Shay's POV
"I think the lawyers can handle this part."
I placed my pen down on the table and intertwined my fingers in front of me before looking across at Mr. Morris, the director of the company.
As much as I admire the way he effortlessly comes up with ways to run the business, it's still my job to help him make the best decisions by the end of the day. Right now, though, I'm starting to feel unsettled about all the confusing details of the profit process, and I can't seem to come up with a solution we both agree on.
I glanced back at Mr. Morris and focused my attention on him.
"Yes, okay, but perhaps we should consider letting one of the board members know about this, so we can also get their opinion on the matter. What do you think?"
He stared down at the table and rubbed his white beard with his hand, obviously thinking about my suggestion. He suddenly looked up again, then closed the file in front of him.
"I agree. But first things first, we should let the boss know. Do you mind taking this and sharing the details with Mr. Cartwright? I have another meeting in ten minutes."
Flashbacks of what happened in the elevator yesterday flashed into my mind. I still felt embarrassed about what I did, and the more I thought about it, the more stupid it made me feel.
The last thing I wanted right now was to face him again, but since this was work-related, I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid him for much longer.
"Yes, of course. I'll do it right away," I reluctantly replied.
"Right. Thank you, Miss Kellen."
He quickly stood up and left the room, while I remained seated, thinking of other ways to get myself out of this.
But since I had already agreed with Mr. Morris that I would discuss this with Mr. Cartwright, I decided to just do it, even if it meant facing another embarrassing moment with him.
I grabbed the files and walked out of Mr. Morris's office, taking the elevator up to the top floor where his office was. Two minutes later, when I finally stepped off the elevator and started walking down the hallway, loud voices rang in the air, coming from the direction of the front desk near his office.
I turned right, and when I looked up, I saw two women standing in front of the office secretary's desk, engaged in a heated conversation. One of them, I easily recognized as Sylvia, stood in front of the other woman with her back facing me.
"I don't need an appointment just to see Jason. He knows me! I know he'll want to see me," I heard the woman say to Sylvia.
She was a little taller than Sylvia, probably because she was wearing heels. Her black pencil skirt waistband was pulled high up to her slim waist, and her silver tank top was tucked into it. Her raven black hair looked glossy and wavy, and her makeup looked like it had been done by a professional.
Point is, she was gorgeous, and just seeing her made me curious about the type of female "friends" Jason had.
Oh well, it's none of my business anyway.
"I'm sorry, Miss Keng, but that's the rule. I can't just let anyone in to see Mr. Cartwright. He's a very busy man," Sylvia replied smoothly.
I stopped a few steps away and watched as the woman folded her arms across her chest, scoffed, and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"I am not just anyone. I am Jaliyah Keng, and I'm a friend of Jason Cartwright. Now, if you don't want to lose your job, I suggest you go in there and let him know that I'm here to see him." She said in a bossy tone.
Her attitude towards Sylvia was enough to make me feel more than annoyed by what she'd said, and without thinking twice, I walked over to them and stood in front of Sylvia, glaring at the woman.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think you have the right to speak to her like that, or anyone else here. Who are you to be giving orders and threatening my friend's job? Do you have the power to make decisions like that? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, you just said you're a 'friend' of Mr. Cartwright."
She shot me a bitter look before scanning me from top to bottom.
"Excuse me? Do I know you?" I shrugged and folded my arms.
"You don't need to. Just like how I'm not interested in knowing you."
She glared back at me, and I heard Maryanne, the office secretary, trying to stifle a laugh behind the desk.
"Who do you think you two are? You're nothing but a personal assistant and her sidekick. You'll both regret talking to me like this. I'll make sure of it. Now let me see Jason!"
Before I could respond, Sylvia stepped up beside me and turned toward Maryanne.
"Maryanne, could you inform Mr. Cartwright about his unexpected friend with no appointment? Maybe you could also call security, just to be ready to help show Miss Keng the way out."
Maryanne slowly lifted the phone to her ear while her eyes darted between the two women.
"What a bunch of lowlife losers," she whispered under her breath, loud enough for me to hear.
"What did you say?"
The woman arched her perfectly plucked eyebrow at me and smirked.
"I'm just reminding you both of who you really are. When compared to me, you're both nothing. You're just losers trying to make a name for yourselves by working here. Believe me, I can make your lives miserable with just a flick of my fingers. One more wrong word, and I'll make you both regret it."
Anger bubbled up inside me, and my first instinct was to slap her right there, not caring about my reputation or my job. If there's one thing I hate the most, it's being underestimated and labeled by people who know nothing about me.
Sylvia's grip on my arm pulled me back, and she quickly signaled to me with her eyes, noticing the journalist who had come out of the elevator a minute ago. She was standing nearby, talking on her phone, but her eyes were fixed curiously on us.
We both knew her as the journalist who always wrote for the business magazine about the company and always spoke directly to Jason. The last thing we needed was extra attention on this situation.
"What's going on here?" a new voice suddenly asked from behind.
We all turned and saw Jason Cartwright standing in front of his office door, hands buried deep in his pockets, his eyes fixed on all of us.
The womanâwhose first name I still didn't knowâquickly walked toward him, kissed him on the cheek (which he barely reacted to), and stood by his side, her hands around his arm.
"I missed you, Jason. I came by to see you so we could go out for lunch, but they wouldn't let me. Seriously, is it just your busy schedule that keeps people from seeing you, or is it the weird people you hire who won't even let your friends come see you at work? If that's the case, you might as well just put up a sign out front saying 'NO JASON'S FRIENDS ALLOWED' in bold letters."
He smiled back at her and slowly walked toward us, his face hardening.
"Friends of mine are always welcome, you of all people should know this, Miss Falcon," Sylvia slowly nodded her head, her head slightly bowed.
"And I don't think you were supposed to interfere with matters between Miss Falcon and my clients, Miss Kellen."
My eyes snapped back to him when I heard him mention me. I caught her smirking at me from beside him, and my irritation for her was becoming unbearable.
"I apologize, Sir."
"I think Miss Keng deserves an apology too. For your rude behavior."
I chuckled and released my arms, placing my hand on my chest.
"Rude behavior? I think it was the other way around. She was being rude to Sylvia, so I had no choice but to step in. Clearly, Sylvia couldn't respond the way she wanted to, because she was just doing her job and following instructions. So I had to do it for her."
His eyes suddenly pierced deeply into mine, narrowing as a muscle in his jaw twitched. I wasn't planning on backing down on this one. I was going to make him believe that we hadn't done anything wrong and that I owed her no apology, even if it meant risking my job.
"That still gives you no right to react like that in this situation. Didn't you learn about professionalism? Apologize. Now."
My fists clenched tightly by my sides, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I didn't know if he was making me apologize because of the stupid thing I said to him yesterday or if he was really forcing me to apologize to his friend.
"No."
He was taken aback by my answer.
"Excuse me?" He glared at me, and I focused my eyes back on him, trying to keep my emotions under control while keeping my expression neutral.
"I am not apologizing to her."
For a minute, we just stared at each other. The tension between us was palpable, but if he wasn't going to back down, neither was I. Finally, he nodded once, his jaw still clenched tightly, and gave me a quick, fake smile.
"You're fired."