couple of months Lori had spent at this company, with her personality cold, and with no tolerance to hear anything unrelated to work, she wasn’t surprised that people found her a bit repulsive to be around. And she didn’t care. She wasn’t there to make friends she was there to work, and whether the rest of the girls admitted it or not, they were all in a competition.
She was surprised, however, when the girls started acting nice to her, even though her general dismissive attitude hadn’t changed. They just…started making visits to her cubicle and starting conversations, and only left when she intently showed on her face that she’d like them to piss off so she could go back to work. She just dismissed them and they left with a smile on their face. All of that was a huge difference from how they usually treated her; they usually ignored her, which had been understandable, given that she’d made it very clear that she had no interest to know any of them; people tended to not like that very much.
Her confusion hadn’t lasted that long, as she realized that the change had occurred at the same time that she had gotten her first promotion. She had only been there for four years and had already been promoted, rising above some of the girls who’d been there a decade or more. It had become evidently clear to her, that they had realized, that it wouldn’t take that much time until she was the boss. They just chose to practice their ass-kissing skills while Lori was still their level.
She got to work, and so did Suzan after she finished her precious coffee. They spent some time working in silence, or at least the kind of silence that one would get working among a hundred cubicles. If there was one thing Lori was excited about when getting her next promotion, it would be the new office she’d have with it. She’d be out of this dame beehive. At her office, she’d enjoy true silence.
She was focused on her computer when her head abruptly snapped to the cubicle’s opening upon hearing an aggressive knock. A grimace showed on her face for a second before she hid it, as her eyes landed on Miss Santana standing two feet away from her desk the way she always stood: like she had a broom shoved up her ass.
“How’s the presentation going girls,” Miss Santana said, in her usual confident, enthusiastic tone, that never failed to make Lori feel sick in the stomach.
“Great boss.” Suzan turned on her seat then rose to her feet eagerly, making Lori grimace inside. “Just putting the final touches.”
“Good girl, excellent,” Miss Santana’s eyes darted between Suzan and Lori, as Lori stayed on her chair like a self-respecting woman should, and crossed her stockinged legs.
“You look great today by the way,” Suzan said with a sly smile.
“Oh stoooop,” Agatha threw a slap in the air as she faked shyness. She stood there in her white knee skirt and her Paige suit and white shirt blending smoothly with her pale white skin and blue eyes. She did look great, with her long red hair falling on her shoulders. She was in her mid-thirties, but she looked at least 10 years younger.
“No you really do, doesn’t she Lori,” Suzan said and looked at Lori, inviting her to join her ass-kissing session with their perfect boss.
Agatha looked at Lori with her faint smile and cold eyes, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah…you look good…I guess,” Lori said, relying on her tone alone to show her slight sarcasm.
Suzan got a disappointed look on her face before she looked at the ground, and Agatha, not really that surprised, widened her smile before she said calmly, “Thanks, dear.”
“Project will be ready any minute boss.” Suzan gave a joking awkward bow.
“Well…make sure it’s on time this time,” Agatha said, her tone losing some of its friendliness. “And I’m speaking to you Lori.”
FUCK you. She never missed a deadline. Not damn once. Well…once, but it was her first month. It was years later and Agatha was still holding that damn little fuck-up over her. She sucked up a breath as she saw Agatha look at her with a smirk and an amused pair of eyes, that knew they were tormenting you. “You got it,” she said with difficulty.
“Good girl,” she turned with an amused nod. “Continue on, chop-chop.” She clapped her hands animatedly as she strode away.
Suzan gave her a sympathetic look, sensing Lori’s discomfort, knowing the swears she was harboring in her mouth.
Lori peered her head out of her cubicle, waiting for the tall Amazonian tree to get far enough. When she was sure that Agatha was far enough, she lunged forward towards Suzan and whispered, “Fuck that bitch.”
“Come on…” Suzan huffed. “You’re un-helpable you know that.”
“I never missed a deadline…fucking never.”
“Well…” she tilted her head.
“Other than that fucking once for goodness sake,” she shouted.
“Keep it down,” Britany yelled from the adjacent cubicle.
“Sorry,” Lori yelled back then leaned on her elbows getting closer to Suzan. “And baby…do me a favor, don’t include me in your ass-eating session next time will you.”
Baffled, Suzan recoiled back. “Bitch I did that for you. Promotions are around the corner and you need to get on good terms with her before then.”
“I don’t need to do anything…” Lori puffed. “I’m the best working girl on this floor. She has to promote me with her foot over her neck or I’ll go straight down to Mrs. Barlow.” She bragged, reminding Suzan of her winning ace.
Suzan frowned and shook her head, giving up. “Have it your way…but you’re relying too much on that HR crap honey.”
“So what…I’m the only obvious choice and she knows it. She’s only giving me a hard time because she has to promote me soon.” I said getting back to my desk. “You can see it in her eyes how salty she’s about it.”
The only negative thing Lori found about rising up in the ranks, was having to work closer to the nastiest woman in the company.
Agatha Santana wasn’t a bad person, per se. She didn’t have the qualities that one would usually find in a bad boss. She didn’t impose on her employees, and she didn’t try to tell anyone how to do their job, and she wasn’t strict about dress codes or vacations or being late; she was a cool boss. That was why most girls liked her. But it was how she carried herself that rubbed Lori the wrong way.
Whenever she entered a room, although she’d walk and talk all cheerfully and in an uplifting manner and tone, Lori could always spot a harbored sense of…superiority in her every move. She walked like she owned the damn place, striding quickly like nothing was standing in her way with her chin up and her head held high.
It was true, that Mrs. Yanami walked like that too, but Mrs. Yanami could walk whatever way she fucking wanted cause her name was printed on the company’s gates, she did own Yanami’s Company. Agatha, at the end of the day, was just another employee, no matter how high she had reached on the corporate ladder, and she acted like wasn’t. All the girls noticed that about her, but for some reason, Lori was the only one that found it obnoxious. She saw the snobby, ugly personality Agatha was hiding behind her friendly face and tone and gestures.
Like, when she’d ask someone for a favor, she wouldn’t ask, she’d order, but in a friendly, over-enthusiastic tone, like she was talking to a toddler. “Hailey, be a dear and bring me a coffee.” And when Hailey would return. “Good girl,” or, “Tiffany, I’m running against the clock here, pick up my dress from dry-cleaning downstairs. I need it for the interview today so make it quick honey.”
When she had made her first friendly request to Lori, and asked her if she could fetch her a cup of coffee, Lori didn’t refuse, given that the bitch had coated it in a kind tone that would make it so rude to refuse. So she told her “Sure,” with an equally friendly smile and tone, then she walked back to her cubicle and ignored the request. That was maybe the turning point of their relationship, cause when Lori saw Agatha walk towards the coffee machine minutes later to fetch her own god dame cup of coffee, she spotted that resentment in her sharp eyes that she’d usually hide. She’d felt that since that brief exchange, Agatha had put her on her list.
“DONE,” Suzan whooped throwing her arms in the air.
Lori recoiled from Suzan’s sudden girly shout and regained her grip over her coffee cup after it spilled some on the floor. “Fuck’s sake Suzan.”
“What…I’m done.” Suzan turned on her chair animatedly. “Presentation is officially ready. Be happy you ungrateful twat.”
“Well show it to Miss Santana…” Lori glared at the mess of coffee on the floor. “And bring a mop with you…”
“Hey…” Suzan rose to her feet and adjusted her blazer and snatched her notes. “Leave that bossing around shit till you’re actually my boss.”
“Yeah yeah…” She waved her hand. “Just tell me what she says.”
Suzan got out of the cubicle, leaving Lori to her work. Lori stared at her computer screen for a bit, fretting about what the bitch would say about her work. Ever since a fight she and Agatha had a couple of months ago, she’d made Suzan do all the communication between them. She wasn’t that happy about that, given that she always did most of the work, but she doubted that Suzan would take any unearned credit for herself; she wasn’t a cunt, and she didn’t care that much about the job to turn into one. Lori sighed and took a random glance at the cubicle’s opening, only to find Suzan standing there with a thoughtful look on her face. “What?”
“I was thinking,” Suzan said wiggling the notes in her hand. “…why don’t you do it.”
“Do what—no.” Lori shook her head. “Now go show it to her before she gives me shit about being late or something.”
“I’m serious,” Suzan whined, persisting. “There’s still some bad blood between you from your last fight, just go in there and show her the work and clear the air.”
“Honey she hates me,” Lori said aggressively. “And I know I wouldn’t be able to control myself. Up until now ignoring her has worked just fine for me. If I walk in there and she starts giving me trivial shit about this or that I’ll go ballistic on her and our relationship would be worse.”
“No you wouldn’t, cause you’re smarter than that. So just go in there and suck it up…and it wouldn’t hurt if you…” she shuffled her flats, seeming hesitant about continuing. “…Apologized for—”
“Apologize! Why what the fuck do I have to apologize,” Lori hissed making sure to keep her voice down. “She was in the wrong.”
“Fine…” Suzan held her hands up in defense, trying to calm Lori down. “Don’t apologize, just brief her on the presentation…with a polite smile on your face…and get out.”
Lori’s eyes darted between Suzan’s hopeful face and the notes in her hands. Her friend was right. If they were going to work even closer together soon, it would be best if there wasn’t so much bad blood between them. Especially that Agatha could still make her life hard, even after the promotion.
Her face must’ve betrayed her acceptance cause she saw Suzan’s face gradually light up in stupid victory. “Give me those notes,” she snarled as she stormed up from her seat and snatched the notebook from Suzan’s hand.
“Outta girl,” Suzan gave her a light slap on her butt cheek as she walked away. “Go kiss that ass.” She teased.
She rose her middle finger at Suzan without looking back as she continued walking to Agatha’s office. On her way there, her mind reluctantly recalled their childish fight.
Mrs. Yanami had been planning to come down to get a briefing on their new marketing strategy, and all the girls had been hunkered in the meeting room getting prepared. In the middle of their preparations, they found out that there were some documents messing, important documents. Agatha, staying true to her state whenever Mrs. Yanami was supposed to visit their floor, had already been a nervous wreck, but when she found out about the missing documents, she exploded, and for some reason—probably because of the coffee fetching incident—chose to aim all her anger at Lori. She blamed her for everything, called her stupid and incompetent, and said that she didn’t deserve to work in the company. Lori of course took all of it to heart, and unlike the other girls who’d usually just shut up and take it, she exploded in return.
She was never as nervous as when she stood in Mrs. Barlow’s office hours later and told her side of the story. Part of her nervousness, other than that Agatha was her superior, was that Mrs. Barlow was Agatha’s sister. And they were obviously really close. She saw them get to and leave from work together, or sit in each other’s offices drinking coffee and chatting. So it was an understatement to say that she felt like a piano was lifted from her shoulders when Mrs. Barlow ruled in her favor. Agatha didn’t seem salty at that, or at least she didn’t show it.
That incident made Lori feel like she had somewhat of an ally in the company, a good, professional ally. Mr. Barlow and Agatha were sisters and still, she ruled in Lori’s favor, and even urged Agatha to apologize, which of course Agatha shrugged off with a snicker. That allowed Lori to feel safe in standing up to the stuck-up bitch and not let her walk all over her.
Upon reaching Agatha’s office now, she paused at the door. She sucked in a deep breath, as she tidied up her long brown hair and adjusted her dark blazer. She took a couple of calming breaths then knocked on the door.
After a second, a lively response came. “Come in.”
fv
That fucking tone. Lori pushed the door open and entered. “Miss Santana…” she looked at the woman sitting behind her desk.
Her eyes hadn’t left her computer screen yet. And when they did, her face fell into an indifferent frown at seeing Lori at her door. “Oh, you. What do you want?”
I don’t see you speaking in this rude tone in public you witch—Lori cleared her throat then said with a polite smile. “We sent you the presentation, I just want to know what you think of it.” She stood respectfully with her hands behind her back.
Agatha’s eyebrow rose in confusion and reclined in her chair, as her gaze stayed cold as ice. “Suzan usually briefs me, why the sudden need to be courteous.”
“…Emm…” she pushed her heel against the door closing it as she thought of an answer. “…I’m just interested to know what you think Miss.” Part of that was true. An extra cost to cutting the relationship with the woman in front of her, other than making an enemy of her superior, was being unable to make use of her expertise. Agatha had been in the company for almost 15 years, and according to everybody, she’d been one of the main reasons for the company’s current success. But still, Lori could do without benefiting from some extra knowledge if that meant she didn’t have to tolerate her boss’s pretentious attitude.
“Yeah…” She nodded slowly like she didn’t get an answer to her question, and pushed her red hair behind her ear. “But why not send Suzan…like usual.”
“Umm—I don’t…I gu—”
“Ummmm—ahhh—oooh.” She mocked aggressively. “At least Suzan didn’t babble like an idiot…come in sit down make yourself comfortable.” She carelessly waved her hands at the chairs in front of her desk.
Idiot. Resisting the urge to run towards Agatha and karate-kick her out of the big window behind her desk, Lori relaxed her muscles and made her way to the chair. She sat down and laid her notebook in her lap, looking at Agatha as she clicked around her computer. “Okay…” Agatha sighed as she arrived at the folder. “Let’s see what you girls did here.”
Lori grew confused as she watched Agatha recline in her chair, casually left her legs up, and rest her feet at her desk. Consequently, Lori was forced to stare into the dirty soles of Agatha’s black pumps if she wanted to look her way.
Cunt…as simple as that…cunt. Resting her feet on her office wasn’t that disrespectful, but she put them right in Lori’s face, and knowing her better by now, Lori knew that it was no oversight.
“I like what you’ve done with the colors…who’s call was that?” Agatha shook her foot as she examined the slide.
“Mine…” Lori said as she tried to keep her composure, and aimed her look to the side, ignoring the shoes in her face.
“Oh…That’s surprising,” she chuckled, her ridicule clear.
“…” she couldn’t help the aggressiveness in her tone. “Why’s that surprising?”
“Glad to have an assignment of yours on time for once.” She ignored her question and delivered another insult. “I only feel bad about Suzan, she’s the one who has to drag your ass around.”
An irritated snicker escaped Lori’s mouth, as she took her frustration on the notebook in her hand, clutching it. Lori wanted to tell her that she herself was the one doing most of the work, that she was talking bullshit, but she was sure that Agatha already knew all of that. Just because she didn’t suck up to her like the rest of the girls, she was giving her shit now. But she held her tongue; she was here to make peace, not further escalate their cold war.
“I suppose you chose the fonts as well,” Agatha said.
“Yeah…they’re good right.”
“No their hideous,” She said coldly, making Lori boil. “Truly hideous.”
“Well…” Lori bit her tongue. “I think they’re good, they go well with the mode and the colors. That’s just my opinion.”
“Out there you have an opinion,” Agatha said with a sharp tone. “In here you shut your mouth and do as I tell you…change them.”
Shut my mouth! Lori took a breath as she returned her eyes to Agatha, only to find the soles of her shoes to greet her. Her temperature slowly rose, making her tight white face turn red. She said with a cold tone, “Can you put your shoes down please?”
She switched her legs, resting one ankle on top of another. “No.”
“It’s disrespectful.”
“That’s the thing…” Agatha chuckled. “I’ve reached a point in my life where I can disrespect a brat I don’t like. You…didn’t. So you’ll sit there and take it.” She peered her head to the side, only to give Lori a grin with amused eyes before her head despaired back behind her heels.
I’ll take you and throw you off the fucking window you arrogant bit—Lori laughed nervously as she realized she was going to explode, and that wouldn’t be wise, so she got her feet. “I’ll be in my cubicle if you have any questions. Here…” she threw the notebook in Agatha’s lap and smiled at the cold displeased look she gave her as a result.
She had almost reached the door when Agatha said, “Lori…”
She turned, making sure to keep a straight face. “Humm?”
Agatha’s eyes gave her a quick scan, before settling on her face again. “How much is that blazer?” her tone was curious.
“…What?”
“The blazer…it looks nice.”
“…A couple of thousands…” She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
Agatha nodded with an arrogant smile on her face like she was looking at a naïve kid or something. “Nothing, it’s nice…the whole outfit actually, makes you look…serious, or whatever.”
“…Yeah…thanks.” She faked a smile before pulling the doorknob and leaving. Bitch.
She stored back to her cubicle resisting the urge to stomp her heels on the ground.
when she arrived, Suzan turned her chair to face her. “How did it go.”
“CUNT.” Lori hissed as she slammed her butt on her chair and moved her mouse aggressively.
“…” Suzan turned back to her desk in silence with widened eyes. “Cool.”
Lori was laying on the couch in her living room, still in her work clothes.
“I mean…” she bit her sushi with a bit too much force. “I don’t know what her problem is…” she mumbled around her food.
“Don’t let her get under your skin honey,” Bill said while he applied some more pressure on her foot. “She’s probably just giving you shit because she has to promote you soon.”
“Duh,” she said, accidentally spitting out some rice. “But the thing is I’ll still work under her after I’m promoted. I’m under this woman forever, I’ll never outrank her or something, is she gonna keep giving me shit forever…other foot please.” She smiled politely.
He grabbed her other foot and started rubbing, making her moan with relief as he eased out 10 hours of built tension from her sole.
The nightly foot rubs were the prime reason Lori headed home every day with an excited smile. Even though Agatha made it clear that she didn’t care about the dress code, Lori was one of the few in the office that kept wearing heels, while other girls just wore comfortable shoes like sneakers and sandals. And while the six-inch heels did hurt, and made walking a lot more difficult, Lori would’ve picked a seven-inch if she could walk in them, given that her height of 4 foot 10 inches had always been her biggest insecurity. So a sore foot at the end of the day was a small price to pay if it meant that she didn’t have to look up when talking to another woman.
“You can try acting nice to her…”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I tried that today, she put her shoes in my face and gave me shit about the presentation that I had been working on for weeks.”
“Well she probably has some harbored resentment she needs to throw your way first, you should’ve sucked it up—”
“Fuck you.” She nudged his stomach with her toe.
“What…didn’t you tell me she’s sisters with that HR woman, and a friend of the CEO, Mrs. Yanana or something—”
“Mrs. Yanami, the owner and CEO” she said. “And no, they’re not friends, I mean their relationship is good as far as I know, but I don’t think they’re friends.”
“Whatever, if the job is that important to you, you’ll need to be a bit more careful around her. From what you’ve told me, she can easily ruin your career.”
“No she can’t,” Lori huffed. “Worst case scenario…she’ll force me to leave the company somehow, or outright fire me.”
“And you’ll live with that?” he asked her with a teasing smile. He knew her better.
“No I’ll probably kill myself if that happened,” she said, exaggerating a little, but not that much. “But I’ll get over it.”
As she’d anticipated, Bill didn’t seem thrilled with her answer. Ever since they’d gotten together, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of her working. Not that he was against the idea generally, but he was probably afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find a balance between her life and her work, and he was right as rain about that. Most of her time was either spent at work, or at home working, and given that his salary would be enough for both of them, it looked like Lori had chosen their life to be this way. But after a dozen of fights about it, he caved. But she should probably shut up about work now, this was supposed to be their time.
“Anyway,” she sighed. “What’s up with you.”
He put on a fake smile as he looked at her, then said, “Well, Josh’s still mad about me fo…” his voice turned to mumbles in her ears. As he went on and on about his fight with Josh, all Lori could think about was the market research she was supposed to do in a couple of days. It wasn’t due until a week or so, but if she started on it now, she could probably finish it way earlier. She tried to imagine the look on Agatha’s face when she’d hand her the report a week sooner. Maybe the only positive thing she could say about Agatha, was that—even though she had a weird way of showing it—she was a professional woman. She cared about the company. She’d never keep Lori in her place, consequently promoting someone less competent, and thus damaging the company’s sales, just out of her childish spite and pride. All she could do was nitpick and give Lori shit at every turn. And even if that wasn’t the case, Lori could always go to Mrs. Yanami as a last resort. She wouldn’t be happy if she found out that Agatha was hurting a hardworking employee just because.
“You even listening…” Bill pinched her toe.
She shook her head as she looked at his suspecting gaze. “…No.” She smiled awkwardly with guilt. “I’m sorry honey I’m just busy thinking about the promotion. I have some work to do actually.”
“…” he seemed like he was deciding between starting a fight or shutting up. He smiled warmly then nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then. I’m going to bed.”
“Thanksthanksthank.” She clasped her palms in gratitude. He gave her a kiss on the mouth then started walking to the bedroom. “Can you bring me my laptop…it’s right there on the table,” she said as she shuffled on the couch and got comfortable. Without a word, he snatched the laptop, then walked to her with a smile then threw it in her lap, a little bit too harshly. “Thanks,” she frowned at him as he walked away.
“Knock it out…” Suzan elbowed her in the arm.
She looked at Suzan’s scoring face, then stopped biting her thumbnail and rested her shivering hands on her lap adjusting her skirt. They, along with fifteen other girls, were sitting around the long wooden meeting table. Most girls chatted in little groups, but Lori stayed silent, eyeing the clock on the wall. She took a deep breath every now and then, taking a glance through the giant windows in front of her. She gazed at the high-rise glass buildings as they reflected the sunshine. It was a sunny day, but she felt gloomy, and she’d keep feeling like that until she’d hear her name out of Agatha’s mouth. She looked at the clock again: 10:30.
All girls kindly be in the meeting room at 10:20 sharp. There’s an important announcement . 10:20 Sharp, speaking to you Lori. That was Agatha’s email.
Lori shifted in her seat, feeling a mixture of irritation and worry. 10:20 sharp…and yet you’re late by ten minutes…Her eyes met Suzan’s that were staring at her with a frown. “Relax will you.”
She took a deep breath before she whispered. “No all I’m saying if she’s gonna say sharp she shouldn’t be—”
“Girls…” Agatha greeted loudly with a ringing tone as her tall figure strode into the room. “Morning.”
“Good morning boss.” The girls greeted in unison as they rose to their feet, including nervous Lori. She watched Agatha walk with quick steps to the head of the table, with her red long hair dancing behind her. She looked extra glamorous today, her face was beaming with health. Lori didn’t know what was the reason behind her good mood, she just hoped it didn’t have anything to do with her.
“Have a seat…” she gestured with her hand for the girls to sit.
Lori sat down and bit her lip as her eyes stayed glued to Agatha’s lively face.
“Now…” Agatha said. “You can probably guess what that announcement is about…” she said in a teasing tone.
The girls giggled as they exchanged excited glances. Lori knew their excitement was fake. They knew it was about the promotion, and they knew that Lori would get it.
“I’ve had the responsibilities of our marketing coordinator for two months now, since Elia left this company, and I think it’s time that one of you girls have it,” she said as her eyes darted between the girls. “Now, you’re all good girls here, hardworking and focused on improving this great company, but there’s one girl in particular that I think deserves the job more than everybody.” Her blue eyes glanced at Lori for a split second then looked away. “She’s been working her ass off, with diligence and determination, and never stopped improving her skills ever since she’d stepped foot in Yanami, and I have no doubt that she’d continue to do so.”
Lori felt a burst of excitement run down her spine as she saw Agatha stand up and extend both palms in her direction. “Say hello to our new Marketing Coordinator…”
She loved Agatha at that moment, as she saw her smile at her with pride. She smiled politely as she got ready to get up to her feet.
“Suzan.” Agatha grinned.
Lori halted in her rise upon hearing the name, as her confused gaze stayed with Agatha grinning face. the whole room was silent for a second, with obvious shock.
“Gee.” Agatha frowned, looking at the girls. “Is that how you congratulate a colleague!”
The girls started clapping and cheering as they stood up from their chairs and made their way to confused Suzan. Suzan hesitantly rose to her feet as her eyes darted between Lori and the gaggle of girls around her. Lori just sat there with a pale face as she saw Suzan return the greetings awkwardly. In the middle of her panic attack, Lori’s eyes jumped to Agatha, and saw that her blue eyes were firmly planted on her. The tormenting smirk that curled up her mouth made her want to jump out of her seat and tear her pretty red hair out. As if to sense the boiling rage that was building inside Loir’s chest, Agatha winked her eye before giving her a kiss.
She managed to keep her mouth sealed, as she looked up and saw the gaggle of girls around Suzan. She was the only one still sitting like an idiot, so she got up and stood in front of her friend. “Congratulations.” She said in a weak choked-up voice.
Suzan’s guilt and empathy showed on her face as she nodded weakly, then said, “Thanks.”
The girls parted as Agatha walked into their group and put her hand over Suzan’s shoulder. She was a tall woman, and the heels she wore only highlighted the fact.
“Wow boss…” she said nervously as she looked up. “I’m…speechless.”
“Oh honey you deserve it,” Agatha patted her cheek lightly. “Besides…” she directed her teasing gaze towards Lori. “You deserve a reward for surviving a year with this lazy brat...” She chuckled at Lori, acting as if she was joking.
The girls laughed, like they always did whenever Agatha said something she thought was funny. And Lori smiled despite herself, pinning her hands at her side. But her disdain must’ve shown on her face, cause Agatha pouted as she teased. “Oh don’t look so gloomy now…she’s your friend don’t be so jealous.”
With her head about to explode, Lori could only glare while Agatha leaned towards her and pinched her cheek harshly.
“Some girls understand that they should work hard to rise up in this company.” Only a hint of her cruelty showed through her amused smile, as she gave Lori a light, playful slap across her red cheeks. “Something you ought to learn.”
Her hand instinctively shot out and brushed Agatha’s hand off, making the group fall into awkward silence.
Agatha nodded with satisfaction on her face, as if she’d proved a point, before she took a deep breath and looked around the girls. “Well. A celebration is in order, so I’ll leave you girls to do that… there’s wine and food in the break room.”
“Why don’t you join us boss,” a girl said.
“Oh your nice…but I’m afraid I have some work to do. Suzan, swing by my office when you’re ready, I’d love to show you your new workspace. Oh and by the way you all get the day off…” she said and smiled at the girls as they cheered her. She gave Suzan a kiss on the cheek, telling her to enjoy her big day, before she strode to the door, making sure to bump her shoulder harshly into Lori’s who was caught off guard and so tripped over her high heels and tumbled to the ground with a yelp.
“Clumsy Lori,” Agatha snickered as she strode out of the room, giving her one last tormenting smirk.
Lori rubbed her sore knee and shoulder as she watched Agatha walk away with fuming eyes that reluctantly started tearing. She’d never felt that much hate towards someone before. She felt it boiling inside her.
“Hey…”
She looked up, then swallowed her sadness before she took Suzan’s offered hand and pulled herself up.
“You can at least try and look happy for your friend,” Britany taunted. “Gee what a jealous bitch.”
“Britany!” Suzan hissed.
“What…” Britany smiled. “I’m only teasing.”
“Well knock it off…” Suzan said.
Britany nodded inocently then wrapped her arm around Suzan’s shoulders. “Congrats love, you deserve it.” She gave her a kiss on the mouth.
Lori only gave the blonde girl a weak glare in response to her gloating. She was wondering about how long it would be before the girls’ attitude shifts again; not that long it seemed. Pure joy showed in Britany’s taunting smile, which was only one of the many girls who hated her. She could already see it on their faces. They were going to taunt her for every second they’d spent sucking up to her.
“You could probably use a drink,” Suzan rubbed her shoulder and urged her to walk beside her.
“Hey easy with the touching,” Britany protested and tugged at her girlfriend’s hair, getting jealous like always.
“Take it easy,” Suzan nudged her away. “My intentions are pure.”
The girls hang out in the giant break room. They drank wine and ate the snacks and deserts filling the big table in the middle. Some of them formed small groups and danced to a cringy rap song. They weren’t really that close to Suzan, but girls here liked to party for any reason; having fun didn’t need a reason. Lori sat in one of the chairs in the corner, sipping her red wine, grimacing every time the stinging liquid touched her mouth; she didn’t drink that much usually, not at all really, but she could sure use one now.
While she kept a fake wide smile on her face and watched Suzan chat politely with the girls, returning congratulations and compliments and laughing awkwardly at some stupid jokes, all Lori could see was Agatha’s face staring at her, with that damn grin showing her teeth. She pushed her sliding glasses up the bridge of her nose.
All the overtime, all the all-nighters, all her fights with Bill, half a fucking decade of her working her ass off, had been taken from her and put in the trash. She enjoyed it, sure, but most of her enjoyment came from imagining the day when she’d grasp the rewards of her efforts. Today was supposed to be that day, and here she was, with nothing to show for her discipline and hard work. Instead, it was Suzan, polite, incompetent, ass-eating Suzan who would get the rewards. She was still her friend, but god she hated her right about now. It wasn’t her fault; who in his right mind would say no to a promotion. She shook her head. She shouldn’t lose focus. The right aim of her wrath and contempt should be towards the unprofessional cunt sitting in her office.
“Gee…” Suzan sighed as she sat on the chair beside her, accompanied by Britany. “I’m beat.”
“Lori…” Britany said.
“Yeah…” Lori looked up.
“Wine on skirt.”
“Wha—” she looked down to see a big stain of red on her black skirt. “Shit…fuck.” She put the glass on the ground and slammed her hands on her thighs.
“Chill…” Britany recoiled with a surprised giggle. “Washing machines are all the buzz lately.”
Shut up.
Suzan handed her a napkin before she said empathically, “It’s expensive.”
“How expensive,” Britany narrowed her eyes, as always shoving her nose where it didn’t belong.
“None of your business,” Lori whined as she dried off the stain.
Britany looked at Suzan with wide confused eyes, as if to ask what did I say, and Suzan returned a comforting look. “Fine I’ll shut up.” She said as she took a seat beside Suzan and started scrolling down her phone with a cold frown.
“You feeling better,” Suzan said.
“I’m sorry I’m acting like this on your big day.”
“Bitch please…” Suzan said. “We all know it should’ve been you.”
Britany puffed, but stayed silent once Suzan elbowed her.
“But you can’t say I didn’t warn you,” Suzan mumbled.
“I’m sorry I thought her a grown-up,” Lori sniffled. “She’s so spiteful…”
Suzan nodded silently as she rubbed Lori’s back.
“It’s so unfair—”
“Bitch get over yourself,” Britany said aggressively, making both girls look at her, Suzan with a knowing frown and Lori with confusion. “All the girls get along with her just fine.”
“Cause she likes her ass kissed and you girls are experts at that.”
“Yeah, she’s not perfect…” Britany said like she was explaining the obvious. “She has a good side and a bad side. We keep our distance from her and we act nice and polite when she’s around, but you, with your obnoxious pride managed to get on her bad side, and ours. This might be news to you but Miss Santana is not your only hater here.”
“I know…cause you’re—”
“Cause you’re repulsive to be around.” Britany cut her off uttering every word. “You look down your nose at everybody. At least Agatha’s the boss, so it’s a bit expected of her, but you were acting like an entitled bitch since your first day here…I need to piss.” She pointed her finger at Lori, as if to say that she wasn’t finished then hurdled away.
Lori frowned at her as she left, determined not to pay any thought to what she’d just said.
A couple of minutes passed in silence, as Suzan stayed by her side as she regained her composer. “Look,” Suzan sighed. “I’m not about to question her about giving me a promotion…” she said, making Lori look at her with confusion. “I mean that’s almost double my salary…but, I won’t blame you if you go to her and asked her to reconsider. Who knows maybe she’ll give you a raise instead, or maybe there’s another position she can give you.”
It was the late afternoon, and all the girls had left, except for Lori. She stood at the end of the hall, glaring at Agatha’s office door. She could see the light poking out from under it, and she knew Agatha was still there; she always stayed late. She took her mini-mirror out and tidied up her hair and fixed her makeup. There was no way in hell the bitch would get to see that she was sobbing; she didn’t want to give her that pleasure.
She thought about what she’d say. She should go in there and leave her pride at the door, but she should put a limit to how bad she’d allow Agatha to treat her, how much she’d let her get away with. She adjusted her skirt and blazer and walked to the door, deciding on her opening line.
She walked into the abandoned assistant office. Then stood at Agatha’s office door.
She knocked.
“Come in,” a cold reply came. She probably knew it was only her and Lori here, as no one stayed this late except for them.
She opened the door and walked in. It was night, and the only light came from the two tripod lamps in the corners, emitting warm orange light on the big office’s walls. Agatha sat in her chair, with her feet propped on her desk. She had a cigarette in one hand, and a glass of some beverage in the other; judging by the color, it was likely bourbon.
Something about the sight made Lori shiver. She suddenly felt anxious about the fact that she was alone here with this woman. She grew nervous as she saw Agatha resting there, not working, not really doing anything, but sitting in the silence of her office with nothing but a cigarette and a drink.
“Miss Santana…” Lori said.
Agatha’s response was moving her cigarette to her mouth and taking a drag, then puffing slowly, as her blue eyes stared at Lori coldly.
“I just…” Lori took a breath. “I wanted to apologize for…” she forced herself to lie. “My rude behavior, at our last meeting.”
“Yeah?” Agatha said.
“…You were obviously under a lot of pressure, and I didn’t…act considerably. So I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” She looked towards the ground with fake guilt.
Agatha nodded, with no emotion showing on her face. Lori took the liberty to approach and sit down at the chair in front of her. She put a remorseful look on her face and leaned forward a bit with slouched shoulders, attempting to betray some weakness. “I hope we can…put it behind us.”
A hint of a smile showed on Agatha’s face, but it despaired quickly. “…Behind us it is,” she said. “Anything else?”
“About the promotion—”
“You didn’t deserve it.”
“…” She snickered nervously before she continued. “No, I clearly didn’t…so I was wondering, if…you would have something else for me in the company, other than my current position, any step up here would mean the world to me.” She said with a choked throat. It wasn’t right, that she had to practically beg for what she’d already earned. “Giving all the hard work I’d put—”
“You think you deserve something,” Agatha slurred, as she was obviously a bit drunk. “You think I owe you something.”
“…No…but if you could give me any kind of…validation for my hard work, I’d be more than grateful.”
“Validation…?” Agatha narrowed her eyes for a second before her drunken face lit up, like she’d got a brilliant idea. She held her cigarette in her mouth and tightened her hand into a fist and rose it in the air. “ ‘Outstanding performance’ ‘good job’ ‘You go girl’” she cheered with a smile on her face, making Lori frown. “Here’s your validation…” she chuckled between coughs.
Lori tried to control her temper as she watched her take another drag from her cigarette and look at her with a cold but taunting face. “This is my career here, please don’t treat it as a joke.”
“Duly noted …” She nodded. “Now get the fuck out of my office.”
“…” Lori darted her eyes in lose around the cruel pair of eyes. “Can you at least assure me that… you’ll keep me in mind for the next promotion…if I work hard enough for it.”
“I assure you that you’ll stay at your current position as long as I’m sitting in this chair.”
Lori recoiled back at the hateful comment. She felt assaulted by how much hate the woman had put into her tone and on her face. “…Why? What did I ever do to you?” she whined feeling herself get emotional.
“Nothing, I just loathe you…do I need a reason for that?”
“If you’re gonna fuck up my life over it you do.”
“Well.” She shrugged. “I guess you better give me your resignation now, there’s no future here for you honey.”
She stayed frozen in her chair, out of things to say. She’d never imagined she’d face something like this in her life. This wasn’t right. Climbing up the corporate ladder was simpler in her eyes; You work hard, you take some crap from an angry boss every now and then, you suck it up and you move on. What the hell was she supposed to do when facing a woman like this. This was the best company in the city, one of the best in the country. When one would arrive here, they could rest assured that their career was moving in the right direction; resigning would be a step—no, a leap, a huge jump backward that she could never recover from. She was humbling herself in front of that woman, and all the woman could give her was a cold stare; she’d hit a brick wall.
“Miss Santana please…” she whined, feeling herself get emotional. “What can I do?”
Agatha took a gulp of her glass, wincing at the burning taste, with her eyes still on Lori. Her feet started rocking on the table while she looked at Lori in silence like she was thinking things over; Lori hoped she was at least. She hoped that the woman had the smallest bit of kindness, enough to give some thought before she ruins her.
She coughed a couple of times after she’d taken a drag from her cigarette, then she sighed and said in an indifferent tone, “You wanna be my assistant?”
Lori bulked. She expected to hear a lot of stuff, but not this.
Agatha had had only one assistant. The girls didn’t really know her that much, as she’d been quite busy most of the time. They just saw her hustle to and from Agatha’s office ten to twenty times a day, always bearing an anxious look on her face.
Lori had been working for only two months in the company when the girl stormed out of Agatha’s office crying. She refused to talk to anyone and continued marching through the door pushing everyone out of the way and yelling 'I quit…I Quit.'
It had been no surprise that after that incident, when the position opened again for admissions, no one submitted a request; no one wanted to be Agatha’s assistant after the emotional storm-off the last girl had made. The admission period closed abruptly after three days; Agatha said that she found that she didn’t need an assistant after all. She had played it off as a joke, but it was obvious on her face how offended she was.
“But…” Lori mumbled. “You don’t need an assistant.”
Agatha smiled faintly. “I’ll make an exception for you.”
Lori stayed still, with a hurt, defeated look slowly taking over her face. Being an assistant to someone this high up the company wouldn’t be that bad, she’d learn a lot, and build a useful relationship; but she knew she wouldn’t get those benefits working under Agatha. She wanted her as her assistant cause she hated her, and all that Agatha would probably give her would be trivial tasks and mean remarks.
“Is…” she took a deep breath, making a last effort. “this the only position—”
“Yes.” She cut her off coldly. “I’ll think of something else as we go on, but it depends on how well you perform in the position I’m offering you.” She wiggled her foot as she looked away from Lori and laid out the terms. “If I’m happy with your performance, and you better know that you should reach a very high bar to make me happy, I’ll find you a position you’d love, maybe like the one you just lost due to your incompetence, maybe higher.” She looked at Lori and raised her eyebrows, successfully enticing her and rising her hopes up, before her face went back to cold. “But if you disappoint me, and that’s easy to do, I’ll fire you.”
Lori gulped, as the mere mention of the word made her sick. She couldn’t imagine having to leave here. Her anxiousness must’ve shown on her face, cause Agatha gave a mocking snicker before she took another gulp from her drink.
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