MEETING MY HALF SISTER

The next day, I woke up early and replied to Nick's chats while I was taking my breakfast. I even apologized to him for not answering his chats yesterday evening. Fortunately, he is understandable to me. 30 minutes ago I left our house. And today, my goal is to see my father in person, so I need to know where his office is.

I arrived at the office at exactly 5 a.m. in the morning. I wandered my eyes and the light from Hailey's office caught my attention, and through the transparent door, I could hear an old man's angry voice. I couldn't see his face because he was talking while facing Hailey.

So, it appears that I arrived at the wrong time today. I turned on the light on the side of Sir Michael's office and, of course, eavesdropped to hear what was going on with my half sister.

"YOU ARE SUCH A FAILURE, HAILEY!! YOU ARE JUST A FAILURE! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THIS POSITION BECAUSE OF YOUR LACK OF INTELLIGENCE! THERE ARE MORE DESERVING PEOPLE THAN YOU! HONESTLY, I WISH I SHOULDN'T LET YOU STUDY AT HARVARD. THE RESULT OF YOUR WORK DOES NOT SEEM LIKE YOU ARE A GRADUATE OF THAT PRESTIGE SCHOOL AT ALL. YOU BROUGHT SO MUCH SHAME TO MY COMPANY!"

That was the old man's loud shout to Hailey. I don't know but I also feel hurt by what this mysterious old man said. Maybe his position is higher than Hailey's.

"Dad... sorry... I promised to do my best! Just give me another chance!" Hailey begged.

My whole body almost trembled and a mixture of joy and anger was the dominant emotions in me. I turned on the light and immediately sat on my seat. I'm afraid that I might be caught eavesdropping. 

"WE HAVE FIVE INVESTORS COMING AND THEY ARE ALL VIP'S. ONCE YOU FAILED TO PRESENT OUR OBJECTIVES TO THEM, THE DOOR IS WIDE OPEN! YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHAT IS NEXT!"

I heard the door of Hailey's office slam and I saw my father come out. He was also dressed in black corporate attire and had white hair, indicating that he was too old to be stressed out. My hair is standing up and my blood is boiling. I've confirmed that the emotion I'm experiencing is anger. I want to confront him and express all the hate and anger I've kept hidden for nearly 21 years. But I was taken aback when he abruptly grabbed his chest and collapsed in front of Hailey's office.

I didn't hesitate to stand up to help him. I thought he had a heart attack. I was on the verge of panic, but luckily Hailey came out and helped. Tension filled the air

"Dad!! What happened?" Hailey said while facing our father.

I felt a frantic bubble of fear rise up inside him.

"I think it's a heart attack!" I answered Hailey with a shaky voice. Breathing and relaxing was the only way I knew to control the panic.

Her eyes landed on me. "Please help me bring my father to the clinic!" she said with an American accent.

We carried our father to the clinic in our arms. Fortunately, there was a nurse inside who quickly treated my father. Hailey wanted to ensure the safety of our father, so she even ordered me to call the ambulance using her cellphone while she and the nurse attended to our father's condition.

After I called the ambulance, I helped Hailey carry my father until we put him in the ambulance. When I returned to the office, Sir Michael called me immediately.

"What happened to Sir Joseph?" he asked in wonder.

I took a deep breath before I spoke and I filtered the words I would say to him.

"Sir, I came in early today and accidentally overheard Sir Joseph yelling at Sir Gerald and he was screaming at the top of his lungs; I could feel his rage, and I believe that triggered his heart attack!"

Sir Michael leaned back in his chair before asking a question. "Where did he collapse?"

"Just outside your office!"

A proud half smile tilted his mouth. "I see..." Sir Michael grinned. "On behalf of Mr. Joseph and his family, thank you very much for what you did! I'm sure you have a reward waiting for his family!"

Sir Michael's words made me pale, but I realized that this was a good opportunity for me to be close to my father, and he would soon see my true colors.

"Sir, I am a shy type of person and I think even other people won't hesitate to save Sir Joseph's life. It's just that if I can receive something from their family, I will accept it wholeheartedly!"

"Mr. Joseph's family is extremely generous, and I'm confident he will personally deliver that reward to you!"

I lowered my voice first because I gossiped to him what I had heard earlier. It's dangerous and maybe someone will hear me. "I'm excited to meet him in person, but I just can't figure out why he was so angry with his daughter!"

Sir Michael crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you'll get used to it! I don't know why he treats his daughter like that either. I'm sure that the janitors and guards will be in a miserable situation. Ma'am Hailey usually vents her frustrations to them because she can't hurt anyone!"

I brought my face closer to Michael to make sure that no one else would hear what I had to say but him. "But how about you, sir? Do you experience being scolded by Hailey?"

"I'm just a senior manager, and fortunately, I'm not submitting any reports to her, so we have no business with each other!" Sir Michael stated emphatically.

I have no further questions and I want to go back to my place. "Okay... okay sir! I'm going back to my seat!"

Sir stood up and came to me while his two hands were in his pockets. "Wait a minute... why do you seem so interested in the Montreal family? I can sense from the tone of your speech that you want to know more about them!"

I bravely made eye to eye contact with Sir Michael and just laughed at what he said even though I was turning pale.

"Sir... I just asked questions and I guarantee you that I have no other intention. Besides, I really thought that once you became as rich as them, there would be no more issues between family members. I thought I was wrong!"

Sir Michael sat in the unoccupied chair in front of me. It was as if he had doubts about what I was telling him. "I know you're a smart person, Stella! You know I'm so impressed with your observation skills. That's why I accepted you into my department. I'm not pulling a joke here, but I can see that you will be a successful person one day. And it's only right that you made Sir Joseph a role model!"

Sir Michael couldn't take his gaze away from me. He was clearly reading me deep down in his head.

"S-alright sir... I'm going back to my place!"

He just nodded, so I stood up and went out. Of course, this is not the end of my story, so I'm just like a broken radio and repeating my stories to my colleagues at work. 11 a.m. in the morning when Hailey suddenly appeared in front of our department, she was still wearing her broad smile even though he was scolded by my secret father earlier. I can still smell her expensive perfume.

Her eyes landed on me. "Hey, I haven't said thank you yet! Are you new here?" she asked.

I stood up and tried to imitate her way of speaking in front of everyone. "You are very welcome Ma'am. My name is Stella!" 

Damn! I looked like a social climber with my terrible American accent.

Some of my co-workers laughed a bit but I just flinched.

"As a token of appreciation, I'd like to invite you to lunch today!" She said with a cheerful smile.

She spoke English so fast that I only heard a few words of what he was saying and had to use my common sense to understand the context.

"I accept your offer Ma'am," I said without a second thought. "Let me ask my manager about this!" I don't want Sir Michael to be bypassed. I have a lot of respect for him so he needs to know about this!"

"It's fine!" said Sir Michael, who had just left his office. He dragged his feet towards Hailey and they exchanged smiles.

"So how is Sir Joseph's condition?" Sir Michael asked.

Hailey let out a slow breath of relief. "He had a heart attack but miraculously, his condition is stable at the hospital!"

"That's good to hear! Anyway, you can borrow Stella for a while. She told me that Sir Joseph is her idol and her dream job is to work in this company!"

I don't know what went through Sir Michael's mind when he slipped his mouth and said that. Damn it, I ain't ready to tag along with my half-sister and I was drenched in sweat even for no apparent reason.