In love with Mr CEO

"Miss Hart, in my office. Now."

Mentally throwing colorful profanities at my workaholic jerk of a boss, mighty Sean Peterson, I put the receiver back with a loud thud.

I eyed the intercom which had succeeded to top my list of most hated things in the world. It had gone through my anger a number of times and was on the verge to break into pieces. Poor intercom!

I took a few deep breaths, preparing myself to face the robotic boss of mine, and went to his office. There he was, sitting on his throne, going through some documents.

"Miss Hart, bring me the report of the sale of the car accessories of this month. Ask the accounts department to send me the file of accounts. Schedule my meeting with Mr. Perez for the day after tomorrow. I want you to collect the statistical data of the sale and make a presentation but first, prepare a document brief regarding the meeting I have tonight with Mr. Bill."

"Oh, come on. Take a breath at least." I mumbled to myself. He speaks like it's recorded on his system. He's a robot and thinks of me the same.

Well, hello Mr. Boss, I'm a human. Look I breathe too.

"And have you arranged for my dinner meeting?" He inquired, still not making eye contact with me. He was deeply engrossed in his work.

"Yes, sir."

Yes sir, Sure sir, Okay sir, were the only few words l had left to say Damn! I was missing my voice. How a talkertive person like me could speak only a few words? My mute mode was literally killing me.

"Make sure to complete the document brief before the work hour ends. Now, you can leave."

"Okay, sir."

I left his office and without giving a second glance to anything or anyone I went straight to the bathroom, locked the door, and stood in front of the mirror. I saw my dull face which was in dire need of rest. My face had lost the colors and shine. My smile was slowly turning into a permanent frown. My eyes held permanent irritation. This all because of one person.

"Impeccable, robotic, blue-eyed, handsome, workaholic jerk."

I banged my hands on the counter and groaned. "Ow, I can't even curse him behind his back. He gets back at me in other ways." I almost yelled in annoyance, pressing my palms with each other to lighten the pain.

"Sometimes I feel like revealing his only embarrassing secret that no one knows. Mighty Sean Peterson does not know to knot a tie. I am the one who does it for him. But damn I can't reveal because of the contract he made me signed to keep it a secret." I rambled in irritation.

My eyes landed on my reflection that was mocking me for my fate. Gritting my teeth I glared at my reflection. "Why? Why did you choose to work with this human-machine? He has taken your peace, your social life. Hell, he even took away your voice."

My reflection suddenly glared at me, imitating my moves. "You are asking me? Ask yourself. You were the one who was bouncing when accepted for the job. You or not to quit the next day when you got tired and irritated on your first day because the pay was huge, respect was huge, and don't forget about the crush you have on your handsome, workaholic jerk of a boss"

I opened my mouth to argue back but nothing came out. I couldn't form words as I knew whatever my reflection said was one hundred percent true.

I had developed an innocent crush on my boss on the very first day of work. His striking blue eyes held me spellbound in our very first meeting. I thought the crush was innocent like I had on every fifth person on the planet but my stupid, traitor heart couldn't stay low around him. It always battled with my ribs to come out of my skin whenever I was around him.

Sean Peterson, what have you done to me?

Sighing, I turned the faucet of the sink and splashed water on my face. After wiping my face with the tissues I went to my office to continue my work. I could only complain to myself but in reality, I had to complete the work no matter what otherwise I would be thrown out of the company which I didn't want,

I finished my work before the deadline and gave the documents to my boss who then left for his dinner meeting. I, on the other hand, sat for a few minutes on my chair to relax then went down to take a taxi to go home.

The taxi stopped in front of a small house where I was living on rent with my housemate, Christy. The landlord was a strict elderly couple Mr. and Mrs. Harris, who lived in the adjoining house. Their children were living away from them that hadn't come to visit them in the last two years and that turned the couple into grumpy people who would snap at minor things.

One day Mrs. Harris snapped at me for leaving the grass of the tiny part of the lawn untrimmed. She didn't even listen that it was left by mistake. She kept on shouting until I trimmed the grass before her eyes.

And their 'No men allowed' code was so annoying. Christy and I couldn't even invite our male friends to our house. One day, out of irritation, I almost, almost threw Mr. Harris out of the house when he came to ask for rent. He's a man, or so I thought. And according to the code, I had all the right to throw him out to avoid any trouble but I had to control myself otherwise instead of him I would have been thrown out.

I shook my head on my own wicked thoughts and paid the taxi driver. I entered the house and threw myself on the couch. After a long, hectic day it feels terrific to be home.

I was enjoying the moment of peace when I heard a sniffle. Frowning, I roamed my eyes around the living room but found nothing. Shrugging, I took out a hair tie from my bag and tied my short hair up. I again heard a sniffle followed by sobs. Now I went alert and stood up from the couch and followed the voice. The voice took me to the door of Christy's room. Wait...is she home? She never stepped inside the house before ten in the night and it was only six-thirty in the evening.

"Christy, are you in there?" I knocked on the door of her room. To my surprise, the room was unlocked and creaked open with just one knock. I peeked inside her room.

"Chri- Oh, goodness. What happened to you?" I rushed to her when I found her sitting on her bed with her knees pressed to her chest. Sitting beside her I engulfed her in a side hug. "What happened?" I asked again.

As if only it was my support she needed, she dropped her head on my shoulder and cried harder "He.... He dumped me Tyler why Lauren why?

I bit the inside of my cheek as it was an edgy topic for me too. How could I console her when I myself couldn't get answers to my own issues? Though Christy was a bold girl, she was sensitive when it comes to relationships.

Whereas I was careless of that issue as I was used to be dumped. I have had many boyfriends but none lasted more than a month. My only serious relationship lasted for a full six months that too when I was in university. They all left me saying I was too different for their liking. Some of them broke up with me saying I was crazy.

Not my fault. It was their loss. I loved the way I was. It wasn't my fault that they couldn't understand me, couldn't take the habit of talking to myself for granted. What's the big issue if I talk to myself? Why should I change and lose my uniqueness just for a guy? If a guy wants me he must accept me the way I am otherwise I'm better off single.

I never initiated a break up so being an angelic soul, I always ended up making my ex-boyfriends my friends but only after secretly damaging their precious things, precisely their bike or car. I had to vent out anger on something to teach them a lesson for dumping me and calling me crazy. Stupid? I know.

But I was known for being crazy so why not do something worth the title?

"What...what did I do wrong? Why he broke up with me, Lauren? Why he dumped me like garbage?"

"Whoa, hold on a second." I softly pushed her away and held her shoulders. "Keep one thing in mind, you are not garbage. Do ever say that again, get that?" I chided.

"But he-"

"Oh, shut up." I stood up from her bed. "Okay, tell me one thing what did you do when he broke up with you?" I asked, putting my hands on my waist.

"I begged him not to do so and when he refused to listen to me I ran away, crying." She sniffed and I gaped at her.

"You...you did nothing? How could you spare him this easily without teaching him a lesson?" I raised my voice, glaring at the stupid girl crying her eyes out for a douche.

"Because I love him."

This 'L' word again!

"Calm down Lauren you don't have to snap at Christy, she's newly heartbroken." I mentally comforted myself.

"Christy, did Tyler give you any reason for breaking up with you?" I asked in the calmest voice possible. She was fragile and needed to be handled with care. What an irony? I couldn't handle myself with care and I was thinking to do so with her. I almost laughed but it was not the situation to show my teeth.

"No. He just said 'it's over."

Fisting my hands at my sides, I gritted my teeth. How could he do this to her? My hands were itching to strangle him. He definitely needed to learn a lesson but for that, I had to convince Christy first.

"Listen Christy" I sat ha on the bed "Don't define your self worth by such a narrow parameter of garbage because you He's garbage and he needs to know you don't give a damn about him"

"But I do. I have genuine feelings for him." She pressed again.

"No, you don't! How can you have genuine feelings for a man who broke up with you for no reason? Tell me do you know the reason?" I asked firmly to which she shook her head. Good, we are making progress.

"Had he ever said that he loves you? Did he ever introduce you to his family? Forget family, did he ever introduced you as his girlfriend to his friends? Did he ever officially and romantically proposed to you?"

She shook her head. "He might have proposed to me if he hadn't broken up."

God, this stupid, hopeless girl! This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

"You stupid girl! How could he propose to you when he has already dumped you? Don't you see he's a cheater? He might be stuffing his tongue in some bimbo's dirty mouth right now. I never took you to be so naive and stupid, Christy." I said in disbelief.

"I'm not stupid." She argued back.

"Oh, You are not? Then prove it. Prove it to him that you don't give a flying fuck to him. You are not someone to be dumped, You are someone to be loved. Show him where he stands and where you stand. You're a bold, independent, and strong girl whose life can not be ruled by a man."

I finally took the time to breathe after speaking in one breath. Christy kept on looking at me without blinking then she suddenly blinked and stood on her knees.

"Lauren..." She paused for a second and slipped out of the bed. "I guess you're right. I'm such a fool crying for a person who doesn't even care about me. I'm not someone's puppet or trash to be dumped easily."

Slowly but surely a proud smile made its way to my lips. "Good job, Lauren. Your convincing powers are improving day by day." I mentally praised myself, feeling proud.

I clapped excitedly. "Then let's teach him a lesson."

"What can we do?" She asked.

A wicked smile formed on my lips as a sinister idea popped into my head. "I'll not tell you, I'll show you but first tell me where can we find him at this hour?"

"Umm...at his restaurant in the mall."

"Perfect. Let me change then we'll leave."

Finally! It had been too long since I did something crazy. I was super excited.

We drove to the mall in Christy's car as I didn't have any besides it was her problem I was going to solve so her car it was. She parked the car in the parking lot and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"What now? Are we going to confront him?" She asked.

"Nope." I grinned. "Something better." I gazed out of the window looking for the particular thing I was here for. "Can you tell which one is his car?"

"Look straight. That black BMW parked near the yellow board." She pointed at the car. "But why do you want to know about his car?"

"Because we're going to damage his car."

"What?! No, Lauren, this is insane." She shrieked, her eyes turning wide like saucers. I gave her a deathly look which made her release a sigh.

"Okay fine but we don't have to damage his car. We can flatten the tires of the car or something, that would be enough."

I gave her a sweet, innocent smile. "Deflated tires won't make any difference but a single scratch will pierce through his heart. And my darling, we are going to scrape his car."

"What? No! This seems like some childish prank."

"It's not."

"You are behaving like a high school girl on revenge, Lauren. This is ridiculous."

"Revenge is revenge taken by whosoever. Besides, I'm not harming anyone, am I?"

"No, but-"

She tried to argue back but I didn't give her a chance to speak as I stepped out of her car and dragged her out too.

"Let's go," I said as I prepared myself as if I was going on a war.

"Lauren this is stupid. We will be reported if we get caught. We'll have to pay a huge price." She kept on rambling.

"Exactly, if we get caught. See, no one is here, not even CCTV covers this spot. Now, don't be a chicken, and let's enjoy the moment." I said, taking out a flexible knife from my jeans pocket.

"You keep a knife in your pocket?" She asked in utter surprise

"Self-protection." I shrugged my shoulders and ran my finger through the side of the blade, inspecting the sharpness.

"It's sharp. Perfect."

"Take this and do the honor," I said firmly, giving her the knife but she stepped away.

"I'm not doing this. Lauren this is a crime."

I banged my one hand on the hood of the car, showing the knife to her with the other one "Now."

"No. It's not right and besides this car-"

"Oh, shut up. If you can't then let me do the honor."

A screeching sound pierced through my ears as I grazed the knife on the hood. The black metallic color started to fall off. I felt satisfied like I gained serenity.

"Lauren, no-"

"Don't worry Christy your friend is here. I will take you revenge." I said absent-mindedly. My heart and soul were dancing in glee as I carved patterns on the car. Ignoring Christy's rambling I kept on scrapping the color. It was childish but there was a sudden rush of adrenaline that had me continuing my work. It was giving me immense joy. My eyes were glittering like stars in the clear night sky.

"Lauren for god sake listen to me for once. This is not his car. You are scrapping someone else's car." She whisper-yelled, grasping my upper arm.

But it was not her statement that stopped my hands to stop my heart to drum louder

"What's going on here?"

"Shit!! Imma outta here." I heard Christy's dreadful voice before she decided to leave me alone.

My heart got filled with fear, my own soul cursed me for my stupidity and my legs gave up on life, still, I managed to turn and face the owner of the voice and when I did, my face lost colors. All the wicked plans flew out of my mind and the knife I was holding dropped to the floor.

I was doomed.

Sean Peterson

Work. Not my solace but a necessity for me to keep myself away from unwanted thoughts and loneliness. Being on top of the ladder doesn't mean the person is always happy. There are always undesired, voiceless agonies, chaos, and sometimes dense, painful silence ruining the happiness and joy of being at the top.

Climbing the ladder of life alone hadn't been easy for me when every single step felt heavy and the ladder seemed to be broken at some steps. But I had to. To survive. I did it myself without support because there was no one with me to encourage me, to look after me if I fall.

After numerous struggles to succeed and numerous battles with myself and the world, I was at the place where I aspired to be. At the top.

"Mr. Peterson, I do want to do business with you but the amount you're offering under this deal seems to be quite less." David Bill spoke, slipping the catalog file on the table.

I was at the dinner meeting with David Bill, a young, budding businessman. His father had passed him his rubber industry only a month ago. Honestly, I was impressed with him, I appreciated his approach. I saw capability in him.

Putting aside the glass of water, I put my forearms on the table. "Mr. Bill, XDS Auto Tech is a prominent company and we here do fair business. We make sure that our business partners never catch a glimpse of loss." I paused, studying his features.

"I've heard that Mr. Peterson. I know there is no loss in this deal but my concern is the profit amount."

I again sat straight and adjusted my suit jacket. "Mr. Bill, rest assured that it is the best amount being offered by any Automobile company.if you still feel less it's less then let's put it this way..... You desperately need partners to improve the image of your company, so high profit should not be your main concern at this point. And l don't think l need to remind you how your company's image would rise if you do business with us"

He knew I was right that's why he agreed without thinking twice. After signing the deal, we stood up to bid our goodbye but before leaving the place I stopped to do one thing that was needed.

"David," I called him informally. "I appreciate your working attitude. Keep working this way and you'll reach heights." I patted his back to which he smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Peterson. It's a big compliment coming from you."

I had to praise him. Being a beginner he needed a little push to help him recognize his worth and to help him grow. I always praised good work, not caring if it's small or big. Talent must be appreciated no matter what.

I bid the final goodbye and marched out of the restaurant to the elevator. I received a conference phone call from my best friends, Xavier Knight and Daniel Adams

These two people were like eye-blinding sun rays that penetrated my gloomy soul, increasing the brightness level to a hundred.

"How it went?" Xavier asked, referring to the meeting.

"It went well. Now we have a new rubber supplier for our tire manufacturing unit." I responded as I stepped out of the elevator into the parking lot. Sticking the phone to my ear, I marched towards my car.

"That's like my Sean babe. I knew you would do it." I rolled my eyes at Daniel's stupid comment.

"Don't you have a wife to call babe? Stop calling me babe and focus on your son and wife." I rebuked. His son was now three months old.

"Who said I'm not focusing on my son? You are the one that is out working I'm at my home playing with my burrito"

Smiling, I shook my head. No matter how much I complained or criticized his childish behavior, I had to agree that he always managed to bring a smile to my face. It was his specialty, his uniqueness.

I heard Xavier chuckle. "So, heading home now?" He asked.

"Yeah, need some sleep," I mumbled. A sudden frown appeared on my face when my eyes landed on two women standing near my car, doing something that I couldn't comprehend.

Were they trying to steal my car?

"See you tomorrow, guys." I hung the call and marched towards them.

"What's going on here?" I asked in a hard, stern voice.

One of them scurried away in fear when she saw me but one was still there. Slowly, she turned to face me and I frowned deeply when I saw a familiar face.

Miss Hart?

Her wide eyes made me raise my eyes in confusion then something dropped from her hand. I lowered my eyes to the floor and saw a knife. What was she doing with the knife?

"Oh, hello, Mr. Peterson. H...how was your m...meeting?"

Why is she stuttering?

"It went well. What are you doing here? And what are you doing with a knife?"

"Oh, it's a mall, sir. A public place and I came for shopping. I...I shopped for a knife." She laughed nervously.

Yeah, of course, I had asked a stupid question. It was a public place.

I just nodded my head and unlocked the car with the remote key and made my way to the door but stopped when she suddenly came in front of me, almost hitting my chest.

"Why are you blocking my way, Miss Hart?" I frowned as I took two steps back from her.

She scratched the back of her neck and opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She mumbled something to herself then spoke, "I...uh, I want to know wh...what happened in the meeting, what all you talked about? Yeah, this is what I want to know."

"Excuse me?" Was she even listening to herself?

"Actually I...I need to make notes so-"

"If I wanted you to take the notes I would have asked you to accompany me to the meeting," I stated the obvious.

"Yeah, that makes sense" She again laughed nervously. What the hell is happening to her?

"Miss Hart, step aside, I have to leave," I said a little firmly.

"No!" She shouted all of a sudden, again coming closer to me. "I mean... No, I still have something to talk to you."

"Talk to me in the office." I softly pushed her aside and took a step forward but abruptly stopped when my eyes landed on the hood of my car. My eyes bulged out.

It was scrapped!

"Fuck! Who did this to my car?" I yelled, rubbing the scraped part out of the hood. No matter how many cars l can buy but it hurts to see a single scratch in my car

"I swear it wasn't intentional."

I heard Miss Hart say. It's her? Gritting my teeth I furiously glared at her.

"It was you? Why? Are you crazy or what?" I shouted.

"I swear I had no idea it's your car. I wouldn't have done it if I knew it's yours. I thought it's someone else's car and-"

"Mine or not, you can't do that to anyone's car!" I banged my fist on the hood. "Damn!"

"Don't do that you'll damage it more." She shrieked.

Seriously?

"Oh, now you care?" I snapped, glaring at her in anger.

"I'll pay for the damage, I swear." She said in a shaky voice.

"Pay? Really? Well, reality check, Miss Hart. It's not always about money. It's about what you did and why! Why for no reason you'd damage someone's car? What was going in this stupid head of yours?" My voice came out in a roar. I was beyond angry at her.

"I had my reasons to damage the car but I'm sorry that it turned out to be yours."

"Is this how you apologize?" My head tilted in disbelief.

"Yes. No. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I...I ... Please don't fire me from my job."

Oh, wow, now she is giving me ideas.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my face with my palms. "Sean, don't be angry. Calm down." I mumbled in my head. Sighing, I looked at her. I had just signed a new deal l was in a good mood but she ruined it

"We'll talk about this in the office tomorrow," I said in a calm tone. I was trying hard not to snap at her again.

"In the office?" Her panic-stricken eyes studied me. "You are surely going to fire me, I know. Please, please don't do this. Cut my salary but don't fire me, please." She begged.

Well, I wasn't going to fire her as she was a very efficient employee and I could definitely get my car repaired in minutes but I had to teach her a lesson for her foolishness.

"Miss Hart, don't make me create a scene at a public place. I'll talk to you tomorrow," I said firmly and after rubbing the scraped part again I sat in the car and drove off.

Lauren Hart

Oh no!

"He's definitely gonna fire me." I panicked. I ran my hands through my locks, pacing back and forth. "I need to do something."

He already never saw me as a woman, he only saw me as his P.A -it's not that I wanted him to- but I lost even an atom size chance of it. I knew I had no chance with him but seeing him daily was like a treat to my eyes. And I was going to lose my job too.

And he too called me CRAZY! Everyone ends up calling me that.

My mind was running a marathon, trying to figure out how to save myself from my own foolishness. All of a sudden, my mind screamed a name that could definitely save me. Ariana Knight, my best friend. She means a lot to my boss and he would definitely listen to her. I was on the verge of calling her but I stopped.

"I think I should first talk to him tomorrow and if he doesn't understand then I'll involve her. Yeah, that's better." I satisfied myself by saying so but I was fearing of how would I face him tomorrow.

"I told you it was a bad idea!"

I gritted my teeth at Christy's voice. This traitor!

I turned and face her in rage. "Bad idea? I was doing it for you and what you did? You left me alone with the satan."

"Hey, I appreciate that you wanted to help me but I was against the idea of car scrapping from the start."

I sighed. I couldn't be angry at her. It wasn't her fault in the first place. It was me who wanted to quench my thirst for doing something crazy.

"It's okay, Christy. I'm not mad at you. It's me who is unlucky." I sighed.

"But hey girl, your boss is too hot. It was the first time I saw him out of the screen." She teased me as she punched my upper arm.

"Too HOT," I agreed to her but included sarcasm in my tone.

"Hot-tempered. He's gonna show me his hotness tomorrow by firing me. And I swear if I get fired tomorrow, I'll burn your boyfriend alive because I'm in this situation because of him." I yelled in annoyance, in one breath.

"Okay, I get it. I think we must head home before you burn this place down." Saying that she dragged me to her car and led me home.

I couldn't sleep for the whole night. I couldn't find peace. Whenever I tried to close my eyes, images of me being thrown out of the company flashed before my eyes l woke up way too early before taking my shower l kept staring at my work outfit for long.

I picked up my pencil skirt and rubbed the cloth with my palm. "I hope it doesn't turn out to be the last day I wear you."

I sat on the chair at our small four-seater dining table to have breakfast but the delicious sandwich before my eyes failed to lift my mood.

"Enough, Lauren. You're being dramatic. You are taking this too seriously. It's not you. Stop fussing over that might not happen." Christy said, placing the coffee mug near my sandwich plate.

My lips curled down. "Christy, you won't understand. I have been doing only one job since I have come here. I don't want to go back to my parents."

"Oh, come on, you're acting like you won't get another job! Your experience will provide you the best job in a prominent company, in case you lose this one."

"So much for making me feel good," I grumbled. "And I currently have the best job in the most prominent company in the USA. I don't think I'll ever find a job like this if I get fired and to be honest, I'm too much attached to this job, my post, my colleagues...and my boss." I mumbled the last part to myself.

I abruptly stood up from the chair, pushing it back with my leg. "I'm going to work. My skull will split into two if I stay here for long, thinking about my job." I marched out of the kitchen.

"But your breakfast?" Christy yelled.

"Eat it yourself," I yelled back.

"You should have told me beforehand. I wasted my time by preparing breakfast for you. And resources too." She yelled again.

"I'll make it up to you. If I don't lose my job, I'll cook breakfast and dinner for two days." I said as I came out of my room. taking my bag with me.

"I hope you don't lose your job otherwise I won't be able to forgive myself." She mumbled lowly.

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you for anything." I hugged her. "You okay?"

"No, but I will be. I'll talk to him today and will clear the issues. I want to know the reason he broke up with me for. I want to know why he played with my feelings." She mumbled.

"Do that and if he doesn't obey then give me a call. I'll make him spit out the reason."

"Oh, you have done enough. Now go save your ass." She laughed, detaching herself from me. I too laughed and went out.

With sweating hands and biting my lower lip in fear, I stood outside his office, contemplating whether to knock on the door or not. I was trying everything that could delay my dismissal but sooner or later, I had to face him.

"Lauren, do it now and save yourself from mental misery," I whispered to myself. Taking a few deep breaths, I finally knocked on the door and entered his office.

"Good morning, sir," I chirped a little actively, hoping for him to change his mood by listening to my chirpy voice.

Oh, come on Lauren, as if it is possible.

"Miss Hart, The car..."

Oh god, he hasn't forgotten it yet.

I panicked. "Sir, I... please listen to me. It wasn't intentional and I told you I'll pay if you want me to, you can cut my salary but please, please, please do not fire me. I'm really-"

"Miss Hart."

"I'm really sorry. I won't do it again. Hell, I won't even look at any car ever again. I'll close my eyes before I could see any car. And if you fire me who would do your tie?-"

"MISS HEART."

Flinching, I abruptly stopped rambling when his booming voice pierced through my ears, making my heart drum louder. I gulped and stared at his standing form with wide eyes.

"The car accessories sales report I asked you to bring to me hasn't reached me yet. Where is it?"

Huh?

My wide eyes now narrowed and a frown graced my eyebrows in confusion and surprise. Confused at his question and surprised at his relaxed tone. Was I dreaming?

Running my already confused mind in different scenarios, I asked a dumb question that no one in a healthy state of mind would ever ask.

"A...are y...you not firing me, sir?"

Stuffing his hands in his pant pockets, looking more handsome and hot than he already is, he strode towards me and stood at two hands distance from me. His ocean blue eyes staring at me with no emotions.

"Do you want me to?"

"What?" I asked.

"To fire you?"

"What, No!" I exclaimed loudly. "Why would I want that?"

I was extremely embarrassed. What's with me and my mouth? Why can't I keep it shut when required? I always end up embarrassed in front of him. What he must be thinking of me? Crazy? Fool?

You don't have to worry Lauren as you'll have more embarrassing moments. This is nothing. Just wait...

"Then go bring me the reports."

I was snapped out of my dreamland and stared at his face, digesting what he said to me. He wanted me to bring him the reports means he surely wasn't firing me.

"Miss Hart did you listen to what I said?." He snapped fingers before my eyes.

"Oh, yes, sure." I didn't know why but I grinned as I said that and scurried out, bouncing.

Saying those words again filled me with excitement. The words I hated to speak were the only words that brought joy to me. In the end, I accepted that, yes sir, sure sir, okay sir, were the words I never wanted to give up on.

"I still have my job!" I did a little booty shake outside his office.

12:15 PMM

4G

51

Sean Peterson

"Then go bring me the reports."

After a moment of staring at me, she finally left to bring me the reports. It would be childish If I had fired her for her not so negligible mistake. Being an efficient employee earned her my forgiveness. I was mature enough to know what to keep and what to let go. I was running a business, not a circus.

"The reports, sir." Miss Hart came and kept the file on my desk. I picked it up to read but stopped when I saw her still standing in the same position.

"You want something?" I inquired, raising my eyebrows.

"Uh, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for not firing me. The thought was giving me a headache and I was thinking where would I go if I don't have a job? I "

"Miss Hart, it's fine. You may leave." I said a bit louder because I knew she wouldn't shut her mouth till I do not say it to her strictly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, sir. Thank you again."

I sighed in relief when she marched out. Why does she speak so much?

I again began to read the documents and a few moments later I received a phone call from the one to whom I hadn't talked for a long time.

"Hey, Grandma," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead because I knew I was going to get an earful.

"Sean, this kind of behavior wasn't expected from you. What have you become? Don't you care about this old lady who has her eyes stuck to the door, waiting for her grandson?" She rebuked.

Yep, I hadn't visited for years now.

"Sorry, Grandma. Work keeps me busy." I sighed.

"Don't give me excuses as I know your reasons. Listen, for the first time I'm asking you to not care about all that happened, and please come to see me. I have something important to discuss with you." She said softly almost tiredly. There was something unusual in her voice that made me worry about her.

"Are you okay?" I inquired.

She sighed. "I'm perfectly fine, for now, but this isn't about me. If possible, I want you to visit me today as this talk can't be delayed. I'm waiting for you. Don't disappoint me this time."

And she hung the call, leaving me confused, worried, and distressed. I hoped she's okay. I wasn't able to think straight. I loved my grandma dearly but she asked me to visit the place I detested the most. She asked me to visit the place once I called my home. She wanted me to visit the people who tossed me into the loneliness and most importantly, where I won't ever find the one dear to me.

The mere thought of them was enough to turn my mood sour. Sighing, I picked up the documents again to divert my mind but the door of my office burst open and I didn't have to raise my eyes to see who had entered without knocking.

"Oh, come on Sean babe, rest for a while. Too much work will give you grey hair."

I chose to ignore Daniel's irrelevant comment and continued to read the document.

"What's the document?" Xavier asked, sitting on the chair on the opposite side of my desk. Daniel sat on another chair beside him.