Chapter 2: His office
Serena’s POV
As I sat on the floor, frightened, my lungs welled up with fear, my veins burned with nervousness as I started to shake, and my eyes left the alpha as they fixed on the ground in submission.
I forced my mouth to open, but my fear was too great, and I couldn’t force my voice out. Instead, I looked from the corner of my eyes, noticing a crowd of people forming a small circle around us.
Another man came to stand beside the Alpha, “Mr. Zed” I heard hushed whisperings before Mr. Zed started to move towards me.
His aura had me shuffling backward, still not looking up. I tried to move away from him, but with each step, he got closer to me. My heart thumped loudly in my chest, threatening to jump out.
Then the weirdest thing happened-he passed me!
I looked up to see his coffee-stained back, and as he continued walking down the hallway, the other workers’ mouths opened in awe before bowing in respect.
He paid them no mind as he spoke over the phone to someone, and when he disappeared, I finally remembered to breathe.
I gasped rapidly for air to fill my lungs as thoughts came crashing into me at once.
Oh, moon goodness!
What the hell did I do?!
I’m so fucked! And scared!
I couldn’t even apologize! I was too frozen to even speak. What do I do now?!
I took my fingers to my lips, chewing down my nails nervously, a habit I had gotten used to over the past few years. And while I sat there, lost in my thoughts, I began to hear audible whispers.
“That little bitch. How can she be so stupid?” One of the workers said it from behind me.
“Haha, she’s really lucky he got distracted by that call, but I don’t think she’ll work here anymore.” This time, a man spoke, his voice laced with amusement.
“She looks so stupid; how did she even get in here?” A woman asked, and I could imagine her glaring hatefully at me.
“Dirty fool.”
Without realizing it, my eyes welled with tears as they started to run down my cheeks, leaving a bit of a trail behind. Of course. Hearing these words wasn’t foreign to me. I knew who I was.
But hearing them come from strangers-people who didn’t even know me-hurt me the most. I had made a fool of myself on the first day at work.
Hell, I’m still sitting on the floor!
With the coffee sprayed around me, I started to get up slowly, but my teary eyes didn’t allow me to see properly as I started to stumble when a pair of arms grabbed me gently, pulling me up.
I started to mutter a thank-you when I was faced with familiar blonde hair and green eyes. The other intern, whose name I still didn’t know, had told me my phone had been ringing.
Standing on both my feet again, he gently led me to what I discovered was the storage room. I sighed, feeling relieved that I didn’t have any pairs of judgmental eyes on me anymore.
I started to cry softly.
“Moon goddess! Serena, or what’s your name? How can you be so-?” He paused, sighing deeply and touching my shoulders reassuringly.
“He could have just fired you when you hadn’t even fully resumed. You are a werewolf. I have never seen a werewolf so weak and clumsy.” He uttered it softly as if trying to mince the hurtfulness of his words.
“I. I-” I tried to say something, but I couldn’t trust my voice and couldn’t risk bursting into tears.
“You should stay here for the main time. Well, at least until the tension outside is gone. The CEO has permitted us to resume work, but you weren’t there with us. So much trouble on your first day.” He clicked his tongue at the end, smiling a little to try and soften the mood before leaving. He patted my shoulder as he walked out.
******
When I got home, my eyes were red and puffy from having cried too much. I walked quietly to my small room at the end of the hallway, ignoring any noise I could have heard from the kitchen.
Throwing my bag on my desk, I flopped on my bed, grabbing my pillow and holding it close to me.
I felt worn out, tired, and worried.
Does this mean I’ll never have to work there again?
Have I been fired already, even without him saying anything?
Technically, I wasn’t given permission yet to work by the CEO after what I had done to him today. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to work there anymore.
I clung to my pillow tighter, shutting my eyes, and tried to get some sleep. I was emotionally drained after everything that had happened today, and I needed to rest.
I heard the sound of a car pulling up outside, and I could only guess Kate was back from work. I could hear the slamming of the front door.
Yeah. She was pissed.
I couldn’t bear the thought of her nagging and complaining tonight, not when I was feeling like shit.
“Serena! Serena!!” I heard her shriek my name, her footsteps coming down the hallway angrily before she slammed open my door and dragged me out of bed by the hair so quickly that I didn’t have the time to blink.
“You fool! You disgraced me at the company today. Why on earth did you spill coffee on our CEO’s suit? Are you nuts? Have you gone crazy you silly thing?” She started to shout, and I tried to wrench away from her grip, but she held me tighter as she continued.
“Why did mom give birth to a silly thing like you as my sister? Why? I hate the fact that you are my sister a lot. You disgust me. You disgust me a lot.” She spat.
“I was only trying to help you work, but you always end up disgracing me. From today onwards, if you see me at the company, act like you don’t know me. Don’t ever call me by my name. I don’t want to get mixed up with your misery, or I fear I might become miserable like you. Do you hear me?” She shook me by the hair, and I mumbled a small “yes.”
I fell to the floor the moment she stepped out, resting my back against the bed and pulling my knees closer to my chest, and started to cry once more.
It wasn’t more than a minute when my door opened again to reveal my stepdad. He was tall, with brown, curly hair around his forehead.
“Hey clumsy girl, what did you do again today? Why is your sister so mad at you?” My stepfather asked, looking around my room.
“It’s nothing,” I mumbled in reply to him, and he said nothing before he turned back and left. I shut my door, climbed into my bed, and clung to my pillow once more.
My thoughts wandered to my mother, and I cried more.
“Why did you die giving birth to me?” I murmured. It was rare for werewolves to die during childbirth, but my mother had been human, and my sister was also human. But my father was a werewolf, and I had inherited his genes.
For a second, I imagined my mother here with me. What would she have thought of me? Would she be proud that I was different from the rest? Or disappointed in me?
Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks, and I snuggled closer to my blankets.
“Stop crying. Everything would be okay.” That small voice at the back of my mind whispered, and I wiped my eyes before falling asleep.
**
I woke up to sun rays reflecting on my face, burning me slightly. I groaned, opening my eyes gently to see that it was already bright outside.
I realized I had slept in the same position as last night and was still in my work clothes from yesterday. I yawned, and my eyes wandered to the clock just beside my bed.
Fuck!
It was 7:30 a. m.!
I had to be at work by 8:00!
I jumped out of bed, running into my bathroom while taking off my clothes quickly. I stumbled a few times but kept up the pace.
I set a new record of taking my bath in a few minutes and ran back out, heading to my closet to pick out a nice yellow gown I had worn to my birthday party last year.
I hurriedly dressed, picking up my phone and bag before rushing out of my room, struggling to put on my shoes.
“Kate!” I called out to my sister, who was just stepping out of the door, but she didn’t respond, and I increased my pace by following her outside.
The hot sun warmed my damp skin as I ran to Kate, who was stepping into her car. A black Mercedes she had bought a few months ago.
“Would you please let me come with you? I’m already late.” I pleaded, watching Kate freeze a little before she turned to me. A devious smirk on her lips.
“No.” She said while getting into her car and driving off.
I stumped my feet before walking to the bus stop. I would have to take a bus today since I was already late. Since I always walked to my destinations.
*
The company’s building came into view, and after handling all my money for the transport fare, I hurried out and ran to the entrance of the building, only to be stopped by two security guards.
“What do you want?” One of them asked me.
“I am one of the newly employed workers here,” I answered, gulping down the fear that was already climbing up my throat.
“Where is your card?”
“I don’t have one,” I remembered seeing the others with a pass card. They were all given yesterday after getting permission from the CEO.
“Then you can’t enter until you get one.”
Shit! What do I do now?
I looked past the guard to see Kate walking into the building, her phone placed against her ear as she smiled.
“Kate! Kate!!” I called, happily.
She turned to me, still talking to whoever was on the phone.
“Please help me. They aren’t letting me in,” I pleaded.
“Do you know her to miss?” The other security guard asked Kate, and she beamed.
“No, I don’t. She must be a fan.” She said this, winking at me before walking away from my sight.
I gasped, stumbling a little as shock filled my face, leaving me hopeless. Of course, she would do such a thing after I helped her sort out those clothes yesterday, knowing fully well I could get into trouble.
The realization shook me. Did she do that on purpose? Lie to me that the CEO wouldn’t be coming, so I wouldn’t get my pass?
Of course. I almost laughed. I was such a fool!
“You’ll have to leave these premises, miss.” The guard said.
“I have to go in, sir. I work here now.” I started to plead, and just before he could grab my hand, a voice sounded.
“What is going on here?”
We turned to see the red-haired woman from yesterday, and the guards bowed in greeting.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
“Ma’am, she is distracting the others, claiming she is a worker here.”
The lady rolled her eyes before turning to me. “Where is your card? They must have given you one. Where is it?” She demanded.
I gulped, unsure of what to say.
“I couldn’t get one. I wasn’t able to see the CEO yesterday.”
She sighed before glaring at me. “Follow me.” She said that, and I staggered after her, smiling triumphantly.
As we walked, I noticed a lot of people bowing in respect as they greeted her. We got into an elevator and went into a large door.
On stepping into the office, my jaw dropped at the decor of the room. It was huge, with a big desk in the center and an office chair behind it. Two Hite sofas are facing each other on the left.
But when I read the glass tag sitting on her desk, I froze in my spot, and my jaw dropped to the floor.
Madam Elena Lucas. Vice President of the William Zee Fashion Industry.
“So why didn’t you get a pass? Where were you when the others met with the CEO?” She asked, walking to her seat as she glared at me.
“I. I was called by my sister to sort out clothes. I told her that we were asked to remain in the room you asked us to stay in, but she told me that the CEO wasn’t going to come to work yesterday.” I explained truthfully.
There was something about this woman; an aura around her showed that she was a werewolf. An alpha.
“You shouldn’t have left that room in the first place.” She said, a hint of irritation in her voice. And I felt calm. I knew she was angry at me, but I couldn’t feel any hatred rolling off her towards me.
“He will be in his office soon. When he comes, I’ll send you to him. You’ll be going with his coffee; that is the only way for you to meet him again after missing your chance yesterday.” She announced, standing up and coming to meet me.
I stumbled backward as my eyes widened in fear.
I’m going to meet him in his office. With his coffee?
Oh no! Not his office. And not coffee again!