Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Today was the day I got the chance to start over, to prove to my sister that I am mature enough to handle myself. I have to show her that I’m not a child anymore. Quickly, I ate my breakfast and headed out in my long sleeved white shirt top which was tucked into my blue pencil skirt and of course my new peep toe wedge heels. I was dying to try them out since I bought them. Hopefully I looked professional enough.

There it was, the hotel was right in front me, and this internship would hopefully help me achieve a permanent job here. That’s all I really wanted. Walking in I noticed that a couple of the workers were staring at me as I went by the receptionist.

“Excuse me. Hi, I came for the internship position.” I smiled.

“Oh you must be Miss Greene. Juliet Greene?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, well you’ll be working closely with Mrs. June.” The girl said as an older stern looking lady came up to me.

I had to say the whole atmosphere the lady gave off was kind of creepy.

“You’re the Greene girl?” she asked dryly.

“Yes, you must be Mrs. June then?”

“Yes, come on, we have a lot of things to do.” She continued as she led the way along the hall to another room.

Honestly I never realized there would be a room there but it was quite a considerate side, very modern looking with an enormous folder drawer, a huge steel cupboard, two desks and a large sized yet up to date computer.

“We’re a little short staffed, the accounting manager retired about a week ago.” Mrs June began as she took a seat.

“Oh…”

“But I looked at your qualifications and I don’t think that would be a problem anymore, we’re a little behind in the paperwork. So I suggest you start there.”

“Oh, alright then.” I said as I took out some of the folders and started.

This….was….frustrating. Hours and hours passed as I kept doing this. All I was doing had nothing to do with what I really wanted to do. I mean, I know I shouldn’t be complaining but gosh, I was experiencing the law of diminishing returns here. This was all finance transactions, wasn’t she supposed to train me and show me around too? She wasn’t even there half of the time. Maybe she’ll do it tomorrow, today could just be a hard day. Everyone has that right? Where was she anyway? She didn’t even tell me when my break was.

Well, who cares, this was my right. I sure wasn’t stupid enough to starve myself.

I was so immensely hungry, it was like my stomach was clawing for food and to make things worst I was already sick to the bone, my head ached and my eyes pained. As I walked along to get to the café outside I couldn’t help but notice the stares and whispered I got as I passed by. Suddenly someone pushed me from behind but I kept myself up from falling.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, are you hurt?” someone asked.

Turning around I noticed a girl around my age with green eyes and light blonde hair in a ponytail. Although she had the innocent look, her body language seemed very mature.

“I’m alright.” I replied as I adjusted my skirt smoothly.

“Good, my dumb little assistance doesn’t know his left from right. Maybe if you knew that, you wouldn’t have hit her Markel.” She scolded the young boy besides her who then walked away.

“You didn’t have to scold him, I’m fine.”

“Sorry, it’s just that he never does anything in the right order and I get so mad at him.” She signed, “Umm….don’t mind me asking but are you a guest or do you work here?”

“I work here, well I just started today.” I smiled tiredly.

“Oh…well from one worker to another, you have to get guts to stay in this place.” She laughed, “I’m Lissa by the way, I run the beauty salon here.”

“I’m Juliet, actually I think I need more than guts to survive here.”

“So you feel it huh?”

“Yes, I feel hungry.”

“Well I’m going to the café as well, you want to join me? I actually would like some company beside that fool I hired there. A little girl time.” She smiled.

“Sure.” I replied as we walked to the outdoor café.

After buying huge, unhealthy, mouth-watering burgers, we sat there and just chatted. It felt as if I was back in high school with this girl. The only thing different was that the high school café area didn’t have the kind of facilities this place had. There was an enormous swimming pool area to the side while where we ate was quite a cute little garden with marbled statues adoring the place around. I’d imagine that at night the place would be beautifully lit with lights decorating the trees. The perfect little hangout spot.

“So how come you chose to get a job here?” Lissa asked.

“Well, actually I was always furthering my studies so I never really had time for a permanent job but hopefully I could get the permanent job here.”

“You’re regretting it, aren’t you?” she smirked.

“Honestly, it isn’t like how I expected it to be,” I sighed, “I mean, what’s up with that June lady anyway?”

“God, she’s such a brute, don’t worry. I think she’s in some kind of cahoots with Martin.”

“The manager?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “Well I personally think they’re having an affair. It isn’t even allowed, I mean hellooo it’s against the policy. Not that I even care about the policy here, but really, just because she’s with Martin she thinks that she can do whatever the hell she wants.”

I didn’t even know what to say, I hated all this work conflicts. As I drank my juice I noticed a familiar face sitting from afar on a table alone with his laptop. Adrian Vandermir looked like some kind of unreal image from afar, he always looked classy yet damningly gorgeous. The way the sunlight shone on his dark hair lightened the colour to a smooth caramel like brown. And as he leaned his elbows on the table it highlighted how toned his arms were since his crisp white shirt seemed to glue itself tightly onto him. I never looked at Adrian as a muscular guy, but how he looked at that moment said otherwise. Vandermir was elegant, beautiful and apparently really well toned. His eyes seemed so intense at the moment, like he could take on anything.

“Juliet? Are you listening to me?” Lissa’s voice suddenly brought me back to my reality.

“Huh?”

“What are you looking at?” she asked as she turned around. I realized she knew ‘what’ because she turned back at me with a smirk plastered on her face.

“Mr. Vandermir huh?” she continued.

“No, I--”

“Don’t worry, I understand. But what I don’t understand is you.”

“What?”

“I know you know him Juliet, that’s what everyone keeps talking about. You’re like the top headline gossip here.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” I mumbled angrily to myself.

I had wished my involvement with Vandermir would not be the cause of the workplace gossip but it would be stupid for that to not be the reason besides the employees always saw me when I came out of Adrian’s room.

“It’s not like that.” I said to her as I took another drink and dared to look at him again.

He was exactly the same as he was, so fixed, and so concentrated. Almost as if he knew I was looking at him he switched his eyes to my direction but I quickly diverted mine. Damn. I knew he probably saw me, I just didn’t want to be anywhere around him anymore.

“I think I’ll head back, it was nice meeting you though Lissa.” I smiled as I hastily got up and left.

Walking back I heard some of the employee talking aloud, as I passed them. The things they were saying were really disgusting and honestly I never took that kind of nonsense from anyone. I couldn’t do anything about it, I was already feeling like I was going to drop down any moment, I wanted sleep, I wanted rest. The evening continued just like the morning, ridiculously pointless and tiring. One thing I realized that Mrs. June was doing was that she was taking advantage of me. She was using me overtime and ordering me around like I was some sort of maid. Even asking me to leave and buy her a burger from the fast food restaurant outside even though it sold burgers in the café here. When I tried telling her that, she said ‘no, they sell no such thing here’. What the heck was wrong with her? I literally had to leave the hotel and get her something to eat. Leave it to me and I was going to buy her one from here and say I went out to get it but the darn lady watched me exit the hotel for it as well.

This was utter exploitation.

I’m nobody’s workhorse and she better understand that fast. Unfortunately this agonizing sickness was getting the better of me. I told myself I’ll try to put up with her until I get well, and then she’ll hear it from me. She thinks she’s that smart, well I’m even smarter. I didn’t keep furthering my studies to put up with this kind of absurdity. No way. After filing some of the document and closing the room I headed to the elevator to get downstairs, to thankfully get back home. I was done for the day, I survived. My hair was literally all over the place, my outfit looked utterly ruffled almost as if I was in a fight. But, needless to say, I survived. I lived through this horrid day.

As the elevator opened and a bunch of individuals came out, one person remained back there. That one person, oh I wished it could be anyone else in the entire world except him. Adrian Vandermir. Well, here’s where you’re going to die Greene. As I entered the elevator, I wished that someone else could have come in with me as well but no one came. It was just Vandermir and me. Sighing at my empty hope, I walked in and pressed the ground floor button.

“You look horrible Greene.” His velvety voice chuckled.

I was expecting him to completely ignore my existence but surprisingly he didn’t although I wished he did. His mere presence just made me so mad, how could he always be so calm and collected, whereas I’m dying inside and out. This isn’t fair, these employees were even talking about my character in the nastiest of ways and it’s all because of him, because of that crazy situation I got myself in. His situation.

“This is your entire fault.” I stated harshly.

He said nothing except arched an eyebrow at me.

“It- it’s your ridiculous employees! Do you know how many dirty things I heard about myself from them? And it’s all because of you, because of that stupid situation, when – when they saw me with you. And that lady, what’s her name, oh June! Well you’ve done an excellent job with her, I have no problem with any of her affairs with the co-workers but really she doesn’t need to exploit me in any way! I know the difference between right from wrong!” I yelled feeling my frustration slip out and my throat becoming even more dry and painful.

Adrian didn’t answer, he just held a solemn look on his face. It was useless even wasting my voice with him. I didn’t need this, he wouldn’t even care. As the elevator door opened I was about to leave when he suddenly pulled me back to him.

“I don’t run the place Ms. Greene, I just own it. And whatever matters take place here is solely up to the head manager. No one brought any complaint to me.”

What I did next, I didn’t expect to do but it just happened.

I sneezed on him.

He seemed a bit startled by that, honestly I never felt so stupid and embarrassed in my life before. Oh God, I sneezed on him.

“I’m –I’m sorry.” I said as I felt my face burning up, “I have to go.”

Quickly, I hurried out the hotel, that was so humiliating, I must’ve looked like such a laughable mess in front of him. It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t pulled me back. Oh God. Out of all the people I could have sneezed on, why did it have to be him? I’ll sleep this out and hopefully by tomorrow, I could get it out of my head. And maybe a good night’s rest can make me feel a little better too. Hopefully.

The next day, as I woke up I felt a little better. I was right, sleeping does help. Hurriedly, I got dressed in my floral printed blouse which was tucked into my long bell bottom dress pants, along with my nude kitten heels and to top it off a cute simple cardigan.

Yeah, I was feeling a lot better.

Upon reaching the hotel I noticed that as I was walking through the employees were shushing themselves.

Huh, what’s with them today?

When I went into the office room where I had been yesterday there was no one there. Strange, I thought Mrs. June was an early bird. Where was she anyway? Spotting Lissa from afar, I went up to her.

“Hey, have you seen Mrs. June?”

“June? Haven’t you heard? She’s gone, fired.” Lissa laughed.

“What?”

“Last night, Vandermir called all the employees together. He was talking about treating women with respect and having affairs within the workplace.”

“Talked?” I asked.

“Well more like yelled at everyone. Wow, that guy has a nasty anger problem.”

“All this had happened and-”

“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled, “I’m glad the old crook June is gone along with the manager Martin. Both were replaced.”

“Alright, no gossiping you too.” A new voiced echoed from behind.

An aged lady with a wide smile and bright coloured clothing came up to us, “You must be the new intern right? Ms. Greene?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m Mrs. Luna, Mrs. June’s replacement. I’m looking forward to working with you Juliet, shall we start then?” the elderly woman smiled.

“Oh, well alright.” I returned her smile and followed her while Lissa also went her own way.

As I walked along with her I thought about what I told Vandermir yesterday. I wasn’t intending to get anyone fired, I just wanted to be treated fairly. But, maybe this was better anyway, June and Martin never really were likable people.