CHAPTER SEVEN

　　Days ran into weeks and weeks into months. Life hasn't been pleasant for Annie but she continued to push. She was able to foot the bill for Angie's surgery and soon her sister would have her surgery, and everything will be fine.

　　She missed her family a lot. She wished for a vacation so she could go visit them, but she had overheard a rumour from the employees that the CEO never allowed them to go on vacation, so she knew it wasn't going to be possible.

　　"Douchebag!" she muttered under her breath and sighed. She had worked for him for about six months now, she had gotten used to him and his tantrums. His words meant nothing to her anymore.

　　She thought back to those awful moments when he had humiliated and embarrassed her. Annie had learned to block out everything during those moments. She would just stand with her head bowed waiting for when he was done screaming and hurling insults at her and when he was done, he would ask her to leave his presence. But she was only human, wasn't she??

　　There were times when the insults cut so deep that she would go to the washroom to cry her eyes out but when she remembers her family and her plans for the future, she will look into the mirror, wipe her tears, reapply her makeup and say to herself, “You can do it, Annie. You've survived till this time, cheer up, you’ve got this!” and she felt so much better after that.?

　　Her colleagues always gossiped about her, they were amazed that she had been able to put up with the CEO’s unethical attitude. They knew that the past secretaries didn't last two weeks, the longest was a month and it had always ended in tears, but Annie didn't care, she knew why she was there and she focused on channeling her energy into trying to please her boss.

　　It was Monday, the beginning of a new week. Annie was optimistic. She got to work on time after stopping by the coffee shop where she gets her boss’s coffee and hamburger which was located close to her workplace. Their coffee was good and also their snacks, she knew because she had tried them out herself. She ensured she instructed them to leave out the onions as she didn't want him to throw a fit about his breakfast.?

　　She stared at the hamburger she kept on the tray and wondered why he hated onions. She loved onions. Who doesn't love onions! she thought.?

　　My boss, obviously she muttered. She sighed as she waited in her office for him to ring for his coffee.

　　She sat at her desk and decided to check her mail. In the process, she flashed back to the events that happened during the weekend, she had worked on the file he sent to her tirelessly. It was impossible to finish it in one day but she had managed to pull through as she wasn't ready to be insulted by her crazy boss and be tagged as incompetent.

　　The sound from the telephone chased away her thoughts. She quickly stood up from her seat after answering the call. She checked the temperature of the coffee with the hand thermometer she had purchased and sighed in relief when the temperature was within the range. Then she proceeded to his office.

　　She watched him with her heart in her throat as he took a sip from the coffee. When she didn't get any reaction from him, she relaxed a little. She said a little prayer within her as he took a bite from his hamburger. She watched him chew and as he swallowed, she allowed herself to smile. She praised herself mentally for doing a good job with his breakfast.

　　"Are you done with the files I told you to work on?" she heard him ask

　　"Y-yes sir," Annie said, stuttering a little. She cursed mentally knowing he still managed to have this effect on her.

　　"I sent them to your mail on Saturday, sir," she added.

　　He looked up from his laptop and watched her. He was surprised, he wasn't expecting her to finish with the files so soon and was really impressed.

　　"Alright, you can go. I'll call you when I need you" he said as he went back to munching on his hamburger.

　　She left his office feeling proud of herself. She spotted Esme on her way out and quickly walked up to her grinning from ear to ear

　　“it worked, he liked it,” she said to Esme. Esme had been helpful, she had explained everything to her and had made sure everything went well for her.

　　“I told you, didn't I?” Esme said, smiling back at her.

　　“The conference will be starting soon, I have a presentation and I need to go prepare. How do I look?” she asked looking nervous

　　“You look great,” Annie said

　　“Thank you, love. Wish me luck” she said as she ran to the conference room”

　　“You don’t need it; you’ve got this” Annie said touching her cheek. Esme smiled

　　Steel Cedar had a huge conference that day. It was an exhausting day for her. She had made sure that she printed all the files and everything her boss needed for the conference and now she's so tired.? She was there in her office when her head started aching again.?

　　"Damn migraine" Annie muttered?

　　"Won't you just fucking go away and leave me alone" she groaned out loud as the pain became unbearable for her. She fumbled with her bag as she searched for her pills. When she found it, she quickly took out one and placed it in her mouth, and washed it down with a bottle of water. Annie sighed as she felt relieved.?

　　She couldn't remember when the migraine started but they have been consistent for the past few days, now they were so painful that whenever they hit, she felt weak. During those moments, things were blurry to her as if she was hallucinating. Annie had always pushed it off as just a migraine that happens because of the stress of her job. She believed if she continued to take the migraine pills, she would be fine. But those pills were not doing it for her anymore. She can't continue to pass through this kind of pain anymore. She made up her mind to go for a check-up the next day to know what was wrong with her. She had been pushing it because of her job.?

　　Annie took out her phone and dialled her mum's number. Her mum picked after the first ring and she smiled.

　　"Hello, mum," she said.

　　"Sweetheart, how are you doing over there," Helen asked. Helen was her mum's name.?

　　"I am doing very well mum. How is Angie?" She asked

　　"She's fine dear, the surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow" Helen replied.

　　"That's great! I wish I could be there. Tell Angie I'm sorry I am not there for her"

　　"Sweetheart, no. Don't say that. You've already done a lot. I wouldn't have known what to do without you..."

　　"It's alright mum" Annie cut in, she didn't want her mum to start crying because she was a very emotional person. "Tell Angie I said hi and I miss you both too" she added.

　　"We miss you also. Take care, my sweetheart" she heard her mum say.

　　"I will mum, bye" she replied as she ended the call and sighed sadly. She missed her family a lot.

　　She made a mental note to call her mum the next day which was the day of Angie's surgery after her checkup. Then she remembered she hasn't booked an appointment for her checkup yet. She quickly picked up her phone and did so as she left her office since it was past closing hour. She wished everything would go well tomorrow. Both for her and her sister...