BEHIND OFFICE DOORS

An alarm rings continuously.....

It's 6 am in Inwood, New York City. Laura reluctantly sat up as the alarm blared. She stretched and yawned, fighting the lingering drowsiness that tempted her to stay in bed.

She felt exhausted from the previous day at her demanding and frustrating cleaning job, a challenge she had to face with determination every day.

Alongside the stress, Laura endured constant hostility from her coworkers and boss, yet with no choices, this cleaning job was her sole means of survival.

Laura reluctantly pulled off her cozy duvet, gathering her remaining strength to face yet another exhausting day in her routine.

As her feet met the cold wooden floor, she was reminded of the challenges awaiting her at work once again today.

"Does life ever get any better?" She murmured in frustration as she struggled to rise from the bed.

Laura rushed to the bathroom for a bath in the shower. She was refreshed as the cold water trickled down her body. The scent of her soap filled the air and ensured that all that was in her felt good to go ahead of the day.

She moved out of the shower, wiped her body dry in seconds, and anticipated what else she was prepared to do next.

"Laura! ... Laura!" a young boy called from outside her room, knocking frantically. It was her little brother.

"What do you want?" Laura replied, her voice firm and tired.

"Can I come in, sis?" He asked again as he continued to knock.

This annoyed Laura, and she asked once more, "I said, what do you want?" Her face pressed against the door. "I'm trying to rush for work, so we can talk when I get back."

Laura gazed at her wardrobe, deciding what to wear for the day while awaiting any response from her little brother. The sudden silence is a relief, he doesn't answer. She quickly selected a freshly ironed blouse and skirt and slipped them on.

She grabbed her wide-toothed comb from the table, and hurriedly combed through her long, shiny black hair, tucked it behind her ears as her eyes were fixed on the mirror to ensure she was doing it right.

She applied her favorite chocolatey, musky cologne, finding a sense of calm in its familiar scent. Now ready for the challenges of the day, she grabbed her handbag, put her phone inside, and headed for the door.

"Good morning, mom! I'll see you when I'm back!" she called out as she grabbed her wedge shoes and rushed out the door. She quickly slipped into her shoes and stepped outside.

As she looked up to search for a taxi, she spotted a yellow cab parked nearby.

"Wait, please! Wait!" Laura shouted as she waved her hands to signal the driver. "24 Cooper Street," she indicated as she opened the back door and hurriedly climbed in.

"That'll be 50 bucks, ma'am," the driver replied, his eyes fixed on the road, ready to go.

"Alright, just go," Laura responded nervously as she hurriedly sat in the vehicle, pointed down the road, and signaled him to start moving.

As the cab moved, Laura gazed out the window at the sky and road, her mind raced with thoughts, while the fresh air of the morning filled the car, preparing her for whatever the day may bring.

"I just want a peaceful day at work for once," she muttered to herself.

"Need anything, ma'am?" The driver asked, thinking she was speaking to him.

"Oh, no, I was just thinking out loud," she replied with a forced smile as they continued on their way.

***

Tires screech and the vehicle stops....

"Oh, we're here already?" Laura asked in surprise as the vehicle pulled up in front of the company gate.

The noise of the vehicle's brake suddenly reminded her of her surroundings which she had been daydreaming about the entire ride.

"Thank you, here's your money," Laura said in a composed voice and reached out for her purse. She pulled out a few bills, and gave them to the driver.

Without wasting a moment, she swung the door open and climbed down fixing her eyes on the gate of the company that was ahead.

As she opened the gate and walked through it, the security guard gave her an unpleasant look while she approached. Confused, Laura wondered why he was staring at her that way.

"Good morning, miss," he said as she neared. "I just wanted to warn you to be careful," he continued, his tone serious. "Walls have ears, and I've heard enough about you. You're not wanted here, and they're planning to make your life even harder." He then stepped back to his post.

In shock, Laura closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to process the words. What could have sparked such hatred from them?.

She opened her eyes, forced a smile, and walked straight toward the entrance.

From the reception, voices whispered, "There she goes again, little miss Perfect. I wonder who she thinks she's trying to impress. I wish she'd just leave."

Anger made Laura's pulse quicken, but she did her best to suppress the feeling even though it was impossible to ignore.

She walked into the storage room containing her cleaning equipment, closed the door and rested against it with her eyes shut.

She summoned all her strength to look for the appropriate words, but the voices of the warning first by the guard, followed by her colleagues, went round in circles inside her head.

As she tried to relax, knocks began to sound from the door. And not just from one person, it sounded like a lot of people.

Laura quickly grabbed her cleaning tools, removed her handbag from her shoulder, hung it on a nail as she did every day, and opened the door.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear us knock?" Came the sharp voice from the trio of women who always seemed to want trouble with her.

"I was getting my cleaning tools for today," Laura answered nervously, her voice tinged with frustration. The women stared at her, exchanging looks as if planning their next move.

"Can you just leave me alone?" Laura pleaded, her tone more desperate. "I just want to focus on my work.

"I don't want any problems," Laura said as she attempted to leave the scene.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The lady in the middle asked as she held Laura's hand and pulled her backward.

Fear flickered in Laura's eyes as she realized they were looking for a confrontation.

"Please, just let me go". "Stop! I'm begging you. Don't come near me. I don't want any trouble," she said as her voice shook with fear and she tried to walk away once again.

Whoosh! A slap came from nowhere and struck her across the face.

Laura was shocked, fear washed over her as tears forced to come down her cheeks. She trembled in surprise as she rubbed her cheek.

"What are you looking at? Want to fight me?" The woman sneered as she moved closer to Laura with a menacing look.

A deep, firm voice suddenly cut through the tense atmosphere, commanding attention and halting the brewing conflict between Laura and her coworkers. It was the CEO of the company.

"What's going on here?" He demanded, his voice stern and unyielding, laced with authority.

The troublemakers, caught off guard and sensing the power shift, quickly scrambled to distance themselves from the scene.

"Nothing, sir!" they answered in unison, their voices dripped with false innocence, their expressions smug. They couldn't help but feel satisfied by the emotional pain they'd just inflicted on Laura.

Still boiling with frustration and anger, Laura felt her control slipping. She wept uncontrollably, a mixture of emotions clouded her composure as she looked her boss in the eye.

The disgust and anger she had tried so hard to shield her face from, poured out in an uncontrollable flow of tears. Without answering, she took her cleaning supplies and turned away from the scene, bitterly crushing all the hope within her.

The others watched her leave without offering a shred of sympathy or concern, their stares insensitive and dismissive.

Still staggering from the humiliation, Laura sought refuge in the restroom, as she hoped to get away from the torment. She started cleaning the floor, but every scrub of the mop only served to intensify the memories of what just happened.

Flashbacks of the cruel taunts and the maltreatment filled her mind, and the tears continued to flow freely.

"When will this end?" She thought to herself. "Why can't I come to the office and be happy for a change"? Her feelings swirled and overlapped with confusion, sadness, and a feeling of incapacity.

All at once, her phone buzzed in her pocket and interrupted her stream of consciousness. She hastily placed the cleaning items on the floor and trembled as she picked up the phone.

It was her younger brother.

"Hello, sis," he said in a quiet, worried tone.

Laura, already on edge from the earlier ordeal, answered impatiently, "What's going on Daniel? Why are you calling me so many times?".

"Mom is sick... We're at the hospital," he said as his voice oozed with fear.

The shock of the news was felt by Laura as an impact blow to the stomach. She immediately had trouble breathing and her heart missed a beat.

"What happened? Where are you? Which hospital?" She asked as her voice tightened with worry.

Her brother waited for a long moment before he answered. "I tried to tell you this morning, but you were off to work in such a rush... There was no time for me."

A wave of guilt crashed over Laura. She could have taken a moment to listen. She should have. But she hadn't. Why hadn't she paid attention?.

Before she could say anything more, a cold, commanding voice cut through her thoughts.

"End the call now!."

She froze. It was the voice of her boss. Her stomach dropped. Slowly, she turned around to face him, dread crept into her chest.

"I will call you back in a minute," she told her brother in a rush and disconnected the call. She was trembling as she raised her head to face her boss.

Before she could comprehend the situation, she received a hard hit on her face again on the same cheek where her colleagues had struck her seconds ago.

The sting was immediate and intense. Her face burned, and her body tightened in shock.

She stammered as her voice trembled, "Sir, you slapped me?, Why.... Wha - What's going on?".

His eyes were cold, his face hard as he voiced out, "You're fired!".

He turned on his heel and stormed out of the restroom, leaving Laura reeling as her mind struggled to catch up with what just happened.

"Is - Is this real?" She murmured to herself, her thoughts became blurred. "Are you kidding me?".

Bitter tears threatened to fall as she sprinted behind him and panicked in the middle of the race with her heart beating wildly.

"Please, sir, I beg you, what is wrong?" She cried, her voice thick with desperation. "Why am I being fired?" The words tumbled out, raw and pleading, as she followed him into his office, refusing to be left in the dark.

Her breath came in quick, shallow gasps as she stepped inside, clutched the door frame as if to steady herself, her gaze locked onto his in a silent appeal for answers.

To her shock, when she stepped into the office, she found the three troublemakers and several other coworkers already present. Her stomach twisted in confusion and anger.

"Wha - What's happening?" She asked, her voice quivering, thick with confusion and hurt.

Sweeping the room with her gaze, she looked at everyone present in search of some hint, some recognition.

Yet the rest looked away uneasily and pretended not to notice her, their eyes averted from her.

A hint of panic arose within her; she was beginning to understand that no one was going to even give her any explanation.

It was a claustrophobic feeling, as if everything around her was shutting down on her while even the eye contact was full of blame, and there she was lost in a group of people.

Then she noticed her purse, which rested wide open on her manager's table. Beside it was a stack of money. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the cash, her mind began to race.

Her boss didn't wait long to explain.

"$20,000 has gone missing from the company," he said, his voice cold and accusing. "We've gone through the CCTV footage but found nothing. However, when your handbag was brought to me, we found the money hidden underneath it."

Laura's stomach dropped. Her gaze flicked to the cash and then back to her employer as fear crept in. She was in utter disbelief.

"There's no way this is happening." "This isn't me," she said as she tried to defend herself, her voice lifted in desperation. "I - I didn't do this! I've been set up! You're all part of this!" she yelled as her voice trembled with emotions.

The three women exchanged sly, triumphant glances. They smiled at her misfortune, clearly relishing the moment.

Laura, still unaware, had no idea that while she was cleaning the restroom, they had secretly planted the money in her bag, framing her.

Her boss lost patience as he stared at her.

"It's clear you're guilty, Laura. Your explanations don't matter. You're fired," he declared, his voice final. "Pack your things and leave in five minutes. Your services are no longer needed here."

With that, he turned and walked out of the office, leaving Laura alone with her coworkers.

The three women moved closer to her, grinning with satisfaction. One of them leaned in and whispered maliciously, "We told you we'd make your life miserable here. We told you you'd be gone soon."

Laura stood there, heartbroken and humiliated, gazing at them in disbelief. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and her voice cracked as she whispered, "God ... .this is too much for me".

The words hung in the air, raw and vulnerable, as if she pleaded for an answer. But the silence was her only reply.

Suddenly, the tears rushed down, unstoppable, each one carrying the weight of her grief, frustration, and exhaustion.

Her whole body trembled, a storm of emotions broke through as it caused her to feel small, exposed, and utterly defeated.

Without a word, they walked out and left her as she stood there, utterly alone.

Laura's gaze fell on her handbag and the pile of money beside it. Her world crumbled around her.

The weight of everything, her humiliation, the betrayal, the depressed feeling, crashed down on Laura all at once.

The weight of her own body seemed unbearable and her legs buckled under her. Her heart pounded violently while breathing became impossible for her.

A wave of unbearable pressure, fear, and despair washed over her and she collapsed on the ground, losing her consciousness.

"Everyone please step aside!". "She has now regained consciousness," Laura's boss ushered the others.

It was all disorienting as she gradually rose and noticed that she had passed out in her superior's office.

She used her hands to support herself, but they were shaking partially.

When she looked around the room, her colleagues fixed her with such an incredulous look that she almost felt like a ghost.

The images of what took place at work not long ago started to come back to her memories just as they began to escalate the fear that was building in her heart.

In a fit of rage and disbelief, a contemptuous glare was directed at her boss before Laura stormed out of the room without a second look.

Laura, emotionally exhausted and struggling with dizziness, limped to her work section and quietly packed her things.

It was almost as if each item she stuffed into her bag was an artifact from her previous ill-treatment in that organization.

As heaviness overtook her, Laura walked towards the door only to see the security guard hurriedly walking in her direction with a kind of look that expressed both concern and regret.

He approached her, his voice low and apologetic. "I'm sorry, Miss Laura," he murmured, his gaze shifting uncomfortably. "I tried to warn you." His words hung in the air, deepening the ache in her chest.

She stared at him, the weight of betrayal settled around her as she realized how much had been hidden from her and how she'd been the last to know.

With a quiet nod, she forced herself to keep moving, her heart heavy with hurt and disbelief.

She strode to the gate, desperate to leave and never look back.

As she scanned the road for a cab, she spotted a vehicle pulling up and rushed toward it, her voice urgent. "Please! I need to get home!".

The driver nodded, noticing her unsteady frame. "Come in, ma'am," he said, helping her with the door as her vision blurred with dizziness.

Once inside, Laura whispered, "Please, let's go," her voice was a quiet plea as tears welled up again. She could hardly believe she'd lost her job over a false accusation.

The car ride was quiet, but Laura's mind was too agitated to enjoy it. She shut her eyes, hoping that when she opens them again this would have all been a bad dream.

The driver glanced back at her through the mirror and having assessed her silence, asked, "I hope you are okay, ma'am."

"Yes, fine," she replied stiffly, fighting back tears, still not wanting to speak. Her heart felt like it was shattering into pieces.

***

At last, the vehicle stopped in front of her residence, and Laura felt a weight lift off her chest. She struggled with her handbag, clumsily and incapacitated, before managing to find a few notes for the driver.

Releasing the driver's hand, she stepped out of the car with a small mountain of things she had in her arms, work related and quite obvious to be heavy to her after a long day.

She walked towards the front door and saw that it was slightly opened. She felt something unpleasant across her back. Her heart started racing and fear came over her.

For a second, she lingered, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply to suppress the surge of panic. Then, she extended her battered hands and pushed the door.

As she advanced inward, the stillness of the house compelled her to slow their movement. Laura's eyes remained alert and passive in the dim light, discerning every flicker of motion that warranted her careful approach.

The house was never this quiet.

Laura walked to her mom's room and found it empty, it was unusual for her to be out this late. "Mom! Mom!" she called, her voice filled with fear.

She hurriedly searched the rooms again but found no one. Hands shaking, she pulled her phone from her bag and dialed her mother's number.

After a few rings, a small, familiar voice answered, "Sis... Sis! It's me. We're still at the hospital," her little brother's voice quivered on the other end, triggering Laura's memory of his earlier call. He had mentioned that their mother had fallen ill.

"Oh no... I'm so sorry," she whispered, overwhelmed by everything. She forced herself to focus. "What happened to Mom? Is she okay?" she asked, her heart pounding as she headed back out of the house.

"The doctor said it's critical, and he needs to talk to you," her brother replied, his voice trembling.

"Stay calm, I'm coming," Laura said, trying to steady her voice as she waved down a cab and gave the address to the driver. "New York Presbyterian Hospital, please. It's urgent!".

The driver turned to give her a skeptical look. "'Ma'am, you are going to have to settle 100 bucks," he said without any emotion.

"Just drive, please. I'll pay," she insisted, exhausted by his demand. As the car started, she leaned her head against the window, lost in a fog of despair, staring blankly at the passing lights.

***

Shortly after they arrived at the hospital, she quickly reached out for her bag to hand over the fare.

As Laura took the money out, someone rushed past her, grabbed the cash out of her hand, and ran away into the darkness.

"No! Stop, please!" Laura cried, stumbling forward in vain.

The driver looked away, indifferent to her plight, only caring for his payment.

Furious and devastated, she handed him what little cash she had left before storming into the hospital.

She ignored the stares from people in the lobby as she went in.

"Laura! Laura!" Daniel's voice echoed through the reception area.

Laura immediately turned and saw him rushing towards her.

She hugged him tightly, her voice shaking. "Whe - Where's Mom? What happened?".

"Miss Laura Wells?" A voice interrupted her thoughts and she spun around to see a doctor dressed in scrubs, and a mask over his face.

He waved at her to come along and she followed him through one of the corridors into a small room that had low lighting.

There, lying on a bed was her mother, thin and pale. Laura dashed to her and grasped her hand.

"Mom, I can't believe this. I am so sorry. I had no idea. " She spoke tearfully.

"It's fine baby," her mother said, her voice normal but low, to soothe her. "I will be okay. Don't worry."

But Laura's heart sank. "Mom, what's going on?" She asked, desperate to understand.

The doctor stepped forward, his tone grave. "Your mother has leukemia. It's an advanced case," he explained. "To start treatment, we'll need a $1,000 deposit."

Laura's mind reeled, her vision blurred with tears.

"No... how... when did this happen?" She asked in fear as her knees felt weak and she gripped her mother's hand, the weight of the day crushing her as she struggled to process the news.