Chapter 3

“You’re spacing out again,” Serenity, my younger sister, said.

I straightened up from leaning on the sofa and then turned to her. Her eyes narrowed as she studied me closely.

“Don’t mind me.”

I dreaded Monday. But unfortunately, tomorrow is Monday.

I don't know what happened that night when I was a little drunk. I am certain I was still in the right mind.

Or… maybe not?

I just can't believe the turn of events. Did my eyes play tricks on me? Did my hearing malfunction that day?

I shook my head and laughed to myself. It was impossible for that man to be kind. He would never be kind! Especially to me. He is Alaric Satanas, after all. I was just drunk. That’s why my judgment is off.

“She’s gone crazy,” I heard Serenity mutter.

I took a deep breath. It was not my first time going to work, but I felt uneasy now that I was walking inside the office. I didn’t know why I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened at the bar. Though when I arrived at our department, I noticed that everything seemed normal.

“Good morning, Seraphina!” Sara greeted me, then immediately went back to what she was doing.

I let out a sigh of relief and smiled. How stupid of me to feel uneasy. I was just really drunk. And I was just overthinking this weekend!

The first thing I did when I reached my desk was print the revised plan I had made. I grimaced when I saw that I had placed it in a thick clipboard. I quickly replaced it with a file folder, so if he threw it at me again, it wouldn’t hurt as much!

But as I was about to go and submit my work again, Sara told me that my boss wasn’t in the office. Before, it would have annoyed me because this project was already too delayed, but now, I was actually glad he wasn’t around.

“How's the project?” my previous supervisor asked. He visited just to ask where my boss was. His smile faded when I told him I didn't know.

Cause do I look like I care where he is? No, obviously!

“I hope you’re making progress. You only have four months to finish it,” he said, then left.

My eyes widened at that. He never mentioned any deadline before. The initial plan was simply for me to succeed at this project. He said there would be no pressure since I was new to handling one on my own.

Goodness. Four months? And I barely had anything done!

I grew restless waiting for my boss. He didn’t reply to my email, but I still sent him a copy of my plan. I knew he wouldn’t respond, yet I still waited, hoping he might. But of course, he didn’t.

It was around two in the afternoon when he finally arrived. I waited twenty minutes before gathering the courage to enter his office.

I swallowed hard as I walked toward his table. I noticed his eyes were dark and fixed on me. His tie was untidy, his hair messy, and the suit he had been wearing when he arrived was gone. His black long-sleeved shirt was rolled up to his elbows.

“This is the revision I made, sir,” I said nervously.

He didn’t speak and simply took the folder from me.

Like always, he immediately flipped through my work. I didn’t know if he was doing it on purpose or if he was just that good at spotting mistakes, but when I saw him massage his temples, I braced myself.

“You said you’d do it again… how long until you can do this right?” he said irritably before slamming the folder shut.

I pressed my lips together. I really was drunk that night. This man would never be kind.

“You’re wasting my time!” he snapped.

He leaned back against his swivel chair and looked at me with clear dismay. He pointed at the pile of folders now stacked on his desk.

“I didn’t know they still hired stupid people these days,” he said mockingly.

I clenched my fists and forced myself to calm down. I knew I wasn’t stupid, but I still felt insulted. I felt so small.

“Review these folders and send them back at 5 PM!”

I wanted to protest. Why was he giving me more work? His only role here was to approve my plan so that I could proceed.

He must have noticed that I wanted to speak, so he didn't let me.

“Just do what I say and make yourself useful!”

I pursed my lips and stayed silent.

I did what he ordered. He instructed me how I was going to review the files. That’s where I wasted my time that I should have spent on my project.

He gave me fifteen files, and by five o’clock, I had only finished six.

“You’re not going out yet?” Sara asked when she saw me still reading a file.

I looked at her and noticed she was already packed up. That’s when I realized most of our colleagues had already left. I quickly checked the time and my eyes widened.

It was already five!

Panicking, I grabbed the six finished folders and hurried to my boss’s office.

I entered after hearing him tell me to come in. He was staring at the monitor, reading something seriously. His messy hair didn’t make him look worn out…or ugly.

I bit my lower lip when he looked at me intently.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but this is all I managed to finish,” I said, even though I knew I shouldn’t have apologized. I had tried my best, but there were simply too many files to review.

He clicked his tongue and frowned. “Damn it! You can’t even do a simple task?” he said menacingly.

My ears perked up at his words. I couldn’t keep quiet any longer and glared at him. I hadn’t eaten lunch because my previous supervisor had told me about the deadline. It put so much pressure on me that I had spent all that time revising the plan under the weight of a four-month timeline. And now… he’s insulting me?

I slammed the six folders onto his table in anger. But then I saw how one of the folders hit the ink next to what I thought was an important document. The ink splattered onto it, and some even got on his clothes.

My anger vanished instantly, replaced by fear.

“Fuck!”

He hurriedly grabbed the papers, but it was already too late. I saw his jaw tighten as he looked at the ink-soaked documents.

“Do you know what folder this is, Ms. Salazar?” he growled angrily. “This is a fucking contract!” he snapped. His voice echoed in his office.

Fear spread through my body as he looked at me with murderous eyes.

…