To be fired by him

IRIS

~•~

I got dressed for work the next morning. I could not figure out what to wear, so I grabbed whatever my hands touched first.

Janet and Maria slept over, so Janet drove me to FiveTech in her black Toyota. Of the three of us, she was the wealthiest.

"Have a fun day, darling!" Janet screamed from the driver's seat, and I laughed.

My hair was in a mess, there were dark circles underneath my eyes, and I could barely see anything clearly, but I was going to head to work and get my day kick started either way.

I pushed through the glass doors of FiveTech, the number three technology based company in all of America, and number one in New York. I had been working in this company for five years, after six months as an intern. I worked as a sales representative, and had managed to climb up the corporate ladder just a little bit.

Dedication and commitment have brought me this far. However, I wasn't feeling very dedicated and committed that morning.

The first unusual sight I caught hold off was the empty receptionist desk. I frowned at the empty seat.

Miss Penny was always the first person to step into the office in the morning. I knew this much from the many nights I had slept over in the office while working. It was not normal for her to be absent from her office so early in the day.

Not only that, but the entire ground floor seemed deserted. There was barely any sound, and the only sounds I could hear were the echoes of my heels clanging against the white marble floors as I walked. I clutched my handbag and headed to the elevator.

Was there a meeting I did not know about?

No memo had been sent to me?

Then again, I had been too drunk in the past sixteen hours to check my email.

Shit! I cursed internally.

I got into the elevator, and found my way to the twelfth floor, where my office stood.

Once again, I was greeted by an empty corridor, and empty offices as I walked past.

Was today a public holiday?

No. I would have known that much.

I was grateful to find Sally, my office neighbor- as I liked to call her - rush out of our office and close the door behind her.

Her eyes widened when she saw me. She shook her head and rushed towards me.

Confused, I peered at her.

"Sally, what's going on?"

"Don't speak. You're not even fashionably late." She spoke with a tone of urgency. I saw her half walk, and half run past me. I followed her closely behind.

I heaved a sigh and looked down at my pants. I was well aware of what she meant.

"What's happening?"

"There is a meeting in the boardroom. Something about the company being bought over night." She whispered, as though she was scared the walls would tell on her.

However, her whispering was the least of my problems.

My shocked glare rested on her.

"What? A new CEO?" We were already taking hasty steps towards the boardroom.

"Yes. And he doesn't look very friendly. Hot? Yes. But as friendly as Mr Five? Hell no." She threw the words over her shoulder.

When we got to the glass doors of the boardroom, she stopped and turned to me.

"Once we are in, make sure you apologize for coming late. Perhaps you would be forgiven."

It was more of a warning than an advice.

"Wait, what? Sally, I…" She pushed the door open and walked into the boardroom before I could finish my sentence.

I had no choice. I was forced to resign myself to fate and pushed the door open. Immediately I stepped into the room, I did as Sally had advised.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" I foolishly called out, wearing a nervous smile on my face.

All heads turned in my direction, and all eyes met with mine in that instant. A wave of nausea rippled through my skin and bones.

I wished they would not look at me, or the ground would open up, and I would disappear into it.

In a room of over fifty people; male and female, my eyes had to land on a vaguely familiar pair of sapphire blue orbs at the head of the table, seated on the seat of the chief executive officer of FiveTech global.

My breath hitched. My heart did a thousand and one somersaults in my chest, and my throat ran dry immediately.

I swallowed hard to dampen it, but it only worked for ten seconds.

His eyes were on me. He was looking at me.

I could not be mistaken. He was the only one I knew with long silver hair, and a slashed left eyebrow. And that tattoo on the right side of his neck…

Flashes from last night violently flooded my mind. My head throbbed badly, my right hand flew to my forehead. I could have fallen to the ground, but a gracious co-worker caught me before I could.

He couldn't be our new CEO!

The man from last night, the stranger I kissed in the club could not have bought my company in what, less than twelve hours?

What was he playing at? What was he trying to do? How the fuck did he know I worked here?

I was going mad. Even in the fully air conditioned room, beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. It soaked my collar and the back of my shirt.

Once I was seated, he tore his gaze away from me. Sally appeared to be giving a presentation, as the personal assistant to the human resource manager. While she spoke, he focused his eyes on her and the projector in front of the room.

The lights had been turned off, but it didn't make me any less nervous.

I was still as aware of his presence as I had been when I first walked into the room.

Once the meeting was over, he dismissed every one of us.

I returned to my office, but I could barely concentrate for more than half of the day.

At exactly twelve noon, there was a knock on my door.

"Miss Peterson."

I jerked up from my reverie, and turned sharply towards the door.

"The CEO wants to see you in his office. He says you have five minutes."

My heart sunk to the bottom of my chest. Hot sweat busted through my pores and flooded my face again.

What had I done? I shouldn't have gone to the party last night! I shouldn't have drank too much! And I sure as hell should have never accepted Janet's stupid dare!

His office door opened when I got there. I sucked in deep breaths several times, but nothing could prepare me for the meeting ahead of me.

"You cannot stand in front of my door forever, little dove." His voice graced my ears, and I felt myself freeze at the spot.

Little dove. That was the name he had called me before promising to ruin my life. My intestines formed a tight knot in my stomach. I was fighting hard to breathe.

He was right. I could not stand in front of his door forever. The earlier I faced him, the faster I could get this shit show over with.

I walked into his office, and closed the door behind me. I stood in front of the door, watching him cross his legs and recline into his chair.

Mr. Five's name had been replaced with his on the plaque.

Five Montgomery, was now Damon Maddox.

Damon Maddox. I flinched.

Even his name sounded treacherous.

I swallowed hard and kept my gaze on the plaque.

"You might want to walk to my table to receive what I have for you." He said again.

My eyes hoisted up to stare at him. I let out a ragged breath, before I looked down at the table. A white envelope was displayed in front of me.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, one that I could not express just yet.

I started to walk towards the table, begging my knees not to fail me. They threatened to turn to jelly, and send me to the ground.

As I stood in front of his desk, a sinister grin spread on his cheeks.

"What…" I had started to speak, but my voice came out as a mere whimper.

"What is this?" I asked.

"I want to believe you're learned, and you can read." He replied, without looking at me.

I snatched the envelope from his desk and tore it open. I unwrapped the paper, my keen eyes skimmed through every word.

With every typed word I read, every sentence I skimmed through, my heart sunk deeper in my chest.

"You're…" My lips quivered. I could not find my voice anymore.

"You're firing me?"

It was at that moment he looked up at me.

"Why do you sound surprised?"

"Why?" I coughed out. The tears I had fought so hard to hold back since my break up with Philip last night, rushed to the forefront of my eyes.

I made no effort to hold them back.

"It is my company, Miss Peterson. I can do whatever I want. However, since you asked…" he leaned out of his chair and folded his arms. He stared straight into my eyes, so I knew he wasn't bluffing.

"Incompetence."

The words slapped me across my cheeks. It was a heavy blow to my chest.

"Incompetence?!" I cried out.

"Please…" I pressed my palms together as I cried.

"You cannot do this to me, please. I need this job! It's all I have!"

"You should have thought about that before coming late to work." His blue eyes leered at me. His jaw hardened. Every action of his stemmed from pure hate, I could feel it.

"I would do anything to make it up to you, sir. Please, please just let me keep this job!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He replied.

"I have asked the HRM to send out a vacancy notice for your spot already."

No. Please no.

"However, there is one thing I can do for you."

I sniffed in my tears and stayed quiet.

"I could offer you another job…"

My eyes flew open with hope.

"...as my mistress."

The hopes were slammed against the hard floor.

I watched him flash me a forced smile, but it was all to mock me.

He was making a joke of me, playing with me!

Bile rose from the pit of my stomach. I could taste it at the tip of my tongue.

"Fuck you." I spoke, through bared teeth. I squeezed the paper in my hand into a rumpled ball and flung it at him. He slapped it away from his face.

A stray tear rushed down my right eye.

"Fuck you." I said once more, before turning my back on him.