Shay's POV
The days quickly flew by, and Jason and I regularly met up to discuss the next steps of the plan. Things were slowly starting to progress in a positive way. Our cosmetic products received a great profit rate this week, and I felt more than happy when I checked the feedback report from the duty-free stores at San Francisco International Airport.
Our plan was working, and I was learning from the guideline that Jason gave me. Everything about becoming an executive director was nothing I couldn't handle. Yet, the way Shelby described her job made it seem like a huge burden she was secretly trying to get rid of. It's no wonder she wanted Shawn's position in the company so badly.
Sometimes, I stayed late at the office to finish my work for the day and then later worked on my SFO project. I kept checking the deadlines, reviewing weekly reports, reading feedback, and replying to pending emails from business clients and other departments. One reason I wanted to do all this late at night was to avoid going home. Dad had been released from the hospital a few days ago, but the doctor advised him to rest and not work for the time being to recover his health.
As usual, I planned to stay back at work for a while to finish some paperwork. However, when I checked my phone, there was a short text from Mom wanting me to come home early. Dad had requested all of us to have dinner together because he had an announcement to make. I managed to complete half of the pile of paperwork on my desk before deciding to leave. I turned off the lights in my office, went to my car in the parking lot, and finally headed home.
To my surprise, everyone was already seated at the table, and the housekeepers were serving dinner. There was a noticeable difference in the atmosphere tonightâlike something big was about to happen, and I would definitely hate it. The first feeling I got when I sat down at the table was unease, especially when I noticed the proud smiles on Mom's and Shelby's faces.
After dinner was served, Dad suddenly cleared his throat, and we all turned to look at him.
"I have some good news to share. Thanks to Shelby managing to get Mr. Kolinsky to give our company a ranking, we are now one of the top five successful companies in America. Thank you, Shelby. I am proud to say that you're the only sole successor in this family. If your brother were still here, he would be happy with what you've done for the company when we nearly hit rock bottom. You've outdone yourself again."
I highly doubted Shawn would be happy for her, knowing the kind of relationship they had. If only you knew, Dad.
He started to applaud her, and Mom and Shelby robotically followed, huge smiles on their faces. I reluctantly did the same and quickly flashed Shelby a smile when she glanced at me. She managed to get ahead of me, and with that kind of praise from Dad, she could definitely get what she wanted if she asked for it. But still, I wasn't letting that happen yet. I could find a way to stop Dad from giving her Shawn's position until I presented the good monthly review from my SFO project in two weeks. I could still stall for some time.
Dinner proceeded as normal, but the minute she shot me that sinister smile, my mood soured, and so did my appetite.
OoO
After dinner, I went to her office to congratulate her on her achievement, though I also intended to remind her that she wasn't going to win just yet. Jason and I were expecting great results after my interview at Selina's Beauty Show tomorrow. It would be a much bigger achievement than getting our company a good ranking.
I walked into the room and found her standing near the new fireplace with a glass of red wine in her hand. She turned around and greeted me with a smirk.
"What do you think of my new office?" she asked.
I glanced around and shrugged.
"Gloomy, but it's nice. Congrats on getting us a good ranking."
She sipped her wine, still smirking.
"Thanks, but just so you know, this is only the beginning of many great things I'm about to achieve while I still have this position. Are you still trying to take over my seat?"
I chuckled and folded my arms across my chest, looking directly into her cold blue eyes.
"If we're being honest tonight, then yes. I will take over that position soon."
She rolled her eyes and stepped closer.
"I can't wait to see how you'll try to do that. A lousy mouse trying to overthrow a scorpion? How funny."
I clenched my fists in annoyance and turned to leave, but she spoke again.
"Oh, and since we're being honest, I took the USB and the rest of the documents from your room. You can't use those lame pieces of evidence against me because it's never going to work. So, to put it simply, I burned them all."
Anger bubbled inside me as I turned back around to face her with a deadly glare.
"You did what?!"
"I burned the drive and the documents, and I hired someone to wipe out the copies from your computer. Sorry."
"You went through my room? And my laptop?!"
"I had toâmaking sure that useless things like that will never stop me from getting what I want."
My hand itched to slap the smug look off her face. I couldn't believe she broke into my safe and got someone to hack my computer! I turned around and stormed out of the room, angry tears stinging my eyes. I felt like screaming and punching something hard. I rushed inside the house, ignoring Mom's voice calling my name, and went upstairs to my bedroom.
I pushed open the door, walked in, and paced around, hoping I would cool off. But it didn't help when Mom suddenly walked in with an angry scowl on her face.
"Why didn't you respond when I was calling you? Are you suddenly deaf or something?" she demanded.
I glared at her but didn't say a word.
"Why are you giving me that look? Do you need a slap to make you realize who you're glaring at?"
"Mom, please... just get out. I'm not in the mood to talk right now."
She chuckled and placed a hand on her hip.
"Oh, you're not in the mood? Don't give me that attitude, young lady. You will listen to what I have to say."
I clenched my fists and continued pacing, hoping it would annoy her enough to leave me alone.
"Mom, please go."
"Don't tell me what to do! I will stay here and give you a piece of my mind. Are you seeing that boyfriend of yours again, Shay-Lina?"
I closed my eyes, sighing. "Mom, I'm begging you. Let's talk some other time."
"There you go againâ"
"Just stop, okay?!" I finally exploded.
She stepped back, startled.
"Can't you see what I'm going through right now? Why is it so freaking hard to make you understand what I said or what I want right now?! I am not giving you excuses to make you leave this room, Mom. Why can't you notice that I'm having a hard time already and just leave me the hell alone? I can't take this anymore! I can't live like this. It's so freaking suffocating every time you press me like that, and sometimes I wish I was never born into this life. I hate this. Why did you even give birth to me in the first place? I can't breathe around you, and I can't do what I want. Everything seems to be going wrong, and I just... I just want to die! You just don't get it, do you? A part of me is already broken because Shawn is gone, and every time you do this... I feel like something is pressing on my heart. I feel so frustrated and and angry all the time, and I can't take it anymore. So what do you want from me?"
My knees buckled beneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor, tears uncontrollably flowing down my face. I let out everything I had kept bottled up inside me over the past couple of weeks. Letting it all out felt so different. It made me feel... so empty.
I couldn't stop crying, and when she suddenly knelt down beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder, I wanted to move away from her so badly, but my body couldn't move. It was like it shut down by itself.
"I'm so sorry. I'm really... sorry."
She softly mumbled against my hair as she pulled me into her arms. This was the first time my mother showed this caring side of her. Being embraced with motherly hugs was something I rarely got, even when I was little.
This was yet another shock to me. She repeatedly mumbled a long string of "sorry's" to me, her arms tightly wrapped around my numb body. I felt so drained, and all I could think about was closing my eyes and hoping that whatever was happening right now... was just a dream.