Chapter 4 - Part 1

I was fidgeting in my seat while waiting for Miss Cindy. I could barely breathe as I stared at the glass door of our cubicle with Chelle because of my racing heart. My forehead and palms were sweating, and I felt like today was my last day.

"It's really your last day! Do you think Sir Jax will let you get away with what you did?"

I wanted to yell at the part of my brain that was always the villain. It kept saying things that made me lose confidence in myself.

What if Sir Jax sues me? Oh my God, where will I get the money for that? What if I get fired? He'll probably charge me a lot because he almost burned down his house.

I slapped my forehead. I was thinking all sorts of things, and I was sure one of them would happen.

I heard Chelle let out a deep sigh. She was also restless. We were both waiting for Miss Cindy to come back. She was still talking to Sir Jax in his office about what happened yesterday. I was embarrassed for Miss Cindy because she always defended me whenever I did something stupid.

I filled my lungs with air before letting out a heavy sigh. I just wanted to disappear and become poop, to be honest.

"Why did you even touch Sir's kitchen? You know he hates you." Chelle sounded accusatory. While Miss Cindy was always ready to save me, my co-worker was always nagging me whenever something bad happened.

I don't know, I don't understand myself either. Why do I always seem to be at fault in Sir Jax's eyes? What happened yesterday was the worst.

I became even more nervous when I remembered what happened yesterday. It was a good thing the fire didn't spread and Sir put it out before it could consume the whole kitchen. I can't imagine what would happen to me if that fire had gotten bigger. I'd be in jail for sure.

I looked at her with tears in my eyes. I shouldn't have come to work today because I was sure I wouldn't have a job anymore. There was no hope of fixing my mistake, but Miss Cindy called me and told me to report to work. I really hesitated whether to go or not. I didn't want to see Sir Jax's anger.

"I just wanted to help, okay? His house was so messy, and he looked like he had a hangover, so I offered to cook him food. And besides, he looked pitiful sleeping on the sofa in his own house surrounded by wine bottles. If he hadn't dragged me out of the kitchen, I wouldn't have left my cooking!"

Even though I felt guilty about what happened, I couldn't help but blame Sir. I didn't have any bad intentions in his wife's kitchen. He suddenly pulled me out even though I was still cooking! He's also at fault!

"Just let it be, I just hope Miss Cindy can save you. Sir looked so angry earlier. He's really scary, Bree. If I didn't need the money, I would really leave this place. Our other colleagues downstairs were scolded by Sir earlier, Lexi almost peed herself out of fear!"

I felt the same way. I was just enduring Sir's attitude because I was in a tight spot. That's probably why they get paid a lot here because they have to endure our boss's bad temper. I need the money for the next school year. I'm almost graduating from college, and I want to fulfill my dreams for my mom and dad.

I took a deep breath again, hoping Miss Cindy had good news.

I sat up straight when I saw Miss Cindy enter the cubicle. I stood up and my eyes widened when I saw her looking at me seriously. I swallowed hard. I looked at Chelle, who seemed nervous too, and like me, was waiting to hear what Miss Cindy would say.

Miss Cindy's face was emotionless, so I didn't know what the outcome of her conversation with Sir Jax was. Miss Cindy didn't tell me anything either, whether she would defend me or not when she called. She just told me to come to work today and wait in our cubicle, and that's what I did.

"You owe me your life, Ms. Ocampo. Mr. Samaniego wanted to press charges against you since you caused the fire on some parts of his mansion. Also, he wants you out of the company and makes you pay a huge amount of money for the damages done."

I'm sure my face went pale when Miss Cindy said that. Chelle, who was behind me, gasped when she heard that. I couldn't help but bite my lower lip. This is what I was afraid of! I'm doomed! I wanted to cry and roll on the floor. It's so unfair! But no words came out of my mouth, I just stared at Miss Cindy while my eyes started to water.

I'm going to lose my job, and I'm being sued! Where's the justice in that?

Miss Cindy raised an eyebrow when she saw my reaction to what she said. There was no pity on her face.

She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Luckily, I was able to convince him to just let it slide and give you a chance to redeem yourself. Mr. Samaniego is not always lenient, miss Ocampo. I hope this incident will serve as a lesson to you. Never mess with someone else’s property." She said firmly, still staring at me.

I couldn't speak after her last statement. Was I hearing things? Sir Jax is giving me another chance? I'm not going to be sued and I'm not going to be fired? I blinked several times in front of Miss Cindy.

"Really, Miss Cindy?" I was overflowing with joy. I really thought today was my last day! I wanted to roll on the floor again, but this time out of joy, not out of sadness.

But I'm really grateful to Miss Cindy because somehow, Sir Jax didn't sue me. I don't know what would have happened to me if that had happened.

"Thank you so much, Miss Cindy. It's my fault. If I hadn't been nosy, that wouldn't have happened. I owe you a lot." It would be sad if I got fired because I've grown attached to my colleagues here in the three months I've been working here.

"I'm not done yet," she said flatly. "I told him not to fire you since we are short of employees, especially now that the annual ball is fast approaching. You will be put on probation for a month. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid. Don't embarrass me. And also, you will be transferred to the team in-charge of the annual ball. You'll be there for now so Mr. Samaniego won't be too hard on you."

That's all she said before leaving our cubicle with Chelle.

Chelle let out a sharp scream when the door closed. She jumped and suddenly hugged me tightly. She shook my shoulders hard.

Miss Cindy's words still hadn't sunk in. I couldn't believe Sir Jax agreed not to fire me. He's the kind of person who doesn't spare anyone, it seems unlikely that he would give me another chance.

I looked at Chelle when she suddenly started squealing like crazy. Her face was also red.

"I told you! There's something between you and Sir, girl! He fired so many people before. A small mistake and you're fired, no forgiveness even if the person in a higher position is at fault. But you've made several mistakes with him, and you're still here! Don't you see? Ha?" Her eyes widened as if she had discovered something important.

I was forced to break free from Chelle's hug and hit her arm. She flinched because she didn't expect me to do that.

"What are you talking about!" I glared at her and looked behind me to make sure Miss Cindy was really gone. I turned back to Chelle, who was now giggling. "Stop thinking about that. I'd rather believe there's something between Sir Jax and Miss Cindy. And I wouldn't dream of Sir liking me. Hello? He's such a jerk!"