Gerd

Noreen's POV

I returned to the office, riding in a Ferrari provided by the man named Mr. Beta  Sander. What a strange name, I said to myself.

The driver was a quiet, middle-aged man who only nodded stiffly as I got in and out of the car.

When I arrived at the office, I immediately slumped onto the sofa in the room I shared with Maya and closed my eyes.

Did I hurt my boss? But I hadn't done anything, just scolded him for being annoying. Were my words so harsh that he had a heart attack?

Oh, my God, what had I said to him? I even dared him to fire me? How stupid. How would I be able to support Jonathan if I actually got fired and became unemployed?

I suddenly felt weak. This is what happens when I indulge my brain and mouth too much, allowing my thoughts and words to flow unfiltered.

I think I need coffee. I stood up from the sofa and looked at the shoes on my feet. They were nice, comfortable sneakers, but they belonged to Maya.

I think I need to stop by the mall to buy sneakers like these after work. I left all my sneakers at home because I didn't know I'd need them to work.

"But, Noreen, if the boss really fires you, you won't need sneakers anyway," I said to myself.

"Well, you're right," I replied to myself. "I'd better wait for him to come back and decide something after him, right?"

Ignore me, because I have a habit of having a dialogue with myself. According to some novels I've read, that's called a monologue. For me, it's called a dialogue because I often argue with myself because there are two sides of me with differing opinions. Lol.

"Noreen, are you back?"

Someone appeared at the door. I turned around and saw Leah, a staff member from the PR division, waving at me. She was carrying what looked like a child's bag, due to its bright colors and cartoon pictures.

"Ah, Leah," I said and quickly approached her.  "I just got here and I was thinking about what to do now. Mrs. Maya's gone, and the boss is gone too. It's so quiet here."

"Did Mr. Bradley go somewhere else?" Leah asked, surprised. "You didn't go with him?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. A man named Mr. Beta Sander picked him up and told me to go home alone."

"Oh, if the boss is with Mr. Sander, then it must be business at his other company," Leah said. "Oh, his name isn't Mr. Beta Sander. His name is Mr. Sander Dent."

"Beta? What does that mean? I heard the boss call him Beta Sander," I said, confused. "I thought his name was Beta Sander."

Leah smiled. "I thought so too, but it turns out it's just a special term the Bradleys use to refer to their trusted people. Later, you'll also meet Beta Elmera, Beta Willy, Beta Ronan, Beta Keith, and a few more, I forget."

"Oh, that's unique," I said.  "So, if one day the boss deems me reliable enough, I can be called Beta Noreen too?"

Leah nodded. "I guess so. But the boss is a difficult person to please, and I think he also has OCD, so not just anyone can get along with him easily."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Lea and I turned to see a man wearing glasses walking toward us.

"Oh, Doctor Edmont," Leah said. "We were just chatting a little."

"I need to go to the boss's office to get his medicine bottle," said the man who was called a doctor. "He's sick and forgot to bring his medicine again."

"Maya must have forgotten to tell Noreen about it," Leah said.

She gave way to Doctor Edmont, who then took a key from his jacket pocket and entered the boss's office next to mine.

A moment later, Doctor Edmont left the office and locked the door.

He looked at me and took a small, clear glass bottle from his jacket pocket. Inside were black pills.

"Are you Mr. Thiery's new secretary?" Doctor Edmont asked me. He looked at me with a frown as if I had done something wrong and he was annoyed.  "You must always carry this bottle with you whenever you go out with—"

"Excuse me, Doctor," I interrupted Doctor Edmont, somewhat displeased by his arrogant attitude. "I'm not a secretary. I'm a designer, a member of staff selected by Mr. Bradley to assist him with the restoration project he's working on."

Doctor Edmont's brow furrowed.

"Yes, Doctor Edmont, Noreen is right," Leah said quickly. "Noreen is here to cover for Mrs. Maya today because she has an urgent need. She's just a temporary intern with Maya, so it'll be easier for her to work with Mr. Bradley later."

"I see," Doctor Edmont said, still looking at me with his searching gaze. "But still, since you'll be working with Mr. Thiery, you should know one important thing."

He thrust the bottle of black pills in front of my face.

"Here!" he said firmly.  "You must always remember to bring this bottle of pills for Mr. Thiery. Every time his Gerd flares up, call me immediately if you're in the office or Beta Sander if you're outside. While you wait, give Mr. Thiery two of these pills with a full glass of water."

"Gerd?" I asked, confused. "Mr. Bradley has Gerd?"

"Yes," Dr. Edmont nodded firmly. "It's very serious and can flare up at any time. I'll reprimand Maya. She should prioritize informing everyone who will work directly under Mr. Thiery about this!"

After saying that, Dr. Edmont hurried off with long strides.

I was taken aback by the doctor's demeanor. Not a pleasant person, I thought.

Leah stared at the doctor's back with a sad look. I nudged her arm.

"Leah, you like that doctor, right?" I asked bluntly.

Leah turned to me in surprise. "You knew?"

"Ugh, the way you're staring at him makes the writing on your forehead really obvious. Hey, doctor, look at me. I like you," I said, pointing to Leah's forehead.

Leah frantically rubbed her forehead, making me burst out laughing. Leah pouted and gently hit my arm.

"You're gullible," I said, wiping the corners of my eyes that were watering from laughing. "But I didn't know the company provided a doctor?"

"We have a special clinic on the eighth floor, next to the main meeting room. There are two doctors, three nurses, and a pharmacist. If you're not feeling well, just come there and you'll be taken care of quickly," Leah said. "Doctor Ben Edmont is the head of the clinic here."

"Wow, that's amazing. Was that clinic created because our boss has severe Gerd?" I asked in awe.

"No. If I heard correctly, there's a clinic like that at every Bradley family company, and it's always the first one built," Leah said. "I also read about it in a book about the founding of Golden Moonlight Real Estate Company."

"That's amazing. It means our company really cares about the health of its employees," I said.

"One thing I've always wondered about," Leah said, pinching the tip of her nose. "It's not just the boss who suffers from gerd, I think almost a third of the employees at the company suffer from it. Almost every day, someone goes to the clinic for treatment for gerd."

"Wow," I said, unsure how to respond. "Maybe it's... a trend?"

Leah looked at me, nodding, but it was clear that my answer didn't explain anything to her question.

But I didn't care, because right now I was feeling happy.

So, Thiery wasn't sick because of my bitter tongue, scolding him until he was sick, but because he actually had acute gerd.

I've never felt so relieved that someone else's illness had saved me. I'm sorry, Mr. Bradley, but... Thank you, gerd.

I took Leah's hand and led her along. "Let's go get some coffee. I'll treat you. And after work, accompany me to buy some sneakers, okay?"