Chapter 7

Laura's POV.

I left the office yesterday with so much anger boiling inside of me. This morning, I was already awake but I was still annoyed.

I knew exactly who was responsible for it. It was no one else but Lucas. He told me to my face that he wasn't going to fire me no matter what I did to him. 

But at the back of my head, I knew that I just had to push a little bit further and I would get to piss him off so badly that he has no other choice but to fire me. Because a human being has limits, and those limits he wouldn't be able to control.

I made that decision of mine while brushing my hair in front of the mirror. If Lucas didn't react, then I was definitely going to make him do so. 

In less than two hours I was already in the office but I was late on purpose. I wasn't five minutes, or thirty minutes late. I was two full fucking hours late.

When I came into the office I wasn't even rushing. I just walked in majestically, ignoring the glances I got from the other employees who already noticed everything they needed to notice.

By the time I got to my office, my heart was already beating faster. It wasn't from guilt but it was from anticipation.

I waited for a very long time but I didn't receive any message or any call from Lucas. He didn't even come in person to drag me into his office.

I already started to feel suffocated. So I took a stroll out of my office, that was when I bumped into Nina. She was also an employee.

“Good morning Laura,” Nina greeted.

“Is it morning already?” I muttered, acting sarcastic.

“Yes it is Laura. What are you even saying? Anyways I'll catch up with you after work. I have important matters to attend to.” she said, walking away immediately.

I realised coming late wouldn't escalate things like I thought it would. I had another idea in mind, so I just walked back into my office.

I opened my laptop and pulled up the client email list that Lucas had given to me. My fingers were on the keyboard for a second before I smiled to myself and started typing.

I knew that what I was about to do was very extreme so it meant my plan was going to be successful. 

I typed in the wrong dates, the wrong numbers, the wrong meeting times scheduled at 6am to 9pm, overlapping appointments that would annoy anyone with a functioning brain. 

I hit the send button before I could even second guess it. I knew that would definitely do something, and I was right at it because at that moment my phone beeped.

I grabbed my phone quickly, I was expecting Lucas but it was a client's message. 

I just ignored it, then another message came in. And another, emails started stacking up, calls also followed and I ignored all of it. 

It was actually a good sign. I just sat down on my chair, crossing my arms against my chest as I waited for the storm to reach Lucas.

Thirty minutes passed again. Then an hour passed but there was no explosion yet, I didn't hear angry footsteps coming in from afar. I didn't hear anyone calling out my name so loudly while opening my office door and slamming it loudly.

I started to feel very angry. This wasn't even about irritating Lucas, it felt like a challenge to me and I didn't want to lose to him.

Afternoon had already reached. The damage I had caused already spread so wildly, clients were complaining and the schedule was all a mess.

The employees were confused and frustrated. From my laptop I was watching everything going on at the other floor, they were all running around trying to fix things that I had deliberately broken.

But still Lucas didn't say anything. That was when I lost every bit of self control inside of me, I stood up quickly. 

I walked out of my office. In a few minutes I stopped in front of Lucas’s office door, I didn't even knock, I just pushed the door open.

Lucas was seated down with a calm expression as though he didn't know about the chaos happening in his company. He was just flipping through the pages of the file in his hands.

“I thought you wouldn't come to work. Anyways, you are late Laura.” he said, his eyes still fixed on the file in his hands. 

“Is that what you noticed?” I asked, walking inside as I slammed the door shut behind me.

“That is what matters to me.” he replied, looking up at me in an intense stare. I stepped closer to his desk, placing my hands on it.

“Your clients are complaining. The schedule is a disaster, and your emails are a mess.”

“My emails?” he asked, acting oblivious.

“You know what I mean so quit the act.”

“I obviously do,” he said calmly. “I’m just wondering why you are telling me things I already know.”

“You're not going to do anything about it?” I demanded. 

He closed the file slowly, placing it aside like he had all the time in the world.

“I already did something about it.”

“What does that mean?” I questioned, raising my brow at him.

“It means I reassigned everything you touched today.” he said, his words sounded like a blast in my ears.

“You what?” 

“I handled every client, the meetings, and the responsibilities,” he said. 

I stared at him so hard that my anger changed into embarrassment.

“You think you can just fix everything like that?” I lashed at him.

“I don't think. I do fix everything.” he replied.

God. He probably didn't know how much I hated him, especially how calm and unaffected he was. I felt like I was the only one losing control while he was the sane one.

“You are unbelievable.” I muttered.

“And you are reckless. Feeling reckless isn't an excuse to burn everything down.” he replied just as easily. 

“Maybe I wanted to see if you would finally react.”

“And?”

I swallowed hard because I was just about to say the truth that I convinced myself that it was a lie. 

“You didn't react.” I finally said.

For a moment I thought he was done saying what he wanted to say to me. All he was just going to do was to go back to his files and dismiss me nonchalantly.

But he stood up, walking around his office space and stopping just a few steps away from me. He was close enough to me that I had to tilt my head in order to meet with his eyes.

“Is that what this is about?” he asked softly. “Getting a reaction out of me?”

“Maybe,” I replied, folding my arms even though my pulse had started to race.

“You are going about it the wrong way.”

“Oh? And what's the right way?” I fired back.

“This,” he said.

Before I could ask what he meant, he turned and walked back to his desk, picking up a file.

“You're not done for the day,” he added.

“Excuse me?” I frowned at him. 

“You wanted more responsibility. Now you have it.” he said, handing me the file but I didn't take it immediately.

“After everything I did today?” 

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to see how far you will go,” he said.

I quickly grabbed the file from his hand, my fingers brushing his for the briefest second. I shouldn't have felt anything but I did.

I didn't know what to say to him anymore or fight something I couldn't name, so I just walked towards the door at a fast speed.

My hand was already on the handle of the door when his voice stopped me.

“Laura.” he called out to me but I didn't turn around.

“What?” 

“You are coming with me on my business trip tomorrow.”