Song: Hold on by 'Bishop Briggs'
We've seen the holy, the lonely, the sinners and
Been to the promise, the garden, the wasteland
Oh
The truth of it all
We rise and we fall
We hold on, we hold on
When we fight, when we lie
When the weakness shows
When we laugh, when we cry
When it's all exposed
The truth of it all
We rise and we fall
We hold on, we hold on
We hold on, we hold on
Oh, love, we hold on together
................................................................................................................
ELIJAH'S POV
I thought leaving that girl on house arrest would miraculously make her disappear from my house and my life but who was I kidding? She's a cunning little bitch. Not only she's still present in the house but has made it up to my office, as well. And it doesn't end here, she's in my office to be trained by me. I mean how did she pull it off? Has she been raised all her life to plot schemes against rich people and trap them? I'd like to believe she has.
And dad, being the best in business, can't see her deceits. Can't he see past her pretentiousness or is she that good that he's blinded by all that she does?
Forcing her into my personal life wasn't enough, now he wants to impose her into my professional life as well? What is it about her that he can't see her true color, apart from her being the daughter of his so-called long forgotten best friend?
I thought rotting away alone would make her run away but how wrong was I, not only she's still here but has gotten dad more on her side, even more so than before. Such a little girl, yet so vicious.
But alright, I've taken matters very lightly up till now, taking her for nothing more but a little girl. She'll see soon who she's trying to mess with.
Umm, just a thought! Don't you think you're saying this quite a lot and doing nothing? I'm starting to feel these are just hollow words, Mr. Elijah.
No, not this time. I've let things slide away from my grip for enough, but not anymore.
Now, if she's to be trained by me, I sure as hell will make sure that she'll beg to run away.
The sound of a pen breaking in my hands is what pulled me back and I realized that it has been almost an hour since I came back to my office.
Turning to throw the broken pen in the trashcan, I aimed. And it landed right where its place was.
Garbage.
That's where you'll end up too, Ms. Hannah Evans, and that's a promise.
If getting trained by me is what you want then training is what you'll get.
..................................................................................................................................................................
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
The door to my office busted open and walked in the person I hate with all my might. It didn't surprise me though as I've been expecting this for some time now. To be honest, I'm quite impressed that it took her this long, three days to be exact. Three days of no contact while she waits for me to "train" her.
"Excuse me, mister," she clicked her finger to get my attention, "I'm talking to you."
"Yes, Ms. Evans, how can I help you?" without looking up from the report that I was reading, I said very calmly, just to aggravate her. And it worked like a charm.
"Oh, yes sir, you can help me, alright. Three days! Three days it has been that I'm waiting in..."
I didn't let her finish as I cut her in between.
"Bring me my coffee. Black, no sugar. Don't use the coffee machine for it" I ordered without taking my eyes off the work I was doing.
"Huh?" she was out of words, "But, I... I mean," I can sense the sudden turmoil in her presence, mixed with uncertainty.
"Anything difficult to understand, Ms. Evans?" I asked when she didn't move. She shook her head but still didn't get a hint.
Yeah, she's still Ms. Evans.
"Then what are you waiting for?" I finally looked up and into her eyes.
"Oh! Umm, right. I'm sorry, I'll... I'll go" She fumbled with her words and with her steps as she banged into the chair next to her but left nonetheless.
She came back approximately after 7 minutes or so. She spilled some of the coffee on the table while placing the cup.
"I'm sorry, I'm... I'll clean this," she frantically reached for the tissue box, taking out tissue papers one after the other.
"I guess, these are more than enough tissues for the day, don't you think?" If I hadn't stopped her, she'd still be going on at it.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just... I mean..." her hands were shaking a little, and so were her words.
To be honest, it was just two sips of coffee or maybe even less. But looking at her panicking like this gave me immense satisfaction.
I like to see that fear in people's eyes. The fear of what can happen to them if they'll get on my wrong side. For her, it's just the beginning of what the rest of her life will look like.
I kept observing her actions just to intimidate her. She's nervous I can tell, and I'm going to make sure she stays that way.
After wiping off the coffee, she looked for the trashcan to throw away the used tissue paper, but couldn't find it. It was right in front of her eyes. I pointed towards my right side with my finger and she finally saw it. The shade of pink on her face indicated the embarrassment she was feeling.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Norman," she said with her head bowed down.
So, what happened to all that fierce and outspoken personality?
"Ms. Evans, there are rules that you'd have to abide by if you want to work in this firm, more importantly, with me. So, listen to me and listen carefully as I won't be saying all this again. I don't take it lightly if anyone breaks those rules, so know that there will be consequences.
Rule no. 01: Punctuality. Always be on time, be in the office at 9 sharp. You can be early but not late.
Rule no. 02: Be attentive, all the time. Especially, now that you're to assist me, be very vigilant about everything. There can be no mistakes and if there are, they will be dealt with accordingly. And I believe, by now you know better that I don't like repeating, so listen to my every instruction carefully because there will be no next time.
Rule no. 03: There are times when we're engrossed in work so much that there's no such thing as official working hours, sometimes we go home late and sometimes not at all, so be very efficient in your work. Being tired due to excessive work hours will not be an excuse for the lack of perfection.
If you want a day off, inform me at least a week ago and if you're in luck, maybe I'll approve it. Otherwise, you will be in the office for as many days as I am, even on Sundays too. You're to accompany me on all the national and international business trips.
Rule no. 04: Being associated with me is no piece of cake, which means that you'll make a lot of enemies, and more than that, you'll make enemies disguised as friends. There's no such thing as friendships when it comes to business. If any information leaks out, then, as I said, there will be consequences.
Rule no 05: There should be no clumsiness. What happened today should not be repeated. I want absolute perfection. My coffee should be served at 9:15 sharp and then at 12:15. No spillage or delay.
From now on, you're to schedule all my meetings, take calls and appointments, and bring me the required documents. Am I clear?" she nodded her head rather sheepishly.
"You can leave now." I returned to my work but looked back at her seeing she was still there.
"Is anything the matter?" I asked raising an eyebrow and she nodded her head yet again. I can see the hesitation on her face, I know what she has to ask.
"Can I sit, Mr. Norman?" I didn't anticipate that she'd ask this, nor did I realize that she has been standing up all this time.
"No." she clearly wasn't expecting this answer, "Is that what you wanted to ask?"
"No, no, Mr. Norman, I mean, I wanted to ask that I'm an interior designer and all these duties that you've mentioned are secretarial work." There it is, I knew this is what she'll ask.
"How many jobs have you done before, Ms. Evans?" I took a sip of my coffee. And regretted instantly.
This has to be the worst coffee I've ever tasted, it's worst than what Ethan made when he was 11 years old.
"None. But I used to help around in my dad's office."
"Hmm, I thought so. Here's a thing Ms. Evans, this is not your dad's office. This is my office and you'll work as I'll instruct. Since you haven't worked anywhere else, so you don't know this but it's a standard procedure. I am to train you not only for the design work but also on how to handle business for the best effective results in your field. This is how it is done everywhere." No, it isn't.
She's so dumb that she doesn't even know what her job description is. And she certainly doesn't know what I have in store for her.
"I understand, sir. I'll do my best. I'll take " she still looks skeptical but didn't question further, "I'll take your leave, sir."
"Rule no. 05: (picking up the cup of coffee, I continued again) Learn how to make coffee," I said with extreme sternness, "because this is disgusting," and I spilled the whole cup of coffee on the floor. "I didn't know someone could be capable of ruining plain black coffee."
"Now, excuse me," I got up from my chair and walked towards the door, before stepping out, I stopped and turned away, "make sure the floor is clean before I come back." I opened the door and left, leaving her standing there in astonishment.