Freda tried taking a cab but realised it was taking so long, so she gave up on that. She walked quickly to the café that Eliza requested a latte from, despite being in heels. It was when she got there that she realised that she hadn't asked Eliza what type of latte she would like, and this café was famous for having many options. She nearly smacked herself. She was in such a hurry to obey orders that she was now in a bigger predicament.
She stood on the line, staring at the menu hung above the register, and she nearly cried. There were so many selections, and if she got it wrong, she would have to return here. Her new boss would also be disappointed in her, when she was already walking on thin ice.
"If only I'd kept my damn mouth shut. Why did I have to be so rude? I could have just kept my job, and be favoured like the other two on my level. Now I'm fetching coffee like a junior." She said to herself with tears in her eyes.
She decided to order something simple, a cinnamon latte. But when she got back to the office with it, from Eliza's office door, there was a problem.
"That better not be a cinnamon latte you ordered."
Apparently, the spice was so strong that the aroma got to her even though Freda was standing at the door.
"I'm s.sorry. I forgot to ask w.what type of latte you prefer."
"And whose fault is that? If you can't handle this simple task, how can I trust you with other more important affairs? This was your chance to prove yourself to me after your screwup, and you still messed it up. You must have another job lined up somewhere, else, you wouldn't be so unserious with your position." Eliza said calmly as she reviewed some papers on her desk.
"I'm sorry Ma'am. Please, I need this job."
"Don't worry, you're not getting fired. At least not today. Go back and get me a gingerbread latte, and it better be hot when you return."
Freda dashed out, and dumped the cinnamon latte on her own desk before moving to the elevator. She luckily got a cab to the cafe this time, but had to walk back to prevent it from getting cold. She arrived a bit faster than last time, and set the latte down on Eliza's table with a smile. Now that she was more settled, she finally noticed that the CEO office had gotten a makeover.
"Your office looks great, Ma'am."
"If I needed your opinion on my interior design, I would have asked for it." Freda's smile fell as Eliza said that, but she remained silent so her new boss could continue speaking.
"Take these files down to HR. All employees currently not at work for one reason or the other must receive a memo with the announcement, and return with a signed copy of the HR cases and complaints from the last six months." Eliza ordered, and Freda left.
For the rest of the day, her two colleagues were mostly confined to their desks, but she was the designated errand girl. Moving around to deliver messages for Eliza, picking up documents, and even serving coffee at one of Eliza's meetings for the day.
"Seriously, what did you do to her that's making her treat you like this?" Grant asked when Freda was finally allowed to sit at her desk.
"I deserve it. In fact, I think she's being lenient to me." Freda said with a sign.
"Lenient? You're being treated like a newbie intern. It's like being demoted even without an official demotion letter. Shouldn't you report to HR or something?" He asked and Freda laughed.
"What good would HR do for me? I'm the one who deserves to be queried. I insulted her, before I found out she was the new CEO."
That made Grant and Michaela gasp.
"No wonder she's being so dismissive. But she could have simply fired you."
"No! I need this job. No one else would hire me if I get fired without a recommendation letter from the CEO or HR at least. Every new company I apply to will assume I must have committed a great crime to have been let go without reference. That is worse for me than this. I can handle this until I prove myself to her. We've all worked with her before. You both know she isn't mean at heart. If you were mistreated by your family, and dismissed by your employees like she had, you would probably do meaner things. So I consider myself lucky because Ma'am Eliza is a nice person." She said and the other two agreed with her.
"Well, good luck."
Eliza was exhausted when they returned home later that evening.
"My whole body aches, and I still have so much work to do. There are so many holes in the management structure. It will take so much time and effort to have all the kinks straightened out. If I'm this exhausted from day one, how will I handle the rest?" She sighed, and he crouched to take off her shoes.
"You'll get through it. Just take it one day at a time. You're brilliant, and diligent. There's no one better to run that company than you, and even your family knows it. The only thing holding them from admitting it is their pride." He kissed her thigh before standing, and lifting her into his arms.
He ran her a bath, and while she was soaking in the tub, he called the kitchen to get dinner ready and sent to the lounge room beside their bedroom, then he joined her in the bathtub to wash her hair. They stepped out minutes later, wrapped in fluffy robes, and moved to the lounge room.
"You can use the massage chair while we wait for dinner to be served."
"Oh I'm in heaven. I feel so relaxed. If I get to be treated like this every day after work, then I can definitely handle everything just fine." She said with a smile.
After dinner, he took her to the lounge room balcony for a glass of wine, and to inform her of something he knew she may not like.
"I want to go back to my family."