Bully

In front of the NK apparel company, Nikolai's sleek black car came to a smooth stop. The moment the car came to a halt, Ivy opened the passenger side door to get out of the car. But soon she realised that the door is locked. She looked at him meekly.

"Mr. Knight, can I leave?" she asked him, instead of demanding him to unlock the door for her.

He turned his head and gave her a look.

"You should have asked for my permission before trying to open that door. Looks like you forgot the rules the moment you steeped out of the Knight mansion. I think I should refresh your memory again" he spoke calmly, but there is an anger undertone to each syllable he spoke.

Ivy became pale. She didn't mean to make him angry. But the car drive from his mansion to her place of work felt like hours instead of the half an hour it took for them. His presence and his unique masculine scent dominated the car, making her feel restless and scared. She wanted to breath the fresh air which is not infiltrated by his scent. She is scared of him. Any sane person would be scared of the scary Nikolai Knight.

"No, no, Mr. Knight. I was just in a hurry. My boss was angry and he threatened to fire me If I don't come to work faster" she explained hurriedly before he decided to punish her.

Nikolai gave her a calculating look, before speaking.

"Is it? Then you can go" he said before unlocking the door. But just before she could step out of his car, he stopped her by holding her wrist.

She froze with fear and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Don't try to act smart, Pet. After your work, someone will pick you up. Remember, I still have that lover boy in my warehouse. Now we don't want anything to happen to him, do we?" he reminded her that she should behave. Even if she tries to tell anyone about what happened, no one will help her. Everyone is scared of Nikolai.

Ivy's eyes became moist when she remembered how pitiful Jason's condition is. She wouldn't do anything to harm him.

"I promise Mr. Knight, I will be obedient. Please don't hurt Jason" she promised.

Nikolai let go of her wrist. Strangely, he didn't like her begging for another man.

"Leave" he snapped when she didn't make any moves to go.

Immediately Ivy left. She hurried inside the company. All the while she could feel his intense gaze upon her back. She took a deep breath only after she entered inside the elevator. Being with Nikolai is making her feel like she is in the biggest rollercoaster ride in the world. Too scary for her sanity.

The moment she steeped out of the elevator in the design department, she was bombarded with the yelling and cursing of her boss.

"You irresponsible i*iot, how careless can you be? You know what day is tomorrow but still you have the nerve to take a leave? I will make your life a living hell if we lose this competition tomorrow" her boss snapped at her. He is breathing fire and his spit flew in every direction when he is yelling at her. Her coworkers just looked at the scene with amusement. Ivy is a junior and everyone treats her like she is a dumpster where they can dump their extra work.

"Mr. Josh, I have already submitted the final drafts to the production department. I am sure the dresses which we will be showcasing tomorrow will be ready by now. All we have to do now is to tell the models to wear them to check if they need any alterations" Ivy explained calmly.

She used to be scared of Josh before she met Nikolai. But after she met Nikolai, she is not as scared of Josh as before. He seems like a harmless fly infront of the Hades. She didn't let her composure break even after facing so much harshness from Josh.

On the other hand, Josh relaxed after he heard her explanation. The design department of the NK apparel company has tens of designers. All of them submitted their drafts to their big boss, whose face none of them saw. Only Ivy's designs were shortlisted, making her a target of bullying from everyone in the department. She is new to the company but her designs were finalized for the competition which is a dream for every designer to participate in. So Josh took the credit for those designs, claiming that it's his draft. No one dared to question him. And Ivy is scared to stand up for herself for the fear of loosing her job.

"Then why are you standing here. Go and inform our models to come and try the dresses for tomorrow. Don't mind calling Stella, our shows stopper. I will call her personally" with that said, Josh retired back to his cabin.

"Look at her, she thought she is something special when her drafts were chosen. Look at how miserable she is" her colleagues taunted Ivy, who just stood there without speaking a work. She calmly went to her cubicle and picked up the file she needed before walking away. Before Nikolai, their hurtful words used to make her feel inferior. But now, their words seems useless to even feel bad about. She tasted real fear and misery in these three days.

For the rest of the day, Ivy was very busy. The costume department did a great job in bringing life to Ivy's drafts. Every dress they sewed is a master piece.

Ivy is friendly with the costume department team. She always has a smile when suggesting some changes, and she is very polite unlike her colleagues.

"Miss Stella, this way please. I have specifically designed this dress for you. I am sure you would look like a vision in this dress" Josh's loud flirty words polluted the calm environment of the Costume department. Ivy resolved herself to face more yelling from him.