Mr Thickrimmed glasses

The mood in the office had shifted drastically in the last few days. It was like the entire building was holding its breath.

Didi sighed for the hundredth time that morning, eyes fixed on her phone screen like she was patiently waiting for a call. Or a text.

Around her, telecoms rang, keyboards clicked, and people moved through the day with the sort of silence suitable for a place of mourning.

Every conversation became explicitly clear to avoid complication but there was one subject nobody could avoid: Naomi had been pushed down the stairs, and the company was a different place now.

Didi shifted in her seat, the glow of the monitor tinting her face. Her hands hovered over the keyboard, embarrassment making her hesitate on a half-typed email.

Is she even alive? Didi wondered.

She pushed back from the desk and turned to the small knot of people clustered nearby.

“Has anyone heard from Ms Naomi?” she asked, voice too loud in the quiet.

The question dropped like a stone. Rose looked up from her screen. Paul stopped scrolling through messages. Tita’s fingers stilled on the stapler she’d been twisting.

Tita resumed her stapling. “What about her?”

Didi scoffed. “HR still hasn’t given us an update. I called her number twice. Straight to voicemail.”

“She’s probably still in the hospital,” Paul said at last, and his voice sounded fragile, hoping to be reassuring even to himself.

“If the reports are right, this is more than hospital time,” Rose answered quietly. “Someone pushed her. That’s not speculation anymore.”

A hard silence settled after that. People went back to their screens but they all had to admit the atmosphere was different now. Especially now that Tita is trying so hard to play team leader since Naomi left.

Tita was silent, she had been the team lead before Naomi took over after her suspension. She knew a lot about the company but Naomi's case…

Something was off. The entire management was on this case. It felt like more than the company doing its due diligence to its staff.

She’d followed Naomi to the parking lot one afternoon weeks ago, clearly out of curiosity. Patrick had appeared and cut the chase off before it turned into anything interesting. Tita had never forgotten the way Patrick’s look had told her to stop.

Now, sitting in her chair, she turned the memory over like a coin. There was something in between the lines and she just cpuldnt grasp it just yet.

Didi pushed her chair back abruptly. “I’m calling HR again.”

“They said they’ll call if there’s an update,” Paul said. He tried to sound casual and failed.

“Maybe they forgot,” Didi snapped, and left.

When the door clicked shut, the cramped office felt smaller.

Rose rubbed her forehead. “I checked Ms Naomi’s social yesterday…everything’s gone. Her profiles are private and it’s like someone wiped her online presence.”

Paul’s brow furrowed. “Maybe she wants privacy.”

“Or someone’s trying to hide things,” Rose said. “Which is worse.”

Tita’s voice was sharp when she spoke.

“Or we can all focus on work instead of wasting time like this?”

The room stilled.

“You think our concern for Ms Naomi is a waste of time?” Paul asked, a chuckle escaping his lips as he stared Tita down.

Tita glares at him. “Are you even thinking, Paul? We have a job to do and wherever Naomi is, I'm sure she's alright!” She said, “And as your team leader…”

“Ex team leader.” Paul cuts in, brows furrowed in anger. “Ms Thea is our team leader, let's remember that..”

Tita scoffed, she was taken aback by Paul's boldness.

Rose opened her mouth then thought better of it. “We’re all being questioned twice a day,” she said finally. “Security’s gone through my calendar. My inbox. They even asked about my lunch hours.”

“This is more serious than we think..” Paul muttered.

Later, when the hum of the office had grown more tired than busy and Didi had returned back to the office. Still no update on Naomi. The door opened and Patrick stepped in.

“Good morning,” he said. “I’m here to follow up on your statements.”

All eyes shifted to him.

“You’ve all been re-questioned by security?” he asked, checking the list in his hand.

“Yes, sir.” They chorused.

“Good.” He scanned the faces in the room. “I know this is hard. But please remember, cooperation is essential. If anyone thinks they heard something, anything, bring it forward. Even the smallest detail might help.”

“Is Ms Naomi okay?” Didi asked, unable to hide the worry.

Patrick’s face softened for a beat. “She is under observation,” he said. “Medical staff are taking care of her.” He held their gaze long enough for the relief to ripple through them. “We are working with law enforcement. There's an active investigation into the stair incident.”

Didi let out a shaky breath. Paul exhaled too, loud enough that the papers on his desk shuffled.

Patrick’s eyes flicked to Tita with a nuance she didn’t like. “Ms. Tita, you were the previous team lead, correct?”

“Yes,” Tita said evenly. She straightened as if settling a thought in place. “I served my suspension. I’m back.”

“And you’d had professional disagreements with Ms. Naomi?” Patrick asked, the tone flat, businesslike.

Tita chuckled nervously. “Disagreements? What do you mean by that? We had our own ways of doing things and that's about it..”

Something about Patrick makes her feel nervous. She couldn't tell what it was but hell she could barely breathe properly when he’s near!

He watched her a moment longer than the others. “We’ll be reviewing access logs and CCTV footage for that day,” he said. “If anyone had cause to be near that stairwell, we will know.”

Tita’s fingers curled around her pen.

“Good.” He turned his attention to the rest of them. “And one last thing. No rumors. No gossip. We need facts. This office will be under scrutiny for the foreseeable future.”

He turns to leave but Tita finally found her tongue. “Why is the management so concern about this situation? Its just a staff who fell down the staors…”

Patrick turned to face her and Tita found herself unable to meet his eyes again.

“Just an incident? A member of staff was pushed down the stairs and you think the management's involvement is suspicious?”

Tita cleared her throat. “What I meant was, if it wasn't Naomi who was pushed off the stairs, would the company be this invested?” Tita asked, finally staring him down.

Patrick narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you suggesting Ms Naomi is receiving preferential treatment?”

“That's not…”

“Do you realise how much is at stake here, Ms Tita? If word gets out, the company's image will be ruined and this would be detrimental. If someone tried to kill a member of staff here, don't you think it's reasonable to take out the bad egg if the person works here?”

Tota clearly her throat. “Yes..”

“No!” Patrick snapped, taking a step closer to her table. “I don't think you do. For someone working in this department, I'm afraid your mental capacity is questionable..”

Paul, Didi and Rose tried to hold back their laughter, seeing how Patrick was going off on Tita.

“Sir? I was just..”

“I don't know how the former owners of this company ran this place but I would like to remind you that you are under a new empire now. Mr Damon cares about his staff and a case like this will not be overlooked, regardless of who it is.”

Tita licks her lips and Patrick's eyes unconsciously follow her movement only for his frown to deepen in disgust.

“Mr Partrock what I meant to say is..”

“I do hope you have the brain power to comprehend words, Ms Tita?” He turns to the rest of the team.

“Every staff member is as important to us just as the image of this company is. We hope that everyone sees this as a standard.”

Paul, Didi and Rose nodded in understanding.

“In the meantime, Ms Didi will be the temporary team lead until Ms Naomi gets better.”

“Me?” Did mutter in shock.

Tita's mouth hung open in shock. What the bloody hell?! Before she could speak, Patrick was already out of the department.

“At least Ms Naomi is doing good. That's great news.” Paul said, sighing in relief.

“Didi as team lead? Are you kidding me?!” Tota snapped.

Didi met her gaze. “If you have any complaints, let Mr Patrick know.”

Tita swallowed, the last thing she wanted to do is talk to that man. He'll just question her level of intelligence all over again.

Rose exchanged a glance with Paul. “He looked at you funny, Tita,” she said.

“He looks at everyone,” Tita answered. She sounded amused.

No one has ever made her feel nervous, except Mr Damon but Patrick? It was nerve wrecking. If she was standing on her feet, her knees would wobble no doubt.

Across the floor, Rose returned to her screen. Paul tried to force himself to type but kept rubbing his temple. Didi made a call to HR and came back shaking her head.