Prologue
Two years ago
“West Brook was founded by Ms. Laura West and Mister Anthony Brook. It was the leading corporation for two decades. It had won many awards for many years and, based on the company’s pace, there was no stopping them.
For the last five years, West Brook Financing has been steady in making its name known to the world. David Brook, the son of the late founders, made it all possible. It was all going smoothly until the fall of last year.”
Three years ago
“Catherine, what are we going to do? Oh my gosh!”
Anna was bawling her eyes out in front of the operating room. I couldn’t blame her though. What started as a normal day ended up with a call from the hospital saying that her husband had been in an accident. We were in the middle of watching a movie in the theater when she received that call and rushed there.
“He will be fine, Anna. Big D is a tough man. Believe in him, okay?” I tried to comfort her by patting her back to soothe her.
“Big D is strong.”
Both of us looked down on Luigi when we heard his tiny voice. Anna got up and went to him and hugged his little figure as she continued to cry. It broke my heart to see how much pain Anna was feeling right now.
I was comforting Anna but I knew that I also needed to say those comforting words to myself. I was on the verge of crying too. But I needed to hold it in because Anna needed me. I sat down beside Anna, who was still hugging Luigi. We waited and prayed for David.
After a few weeks after the operation, David finally got transferred to a room after staying in the ICU for three days. The doctor told us that he was not in any immediate danger but he was in a coma. They had already done what they could do to save him and it was now up to him to save himself.
Anna was in a mess one day after David’s operation. She wasn’t eating and would just stay at David’s side. The only break she would get was the visiting time off of David. But even during those times, she would not eat or sleep. She would just sit outside the ICU room and wait until it was time for a visit again.
I had also been receiving calls from the company asking how David was doing. Some are also from the board of directors saying that someone should step up as David’s temporary replacement. The position couldn’t be vacant for a long time.
“Catherine, you should get some sleep. I will look watch over him.”
Anna is doing great nowadays. I would still catch her crying now and then, but she was holding up pretty well. She was now eating and taking care of herself. It just took a lot of convincing, though.
“It’s fine. I wasn’t that sleepy.” Catherine said and hesitated. “Mister Foster called earlier.”
“He’s been bugging me about it too,” Anna sighed.
“What should we do?” asked Catherine.
Anna looked at Catherine and gently asked the question the latter was anticipating.
“Do you want to do it?”
~~~
Present
“Where is the contract that I asked you to... draft?”
I looked at the empty desk of my secretary. The papers were stacked in the corner and her computer was still logged on but the person wasn’t there. I looked around the floor but there was no one around. The elevator pinged and the HR head, Lucila Davis, walked up to me with a stressed expression.
“Good timing! I want you to fire my secretary. She was slacking off,” I said without further ado.
I turned around and opened the door to my office. I needed to start drafting the contract again on my own. It was another job for me, but at least I will be able to edit at the same time. I slumped on her chair and Lucila stood at the other side.
“We can’t fire her, Catherine.” I looked up at her. “She quit.”
“Well, that only shows that she doesn’t have what it takes to work here. Hire another one.”
I waved her hand to dismiss Lucila but the latter didn’t budge.
Just as always.
“That was the third secretary we hired last week, Catherine. They didn’t even last for a week,” Lucila voiced her concern and irritation with me.
“Is it my fault that they are not that competent enough? What do you want me to do?” I placed the pen down on the table and leaned back on the chair as I watched Lucila.
Intimidating the HR head was not on my list this morning. Besides, Lucila was not one to be intimidated. That is the reason why she was the head for a long time. Lucila looked at me the same way she was looking at her, with authority.
But I’m also stressed and in a hurry right now.
“You need to treat your secretary right, Catherine. Or else, we wouldn’t be giving you any.” I didn’t answer her.
“I will arrange interviews right away and I need you to spare time and sit there. It would be wise to have your input in choosing.”
Lucila then turned around and left my office. Out of all the employees of West Brook Financing, Lucila was one of the few who could stand her ground in front of Catherine. Most people around here don’t even look me in the eye, belittle me, or be scared of me. They should be, because only then would they do their jobs right. Aside from my secretary, that is.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was only ten past nine. I haven’t had my breakfast yet. Thinking about it, I also don’t have a secretary to run some errands. I sighed, feeling helpless. I looked at the slightly ajar door on my left and saw the hem of the duvet cover hanging on the side of the bed. I needed to clean those too.
Why did that girl even leave without doing anything for the last time?
I can still see the mess on the secretary’s table in the back of my mind. I needed to call someone to clean it. Maybe Lucila can do it or maybe I can do it on my own. But not now. Not yet. I needed to have her dose of coffee.
I stood up from her chair and walked up to the bedroom of the office. I picked up my purse from the bedside table and closed the door firmly when I went out. I didn’t bother to look at how messy the bed was. I went out of my office and saw the secretary’s table again. It was messy, indicating that Lucila hadn’t called anyone to clean the mess up.
I can’t do this alone. I have tons of work to do.
I mentally noted to call Lucila that there was no need to call for someone to clean the table. That station was filled with confidential information. The new project was also stacked somewhere beneath the file. It would be a huge problem if somebody were to see it before the project could be presented. I couldn’t have that. I don’t want it to be the end of me.
It will be the biggest project of the upcoming year. There’s no room for error and much more for leakage. But I will need a new secretary soon. Just thinking about training another individual for the work tires me. I badly needed that coffee before I lost my mind.
