Just like yesterday, our department was so busy with inquiries and orders coming from different places. Mira and I couldn't even have a conversation because the emails kept piling up. Maybe it's because the holidays are approaching. When the clock struck lunch, Mira and I both stopped replying to emails.
"Did you cook your lunch?" Mira asked.
I shrugged. I was so tired yesterday that I decided not to prepare any meals today. I just had fresh milk and toasted wheat bread with peanut butter this morning. My energy was at zero yesterday.
"Where do you want to eat?" Mira asked.
"It's up to you," I answered, because she knew I'm not an expert when it comes to choosing restaurants.
"Let's just have Japanese cuisine for lunch," Mira said. It was the same Japanese restaurant across the street where Mira, I, Dominic, Damian, and Lucca had eaten before. I still remembered having a heated conversation with Lucca just because I didn't want to waste food.
We took the elevator, and it was just the two of us inside. As the elevator opened, timing, Dominic was there, along with his assistant, probably waiting for it.
"Mira! Sera!" Dominic called us.
I was taken aback and didn't know what to do. I looked around, and all eyes were on us.
"Dominic! Ah, I mean, Sir!" Mira said while chuckling.
"I told you to drop the 'Sir' when it's just us," Dominic said, then looked at me.
I tried to avoid his gaze, pretending that I was chatting on my phone.
"Your assistant is here, Sir Dominic. So it's not just us," Mira answered, making Dominic look at her.
He laughed. "My assistant knows you're my friend. So drop it," he said.
I wished Mira would do something to help me escape this awkward situation. Every time I try to avoid him, I always end up running into him.
"How are you, Sera?" Dominic asked. His voice was quite loud.
"Ah… I'm okay, Sir!" I answered, then looked at Mira and signaled her. But that woman didn't seem to understand any of my hints.
"Have you eaten lunch yet?" Mira asked Dominic.
"Not yet. I was about to, but then I saw you. Are you planning to eat outside?" he asked.
"Yeah. I wanted to eat at a Japanese restaurant again. Wanna join us?" Mira asked, which made me flinch. Had she forgotten that I was trying to avoid Dominic to prevent the rumors from getting worse?
"Ah, Mira, I think I need to go back to the office," I reasoned because I knew Dominic would agree to eat with us.
"What did you forget?" Mira asked.
"I can't tell. I need to go back right now. Just eat without me," I said, and without waiting for her response, I immediately ran away. I would just take the stairs back up to our floor. I would probably be starving to death today. I'm so hungry now, but I don't want to join them, especially since people were watching us earlier. What if they report it to our department boss again?
I sighed deeply.
Mira's POV
I was taken aback when Seraphina suddenly ran off without letting me finish my sentence. Why did she suddenly say she forgot something when, in fact, the restaurant was just across the street? Was it really that important for her to let us eat without her?
"What happened to Sera?" Dominic asked while we walked outside. His assistant was with us too.
"I don't know. I'll ask her later."
"She's avoiding me," Dominic said in a serious tone. I looked at him. Was Sera avoiding him to stop the rumors?
"I met her yesterday, but she kept calling me 'Sir' and didn't even look at me."
Now I realized why Sera didn't join us. She was avoiding Dominic as much as possible to prevent the rumors from spreading again.
I felt pity for her. She was surely hungry but still chose not to join because Dominic was there. I would just order something for her later when I went back. I knew she hadn't eaten lunch yet.
I called the waiter and ordered takeout. Dominic asked if it was for Sera, and I said yes.
"Did I do something wrong to her? She keeps avoiding me," he asked while his plate was still full and he hadn't even started eating yet.
"She's not mad at you. Our department is just busy with work."
"But it's lunchtime," he said.
I wanted to tell him the real reason why she was avoiding him, but what would be the consequence if I did? What if Sera got mad at me for telling him?
"You know how introverted Sera is. She doesn't like talking to you when we're at work. Maybe she just doesn't like people talking about her," I reasoned.
He nodded. "Maybe we could spend more time outside where work isn't involved. I'll try to talk to her about it."
I nodded and didn't say anything else so I wouldn't reveal the real reason why Sera was avoiding Dominic. We didn't stay long at the Japanese restaurant. When we entered the building, Dominic and I parted ways. I took the elevator to our floor, carrying a paper bag for Sera's lunch.
When I entered our department, I saw Sera bowing her head while our department boss was yelling at her in front of our officemates.
"Can't you see how flirtatious your workmate is? Everyone saw it in the elevator!" he shouted.
At that moment, I immediately went near Sera to protect her.
Sera's POV
I went back to the office because I didn't join Mira and Dominic for lunch. As much as I was hungry, with my stomach growling loudly, I couldn't go with Dominic because the rumors were getting louder not only in our department but also in other departments. As I was taking the elevator, people were staring at me as if I were a criminal.
"Is she the woman linked with Sir Dominic?" the woman in front of me asked, whispering to her colleague as if I couldn't hear their gossip.
"Yeah. Don't look at her," the other woman said.
Aren't they aware that I can clearly hear them, or are they doing it intentionally so others in the elevator can hear it too?
"She looks innocent, but deep inside she's a flirt," the first woman commented. As much as I wanted to correct them, I didn't want to make a scene because people were watching. I just wished I could reach our floor already. Why was this elevator taking so long? My hands were getting sweaty too. I felt really uncomfortable, and I couldn't breathe properly. I thought I might experience a panic attack any moment.
ting
The elevator opened, and I immediately went out. But before it closed, I heard the woman who had been commenting on me earlier murmur,
"What a slut."
That word made my chest tighten. I held it in and tried to calm myself down. Now I was thinking if my decision to go back was right, or if I should have just joined Mira and Dominic for lunch. I tried to avoid Dominic to calm the rumors, but it seemed like it was getting worse. Was it really bad to be friends with your boss that everyone would look at you as if you were a criminal? Do they have the right to say hurtful things even if they don't know you? Why were they treating me as if I were the worst employee in this company? As far as I could remember, I didn't hurt anyone. I was just silently working for years until I agreed to become friends with Dominic. I know it started when Dominic personally told our department boss that I would take leave when I needed to accompany Lucca to the hospital.
I sighed deeply before entering the office. Luckily, no one was there yet since they were out for lunch. Now I had to face my growling stomach and the pain I was feeling in my chest. I needed to show them that I was not affected, but deep down, I was really hurt. I wanted to ask them why they were doing this to me, but I knew it would be useless, especially with close-minded people. Even my department boss himself couldn't seem to hear what he was saying.
I sipped water from my tumbler. I was hoping Mira would understand why I abruptly said I wouldn't come with them and would at least bring me some food. I tried to distract myself from hunger by scrolling through Facebook. After 20 minutes, my coworkers went back from lunch. They seemed energized and happy, while I was trying to stay composed even though I was extremely hungry and starting to feel dizzy.
"Now here's the slut." Our boss came in, and I heard him say that. He walked toward me and stood in front of me.
"Sir…"
"Sir? You have brought disgrace to our department. How could you?" my boss started yelling. I didn't immediately understand why he was acting like that.
"Are our department members all sluts now? They are being generalized because of you, trying to flirt with the CEO!" he shouted.
I still didn't understand why he was so angry at me, as if he wanted to hurt me. I stood up and confronted him.
"What are you talking about, Sir? Can't we talk inside your office?" I asked calmly, even though I was dizzy and had no energy at all.
"Talk inside the office? Are you afraid people here might hear what I will say to you?"
I didn't know how to react anymore, and I regretted not going with Mira and Dominic. I had no one by my side. People were staring at me as if I had sinned.
"I am starting to lose patience with you, Ms. Blake. You are even dragging the name of our department," he said.
"How can you say that I am dragging the name of our department, Sir? I didn't do anything," I tried to calm myself, but deep inside I wanted to shout and tell them I did nothing wrong. The rumors they were hearing were all speculations. It was true that Dominic is my friend, but that doesn't mean I am flirting with him.
"Are you hearing yourself? You sinned! If you didn't flirt with the CEO, this wouldn't have happened!" Now all my coworkers were watching me.
"Can't you see how flirtatious your workmate is? Everyone saw it in the elevator!" he shouted again, and everyone heard it.
"What are you doing to her?"
I heard Mira's voice, and that gave me a little relief. I was glad she was back.
"I told you not to interfere with my business, Mira," our boss said.
"My friend is my business. Aren't you the one interfering in her personal life? You are even spreading rumors that are not even true!" Mira's voice was now full of anger.
"Step back or I will have HR fire you!" our boss warned her, but she didn't even flinch.
"And do you think I am afraid of that? I can even buy your dignity with my money," she said proudly. She wasn't even afraid of getting fired because she had backup.
He smirked. "You're getting stubborn now, Mira. If you don't want to get involved, stay away from this."
Mira held my hand tightly. "I don't like hearing you mocking my friend and calling her a flirt. It is not your business whether she is flirting with the CEO or not, you jealous freak!"
"Ha! Freak? Did you just call me a freak?"
"What is happening here?"
All of us looked at the glass door when someone spoke. When I looked, it was Dominic together with his assistant. My eyes widened when I saw him. Surely, his presence would make the rumors even bigger and worse.
Our department boss immediately shut his mouth, while Mira was still angry. My coworkers greeted Dominic, and I bowed my head out of respect.
"Care to share what's happening here?" Dominic asked again, staring at our department head.
"Ah… I… we…" our boss stammered, unlike his confident attitude earlier when he was mocking me.
"We were just having a quick conversation, Sir," he finally said.
"It doesn't look like a quick conversation. What is happening here?" Dominic asked seriously. He looked like a scary CEO who didn't know how to smile.
He looked at me directly, but I looked away because I didn't know what to say. If I told him everything, my boss and coworkers might get mad at me for revealing it. On the other hand, Dominic could help stop the rumors so they wouldn't dare to insult me again.
But I stayed quiet.
"Ms. Blake, Ms. Kraft, I need to talk to you in my office right now," Dominic said.
I was still frozen, but Mira held my hand, and we followed Dominic. I kept my head down, avoiding everyone's eyes. I had completely lost my confidence. They destroyed it just because of a false rumor.
As we arrived at his office, his assistant closed the door to give us privacy.
Mira let me sit on the sofa. I was still bowing my head and not showing my face.
"What happened there, Mira?" Dominic asked.
Mira held my hand tightly, signaling whether she would tell him or not about what had happened. Finally, I stared at Dominic's face. He looked serious and concerned about what had happened.
"Sera. What happened? Tell me."
I couldn't even find my voice. It was as if I had completely lost it. I tried not to show any emotions in front of them. I kept swallowing, trying to stop myself from tearing up.
No one spoke, not even Mira. She was waiting for me, if I would allow her to explain or if I would be the one to tell him. Honestly, I didn't know what to do. I didn't even understand myself why I felt so weak, physically and emotionally.
"No one will tell me what happened? Mira, I heard you were so angry earlier. You were even shouting at your boss. I know you wouldn't do that without reason; that's why I want to hear your explanation."
Mira still didn't respond. She wasn't the type to hold back. I wasn't either. But this situation made me feel weak and helpless.
"They bully me," I finally said. As soon as I spoke, I looked down and avoided his reaction.
"They bully you?" he asked.
That's when Mira finally stepped in and spoke nonstop. She had just been waiting for my signal, whether she could tell him or not. But since I already did, she let out all her anger.
"Our department boss is bullying her so badly. He even mocked her and called her a flirt because of the rumors spreading in the company."
"What rumors?" Dominic asked.
"That Sera is flirting with you, the CEO! They're saying unbelievable things about her!" Mira exclaimed angrily.
Dominic looked at me, and I saw pity in his eyes.
"Now I understand why you've been avoiding me," Dominic said in a calm, soothing voice, as if trying to make me relax.
"I did it to cool down the rumors, but it only made things worse," I said.
"Why didn't you tell me? Since when has this been happening?"
"Since you personally told our boss that Sera needed to take leave because she had to take care of Lucca," Mira answered for me.
That made Dominic slightly shocked.
"Your boss did that? The last time I spoke with him, he was fine with it. But why now?"
"He's jealous of Sera," Mira said. "He's gay and actually likes you."
I looked at Mira when she said that. Did she investigate him?
Dominic didn't respond and kept staring at me.
"And you know what, Dominic? He's threatening us that we might lose our jobs. I'm not afraid to lose mine. I have a lot of money to sustain myself even without a job," she said proudly.
That statement made me envy Mira. At least even without a job, she could still do whatever she wanted without worrying about money. I wished I could be like that someday.
"I'm sorry if this has stressed you, especially you, Sera. If I had known earlier, this wouldn't have gotten worse," he said.
"It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong," I said, because it was true. He didn't even know people were dragging his name into this.
"I won't let this slide. I'll make sure the people involved will pay for this mess," Dominic said in a firm, authoritative voice. He called his assistant and instructed him to contact our department boss.