Sereia's POV
I watched as Olivia shouted from the top of her lungs to one of the employees.
"Is this the quality of work we hired you for?" she shouted as she threw the papers in his face.
Is this how Violet was treated?
Did my older sister have to go through this while she was only a teenager?
Was this the behaviour that drove my sister to suicide?
My body was frozen as I watched the scene from my office.
She tossed all the files from his desk to the floor. "Pick them up!"
His body trembled in fear as he kneeled.
That's enough.
I rose to my feet and marched to the centre.
"Stop it," I said and she glared at me.
"Step aside," she spat. "I'm disciplining my employees how I want to."
"Your employees?"I asked confused. "The last time I checked, I am in charge."
She shot me a venomous look and I could feel why my sister did what she did.
Finally, her whole nice girl act was gone and she showed her true colours.
I thought I would have had to wait longer, but she wasted no time.
"Stop it," I repeated as I showed her that I was to be feared.
She laughed as she looked around at the employees who were watching us.
Her eyes widened and I turned to see him watching us with a scowl.
He made slow and calculated steps towards us. "What is going on here?"
She smiled before grabbing onto his arm. "It's nothing. Ms. Sinclair and I are handling it."
I swallowed back the bitterness that was at the back of my throat as I watched them.
He looked at her before looking at me. "Ms. Sinclair?"
I forced a smile. "Everything is being handled, sir."
He examined my facial expression for a few more seconds before nodding. "Okay."
"Let me walk you to the elevator," she smiled before guiding him away.
He was her weakness.
She feared him finding out who she really was.
I stooped down and helped the man pick up his papers.
"No, no, ma'am," he spoke as he rushed to pick up the papers. "You shouldn't help me."
"Why not?" I asked and he looked at me.
"Because you're the director and you shouldn't lift a finger."
I paused to look at him.
The fact that these people have such thoughts embedded in their brainwashed minds made me angry.
They believed that they were so inferior that only they should perform manual labour.
"That's not true at all," I told him as I continued to help.
...
"Thanks for meeting me Serena," I said to my old high school friend as we ate lunch together at a nearby cafe.
"You did promise to buy me lunch," she smiled.
Serena was now an aspiring journalist at one of Chicago's finest news stations.
I've seen enough of Olivia's behaviour today.
I can't imagine what those employees had to go through for years.
"How are you doing? I haven't heard much about you since high school. It's like you disappeared."
"I'm good," I said, although I wasn't sure if that was true or not. "I've secured a director position for the Harrington Finance Group."
Her eyes widened. "Shut up!"
I smiled before I took a sip of my water.
"So you get to work with Elliot Harrington everyday?" she asked excitedly. "I interviewed him once for a project he did and I couldn't stop thinking about him for months."
"Sadly," I muttered.
"Sadly?" she asked surprised. "I would have a field day. I would never take my eyes off of him."
I laughed before changing to a more serious topic. "I need a favor."
She wiped her mouth. "Sure, what is it?"
"I need you to run a story," I said.
She nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. On who?"
"Olivia Harrington."
She immediately stiftened. "Sereia."
"Serena, I just need you to publish how badly she treats her workers. Put some heat on her."
"Sereia," she shook her head.
"Please, you owe me," I insisted.
She lowered her tone to a whisper. "You're talking about Olivia Harrington, the daughter of The Campbell family, the wife of Elliot Harrington, your very powerful boss."
"I know," I said as I showed her the file of the old employee. "There was an incident two years back with this employee-"
"Sereia stop," she interrupted. "I can't help you and even if I could her family could cover it up. Every news company in the city is on her parent's payroll."
"Please Serena, I stood up for you in high school," I desperately attempted to make her feel guilty.
"I know and I'm thankful but this will get us both fired," she said with a sincere look. "I really want to help, but it's pointless going after her."
I leaned back on the chair and rubbed my forehead as I tried to hold my shit together.
"Do you know anyone who will pick the story up?" I asked.
"Sereia, I'm your friend who would go to the ends of the earth for you," she started. "If I'm not willing to do such as thing, I doubt a stranger would."
I nodded as I placed the file back in my handbag.
I'm pissed.
"I love the new look on you," she tried to lighten the mood. "It makes you look sexy."
I forced a smile so that she wouldn't feel bad for letting me down. "Really?"
She nodded. "Your curves look so perfect. You really are blessing those people at work."
I genuinely laughed. "You're too funny."
She smiled. "I've really missed you, Sereia. After your sister passed, you kind of just faded. You didn't tell anyone where you were going to college and didn't show up to prom."
"I was going through a lot Serena," I explained. "If I could go back and change the way how I handled things I would."
I lost so many friends because I picked to drown in my sorrows.
During college my only motivation was my anger.
My high-intensed course didn't make things any better.
Univeristy was the darkest time of my life.
I constantly had to study without any friends or family support. I barely remembered half of the things I did.
"I know you and Violet were very close. I don't blame you for shutting down," she smiled as the waiter handed me the bill. "Can we still stay in touch?"
"Of course we can," I told her as I pulled out the cash from my wallet. "It'll be nice to have a friend in this city. The city isn't like how it used to be when we were in high school."
"Yeah, everything's changed," she said as we stood up and hugged me. "I'm really sorry I couldn't help you."
"It's fine," I smiled.
It's not fine.
How the hell am I going to ruin her life now?
"I should head back to the office," she said as she picked up her bag.
I nodded as I did the same. "Me too."
We waved goodbye once more before walking in opposite directions.
The Harrington skyscraper was only a few blocks away so I made it pretty quick.
I sighed when I saw him standing by the elevator.
We need to stop meeting like this.
I felt a strong push before Olivia brushed past me to her husband.
She smiled brightly at him and he looked at her with a straight face.
I sucked in a deep breath and held my chin up as I confidently walked to the couple.
She grabbed on his shoulders tightly, clearly intimidated by me as if she thought I wanted to steal her husband.
It took everything in me not to roll my eyes.
The elevator doors finally opened and the three of us silently entered.
As we made our way, she clinged to him for her dear life.
Was she really that terrified that I would try to steal him?
A small smile appeared on my face as I really considered it.
Her world clearly revolved around this man. She loves him.
If I could get her to feel how I felt when I lost Violet for even the slightest second, I would do it.
I don't care.
Her weakness is him.
If I can't break her heart, I know he can.