Chapter 1 ONE

"I am calm, sir," Teresa said evenly, pressing her headset tighter to her ear. "But shouting won't speed up the process."

The man on the other end of the line was practically foaming, accusing the finance team of theft, incompetence, and everything in between. His voice, loud and jagged, buzzed through her headset like static on a broken radio.

"I've been on hold for twenty damn minutes!" he barked.

"And now you're speaking to the right department," she replied, her tone cool as steel. "I just need your reference number to assist you."

"I don't have a damn reference number!"

Of course you don't.

Teresa muted her mic for half a second and sighed. The shrill cry of the answering machine echoed again behind her, like a chorus of chaos. Her fingers danced across the keyboard, her long nails clicking rhythmically as she pulled up the day's fourth overdue report. Her eyes burned, dry from hours of screen glare and stress.

"Sir," she said, voice clipped but professional, "please hold while I connect you to someone in Insurance."

Without waiting for his response, she hit the transfer button and leaned back in her chair. The fluorescent lights buzzed above her like a swarm of mechanical bees. She glanced at the oversized digital clock across the room.

10:47 a.m.

Only 10:47.

And already, she was ready to scream.

She sighed in frustration, combing her fingers through her chocolate brown hair.

Same desk and chair. Same coffee-stained mug that she got from the dollar store. Same beige walls, humming with fluorescent despair and lack of warmth. Her blazer itched at her shoulders, the old material harshly rubbing on her skin, but she didn't dare remove it because the dress code was unbelievably strict, and Mr. DuPont, her former boss, was always lurking, always watching for weakness. Or cleavage. Or both.

He was a sadist. Always looking for someone to insult or ridicule. He clung to the powerful and cowered when then spoke but when they were out of sight he felt like a king in his territory. He became harsh, rude and perverted.

But today was different. Today, Mr. DuPont had been fired.

Sexual harassment, of course. Everyone knew what he was doing but because he had high connections in the company. But this time was different. He messed with the wrong person. Apparently an investor brought his teenage daughter whose fashion sense was hippy clothing. DuPont tried to harass her and throw his weight but unfortunately for him she wasn't someone he could offend.

Teresa tapped the mouse absentmindedly as she staring into the screen. Her mind had already wandered. It always did. Daydreaming managed to keep her sane. Or at least functioning.

Lately, though, even her fantasies seemed more...intense and explicit. Her body temperature was rising and a wetness pooled in her lower region. She pressed her legs together and took a deep breath trying to control her urges. She shuffled in her sit and placed her hand on the mouse trying to concentrate on her work.

She clicked open another file. Graphs. Numbers. Percentages. Useless things. She existed the Word app and went straight to the Internet search engine. She began to browse about puppies and kittens when a voice came from behind.

"Teresa are you done with the report." She jumped out of fright and clumsily exited the kitten blog that she was watching and left the screen blank.

She turned to look at her supervisor. Mrs Demarco. A short harsh woman. She stool in front of Teresa with her usual scrunched up face and stern look. She crossed her arms across and chest and raised an eyebrow on Teresa's stunned look.

"Well?"That snapped Teresa back in place.

"I'm so sorry."She said as she began searching for the financial report that she had finished doing last night. She finally found the green colored file and gave it to Mrs Demarco.

Mrs Demarco took the file from her but kept her intense look on her. Teresa stood blankly sweating with nervousness.

"Did I do something wrong?"Teresa thought nervously.

Mrs Demarco finally opened her mouth after moments of silence." Miss Smith how long have you been working in this company?"

Teresa was confused about why she inquired but she still answered." It has been two years and seven months ma'am."

"You have been here for two years? And have you ever had a demerit?" Mrs Demarco asked as she walked to Teresa's cubicle entrance.

Teresa open her mouth to say no but Mrs Demarco caught her off instantly.

"Nevermind I will find out by myself." And with that she left the cubicle walked out of the office with her heels clacking against the tiled floor.

Teresa stared at the wall blankly for a while trying to understand what just wanted on. The more she thought about it, she became petrified.

What had she done wrong. Was there a mistake in the report? But Mrs Demarco hadn't opened it yet. Did she forget to complete a pending task.

Teresa then quickly took her phone from the socket underneath her table where she was charging and opened up her task organizer. She searched all her tasks from three months back but nothing was missing. Every single one had been completed and submitted. So what was the issue.

Teresa then noticed that heart was spreading up and her lower region became wet again.

"It's happening again." She thought to herself. She reached into her almond colored handbag and brought out a bottle filled with pills. She popped two into her mouth at first, but then added two more so extra measure.

After a few minutes the effect began to show as her heart rate reduced and she felt better. She took a sip of water and turned to the screen determined to stay focused so she could leave the office early.

Six hours later, the office official closed and employees were free to go. Teresa had stayed glued to her seat working diligently taking no breaks except for lunch and the occasional toilet breaks. She was able to complete all her tasks and was already one week ahead of schedule.

She walked out of the general office were junior employees worked. She passed by her colleagues who were on groups discussing. She wasn't well known in the office. Always quiet and quick to leave. She never attended any office function unless it's a compulsory one.

As she passed many of them pointed and whispered about her. Some called her rude and others called her stuck up. The whole office alienated her and only came to her for official business and even then they were rude and dismissive. Many a time Teresa had to report the attitude of her colleagues but she was ignored as always and the treatment continued.

Teresa could hear the whispers but she didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything even if she wanted to. All she wanted was her soft bed and comforting equipments.

She didn't need the approval of anyone in the office. They were all fake anyways. Smiling in front of you but won't hesitate to stab you in the back. That was the reality of the corporate world. Everyone is trying to rush the top and scramble for the benefits.

Some may win but many lose and the consequences are drastic.

Teresa was okay with her already complicated world. She didn't want to complicate it any further.